The "Second Best" Fujifilm Lens: The Fujifilm XF 23mm f1.4 R LM WR

So I know there's a pretty big group of people out there that say that the 35 millimeter equivalent 35 millimeter focal length is polarizing. They don't like it. A lot of folks say that it's not tight enough or it's not wide enough. I get it. Many parts of my photography career have centered around this focal length. And for the purposes of this video, we're talking about the 23 millimeter. This is the Fuji XF 23 millimeter F1.4R LM WR, also known as kind of the Mark II lens. But we're going to talk about that for this video. And one of the things I kind of want to really stress is that this works really well for me. It's such a good lens that I think in many ways it's become more popular. This kind of focal length because of the X100 series obviously going viral has had a big effect on people loving 23 millimeter more than in the past. But I think despite that, you know, it's still a great lens. It's still a great walk around lens. In fact, for me Personally, it's my second favorite lens on the Fuji XF mount. In first place is a video I did earlier about the 33mm F1.4, the new lens, which I think is amazing. So I've kind of gone on and on about that in another video. But this lens is pretty fantastic. This lens is really great in my opinion, because you can take it anywhere with you. I tend to take my X H2, which I have right here, or my XH2s and I'm filming on. I tend to take these cameras out with me and just take one lens. For me, that's really the situation I want to be in. I don't like bringing a bag full of lenses unless I'm going out for a day of photography. But let's face it, most of the times if I'm going to lunch or I'm going somewhere for just a little bit, I want to just bring one lens. The 23 millimeter is so great because it's a fun like carry around, documentary style lens. It's really got that focal length that's famous for obviously documentary work, but it's also great for like environmental portraiture. If you've got a family or you've got friends that you're constantly taking photos of, you know just how great this focal length is because you can kind of get a little bit of everything in the image. The other thing, it's really good for is close up photography. I don't know the minimum focus distance off the top of my head, I might put it on the video here, but it focuses really well up close for that kind of lens. Again, having F1.4 is super nice. Right. Getting those low light shots is really crucial on this sensor without having to bump ISO. I'm guilty of being someone who keeps my auto ISO at max 800 even if I'm in an indoor environment. Really stresses me out with high ISO. But obviously these newer sensors on these cameras have pretty great high ISO performance. I think another reason this lens is so fantastic is because the 23 millimeter is part of this new lineage of Fujifilm glass. They all have linear motors, they all have weather resistance, and they all have this new optical quality. And it seems like Fujifilm is really pushing optical quality above all else. Yeah, the lenses are bigger than, you know, what they probably could do. But again, getting to F1.4 and making these lenses really, really solid in the optical department seems to be a big push for them. Without the 5,000 millimeter in mind, everything else has the linear motor. And that does make a huge difference in autofocus. Yes. On the X T3, X T4, X T5 and all the new XH bodies, autofocus really isn't a thing. But having that linear motor is really nice. So look, this lens is so great because you don't really feel limited. Yes, if you don't like the focal length, you'll feel limited. But I think for me personally, I can take this, this lens out on a camera and say, hey, you know what? I'm going to take pictures of my family. I'm going to take pictures of people. I'm going to take pictures of street stuff that I'm walking through. Whatever the case, the only time I do feel limited, and I will be honest about this, is say I'm in the pal passenger seat of a vehicle someone else is driving. If I'm shooting out the window, I, I feel like that focal length is really hard to get a composition. I don't know why that's a thing, but I think a lot of, you know, I'm talking about shooting out of a moving car. It's kind of an addiction for, for photographers. But that's where this lens doesn't do very well. The 33 or the 56 is going to get you a much tighter shot and obviously get you a better composition. I'm at the point now in my photography where I'm going to be taking the 33 millimeter. Out with me most days. But I'm also starting to take this out most days, too. The 23 millimeter is just versatile. If I don't know where I'm going to be, I don't know really what I'm going to be shooting. I'll take the 23 if I know I'm going to be outdoors. If I'm going to be primarily outside, I'm going to take the 33 or even the 56. But if I know I'm going to be indoors the entire time, I'm probably taking the 18mm F1.4 just because it's wider. I rarely use that, that lens outside, which I find myself being most of the time. So I think this is a really good middle point. But yeah, amazing kind of do it all lens. Right? Before I go on any further, I want to say real quickly, if you're finding this video fun, entertaining, useful, whatever, please definitely subscribe to the channel and like the video. Obviously you've heard a million times, but it does help quite a bit. I would love to keep doing this as a hobby and have fun with it and hopefully share my thoughts with you guys and most of all, have a conversation with you. So if you like what you're seeing, please subscribe. Tell me what you think in the comments, but for now, back to the video. Right, so I want to show you some photos. I want to stop talking. I'm going to run through a set of images that I've taken with this lens. I love it so, so much. I think some of the stuff I've gotten out here is pretty fantastic. I'll leave some comments afterwards and take a look at these images. Sa. After everything's said and done. These images are really great depiction of how an everyday person uses this lens and maybe the cameras that Fuji makes. You saw photos of my daughter and my family, my neighborhood, the places I've been, the cool stuff I've seen, or at least cool to me, those are the things I really want to document. And again, documentary is really a theme with this lens. You get to do that. But I still think the 23 is kind of a do it all lens. Yes, I feel limited sometimes when I take the 33, right, because it's a little bit tighter. But I also think it's such a great lens that I find a way to make it work. This lens, I feel safe. I feel like things are gonna work out. And you know, when I first started with Fujifilm about eight, nine years ago, I thought, you know, originally that when the 23F2 came out. I thought that was the lens. Right. It was small, it was amazing. The focus was super fast. And then I realized that like the X100T and then later the X100F, the close focus stuff, wide open, it was really full of halation and real soft like halo Y images. I didn't like that. I like the look of it, but you lose a lot of quality where, you know, with this lens, if I want to throw on, this is an Earth 1/4 ether filter, kind of like a black Pro mist. You can put that on there and soften it up a little bit. And probably seen some of that in the images that I just went through. But again, I. I think having this lens is really, really strong. All right, so those are my thoughts on the 23 millimeter F 1.4 R LMWR. The new 23 millimeter. Yes, I missed the focus clutch of the original. Yes, I missed the character of the original. But I think the original had a lot of, you know, issues with it with chromatic aberration, some of the loca that would show up in my shots. But passing all that technical details aside, I love this new lens. I'm glad I upgraded. I'm glad I sold the old lens. Yes. Nostalgic wise, I'm sad, but personally, I'm really excited. Yes, that's the 23 millimeter. My second favorite lens for Fujifilm XF mount. I think I'm gonna do another video on the 56 millimeter, which is over here. This is the new 56 millimeter. Hopefully get the focus. There we go. This is the new R LM or not lm. This is just the rwr. Kind of the mark too. So that's coming soon. I'm loving that lens. I'm using it more and more. I'm forcing myself too, because compositions are a little bit tougher when you're kind of out and about with that lens. But with that being said, thanks for watching. We'll see you next one.