Dylan Andersen reviews the new XF33mm f/1.4 R LM WR, calling it the best all-around lens for Fujifilm cameras. The main upgrade over his longtime 35mm f/1.4 is the faster, more reliable autofocus, which matters for capturing fleeting moments. It delivers creamy bokeh and high resolution across portraits, landscapes, and lifestyle work.
So I've been shooting on Fujifilm cameras for, gosh, the better part of the last five, six years. And you find these cameras, you have fun with them, you find lenses that work. And then there's one day that comes and you're like, man, this quality is great. This lens selection is great. But I'm not getting exactly what I want. And that happens to everybody in every camera system. But for me, when I really fell in love with Fuji was when I bought the 35mm F1.4. And I would get frustrated, the focus wasn't great. I'd miss focused wide open sometimes it was soft. There were little things about it. But man, everything that that lens did kind of made up for its shortcomings. That was until Fuji came out with this guy. This is the XF33mm F 1.4. It is a R LMWR lens, which if you know the R means aperture. So it's got an aperture ring on it. The LM is the linear motor. So it's got that new super fast, pretty dang silent autofocus. And it's weather resistant, which is really nice. So this lens came out and as a 35mm 1.4 fan, you know, the natural thing is to go get it. Put it on my X Pro 3, which I love so much. Also have the X100V. Oh, man, this is, this is a heck of a setup. So I'm going to talk a little bit about this lens. I'll put some photos on the screen. You know, I'm not going to do what everybody else does is build quality, all that stuff. I mean, look, it's a Fuji lens. It's a new generation of lenses with the lock mechanism here, so you can't get it out of auto if you want it there. It's a little bit tighter of a click here than the 18 millimeter, which is actually what I'm filming on on my X T3. This one's a little bit tighter still. Definitely not as tight as the Fuji cron's F2 lenses because those feel really good. But super, super nice lens. Amazing build quality. I mean, there was a lot to say about, you know, how much it weighed and how big it was when it was coming out. And people were freaking out because the 3514 is smaller. But man, this lens, regardless of size, is just so worth it. So let's take a quick look. We'll look at some photos here on the screen. But look, this lens is incredible. This lens is something that's just really Special. There are times I take this lens out and you know, for me, probably my favorite focal length is the 35 millimeter full frame equivalent. So that's like a 23. So that's like the X100V there. But I don't know. The 33 millimeter 14 is just special. You know, there was a lot that they made of it when they announced it, saying they had kind of copied the character of the 3514, which was kind of interesting to them to say. That was definitely some marketing speak. And that lens had character because it was imperfect. Right. You were able to, you know, get some really cool shots given the imperfections of it. So hard to say that they copied that. But I mean, definitely. Look, the bokeh on here is amazing. The resolving quality, I'll call it, like how it resolves images is fantastic. I really encourage you, after you view these images to go to Flickr and look up some of the groups, 3314 groups, and just see what people are actually taking. You know, don't go to YouTube and look at these clinical tests. Look at what people are actually using the lens for. You'll see a lot of portraits. You'll see a lot of landscape, actually, which is interesting. You'll see a lot of lifestyle stuff. And most of all you'll just see like personal work. And that's kind of what I take it for. And you'll see some of the images here on the screen. But ultimately the thing I want to leave you with, with this lens is it is what you're looking for. If you're a Fuji shooter, do you have to Upgrade from the 3514? No, really what you're upgrading for is the autofocus. You're upgrading for your ability to not miss a shot in the way that you want it to. Yeah, with the 3514, you'll never miss a shot if you're methodical. But I have a kid. And if you have kids, if you're a parent, you know that, you know, to try to get them to hold still while the 3514 is doing its external focusing. It's a little frustrating. So you know, this is more about the 50 millimeter focal length equivalent on Fuji is so rich. I mean you have so many options. 35mm F2, 3314, 35, 1.4. And then you got the TT artisans and seven artisans and micaton lenses that are third party manual focus. Now you have a Sigma lens that comes out is rivaling this, but this lens is fantastic. So hopefully you enjoyed some of these photos and you know, definitely if you haven't purchased the 35mm F2 or 1.4 yet, get this. Although I will say that, you know, for me, you know, I'll still put the 35 F2 on here occasionally if I don't, you know, if you're going for size because, you know, look, let's be honest, this is a little bit heavier. It is a little bit more, you know, size wise, bigger. But ultimately, I mean just some of the, the pictures you can get out of this, this lens are just incredible. So yeah, 3314 incredible lens. Fuji is killing it. Obviously this is going to help with our larger resolution sensor, the 40 megapixel that's coming out and then this newer 26 that should be on one of the XH2s. So be very interesting to see kind of how this works on the new generation. Although I love the X Pro 3, I don't want to leave. So yeah, thanks for watching. Have a good one.
