Softer bokeh? Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 APD lens review (versus non-APD) with samples
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- ...and here's the long awaited APD version. But what are the drawbacks of its apodization element, and is the difference in bokeh really strong enough?
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I know this video is from quite some time ago, but it's worth noting that apodization elements are usually touted for bokeh, and marketed towards that, but that's actually not at all their core strength. Apodization is more commonly encountered as a set of noise reduction techniques in signals analysis and processing (e.g. the RF world). Well, light beams are signals too. Even the best lenses today suffer from diffraction issues even when wide open, while also dealing with all sorts of refraction aberrations as glass lenses inevitably bend the different light spectra differently. You check for this, for instance, when you look at the purple/green color shifting. This is basically introducing noise into your refracted image projection.
A properly made apodizing element in a lens is above all else a *noise reduction* feature, as it is cutting the errant light signals (especially when wide open) that enter the lens, but do not pass through the focal point. A well made apodizing lens is actually therefore sharper (and with much more saturated and strong colors) when wide open for those things IN the plane of focus, while providing a strong filter for objects either in front of, or behind the plane of focus, reducing the need for other forms of optical correction. Objects close to the plane of focus will suffer far less from distortion and interference, or stray light / color issues.
Put another way, an apodizing lens (if the apodizing element is made correctly, like in the old Sony / Minolta 135mm STF, or the current Sony 100mm STF), will be very sharp for the plane of focus, and better blend things outside of the focal plane without turning them into mush. Used correctly, these lenses are amazing. Sadly, fast lens designs keep going for "all teh bokeh" and turning the out of focus areas to mush or giant balls, but the apodizing lenses are naturally cleaner shooters. If you get a chance, try one of the others for a while with everything from close-up flower shots, to portrait shots, and see. Looking at these for bokeh is missing where they actually shine. Never shot the Fuji myself, so maybe they missed the boat here, but try the others and see.
i dont need this lens but hey i need your videos 😁
I love my XF 56mm f/1.2 on my X-H1, always hankerd after the APD version but couldn't justify the extra, especially with the light and AF side effects. Great review as always Mr Frost. You are a gent!
It's a scam and a sad one at that. You are much better off with the normal one which produces nervous, busy, bokeh.
@@barrycohen311 as a new xt4 user id like to know which lens hast best bokeh?
@@ekjellgren All Fuji lenses do for the most part. The 50mm f/2.0 is one of the best for sure. If you like crazy, vintage bokeh, you can adapt old lenses like the Helios and such.
@@barrycohen311 but this 1.2 is no good?
@@ekjellgren I never tested it. I assume it is a great lens. I just question paying more money for the APD version.
This (the APD version) was my first ever Fujifilm lens. I’ve had it for a long time. Never compared it to the regular version. The main thing I’ve noticed about this lens is that sometimes the bokeh is really smooth, ESPECIALLY in the foreground. It’s also very sharp. Sharper than the 50mm f1 at wide open. It’s a very good lens if you don’t need fast focusing.
I’ll admit that I don’t shoot photos with bokeh balls very often. In photos of small mushrooms and stuff like that, the bokeh is super smooth some times. Depends on how far away, and how complex, the background is. And the foreground can be incredibly smooth with the lens.
But I agree, ultimately I think that most people would be just fine with the regular version of this lens, even me. It’s just the only one of the two I’ve ever had. And as soon as Fuji makes a new 56mm with weather sealing, I’ll replace both my 56 APD and my 50 f1 with it.
Fujifilm is the undisputed king of APS-C lenses. Generally the APS-C lens are disregarded by lens manufacturers in favor of the full frames. The X mount is an brilliant exception.
This is why I'm a fan of the X system. They don't try to lure their users into full frame by offering a mediocre aps-c lense lineup.
They've basically carved out niches that the full frame manufacturers ignore - dedicated APS-C lineup with incredible lenses, plus their GFX medium format sensor now. They just skipped over full frame entirely. No other brand does things like this.
Oh, I've heard the same thing about Leica and Olympus. Weird huh?
Thank you Chris for great review as always!
I was interested to replace my original 56mm f1.2 with APD version. But I did not realize about these AF & light intensity side effect of using APD filter.
Now I decide to keep my original 56mm.
Thank you a lot! You confirmed my own conclusion on this lens. I thought the same and bought a simple 56/1.2 lens two years ago. 😀
You are not the only one that has come up with this conclusion, great video.
Excellent review Chris, I’ve been waiting for this one for sometime. We would love if you could review the Fuji 16mm F1.4 and 35mm F2.
One day, yes :-)
Thanks! The AF is no issue on my X-pro3. Don't let the comparison with the excellent 'normal' version fool you, the APD is phenomenal and adds just enough to reach perfection with more contrast and character. I just love this lens!
I always questioned why he tested lens AF on older bodies until recently, newer bodies improve older lenses performance massively
hmmm.... I can see from your samples, that the greatest effect of the APD element actually is NOT where there is a strong source point of light in the background, but where there are areas of light/dark subject outlining. And in most cases, it's those areas that we want to smooth out and not the point light sources. In the aforementioned areas, as in your candles on mantle example, the difference is noticeable and significant. It's worth mentioning in the future, perhaps.
Hi Christopher, would you ever review the Fujifilm XF100-400mm? It would be interested to see a review of that lens plus a comparison using the 1.4x teleconverter and 2x teleconverter.
Just food for thought anyway. Great work as always.
One day I will, yes
@@christopherfrost that will be fantastic. Is that Combe Martin beach you show in your videos?
@@jamesborley4579 In this review, it's the beach in Aberporth, Wales, UK
Wow do you still have the Christmas decorations in February Chris? You have to love Christmas a lot. Oh of course it's the name.
This is an absolutely fantastic and helpful review - thank you. You've saved me a few quid too :-)
Thanks Chris! Excellent review as always and you just saved me a bit of money 😎
Thanks for this. Differences are small, and in area of differences I actually preferred the bokeh of the non apd version in your test images. So, a 500 buck saving for me.
Been waiting for this, nice
Hello. The review you promised on the previous review! Nice! I keep wondering from where do you source your lenses... A lot look used, fleabay?
All kinds of places, really. Occasionally I buy them new and then sell them off again. I hire a lot of them for testing, but some companies are willing to loan me test samples for a week or two (even after I warn them that I'm going to talk about their strengths and weaknesses)
@@christopherfrost Have you considered that the manufacturers send you exceptionally good copies of their lenses? I've seen some people getting very different results from your tests when using store-bought Venus Optics' lenses, for example.
Both are gorgeous but the R version has extra shimmering magic in several areas of the image... I happen to have 56mm f1.2 R and can't get enough of it...😁 Yeah it's not cheap but it's not cheap glass & worth it 😁
thanks for the honest review❤
Great clear review
Great review! Cheers, Chris!
I would like to see if a black pro mist filter on the non apd would give similar results.
Would blow it away, as would any cheap Helios lens.
Hi Chris, thanks for the review! How do these lenses compare to a Canon EF 1.4/50mm USM via the Fringer adapter (or the Canon EF 1.2/50mm L USM)? Best wishes, Ralf
excellent review - as always! ThankYou!
glad i watched your review as you just saved me five hundred bucks thereby allowing my family to eat next month
If I really like my image and want to soften the background, I do it in Photoshop. Takes about 15 minutes. Thus, I can do it with my old Fuji 16-50 f.3.5-5.6 V II lens. It has excellent center sharpness..No biggy. Plus, the lens can shoot very close up, and has internal stabilization.
Nice honest video. I will stick to the 50mm 2.0 thanks.
I agree with your conclusion.
this is the best review on youtube! thanks for showing that the difference between lenses is minimal! not justified fuji price! shame on you fuji!
To me the APD version does look better, but you have to look at the zoomed out picture, in the older 56mm the bokeh looks more busy.
Can you please review the 10-24mm 🙏🏻
I like all of your videos for years! I really would like to have a beer with you in a pub of your choice on my next UK travel 😁 best regards from Germany
Thanks!
Isn’t the XF 50mm 1.0 the bokeh king? I got mine first one about $780, and I dropped it, the rendering is magical so I can help myself buy another one , my second one at $700 almost new condition.
Please make a update video on low budget awesome camera lenses 🙏🙏
Excellent review
The best APD lens might be canon RF 85mm f1.2 version. The effects are huge on this lens.
I can't wait to try that one out
Nope, the best is the Minolta/Sony 135mm f/2.8 STF (APO element). Nothing beats the bokeh king.
Thanks Chris!
Great video. Thanks
Adapt vintage lenses such as original Meyer Optik. For pennies on the dollar. They will get you that busy, harsh, nervous, sea-sick, bokeh that make your images Pop! And stand out. "Screw smooth, creamy bokeh." - Hugo Meyer.
More fuji lenses please, please test meike 25mm f 1.8 if possible
I agree.. I think the APD owners were duped.. and the Original lens is the one to own for 100% of customers.
Fuji does great things but they should make an APD lens that it's benefits justify the cost & drawbacks.
This one does none of that.
we need a comparison of RF 85. 1.2 DS
Thank you!
lovely video
awesome video
Please review xf 16mm f1.4...
Both are optically lovely lenses but boy Fuji seriously need to update them as the autofocus isn't great unlike their newer lenses and bodies. I hear they are about to release a 50mm f1.0. If true surely anyone would hold out rather than buy one of these at the moment?
When will you review the Canon FD 50mm f1.2 L lens, Christopher?
Excellent!
Make a video about noct 58 0.95 pleaase
Is that faster focusing with an XT4?
As I've seen in other reviews as well as in this one, the bokeh of the APD version is more precise. So with backgrounds like trees and nature it should be better.
Desperately waiting for the review of the tamron 17-28mm f2.8😂
If you compared lens in this suck way it means 50mm f2 is the best lens?
So that APD cost few hundred dollars?
A very specialized portrait lens
I sold the non-APD version of this lens when I left Fuji. How do you rate the bokeh of this lens and its non-APD version, against the Sigma 56 1.4? Watching your review of the latter, I think it produce a less busy bokeh, even it only has 1.4.
Most of people here doesn't understand how the APD works... That's sad. I can see the difference in the outer ring. I admit it is a slight different but there is a reason why it is used for specific place and specific time. If you are looking for quality of pictures, it is still worth of buying. Guess how many photographers are trying to erase unnatural outer rings in one picture.
It is not APD fault, but the old non-APD brother is too good and hard to make futher improvement.....
Still funny how this lens doesn't care about where its stop down in terms of diffraction. Review 10-24 ?
Yeah the APD/STF effect of this Fuji 56mm is very weak. I was surprised when I read initial reviews but it did make a lot of sense after. The T-stop isn't dropped by much as Chris has pointed out here.
One good thing would be the clickless APD aperture, providing very smooth DOF transitioning.
I'm pretty sure the APD element of this lens effects the F stops and not just the T stops. At f/1.2, it behaves as the regular lens stopped down to f/1.7. This is also the reason why it is a bit sharper and more contrasy wide open than the non APD version.
The official MTF charts from Fuji support that.
Nice
You buy a lens for nice bokeh and what you get? On both lenses the bokeh is terrible.
Yay
true!
What an absolute joke! Great review, but man what are Fuji thinking with this one. You have to pixel peep to even tell there's an APD filter, for a few hundred dollars more, and without the direct comparison there'd be almost no way to tell. And for that privilege it lets in less light and autofocuses worse as well!
It is really disappointing
I saw another review where he showed actual bokeh, not just OOF point light sources, and the difference was much greater there - under realistic shooting conditions - than here with the interminable Christmas lights. "Bokeh balls" is not bokeh, and doesn't even inform you much to the qualities of the bokeh.
Does APD = reduced sharpness?
Why not watch the video, and find out!
That marginal difference in bokeh would maybe justify a $50 price increase, not $500.
not very impressive bokeh acutally，no way near the stf lens result
The bokeh on the normal version is actually quite impressive and adding to that means reaching perfection. The only lens I ever used that had a better bokeh is Leica's Noctilux f0.95
@@boris.dupont lol then you have not used many lenses because lots of lenses have much smoother bokeh than these two
Why I'm watching this, I'm a Nikon shooter with 105 1.4
Why is digital sharpening added to the photos? Doesn't that defeat the purpose? 😂
1:00 it's called t stops not f stops. It's different. The t stoo (used in videography) is the measurement of the amount of light, that the lens let through. The f stop is the amount of the depth of field.
Usually these two are same, but not every time. For example a Sony 50mm f/1.8 full frame is t/1.9. It's not a huge deal, but its here
can you talk more about the "t stops" thing?
Yes, I know what t-stops are. If you listen to what I'm saying in the video, that is what I'm describing when I talk about equivalent intensity of light.
@@christopherfrost I know, that you know it, all I wanted is an explonation.
But keep up the good works for us. You make some quality and easy to understand lens tests.
Autofocus is slow and disturbing on both them IMO.
Hello Chris,
I know of two lenses that I'd love to see you review, they're not very well known and I think they should be, they're both very interesting offbrand Chinese lenses that, however, have some interesting properties despite being ridiculously cheap (about half the price their equivalents would be normally). The first one is a 100 dollar extreme telephoto lens that has the focal range of 420mm - 800mm, here's a rather obscure youtube video on it ruclips.net/video/aU7ng-ikk7M/видео.html, it outlines the main properties of the lens but is nowhere as methodical as I would like, that's why I want to bring this lens to your attention in case you wanted to shine your light on it (would probably be a great contender for weird lens reviews). And here's an amazon link for it in case you wanted to check it out > amzn.to/2Q76L6c.
The second one is a low-key clone of the Canon 50mm 1.8 and costs ONLY $50. It is, however, a legitimately bright glass that gives you good out-of-focus backgrounds, I'd be really interested to see what you think of that one as well. I am not sure how to order it but here's another obscure video on it ruclips.net/video/CDB1hg6afHE/видео.html.
I hope I am not asking for too much. Giving those lenses attention is by all means your choice, I hope I don't come off as entitled for reviews. I just think you're by far the best reviewer out there and I'd love to see you take a look at them, especially the first one.
Thank you for your great content, have a nice day.
Darker, slower focus, and much more expensive for a little better bokeh?
No thanks.
Waste of money. I'm old enough to remember when bokeh hadn' t been invented by the marketing people. If you have to worry so much about the out of focus bits of an image, the in- focus bits must be really crap.
totally not worth, I don't know what Fuji were thinking honestly
I can imagine a scenario in which you need to be immortal and very, very wealthy so you did everything a human being wants to do for a thousand years long life, and now there is only this difference left you need to experience - a regular vs APD 56mm f1.2 Fujinon. In all other cars this is a totally illogical and irrational thing to do.
ｃｒｙｓｔａｌ ｐｅｐｓｉ
what a disappointing lens. the difference to the regular one is nearly negligible. i wouldn't know this is an apd lens by the pictures only.
I wouldn't notice the difference.
That APD lens is not even close to the soft image the Sony 100mm STF. The Sony is far superior. It's ridiculous to call that APD and charge so much more for that sad improvement
looks like a downgrade from the old lens !
Wow, an extra $500 for really no improvement - and more drawbacks. Lol. Fuji failed with this one.
Looks like a cash grab. Other APD lenses do have crazy amounts of bokeh for the price and downsides, here is barely noticeable if at all. 1.2f is already more than anyone should need to be honest.
A joke in the name of APD
the world has gone bokeh crazy.
surprised spec savers don't sell bokeh glasses yet.
I think this whole Fuji stuff is just overhyped. There are always some major flaws with Fuji gear....
What a pointless lens addition.
lol what a pointless crappy lens