Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. If you are bothered by what you see wide open, you can take care of vignetting easily using post-processing software like Lightroom or Photoshop. It’s also tempting to say nighttime shooters should opt for the original 35mm as well with it’s wider f/1.4 aperture to cut down on noise, but lowlight shooting can so often demand the the superior autofocus performance of the the new 35mm. But for my taste, the 1.4 wins out. It has this sort of dreamy character (more about that in the review further down), and in the arena of sharpness, I think the 1.4 takes the cake. But if weather sealing is a big priority for you, you might disagree. There are other budget options on the market like the 7Artisans and the Neewer options, and they’re worth a look as a novelty lens, but comparing them to the Fuji or Mitakon options would be like comparing apples and oranges.

The Fujifilm XF 33mm F1.4 R LM WR is capable of producing quite nice sunstars when stopped-down to f/16, as shown below, but flare is not very well controlled at all when shooting straight into the sun, as you can see in the following photo. Macro The only thing in focus and not blowing in the wind is the dingus on the left. Look and you'll probably see bees buzzing around.This lens, the Fujinon 56mm f1.2, and the Fujinon 90mm are my three favorite lenses by Fujifilm and if I could have only three of their lenses, it would be these three. The apparent looseness of the 35mm f/1.4's aperture ring is likely not a result of use. That aperture ring has always been the most loose of all my Fujifilm lenses.

Mitakon is an interesting brand that’s gained some popularity with Fuji hobbyists in the past year. They offer affordable ultra-fast primes for the Fuji mount with some unique focal lengths. The catch? A sometimes-shoddy build quality and no auto-focus whatsoever — which ends up mattering a lot when you’re shooting wide open at f/.95. Autofocus is reasonably fast under ideal lighting conditionsdue to the electronic focus motor built in to the lens. Focus accuracy, of course, will depend on the sophistication of your camera body. I don’t baby my gear and this lens certainly doesn’t expect it. A long exposure in Budapest, taken with the Fuji 35mm f1.4 Cons: What you’ll want to consider before buying And people have been pondering whether there could be a Fuji 35mm f1.4 Mark II for literally years now. So you’re probably wondering:If you’re not sure about whether the 35mm focal length is really for you, I’ve also written an article that compares the Fuji 23mm vs 35mm lenses which you can use to continue your research. Sample images: Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 The 35mm focal length is ideal for APS-C sensors because it provides an equivalent angle of view as a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. Such “standard” or “normal” focal length is suitable for many genres of photography such as street, travel, event, and nature. And having a fast f/1.4 aperture, it is also suitable for low-light photography and even astrophotography. Also hardly worth noting, this is not an internally focusing lens. The front elements will extend and retract slightly while focusing. If you were to only ever use the lens with the hood on, you may never actually realize the front element moves. Hood

The other thing you can’t complain about with the XF 35mm F1.4 is image quality. Whether you are after sharp, yet narrow depth of field wide open, or tight corners and edges with the lens stopped down, this lens has you covered. Sharpness The focus ring on the 33mm F1.4 does at least have a nice feel as the components in the manual focusing ring assembly have been specially engineered to respond with more precision, especially when the focusing ring is moved slightly. I talk about the XF35mm f/1.4 a lot. I’ve mentioned it in half the Fujilove articles I’ve written, which are about all kinds of other things/gear. I’ve written about its F2 counterpart, but I’ve never written about this: the battered, beloved lens that has been on all the cameras I’ve used for the last 7 years. Additionally, the XF 35mm f/1.4 lens is known for its exceptional optical quality, delivering sharpness, contrast, and excellent color rendition. Its versatile 35mm focal length (equivalent to 53mm on a full-frame camera) provides a natural perspective, making it suitable for everyday shooting and capturing a wide range of subjects. After a brief outer-frame victory for the XF 35mm F/2 WR, the tide shifts in favour of the old guard, the XF 35mm F/1.4. For Fuji shooters looking for the pinnacle of 50mm sharpness, the original XF 35mm F/1.4 remains the lens to beat.

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In summary, there is not much to complain about this lens sharpness-wise. When shooting JPEG, it seems like there is little difference between f/1.4 and and f/5.6 in the center (which is remarkable), thanks to the smart lens corrections applied by Fuji. Corners are a little weaker at large apertures, but that’s about it. When shooting RAW, results will vary depending on what RAW converter you use. Based on my tests, I would say that Photo Ninja is probably the next best thing to JPEG images. Bokeh The Fuji 35 1.4 is built much better than anything from Nikon or Canon. It's built as well as LEICA lenses, with much newer technology to boot.