UWA Lenses for Fuji

[keithwee]

If I look at the 12mm , 10-24 the options are actually quite clear depending on one's needs.

The 12 is a budget lens that really performs well for what one pays and is obviously a lighter alternative for the weight conscious users. The similar line of though applies to the XF14 (compact, good IQ and slightly cheaper)

The XF10-24 is excellent in terms of IQ and of course more expensive and heavier , but u get what u pay for. Users who want no compromises in IQ will want this.

The XF18-55 is one of the best kit zooms around , few options from other brands come close while the XF16-55 is similar to the existence of the XF10-24, simply for the users in need of the even higher league in IQ and constant F2.8 aperture and of course simple physics come into play - one ends up with a larger piece of glass.

 

[ahblack]

When we buy things, be it lens or camera or anything, we must think about 1 simple thing, "For What" You can totally buy anything you like/want/need as long as you have the money. But to blindly spending or not, that you have to think it through. When you know why you want/need it, the answer will quickly comes to you.

Price: Samyang 12 > Touit 12 > XF14 > XF10-24 (cheap, assuming we are talking about 2nd hand price, retail price just move Touit 12 all the way to the back)
IQ: XF10-24=XF14=Touit 12 > Samyang 12 (Heck, I put 4 images taken by those lenses in front of you, most probably you can only tell the difference between the three and samyang 12 with your bare eyes)
Compact: Samyang 12 > XF14 > Touit 12 > XF10-24 (weight and size does matter, when you're traveling especially when you factor in your tripod.)

My own preference: Touit 12 > Samyang 12 > XF10-24 > XF14

I'm one of the lucky person who bought the Touit 12 just before the crazy promo ended. I have no experience with XF14, Samyang 12 or even XF10-24. Although I did sway around the XF10-24 for it's versatility, I still enjoy using the Touit 12 very much. At the price I paid for it, it's a better "best bang of bucks" than the samyang 12. It's under 600sgd now in B&S, which is just 100+ over a brand new Samyang 12.

When we talk about IQ, how much IQ do you really need (need is a dirty word...)? I'm just a hobbyist who occasionally shoot landscape and post on Flickr, so I don't really care about it. If I haven't gotten the Touit 12, I would definitely go for the Samyang 12. 400+ for a speedy 12mm with decent IQ (I hate the star burst though...), where to find wooo?

90% of time when I was using Touit 12, the camera will probably mounted on tripod, and usually that's when I'm traveling from my west side all the way to city centre, or on vacation at other country, so weight and size was a big thing to me back then. Although Touit 12 is not the smallest and lightest among all, it's quite manageable. Xf10-24 is just simply big and heavy among all 4 lenses, and I mostly will be using the widest end, so might as well get a prime and be done with it. XF14 is just not wide enough for me, heck sometimes I feel even 12mm is not enough (we are talking about cropped ya), but of course YMMBV and it depends on what you're shooting.

So here you go, my opinion on these 4 lenses. Just get what you feel like, and start shooting. The earlier you buy and use it, the more you "gain". To be honest, you won't go wrong with either of these lenses. You can always sell it at B&S and take the loss as your rental.

Happy choosing!

 

[DSolZ]

The 12mm comes with an added bonus of f2 which is very useful for astrophotography. In terms of sharpness i don't think it is worse than the 10-24. I don't know how is the 18-55 bad, considering it is 18-55. I'm not sure if there are any other 18-55 anywhere near this. Some had tried discrediting the fuji's 18-55 by pointing out the price, which i feel is offset by the f2.8 you get on wide end. But in terms of sharpness i really can't think of any kit zoom better than this.

I must agree that 18-55 kit lens is sharp. probably the most value for money kit lens you can buy considering the faster aperture and performance. the 16-55 to me is marginally sharper then 18-55. But considering that there is OIS on the 18-55 which might give you better real world result compare to 16-55. At the tele end 18-55 is just 1 stop slower then 16-55. I end up selling the 16-55 and keeping the 18-55.

 

[DSolZ]

I once owned 14 F2.8 , 10-24 F2.8 and is currently using 18mm F2.
Personally, I think 14 mm is sharper then 10-24. Even the 18mm can hold its ground against the 10-24.

the 10-24 is a very versatile lens due to the range, it should do well for landscape and street

If your aim is landscape photography, then the weight of the 10-24 should not be a big issue since you will probably be carrying a tripod around either way.

Basically you can't go too wrong with the 10-24mm. AS for Astrophotography, you probably need to get another lens for it.

For me, I am happy to just use the 18mm and 35 mm when I am traveling. If I need greater then 18mm, I would stitch.

 

[midicity]

When Travelling, I will bring my 10-24, 18-55 and 23 f1.4. For wide angle shooting, I prefer to zoom appropriately rather than have a wide angle prime. Sometimes you want the whole view, but you have the bear with the distortion. For a quick switch to stand POV, just use the 24mm side. So it's a very versatile lens. Only drawback is that it's an F4. You may lose AF in dark indoor shots. Which isn't an issue with the 18-55 or 23. I use an XT1
I don't know what's the issue with the 10-24 being a large heavy lens because my other UWA is a canon 16-35LII f2.8

 

[sonq9]

Like some of the guys mentioned, depends on what you shoot.

The 10-24 is indispensable for me on holidays etc as the range covers landscape, architectural and the 35mm end for many things. However, it's F4 aperture and the Fuji's smaller sensor makes it a challenge for low light shooting such as concert events.

I tied but didn't like the 16-55 F2.8's bulk, wt and balance; otherwise it would have been a really useful range with decent speed.

 

[mattslim]

Oh just to update, I got the Zeiss 12mm in the end. After checking out the various lenses, I concluded that I probably couldn't go wrong with any of the 4 wide angle choices listed. At the market prices on BnS, the Zeiss seemed to offer the most value for money so I went with that in the end. Was also a bit partial to its aesthetics as well. Its unlikely to drop any further so I can switch out with minimal loss if I ever want to.

The lens is pretty decent I would say. Hardly any CA and sharp enough. The extra stop the Samyang has is pretty much useless in Singapore's light polluted night skies anyway and on a recent astrophotography trip the Zeiss did pretty okay with capturing the Milky Way galactic core. After using it for a bit, I see why the Fuji 14mm may be valued a little higher, possibly because of the MF clutch which you can set to infinity and rapidly switch to that from AF mode. Manually focusing the Zeiss was a bit disappointing in that regard.

Now, I hardly use the 18-55mm. Considering selling it and picking up an 18mm or 23mm to supplement the 12mm and 35mm.

 

[kentair]

Oh just to update, I got the Zeiss 12mm in the end. After checking out the various lenses, I concluded that I probably couldn't go wrong with any of the 4 wide angle choices listed. At the market prices on BnS, the Zeiss seemed to offer the most value for money so I went with that in the end. Was also a bit partial to its aesthetics as well. Its unlikely to drop any further so I can switch out with minimal loss if I ever want to.

The lens is pretty decent I would say. Hardly any CA and sharp enough. The extra stop the Samyang has is pretty much useless in Singapore's light polluted night skies anyway and on a recent astrophotography trip the Zeiss did pretty okay with capturing the Milky Way galactic core. After using it for a bit, I see why the Fuji 14mm may be valued a little higher, possibly because of the MF clutch which you can set to infinity and rapidly switch to that from AF mode. Manually focusing the Zeiss was a bit disappointing in that regard.

Now, I hardly use the 18-55mm. Considering selling it and picking up an 18mm or 23mm to supplement the 12mm and 35mm.

Hi mattslim, may I know how much you paid for the Zeiss? interested to get one also.Thanks!