same boat as you... so far I have I think I used it more than the 33 here

In the beginning it was somehow a bit weird because it’s sometimes like you are taking a pic with your smartphone because of the focal length. For someone who was a telephoto lover for a long time it really needed some time to get used to it.

I have the 18f2 . Though old...still a wonderful lens..small and fast enough AF for all intended purposes

@@AufKohleGeboren I tested out my full frame zoom against my camera phone (I started to take pics on walkabout) turns out to be 28mm equivalent

@@anewcareerinanewtown so your phone is the same as the 18mm as I said, cause you’ve got to compare it with a full frame sensor. And with the crop factor, this 18mm APS-C lens would be a 28mm full frame equivalent.

You can force the Fuji to keep the aperture wide open and acquire focus by back button focusing in Manual Focus mode, its a bit less intuitive but once you get used to it its fine, I went from fairly poor AF performance with my XH2s to near flawless in low light performance by doing it this way.

The 18mm f2 is one of my favorites too because of the small size, pairs very well with the XE series cameras

It really is weird how Fuji can't seem to standardize how their lens rings feel in the hand, even in the same line of lenses.

Phewwww glad you said that, I was worried I knocked the 33 this making it tighter

@@snapsbyfox I was using the 18 yesterday and would often have to readjust the aperture which kept getting bumped from f8 which I was shooting at. The 33 is my favorite focal length and the aperture ring is so much more confident in comparison.

Cheers!

The clicky sound is the linear motor disengaged. It's not a loose element.

Cheers!

tbh I don't see myself being the 23mm 1.4 so there not be a comparison at least on this channel. Honestly I don't want to spend any more money on gear unless the XT5 is a game changer or they come out with small lighter f2.8 zooms

@@snapsbyfox I totally understand, I am the same. The 18 + 33 would make a good combo for fast primes. I personally dont love the 50 mm (full frame equivalent) view so I use the new 23 + 56 1.2 combo. If they release the new 56 MKii In May I will scoop it up in a heartbeat

@@snapsbyfox how about the Tamron 17-70 2.8? I also got this for my Sony A6600 and quite like it. It’s not really small or light either but might still balance quite well on a X-T4. Image quality it pretty solid and the price is okay imo

⁠@@lewis7394I did the same by opting for the new 23mm with a 50mm combo but I opted for the 50mm f2 for the size/weight. Are you using the 56 on the xt5 or xh2? I don’t mind the 50mm f2 but it has no wow factor in combo with my xt5 (and in comparison to the 23 which I love). So now I am considering the 56 instead.

@@kalvino67 I tried the new 56 1.2 WR but the autofocus wasn’t accurate enough on my X-S10. If you have one of the new generation bodies you would probably be fine however. I have come to appreciate the 50mm full frame equivalent FOV since my original comment and now use the new 23, 33, and 90 f2 for my go to primes. May be overkill, but my subjects are fast moving children so I need the LM over anything else 🤣 I still prefer the 23 for indoor group shots and general shooting but use the 33 for indoor portraits and the 90 for outdoor portraits

What are other’s?

Agreed. Would love an updated 18mm f2

Yes for street. But for every day documenting, I love the 18. Made a video about the different focal lengths a few weeks back

I'll just put in my own 2 cents here, but it's highly subjective any other people will have a different answer. Unless I'm working on a project that calls for a different aspect ratio specifically ( slides I know will be played on a TV I'd use 16:9) I will shoot in 3:2 and I can always crop into a different aspect ratio. Instagram would probably look good as 1:1 to me so you don't have to shoot everything portrait mode. I might switch it up during my street photography walk just to challenge myself

Same here… I know that Sony and Fuji are getting closer in terms of size and weight. Also there is no denying Sony is a far more capable camera especially for my needs. However changing systems will be such a huge expense both financially and time wise that when you really look at what will be gained… it’s not that much really. And that money will be far better used for travel / going to cool places to shoot. So I’m sticking with Fuji for that reason

@@snapsbyfox For you it does seem pointless, especially time wise and with the well known Sony Menu issues

@@snapsbyfox Condivido anche se io le prenderei tutte per il piacere di averle .

That’s so odd. Thanks for the insight!

have the 33 and was trying to decide between getting the 18 or 23. 23 is my favorite focal length, but i am worried its too close to my 33. just don't want to grab the 18 and regret it because it is too wide of a focal length. do you still have all 3? if you had to keep 2, which ones would you keep?

Haha well then… that could be an idea for next time

Very fair comment and honestly it is something that I have also thought about. Fuji seems to be getting bigger while Sony smaller and lighter. On average there is still a small advantage on all fronts but it is not as big as it was. Personally though I already own all the kit so upgrading to FF is pointless. If I was starting from scratch and had the budget... well that's a different conversation

@@snapsbyfox Point taken, the reason i never went f.f is down to portability & knowing I wouldn't have to discipline to lug bulky gear around all the time. Some of my best photos have been taken with a camera the size of a pack of cigarettes (a 14 y/o Canon ixus) simply because i have it on me all the time - although i probably couldn't hang any of them up on a gallery wall.

Currently having MFT (Panasonic), Fuji APS-C, Full Frame (Sony, Panasonic) here. If you compare lenses 'with no IQ compromise' from all systems, you may understand why the latest XF 18mm, 23mm, and 33mm F1.4 have value. Let me talk about 50mm FF equivalent focal length. I so much like my A7C + 55mm F1.8 combo for its small size, which is almost similar in size to my other combo, GX9 + 25mm F1.4, but these are I would say lenses 'with IQ compromises' to make it smaller. For example, both 55mm F1.8 and 25mm F1.4 have serious issues with LoCA and to avoid these issues you need to stop down. However, with 33mm F1.4, you don't need to stop down at all. From MFT, the Olympus 25mm F1.2 Pro is the one, with no IQ compromise, but again this is even bigger than 33mm F1.4. From FF, Nikon's Z 50mm F1.8 is the one, but again, the lens itself is a bit bigger, and there is no compact FF body from Nikon yet. For other focal lengths, it's a similar story. F1.4 APS-C lenses are comparable to F1.8 or F2.0 FF lenses as they can blur out the background similarly wide-open. However, Fuji's latest F1.4 lenses can perform better in difficult situations like high contrast scenes. Weight and size are similar to F1.8 or F2.0 FF lenses, and the price is a bit more expensive, but you pay for the performance at wide open. Considering most APS-C bodies are lighter than most FF bodies, still Fuji has an advantage over FF when it comes to size to performance ratio. If you don't mind LoCA, close-up capability, bokeh ball shape, however, no need to spend more and carry heavier 😅

@@djstuc I seriously considered going APS-C because i know the I.Q is as good as i'll ever need & some of the smaller Fuji bodies are nice & compact. In the end it was the wider choice of decent quality primes & zooms at every focal length & the much lower cost of buying virtually unused M.F.T gear that swung it for me. I thought if i change my mind & decide to go for one of the larger formats, at least I won't take a big financial hit. But now I've used the format for a few years, there's no way I'm ever selling my EM-5 or GX80.

@@phaselead_dj It depends on what you're shooting i guess. Are you talking about high contrast outdoor macro subjects, or what type of situations specifically. I mainly shoot street & B&W so loca has never really come on my radar.

Punch out the internal rings. Look it up on KZfaq and you can come across videos for it. Just beware that it’s a destructive process and you won’t be able to reinsert those internal rings. Not like it should make any difference though. I just use my straps with the standard triangular Fuji key rings.

What Andy said

great point on the AF! Could be that

I always keep the camera in standard mode and never really tried boost or eco however I will give it a go for sure

@@snapsbyfox fact is Fuji is misleading us with the names. The so called "boost mode" is in reality what should be named "normal" and the actual "normal" should be named "battery saver or economy mode" because it lowers the electronic and screen refresh rate, lowers luminosity and I wouldn't be surprised it lowers the AF capabilities to save some battery.

Keep the 18mm and get the 33mm. It is so sharp you can easily just crop the 18mm to become 23mm with fairly similar bokeh results. You can never make the 23mm wider. The 33mm offers much better compression and lower distortion.

not really if you're just doing photos

yeah totally not for every one. The best thing is to do what you have and find a focal length that works for you and stick with it

I did try the Ricoh and it’s so tempting. But I equally hate acquiring gear so will leave it haha

Yes

It’s not cheap at all. Hmm not sure never used it.

not really, well balanced. Not so much on a smaller body like XE

Kinda

hmm the sucks... the 18 is great but never used the 23... maybe have a chat with fuji as it is supposed to be really good if its same focus motors

Yeah I still miss my f2 primes for sure. Had a go on the new Richoh GR3x and was so tempted... but I just can't be bothered with new gear for the foreseeable

haha yeah initially I didn't get on with the size but now I'm kinda used to it. However I am now and them remembering back the f2.0 lenses and how much lighter they all were

Fuji crop factor is around 1.5.... 1.5 x 18 = 27mm

I appreciate the comment Ken, however I will discuss the photography and travel products I use on the channel. If this is not your cup of tea, then you can skip those videos like many others do.