✍ Blog post with image samples here: tudormateescu.com/fujifilm-xf-18mm-f2-r-review/
@jonuiuc2 жыл бұрын
I have this on a X-E1. I use single point and just do focus and recompose. Always worked fine for, me. Center is sharper but rendition of frame is nice. Its so nice on the light bodies.
@edwardbakker25712 жыл бұрын
I completely agree with your assessment of this lens. I love using it on my T2 and T3 and love the results. It is a wonderful lens and I have to say that I have stopped listening to uninformed and negative comments about camera gear on KZfaq and internet. We need to make up our own minds based on our own experiences. Thank you for a great video
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Thanks 👍
@stevepatrick58182 жыл бұрын
I purchased the lens two months ago because I found an open-box at a great price. I have no complaints. The focus is very good on the X-Pro 3 and X-T3. The image quality is excellent. The lens is also very compact, and is quite stylish on the X-Pro 3. I really don’t understand why so many have been critical of the lens.
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Good to know it's working fine on X-T3 too! Thank you.
@albertsmith93152 жыл бұрын
I also just recently bought this lens, also brand new ($599) for myself at Christmas. I was expecting the worst based on the negative press, but I was pleasantly surprised. I made a self imposed test to shoot 1000 shots with only this lens to really understand it and to get lots of real world examples of its capability. After I hit a thousand photos, I kept going. I really got to like this lens. First, I never shoot video. I also only shoot single point autofocus. So for me this lens is fine. It focuses fast and doesn't hunt on my X-T2 and X-Pro2 vintage bodies. On my X-T3 it is very much right in line with my more modern lenses for focus speed. The images in the center third of the image are sharp right at f/2. This is very clear to see in the close up range especially. At f/5.6, corner to corner sharpness is fine for real photography, not pixel peeping, but just making photos. I have no regrets on the purchase. The small lens with good performance allows me to go out with a compact setup (my X-E3) and return with great shots.
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Beautiful input about the lens. Thanks 🙏
@lukedecena61762 жыл бұрын
Been eying for this for a long time. Thanks Tudor! That AF issue had been resolved from the firmware updates.
@BIMLounge2 жыл бұрын
You lost me at "Personally I don't like X-trans sensors that much" 😂. You kind of made me want to try this one out. I have the 35 and don't mind the older AF. Thanks!
@magiccarpetrider45942 жыл бұрын
I really don’t like the x-trans either. It’s hard to process for me and I don’t the “grain” it produces. So I’ve either given away or sold all Fuji except an xt2 and this 18mm. I’m a Canon guy, with nothing but Zeiss lenses. The 5d4 screwed up manual focus screens, but it’s easy on an R series. My lens of choice is 28; if I can afford it, I’d go for the Q2.
@Yoko.Kurama2 жыл бұрын
6:33 lol I skip the vids that take pictures of brick walls
@Carolyne_games Жыл бұрын
After spending some time with my X-T5 + 23mm f1.4 WR (my first Fuji camera and lens!), I decided to get this 18mm f2 as my second lens! Seeing the reviews and being used to the optical perfection of the 23mm I was prepared to be disappointed, but the 18mm so far with a couple days of use has really surprised me! I feel like this lens really embodies what the Fujifilm brand is all about: photography that is fun, effortless and full of character 😊 Something I’ve used that is somewhat close to this lens is the 20mm f2.8 pancake from Sony for their APS-C line… paired with any recent Sony APS-C body it makes a good package, but the fun factor and character of the Fuji is miles ahead 😅 Another good contender might be the Pana-Leica 15mm f1.7 paired with a small Panasonic body like the GX9, which I really want to try but haven’t got the chance to 😢
@ozuidema2 жыл бұрын
Good vid, Tudor! Bought this lens about a year ago; was held back earlier by all the flak this lens receives. Looked for a good second hand copy, but in the end ended up buying a new one, just like you. Now I use it all the time for documentary shots, family life, street and city trips. Love the rendering; as you said, a bit similar to the 35mm 1.4 (which I also love). These older lenses have a certain character that the newer lenses (although technically maybe better) lack. Colors come out great (just using the RAW shots); for B&W, I use a fairly high contrast JPEG profile which is just gorgeous for street! Also, pretty good close focussing distance, which I also really dig. It's a keeper, all right.
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Thank you 🙏 I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing the similarities with the 35mm f1.4 😁
@chipoglesby Жыл бұрын
Thank you Tudor. I've been on the fence about this lens, but I look forward to picking it up and testing it out now!
@Tudor_Mateescu Жыл бұрын
Hope you enjoy it!
@adambaileyshow361 Жыл бұрын
Great great video. Thinking of buying this used. Seems sharper than the Fuji 16mm 2.8, which is a little too wide.
@Tudor_Mateescu Жыл бұрын
Yes, 16mm it's a little too wide for me too. This where 18mm f2 it's winning.
@visualsbypreet2 жыл бұрын
Agree with you on this, it is a very underrated lens
@PedroDuarteFonseca2 жыл бұрын
I absolutly agree with you 100%! I managed to buy a pristine second hand copy and I arrived to the same conclusions you did. Thank you for the video, Tudor!
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Thanks a lot 🙏
@drs-Rigo-Reus4 ай бұрын
The 18/2 is crap on the 16mp sensor and even more so on the 24mp. But crap can give hipster results, so much loved.
@BugsTours Жыл бұрын
You are the greatest! Def deserve a like and follow! Love the straightforward-ness
@Tudor_Mateescu Жыл бұрын
Thank you 🙏😊
@user-vf5ei9zg6o18 күн бұрын
i use this lens fuji xf18mmf2 on fuji xt5 and they perform Very Very Good although i don't how to compare this lens for 40 mag pixs because i cannot compare there is no lens> the color are great and AF is good not the best but very good>> preciated that U RECOMEND TO BUY THIS LENS BECAUSE IN THAILAND >> THERE WAS PROMOTIONS BEGINING OF AUG2024 > I BOUGHT IT ABOUT 280$USD NEW NEW >> I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THIS LENS IT WILL BE MY STREET AND WALK AROUND LENS >> AS FOR MY OLD XF16mm.f1.4 WHICH I STILL LOVE >> i can use it at night for Aurora Borealis OR more wider aperture landscape view
@mikefoster60189 ай бұрын
I've just bought it. I know it's got weaknesses, but it's a perfect ultra-light second lens to carry when I'm using my 33mm f1.4 on long city walks. I was loving the 16-55mm during the summer, but its f2.8 wasn't enough for me during darker autumn/winter evenings. So the two primes should give me my favourite focal ranges with better aperture. I'll probably keep using the 16-55mm instead whenever I'm at decently lit places where I'm soaking-up a lot of close and far things.
@Tudor_Mateescu9 ай бұрын
Exactly!
@user-my4dm4ij3t2 жыл бұрын
Thank you Tudor for this review ! I really like the way you look at things from a practical point of view. Lenses should be tested in the field and not in the lab. I am a Sony user and I am thinking of buying this 18mm lens with X-E4. This seems like a competent combo for close street photography on the move. I am still a bit worried about continuous AF which I use A LOT. Please comment on that. Thank you.
@user-my4dm4ij3t2 жыл бұрын
one more thing: do you use RAW or JPEGS ? which profile/simulation did you use for the photos in this video ?
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Hi! 1. Sony is made to be used in continuous AF. Fuji works best in AFS with this lens especially. Having the old motor in AFC it's weird. It will hunt and you will here the noise - it's working for photos but not like on a Sony or like on a STM motor lens . But in AFS just point and click and you'll have no problems. Being a wide lens set the AF to zone focus, get close, and take the shot. This is my setup. 2. The profile it's color Chrome jpegs straight from the camera - it's faster to get the KZfaqr video done :) but I shoot raw+jpeg too.
@photoreviewed-com2 жыл бұрын
Tempting but I think I'm gonna buy the 27mm pancake. Love the size of both.
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Yes the 27mm it's smaller and also amazing.
@stoneblue17952 жыл бұрын
I loved the form-factor of the 27, and have owned it twice. Always found myself have to take a couple of giant steps back from my intended composition, which fine, unless you are standing on a bridge, up against a wall on street corner or standing in a crowd and have no place to back up to. So I bought the 18 !
@photoreviewed-com2 жыл бұрын
@@stoneblue1795 So 18 seems to be your focal length then :)
@bijosn4 ай бұрын
best review on this lens ive seen
@TischTosh2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for your review. I plan to use this lens on the xs10. Right now, I'm using the Viltrox 23mm 1.4. Works well BUT I'm traveling with our band 3 out of 4 weekends. I need something wider and yet smaller which will still work well in somewhat dark conditions (like well lit night streets. I think this will work.
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
I think it will work great, I guess on xs10 you will get similar results like on X-pro 3 / x-t4 and so on. Come back when you can with feedback 😉
@matsalm2943 Жыл бұрын
I agree. Have had this lens since I bought the XS-PRO!. I like the lens because of the compactness. All the 3 first lenses for X-PRO1 was 18/2, 35/1,4 and 60/2,4 macro and they all suffer from a rather slow focusing. Mostly I use zoom-lenses of practical reasons. However I still love to put these 3 lenses in my camera bag. I have a new X-T5 and these lenses now perform better than ever. The focusing is much faster and when looking at the IQ result is gaining a bit from the 40 Mp sensor. I can print up to A2 on an Epson 3880 with high resolution. It is almost impossible to see a difference between a photo where I used the 18/2 instead of the 16-55/2,8 Many read to many reviews and spec. sheets. They should instead compare larger prints. Pixel peeping on the screen gives a very false impression.
@Tudor_Mateescu Жыл бұрын
So true! Thank you for the comment 🙏
@dogswhomistookarockforacro4667 Жыл бұрын
Thank you, Bro. I find your camera reviews honest and therefore excellent. Also, you sound like Borat, so I like your videos even more. 🤩😍
@Tudor_Mateescu Жыл бұрын
Thank you very much :))
@travel734 Жыл бұрын
Hello Tudor, Thank you for posting this video. I agree with you about this lens. I have been using my copy for 9 years as of this month. It is a nice street photography lens. I have not had any issue with the aperture ring. In fact the only exposure issue that I have had is with the exposure compensation on my XE-2. I have not really tried it with my XT-3 so I can’t say how it is with the higher resolution. I note your comments about the maximum resolution for the lens being around 26mp. Have you had a chance to try it with one of the new 40mp Fujifilm cameras? By the way it was nice to see the photos of Romania. The last time I was there I was not able to bring a “real” camera so I did not have a a chance to take many photos. It was September and the colours of the leaves in the mountains were amazing. It felt a lot like my home in Canada. The food was great too! Cheers
@Tudor_Mateescu Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the comment. Didn't test it yet too much on X-T5 - it will follow. But, I feel that the images are getting a bump quality - better tonalities and gradations also.
@MrRatzimo2 жыл бұрын
great vid! i got this lens myself just a few days before and it´s great. i didn´t like the kitlens that i got on my cam. it is xc 15-45 mm. the elektric motor for zooming especially. i missed the fuji xf10 compact camera because i´ve seen some dumb youtube videos in which the cam was criticised heavyly for af and dynamic range and so on. i could have that camera brand new for 350 eur a couple of years ago. now the price is about 500 eur and i guess the xf10 is a great cam! as the lens xf 18mm f2 is. of course you can hear the af but who cares. it´s not noisy and maybe the af pumps a little bit but it focuses quick and well. and if you do street - put your cam on f10 set manual focus at 2 meters and you got everything sharp from 1 m till minimum 100 meters. also f 2 is good to have. till now i used manual lenses too, which had to be focused manually. it´s no problem about that but in winter when i can´t shoot with higher aperture it´s nice to have an af and a wider lens like the 18mm.
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Very good points and I totally agree. I'm missing my XF 10 too, on a sunny day with snapshot mode it's a wonderful tool to use.
@jimpap138 ай бұрын
nice review love your channel…
@alan.c889 Жыл бұрын
I find the focus much better with my xt4 than on my xt3, xpro2 etc. It's a great lens, a bit loud but nice size and sharp enough for my purposes. Remember to update the firmware before judging it.
@artsilva Жыл бұрын
Finally, someone on YT speaking the truth about this lens... I too have heard those KZfaqrs talk badly about this lens. Either they are not using it correctly or have a bad copy... I really don't get what they claim. Some are just repeating what the last guy said and have no idea HOW to really use the lens to get their own conclusions. Yes it may have more contrast than expected but very marginal and nothing you can't custom set in your picture profile or post edit. There is enough information rendered from this lens that it is a non issue unlike what these people are talking about. I got mine exactly 10 years ago with my X-E1 and XF35mm f/1.4 and until recently after not using it for a couple years I put it on my X-Pro 2 and realized how great a lens this is both for street and landscape. It renders nicely and looks good on the fuji rangefinder style bodies. I can not speak for the 26 or 40 Mp X-Trans sensors but I found this lens works brilliantly on the X-Trans II (16Mp) and X-Trans III (24Mp) Fujis. It is fast enough and has a character almost like the XF35mm f/1.4 on those sensors. The AF is not bad and doesn't Hunt any more than any other lens of it's caliber on semi old bodies, and at 27mm equivalent field of view at f2 it actually is a non issue. because at that wide focal length it'd DoF is big and does not have to really hunt unless you are shooting plants or bugs up close at minimum distance. As far as the aperture ring, mine is perfectly dampened. I actually have the opposite problems when trying to use the aperture ring in that I sometimes miss it for the focus ring because the aperture ring is so close to the body and small. I just have to remember that I'm using that lens and all is okay after a minute. Great video and review!
@jmholthuysen Жыл бұрын
Agreed. Love my 18mm.
@Tudor_Mateescu Жыл бұрын
Good choice!
@asintu2 жыл бұрын
Super review! Mulțumim mult
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Cu plăcere :)
@laurentcourtet4482 Жыл бұрын
Completely agree with your analyses. I have that lens since I bought the X-Pro1 a few years ago and it still work very well with my X-Pro3. For street I often use that lens in manual mode in hyperfocal settings (f8 and focus dist at 3 m). For the X-pro et Xe series it's certainly the better combo with the 27mm
@jyangphotoatx2 жыл бұрын
Hello! Just wondering if you will use AFS only when using this lens?
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
Hi! I use AFS in the majority of cases. On AFC it's hunting and it's annoying. But for a wide angle lens like this AFS it's sufficient. In general I use Fujifilm system on AFS.
@jyangphotoatx2 жыл бұрын
@@Tudor_Mateescu Thank you!!
@jyangphotoatx2 жыл бұрын
I found if I am shooting street photography while walking, AFS fails me a lot. That’s the only thing I will complain about this lens. Thank you for all the good videos
@Tudor_Mateescu2 жыл бұрын
@@jyangphotoatx yes I know what you mean. If you are shooting at f2 on AFS, the subject gets out of the AF AREEA. It depends. For me while walking at f2/f1.4 I can't get the subject in clear even with Sony FF /Lumix M43. I think it's important to take the shots fast - don't just focus and wait to fire. Focus and fire. Another method is to AFC and tracking, on X-e4 I've got good results with 35mm f1.4 that has the same motor - but I've walked more slowly. So it's important to adjust to the scene, to the lens, to the camera. But if light it's ok use a f5.6, f8 aperture. And a good picture it's not just a perfect focused picture. It's also about the acceptable in focus areas. This is why Fujifilm has a focus scale that can be adjusted for film focusing scale. Anyway, it's not just about the AFC... with Fuji AFS I've got more in focus pictures then with Sony a7 and 28mm f2. So keep shooting, practice and adjust to the scene. For me, when shooting at f2/f1.4 I've found that the secret it's not to hesitate. Focus and fire immediately. Thanks for watching!
@eddieed91782 жыл бұрын
I really like the look of the lens but the AF sound is crazy ! Why didn't they made a same lens with a silent AF :/ i don't get it