Fujifilm's second 35mm prime, the Fujinon XF35mm F2 R WR (399.95), is now available. The XF 35mm F2 R WR is smaller than the f/1.4 and has weather sealing. Although it doesn't catch as much light than an f/1.4 prime lens, the XF35mm F2 optical gem is still a great choice, especially when taken wide open. This lens is a great choice if you have a Fuji X and want a standard-angle prime lens. This lens is a clear choice for Editor's Choice.
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Design
Even by mirrorless standards, the XF35mm F2 lens is small. The lens measures just 1.8 inches by 2.4 inches (HD), and weighs only 6 ounces. It supports 43mm front filters. An included lens hood is also available. The hood screws in the thread of your filter, and you'll need to remove it to change or add a filter.
It's nothing major, as there is also a bayonet mounting around the lens. Fujifilm will soon release a bayonet mountable metal hood. This will allow you to access the filter thread. The lens mount is protected by a rubber seal. This seal complements the X-1 ($1,299.00 on Amazon).
Behind the front element is a manual focus ring. The XF35mm manual focus mechanism, like other lenses in the X series (and all autofocus lenses designed for mirrorless cameras in general), is electronic. The internal motor controls the movement of the element by turning the focus ring.
This can be a challenge for SLR users who have been used to manual focus. The XF35mm's autofocus is quick and precise when used with the XT10 (at Amazon). The base of the lens has a physical aperture ring. You can set it from f/2 to f/16 in third-stop increments. There is also an automatic setting called A.
The APS-C size image sensor used in the X system is identical to what you will find on consumer SLRs. A 35mm prime may be considered a medium wide angle by film photographers, however, when paired to an APS sensor, it becomes a standard-angle lens. This lens is roughly equal in field of vision to a 50mm lens with a full frame system.
The lens can focus up to 13 inches. That's not macro—the magnification is 1:7.4 at the minimum focus distance—but it's in line with typical standard-angle lens designs. You can also choose the Fujinon XF60mm F2.4R Macroor Zeiss Touit 2.8/50M if you prefer a shorter macro.
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Image quality
Imatest was used to test the lens' performance when paired up with the 16-megapixel X-1010. The lens performs well at f/2, scoring 2,757 lines in a sharpness test. This is a great score for a 16MP sensor and much better than the 1,800 lines that we seek in images. The frame edges record 2,247 lines, so performance is excellent. In real-world usage, the lens exhibits a little less than 0.5 percent barrel distortion.
The corner performance is quite weak at f/2. Although the corners are not visible in our test chart view, they show some muddiness at both f/2.8 and f/2.8 on visual inspection. However, they are crisper at f/4 or higher. A shot taken at f/2 with this lens is as sharp as an image shot at the same aperture.
Both distortion and falloff can be controlled. I utilized an ExpoDisc to verify the uniformity of the lighting across the frame using the 35mm. The corners show a 0.7EV decrease in illumination when the centre is shot at f/2. This is a great result and can be seen in some shots. The corner drop-off is reduced to 0.4EV by reducing the aperture to f/2.8
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Conclusions
The Fujifilm Fujinon XF35mm F2R WR is almost perfect. It is a great mirrorless camera, even if the price was higher. At $400 it's an incredible value—it's compact, sealed against dust and moisture, and incredibly sharp. There are a couple of minor knocks against the lens—it doesn't include stabilization (but that's not a common feature for a standard-angle prime), and the corners are a little muddy at wide apertures. It's easy to see why the lens is our Editors' Choice.