Fujifilm FUJINON XF 35mm F 1 4 R Review | 54 Data compared

The Photography Life review deems the Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 R an essential, lightweight, and compact prime that delivers excellent center sharpness, gorgeous color rendition, and a smooth, creamy bokeh, particularly excelling in low-light and portrait photography. While praised for its premium build, the lens shows its age through slower, noisy autofocus, a loose aperture ring, and a complete lack of weather sealing. Additionally, while center resolution is strong wide open, the corners are notably soft until stopped down to f/5.6.

The Fujifilm Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R is lauded by ePHOTOzine as a high-quality standard prime for the X-Pro1, delivering exceptional sharpness and featuring a robust, lightweight metal construction. Key benefits include outstanding optical performance, especially when stopped down, and an appealing, compact design. However, the review notes that achieving precise focus at the maximum f/1.4 aperture can be challenging. While the initial price of approximately £550 was considered high, the overall performance and build quality justify the investment for many users.

In this review for Fstoppers, landscape photographer Gary McIntyre evaluates the classic Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R prime lens on a modern Fujifilm X-T5 body to see if it fits his personal checklist for a compact, daily travel lens. The core pros of this lens include its incredibly compact and lightweight build, weighing only 187 grams, combined with a durable all-metal construction. On the performance front, it delivers exceptionally sharp images across multiple aperture settings, provides a highly versatile 28 cm macro focusing distance, and produces buttery-soft bokeh at its wide f/1.4 setting. McIntyre also praises its quick autofocus during casual "run-and-shoot" scenarios. Conversely, the defining con noted by the reviewer is that the lens lacks weather sealing, preventing full environmental protection in rough weather. He also observes that the manual aperture ring feels slightly looser compared to newer Fujinon models, though this did not impact his shooting experience. In his final verdict, McIntyre concludes that while the lens is an outstanding and fun piece of gear, it ultimately will not serve as his personal travel companion because he discovered...

The Fujinon XF 35mm F1.4 R is a highly versatile lens that acts as a 53mm focal length equivalent on the Fuji X-Pro1, delivering spectacular image quality with exceptional sharpness, high contrast, and deep, velvety color tones. The lens produces incredibly smooth bokeh and features an effective macro mode that provides a pleasing aesthetic and a subtle visual glow. It is well-priced at $599.95, feels evenly balanced when mounted to the camera body, and serves as an excellent all-day companion for various photography styles, including street, landscape, portrait, and low-light shooting. However, the reviewer identifies several prominent downsides, most notably a loud and disruptive "lens chatter" caused by the continuous movement of the aperture blades under changing light. Furthermore, the construction of the lens yields a hollow, lightweight feel that may disappoint users accustomed to the premium heft of Leica alternatives. Lastly, the poorly designed rubber lens cap is overly cumbersome and frequently pops off by catching on the edges of camera bags.

The Photo Review assessment of the Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R highlights the lens as a compact, lightweight, and versatile 53mm-equivalent prime, featuring outstanding center sharpness and excellent low-light performance. While ideal for street photography, it is noted for noticeable edge softening at wider apertures, slower/louder autofocus due to an older motor, and a lack of weather sealing. Despite these drawbacks, the lens is considered a high-performance option for everyday use.

The Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R remains a highly praised "classic" lens that delivers stunning, sharp image quality with smooth, creamy bokeh, making it an excellent choice for portraits and everyday photography. Its bright f/1.4 maximum aperture excels in low-light environments, allowing for crisp handheld shots in dimly lit settings without introducing excessive noise. Built durably with a metal body and a metal lens hood, it offers a relatively affordable entry point compared to other first-generation f/1.4 flagship prime lenses from Fuji. Furthermore, its 35mm focal length on an APS-C sensor provides a versatile 50mm full-frame equivalent field of view that is highly adaptive to various shooting scenarios. However, the lens shows its age through several notable performance drawbacks. Its autofocus mechanism can be slow and prone to hunting, particularly in low-light conditions, making it poorly suited for fast-moving subjects. Additionally, the focus motor is loud compared to newer alternatives, the body completely lacks weather-sealing, and it weighs more than the f/2 version. Despite these flaws, the unique visual "magic" and character of the images ensure it remains a favorite...

The Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R is a lightweight, 187-gram prime lens that delivers an equivalent 50mm "normal" field of view on APS-C sensors. The reviewer praises its exceptional build quality, featuring an aluminum body and a smooth aperture ring that allows for intuitive, tactile control over exposure. Image quality stands out as its greatest strength; the lens produces incredibly sharp images even when shot wide open at f/1.4, offers gorgeous, warm skin tones, and creates beautiful bokeh that separates the subject from the background. Despite being a first-generation lens, firmware updates have kept its autofocus competent and fast enough for everyday use, including tracking moving race cars. However, the lens does have notable physical and operational drawbacks. The manual focusing experience is highly frustrating due to a slow, unresponsive "by-wire" focus ring. Additionally, the included rubber lens cap for the rectangular metal hood is loose and frequently falls off when stored in bags. It also lacks modern weather resistance (WR), and its autofocus speed is slower when compared to newer alternatives like the XF 35mm f/2 R WR. Ultimately,...

The Fujifilm XF 35mm F1.4 R is a fast, "normal" prime lens for X-system cameras that delivers superb sharpness and minimal distortion at wide apertures. Highly regarded as a versatile, all-in-one option, it features robust build quality and a dedicated, tactile aperture ring. While offering a quick, quiet autofocus system, the lens presents cons associated with its older design, including a noisy, slower focusing motor compared to modern alternatives, along with an inconsistent manual focus ring.

Ken Rockwell praises the Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 ASPH as an exceptional lens, highlighting its superb sharpness from edge to edge even at f/1.4, along with invisible light falloff, excellent bokeh, and zero visible distortion. Its all-metal construction, precise aperture ring, and closed-loop autofocus system make it a highly functional and superior choice for X-mount cameras. Despite high performance, the review notes minor drawbacks, specifically that the aperture ring lacks deep clicks and can be easily knocked out of place. Additionally, the included rectangular lens hood requires a specific, sometimes cumbersome, cap.

According to KenRockwell.com, the Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 ASPH is lauded as one of the finest lenses ever tested, offering superior sharpness, negligible distortion, and superb bokeh. It is praised for its robust, all-metal construction, precise closed-loop autofocus, and, as noted in the review, superior technical performance to the Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. The lens's primary disadvantages are limited to minor coma in the corners when shot wide open and an external barrel that moves during autofocus. These issues are easily addressed by stopping down to f/8 and generally do not detract from its status as a peak, high-performance X-mount option.