Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm f/2 - An unsung hero
If you would rather watch a video instead, click here for my review on YouTube. If you prefer reading and many more images samples, do read on.
For the longest time I thought the 35mm focal length was dull and uninspiring. I often claimed it was neither here, nor there, somewhere in no-man's land, not wide enough, not tight enough. However, as time went on, I noticed I started appreciating exactly what I once called flaws. My opinion gradually changed and I started seeing the 35mm, for what it is - the sweet-spot, the Goldilocks zone of focal lengths. It can basically do everything. Sure, it's not as dramatic as 24mm, nor is it as intimate as a fifty. But it doesn't need to be, because it has another, more important, quality - it's honest.
So is the Fujinon XF 23mm f/2, it's a very sincere lens - no drama, no hyperbole, but what it lacks in showmanship and theatricals it more than makes up for in competency and reliability. Both times I switched to Fujifilm, the XF 23mm f/2 was the first lens I got and it is precisely for these reasons. Let me explain.
While I knew full well, right from the get go, I would eventually end up building and X-mount lens collection, bit by bit, I also knew I would not realistically be able to do this as fast as I would like, so that meant I needed a first lens that could do everything. I take a lot of pictures at home, I have a 23-month-old daughter and she's an absolute bundle of joy. She's energetic, smart and sweet and generally extremely fun to be around of. I visit my mum at the country and my in-laws at their house, both places I like to take a lot of snaps in. I also needed a lens that could do street photography well, because you know... that's my thing, my main photographic endeavour. Queue the Fujinon 23mm f/2.
Look and feel
The lens is small, compact and light enough to balance well both on my X-T3 and my X-M5, while dense and hefty enough to feel substantial. Rather very pretty, I must say, I enjoy the design a lot. I like that it tapers towards the front, the focus ring is generously wide and even the hood, while a somewhat dinky plastic little thing, I think adds a bit of character to the lens, not only functionality. A point of contention online, most people seem to hate it with a passion, I think it’s fine, nay, I actually like the thing. This Fujinon 23mm f/2 looks great and feels like it could last a lifetime.
Form and function
Announced in 2016 and still in production, the Fujinon XF 23mm f/2 is extremely well built, however there's a small caveat which I'll soon address. Hold that thought.
I think it's a marvel of optical, electronic and mechanical engineering. It's made entirely out of metal and glass, albeit probably with plastic innards. It has dedicated focus and aperture rings, it's weather sealed and has internal focusing, the later being a feature I value highly. Generally speaking the Fujinon XF 23mm f/2 has all the features of a premium lens for the cost of a mid-ranger. It can be had new, in stores for €400, while on sale and generally€500. The prices for good condition second hand copy can go as low as $200 and that's a bargain!
I mentioned a small caveat and that is the matter of the aperture ring. While it's great that it's there, time can wear it out and I know this to be a fact, because as I mentioned earlier, by now I've owned two copies of this lens. The first one, a couple of years ago, had clearly seen lots more use because there's a distinct difference in regards to how the aperture ring feels. On my first copy it felt rather loose and flimsy and it could easily get bumped out of place by the slightest touch, while on the copy I own now, the aperture ring is firm and pleasantly tight. Aperture clicks are well defined and the ring stays in place where you put it. Other than that there really is nothing else I can fault the lens for as far as build quality goes.
Fujifilm Super EBC Fujinon XF 23mm F/2 Aspherical R WR
It features an optical construction consisting of a ten elements in six groups, with two aspherical elements, an automatic and manual aperture system with nine aperture blades. Minimum focus is fine but unimpressivem it can achieve focus down to a distance of 22cm, where it achieves a magnification ratio of 1:7.7. It takes filters with a thread size of 43mm.
The Fujinon 23mm f/2 comes equipped with a stepping autofocus motor which is really fast and dead silent. While not quite on par with Sony, at least on paper, in actual practice, I found it more than merely adequate as far as autofocus accuracy and precision. Actually, frankly speaking, coming from the Sony a7Riii and the 40mm f/2.5G, I can't say I noticed any meaningful difference in autofocus performance. I dare say for most intents and purposes it's basically the same. I've shot this lens on the streets A LOT and the only times I got miss-focused images were due to user error. Ditto for shooting my two-year old kid, this lens performs remarkably well.
Weight wise it tips the scales at 180g which makes it only ever so slightly heavier than an standard tomato.
Finally and quite importantly as far as I'm concerned, this lens has a weather and dust sealed body and according to Fujifilm it can operate just fine at temperatures well below freezing. That's not a trivial matter and while admittedly, I don't shoot in the arctic, underneath waterfalls, in deserts or Amazonian rain-forests, on the one hand I simply enjoy the comfort and the peace of mind that if push comes to shove I am well equipped for any weather, while on the other hand, God only knows where life will take me and if I ever need to go shoot at the North Pole, or travel along the Equator, the dust and weather sealed barrel of the Fujinon 23mm f/2 will come in handy.
Image Quality
The Fujinon 23mm f2 makes beautiful images. While somewhat tame and unspectacular, it's dependable and reliable. The colours coming out of of this lens are vivid and saturated, lively and pretty, while remaining reasonable and realistic, ever so slightly favouring a warm tone but for most intents and purposes the colours are neutral and natural, with just enough punch so as to make for pretty pictures.
The Fuji 23mm f/2 is good at everything and even wide open the lens delivers ample sharpness across almost the entire frame. Only the extreme corners get a little soft at f/2, but it's really minor. Sharpness does suffer a bit at minimum focusing distance but other than that, this lens's ability to capture and reproduce detail is impressive. Truth be told, I'm sure it can easily resolve the detail from the latter, 40MP sensors Fujifilm makes, and on my X-T3 it's simply outstanding.
As far as black and white goes, this lens performs equally good. Tones come out rich and detailed, the transition from darks to whites is smooth and fine, blacks come out deep and inky while the highlights seem to glow with a charming shine.
If there's one thing that can be said against this lens is that in some situations it can produce quite a bit of chromatic aberrations wide open, but that's only in strong, harsh sunlight, in scenes where there's a lot of contrast. However that's easily fixable in post production so that's hardly an issue.
I am confident if you stop this lens down a few stops it transforms into one that makes razor-sharp, perfectly detailed shots with zero imperfections, but I wouldn't really know since 98.3% of the time I used it wide open. Don’t quote me on that pecentage.
There is some vignetting and the slightest amount of geometric distortion, but both are easily fixable in post.
I lied, there is yet another thing to flaw this lens for and that it is the fact that it seems practically incapable and stubbornly unwilling to produce any flair that's worth talking about. And you know me, I like me some pretty flare. Shot directly into the sun there is some ghosting and some loss of contrast but both are minor. Practically negligible.
The Fujinon 23mm is rather wide and f/2 is nothing to brag about, but despite this it can make really pretty background blur with pleasing separation if you use it wisely.
Conclusion
The Fujinon 23mm f/2 is a a jewel of a lens. It’s optical construction and the coatings do a great job at keeping this lens out of trouble in the most challenging situations.
Overall, considering it's top-notch build quality, the images it makes, it's versatility and reliability, this is an outstanding lens, one that's cursed to be forever underestimated due to its modest specs and characteristics on paper that place it comfortably in the mid-range territory. However, specs aside, it’s in practice where this lens trully shines, you will kindly forgive the pun.
The Fujinon XF 23mm f/2 is the one lens I'd keep if I had to forsake all others. It's my desert island lens, my do-it-all, good-at-everything workhorse.
Essential, reliable and versatile, capable, fun and pretty. Irreplaceable.