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Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R (Fujifilm) - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Fujifilm X
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published March 2013
Special Thanks to Peter Barnes for providing the lens for testing!
Introduction
Fujifilm keeps on rolling out interesting prime lenses for the X mount - 4 out of 5 lenses have a fixed focal length and looking at their current roadmap there are two more coming in 2013. The next building block in their lineup is the new Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R, an ultra-wide lens equivalent to 21mm on full format format cameras. The combination of wide field-of-view and comparatively high speed comes at literally a price. At 900$/EUR it is the most expensive Fujinon as of the time of this review. The Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8 EF IF, an APS-C SLR lens, costs about 25% less just to provide a reference. So we can be curious whether the difference in price also translates in high(er) quality.
The build quality of the Fujinon is very good thanks to a tightly assembled metal body based on a metal mount. However, unlike on the previously introduced primes, the lens hood is only made of plastic and identical to the one used for the 18-55mm f/2.8-4. A currently unique feature in the Fujifilm lineup is the focus clutch mechanism - you push/pull the focus ring to engage/disengage the AF. The focus ring operates smoothly. Typical for all Fujinon lenses, there's a dedicated aperture ring with distinctive 1/3 steps - I would have preferred some more friction here but this is a matter of taste. If you move it from A (=Automatic) to a specific f-stop the camera will automatically go to aperture priority mode (or manual mode if the shutter speed dial is off auto as well).
AF operations are quite fast and near silent. Manual focusing works "by wire" thus by triggering the AF motor. A depth-of-field guidance is provided both on the lens as well as in the camera viewfinder/on the LCD.
| Specifications |
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| Equiv. focal length | 21 mm (full format equivalent) |
| Equiv. aperture | f/4.2 (full format equivalent, in terms of depth-of-field) |
| Optical construction | 10 elements in 7 groups inc. 2x aspherical & 3x ED elements |
| Number of aperture blades | 7 (circular) |
| min. focus distance | 0.18 m (max. magnification 1:8.3) |
| Dimensions | 65 x 58.4 mm |
| Weight | 235 g |
| Filter size | 58 mm |
| Hood | petal-shaped, bayonet mount, supplied |
| Other features | Focus clutch mechanism |
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