I'm literally in the middle of buying into the fuji system, and then this video pops up to answer the questions I've been vigorously googling the past 2 weeks. Thank you Chris!
Lens from the list you mentioned, I own the trio XC lens, discover this channel because of the XC lens reviews. Excellent lenses, I prefer to use the front dial for aperture so worked out perfectly. I find the XC15-45 more useful for that 3mm wider range than the 18-55 kit, and a lot lighter. The tele one also has a bit more reach than the 50-200. The trade off of image quality is little, and the extra stops feels a bit unnecessary when shooting landscape at F8 anyways. I do like the XC35 but I think if I had to do it again, probably the one i wouldn't get, not really a prime person, only time I really grab the prime is for the wider aperture, and a bit more you get a much more solid feeling Viltrox 33 with autofocus. Also own the Samyang, the 12mm is really worth it when you need to shoot really wide, and for that astro shot you get to do once or twice a year. However the other Samyang you mentioned I feel like at that price point you might as well just get the similar Viltrox version, autofocus etc. Lastly the Laowa 65mm honorable mention is probably my favorite macro lens on the Fuji system period. Prefer it better than the actual Fuji version more magnification. Also thank you for all the FUJI alternative lens review, quite a lot of youtuber does review of the Fuji lens, but no one does the cheaper alternative like you do. One of the most to the point reviews out there for the system!
I have the Samyang 8mm and a 35mm f1.2 which as mentioned, is a very sharp lens. Both are manual focus, but with Fuji’s focus aids such as peaking, make them easier to use. Great all round review of 3rd party lenses! Cheers
I think Jonas Rask mentioned on his blog, that 7Artisans will come out with a 35mm 0.95 option soon, that uses the exact same optical formula as the awesome Mitakon 35mm 0.95 at a lower cost as well. Could be a really nice option too.
there are tons of very cheap lenses for Fuji. They are not always amazing optically, but some are good enough and, as I said, cheap. Look for brands like Meike, 7Artisans and Kamlan. There are others too, but I have not owned any lenses from those.
"Error of judgement" is HIS OPINION. I'll tell you one thing for sure. Invest time in practicing manual focus and then an entire WORLD of awesome vintage lenses opens up for you. I own a sony APS-C camera and started with the kit lens 16-50 and then got also the 55-210mm. After only one year, I now have 8 lenses total and only one of them is the Sony (the first 16-50mm). That's only because I haven't found a buyer for it yet. So I'll say it again, vintage lenses and adapted lenses (from Nikon, canon, m42 ...) can make your heart melt at their quality and character. They can definitely beat modern lenses in sharpness as well as other attributes of image quality. The BEST part, you can keep an eye for some specific ones and get them SUPER CHEAP ($10-$100 in many cases). There are several RUclips channels that review these vintage lenses. I suggest taking advice from people who actually tested and/or owned many of these vintage lenses. Some of these channels do not have sponsors sending them free stuff (good thing) and they actually own and have extensive experience with vintage lenses. They will NOT recommend to you a lens because they have a link in the description and they get a commission when you use it.
Thanks Chris. I got the Mitakon f0.95 35mm mark ii. Highly regarded in reviews. It’s AWESOME. PRIMO. Also bought the Samyang f1.4 85mm manual. It’s a GREAT mini-Tele/Portrait lens. Love them both. My 18-55mm “kit lens” is a great quality, reasonably priced super versatile work-horse, that you could leave on your camera for much of the time. Recommend this Highly! Cheers.
I bought a Fuji XE4 “body only” without realising what body only meant 😅 and now I’ve been on google looking for lens and I’ve seen £400-800 for a lens soooo I’m glad this vid is here ahah
The XF is my favorite lens and similar price to the Viltrox lenses used. With it having shallower DOF than the 35mm, the aperture ring gets used a lot. I used it much less with the 23mm f2, so would like an XC of that one. They may as well do an 18mm and 90mm while they are at it 😉
Brilliant video! Your channel helps me a lot when I am choosing my next lens for my X-T200. I would love to see a video on your favourite fuji lenses (first and third party)
My kingdom for Sigma's APS-C primes on Fuji X... As much as I like some of the Viltrox options (the 23mm in parcitular), I'd much prefer the Sigma 56mm F1.4 for the weather sealing. I was encouraged a while back when Sigma's CEO said they'd explore bringing lenses to X mount if the market share grew, but that's now happened and no moves appear to have been made. Fingers crossed for the future, I guess!
TT Artisan 50 mm F 1.2 for Fuji . Absolutely fantastic manual lens . Get it for around 100 u/s dollars . If you shoot black and white this lens is a stunner .
Nice review. But two more important lenses have been missed out. The 7artisans 25mm f1.8 which doesn't suffer from the field curvature issue like it's 35mm f1.2 and the 7artisans 35mm f0.95. both these two lenses deserved mention too in my opinion.
I got a couple manual prime lenses for my X-E2, but my favourite is the 7Artisans 50mm F/1.8. It's pretty bright for the price, and the colour rendition is very nice. The fully-open vignetting is pretty low, too.
If you want really cheap and manual focus is not a problem for you, then go vintage! For 30-50 euros you can buy amazing lenses, a few decades old but still very good. I use XT-4 and Pentax Takamur 55mm 1.8 is my favorite lens, colors I get with it are perfect, creamy bokeh...just love it. Also Fujinon 50mm 1.9 AX mount (old Fuji mount) very sharp lens, with bokeh's out of this world...and they were 30-40euros each, plus an adapter. So for around 50e each, I got lenses that are really fantastic and I love working with them, and both of them are less than the cheapest modern ones from the store. And you are not going for lesser quality with those, on the contrary.
I'm obviously a cheapskate as I have several of these. I would like to plug the ridiculously cheap 7artisans 25/1.8. It has acceptable sharpness but its best attribute is the close focus of about 8". This gives way more opportunity for defocused backgrounds and interesting bokeh effects than the faster Viltrox 23/1.4. I also enjoy it as a discrete street photography lens at f8 using zone focussing technique. Whilst I also own the Viltrox 23 and Fuji 27 I frequently opt for the 7artisans for its greater creative potential.
The Fujian 25mm/1.8 is practically the same and even cheaper. ;) It's main drawback is its short focus throw though. For that, the Fujian 25mm/1.4 is better.
Dear Christopher, great review for 2020. I miss the new TTArtisan 35mm f1.4 come in very late this october. I receive my copy last week. And I think this will be change the game. Great lens. Perhaps to grab it and test it out .....
thanks a lot for this video man! so well structured etc. i searched for cheaper fuji x mount alternatives for so long, but couldnt find any. i think im gonna buy 2 or 3 of these.
Thank you so much! It's very helpful. I'm planning to buy a Fuji camera but having second thoughts because of the expensive lenses. However, I saw this and I'm kindof convinced now because now I know I've got the cheaper (but still good quality wise) options. I trust your review/opinion. Sample photos are very helpful.
Great summarising review. Wish more info such as that will be available. Had made the "judgement" of getting into the Fuji ecosystem a year and a half ago, after examining the camera itself thoroughly, but not fully understanding the importance of the lenses market. Then realised it is pretty expensive to get good autofocus lenses. For the M4/3 system, for example, the low-price availability is much higher. Thank you!
Thanks Christopher I am considering 35mm 1.4 prime lens for indoor and portrait for my Fujifilm XT20 camera. Great and extremely thorough review. I am now subscribing to your channel.
When shooting manual switch to black and white jpg and use red focus peaking. Quick to nail focus with a red outline. If you have the RAF it will be color of course.
Great review Christopher I have two lenses you reviewed I just bought a TTartisans 23mm 1.4 lens = to 35mm manual lens I'm looking forward to getting it in the post soon I enjoy your reviews God bless from Tony.......
Part 2 could include the TTartisans trio coming out now (17mm, 35mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.2, I think), the new 7Artisans bodycap 18mm f6.3 and their fisheye 7.5mm f2.8. Not sure if you mentioned the 16-50 II which I much prefer to the 15-45mm. Maybe do it when Tokina have released their versions of the Viltrox lenses which shouldn’t be too far away. 👍
You're correct Fuji lenses can be a little expensive considering they're "only" for APS-C. However if one doesn't mind buying used, you could get some great deals. For example, for $200 I got the 27 2.8 and 50-230 lenses - both are awesome for the price. And the real bargain I got was the XC 16-50 for just $80 - it's been my favorite lens as of late.
Thank you very much for this round-up video. I have been looking forward to this one for some time now, so I am very happy. All the work put into reviewing these lenses is highly appreciated!
I got lucky and managed to get a brand new Mitakon 35mm/f0.95 mk.ii for about 50% of it's original price. Easily the best manual lens I've ever used. If you can get one for cheap(er) go for it.
I agree the 35mm f2 is a little more expensive compared to the xc 35mm and equivalent "nifty-fifty" lenses I've bought before for my Nikon cameras, both APS-C and FF, but the build quality has saved me. My X-T3 had an unfortunate accident where it fell onto tile from a 4ft (1.2m) countertop, landing directly on the front of the lens. The plastic lens hood broke to pieces, but the lens and camera didn't show any damage at all. While I credit the lens hood for taking the first impact, I have no faith the cheaper plastic lenses of this focal length I've used before would have survived without some serious damage. For less than $400 on the used market, I don't think it's a bad value at all.
Not to sound like a broken record, but I don’t trust half of these third party lenses (apart from Samyang, and maybe Mitakon) to produce consistent results. The two Zonlai lenses I had produced horrible field curvature, to the point where it was impossible to get sharp images across the frame, even at apertures like f/8. A word of warning for buyers hunting a bargain!
KamLan announced a new lens, the 32mm f1.1. It is priced the same as the 50mm f1.1 Mark II. I tried it during a camera show event earlier this week in Taiwan (where KamLan is found). It handles really nice and has very nice build quality. And the rings are smooth as well. However, I wasn't able to test out the image quality. I also chatted with the founder of KamLan. He said he's interested in allowing reviewers review their products. Maybe give them another chance for the 32mm f1.1? I certainly would love to see your take on that lens.
There are also some super tele lenses from Sanyang and Meike with 100mm, 135mm and 300mm. The Meike 85mm f/2.8 is a good macro lens with a magnification of 1.5:1, the 7Artisans macro lens of 60mm is however cheaper.
It is great review. Personally I find investing in Fringer EF_X adapter for Canon autofocus lenses solves a lot and opens a whole new world to Fuji, especially if you already have some Canon lenses. Given also the fact what prices on Canon EF and EFs lenses are going down now as people sell them with a new RF bayonet intro. Also some great lenses from Sigma Art series become useful on Fuji.
Really nice Line up. I'd love to see how the 3rd party lenses are behaving regarding lens flares. I think this makes a huge difference in character - I really don't enjoy the flaring of the Fuji lenses, it's very digitally clean looking. Maybe that's a niche interest, but I'd love to see a video on that.
I wish that the Viltrox lenses were available here in India. All we get is the 7artisans and a couple of Meike options right now. The Fuji xc35 is a must buy for anyone with a Fuji body unless they want to pony up for the XF or XR versions.
Great choice of lenses. Bit surprised about 7Artisans 35/1.2 making it on the list after I've seen your review. With regards to Zonlai 22, I was unlucky, as both of my copies were a bit decentered. However, I am extremely happy with Kamlan 21/1.8, which I find sharper than their 28/1.4.
A very cheap MF alternative to the 27mm pancake is Meike's 28mm f2.8 for around £50. Small light and sharp, with a sensible filter size (49mm) it is an ideal take anywhere lens with a XE or XT10/20/30 camera. Meike's 50mm f1.7 is also very good, if a bit heavy (it is designed optically as a FF lens) and the aperture/focus rings take some getting used to. My copy of the Kamlan 38mm f1.4 is excellent and only let down by the need for a hood, due to it being prone to flare. You need an after market one though as the supplied hood is a bayonet fitting which is not executed very well, being difficult to mount properly and prone to falling off if only slightly knocked.
Hi Chris, your style of testing lenses and cameras are great, I am watching your videos from 2015. I have a small request, whenever you test 70-200 f2.8 Nikon,Sony,Sigma,tamron lenses test the focus breathing are they real 200mm are less than 200mm at 1.9m to 3.8m distance . All manufacturers hide this information. (We pay for 200mm f2.8 ) Thanks
I read that Fuji îs opening up the software for 3rd party lens manufacturers such as Sigma and Tamron as soon as the beginning of next year. Tamron glass is just viltrox with a double price almost. I own the x-t4 and even though I love Fuji’s lenses, I wouldn’t mind buying Sigma or Viltrox with official software:). I love how light the system is:)...I switched from Nikon.
Zonlai 35/1.6 is the most “moody” lens i’ve ever used which is not expensive too, and ttartisian just release a new 50/1.2 which costs less than 500 RMB (around 75 dollars?) ,that may be a good choice too.
Wonderful video, but let me correct you: 18-55 Fuji’s price is lower, I bought it for 280 € from eGlobal Central but it’s easy to find it “certified 2nd hand” at 250€ or new around €400 Another thing: I have my Nikon 135mm f/2.8 Ai-S from 1975 and it’s beautiful as so many retro lenses. Even the 50mm f/1.2 canon: it costs like 400 dollars!
I'm literally in the middle of buying into the fuji system, and then this video pops up to answer the questions I've been vigorously googling the past 2 weeks. Thank you Chris!
Certain lenses can be very cheap on the grey market too like the pancakes and kit zooms. Its not an expensive system imo.
Quite common for cashback too
Same here.
Lens from the list you mentioned, I own the trio XC lens, discover this channel because of the XC lens reviews. Excellent lenses, I prefer to use the front dial for aperture so worked out perfectly. I find the XC15-45 more useful for that 3mm wider range than the 18-55 kit, and a lot lighter. The tele one also has a bit more reach than the 50-200. The trade off of image quality is little, and the extra stops feels a bit unnecessary when shooting landscape at F8 anyways.
I do like the XC35 but I think if I had to do it again, probably the one i wouldn't get, not really a prime person, only time I really grab the prime is for the wider aperture, and a bit more you get a much more solid feeling Viltrox 33 with autofocus.
Also own the Samyang, the 12mm is really worth it when you need to shoot really wide, and for that astro shot you get to do once or twice a year. However the other Samyang you mentioned I feel like at that price point you might as well just get the similar Viltrox version, autofocus etc.
Lastly the Laowa 65mm honorable mention is probably my favorite macro lens on the Fuji system period. Prefer it better than the actual Fuji version more magnification.
Also thank you for all the FUJI alternative lens review, quite a lot of youtuber does review of the Fuji lens, but no one does the cheaper alternative like you do. One of the most to the point reviews out there for the system!
The timing of this video.. literally just bought a fuji earlier today
Welcome to this expensive love my friend... you are gonna feel like a sugar daddy soon.
I think the best cheap lense is the xc 35mm f2. its realy great and uses even cheaper.
a 2023 update would be nice
I have the Samyang 8mm and a 35mm f1.2 which as mentioned, is a very sharp lens. Both are manual focus, but with Fuji’s focus aids such as peaking, make them easier to use. Great all round review of 3rd party lenses! Cheers
Just what I needed after buying a XT-30 last week. Really enjoy your lens reviews. Thanks for this!
Wonderful collection. I hadn’t realized there were so many third party lenses for the X mount. Thanks.
All mf tho
I think Jonas Rask mentioned on his blog, that 7Artisans will come out with a 35mm 0.95 option soon, that uses the exact same optical formula as the awesome Mitakon 35mm 0.95 at a lower cost as well. Could be a really nice option too.
Christopher, watching your videos year after year is a great pleasure.
What an amazing video. So much information accompanied by such wonderful images. You are by far the best lens reviewer on RUclips. Great work.
You broke my heart and my already broken wallet when you mentioned my error in judgement there... 😢
HAHAHAHAH that was a dagger in the heart that first line.
there are tons of very cheap lenses for Fuji. They are not always amazing optically, but some are good enough and, as I said, cheap. Look for brands like Meike, 7Artisans and Kamlan. There are others too, but I have not owned any lenses from those.
Fortunately he’s wrong.
The lenses for the system may not be cheap but I still think they're tremendous value for money in terms of price / performance.
"Error of judgement" is HIS OPINION. I'll tell you one thing for sure. Invest time in practicing manual focus and then an entire WORLD of awesome vintage lenses opens up for you.
I own a sony APS-C camera and started with the kit lens 16-50 and then got also the 55-210mm. After only one year, I now have 8 lenses total and only one of them is the Sony (the first 16-50mm). That's only because I haven't found a buyer for it yet.
So I'll say it again, vintage lenses and adapted lenses (from Nikon, canon, m42 ...) can make your heart melt at their quality and character. They can definitely beat modern lenses in sharpness as well as other attributes of image quality. The BEST part, you can keep an eye for some specific ones and get them SUPER CHEAP ($10-$100 in many cases).
There are several RUclips channels that review these vintage lenses. I suggest taking advice from people who actually tested and/or owned many of these vintage lenses. Some of these channels do not have sponsors sending them free stuff (good thing) and they actually own and have extensive experience with vintage lenses. They will NOT recommend to you a lens because they have a link in the description and they get a commission when you use it.
I've had the Samyang 12mm for 3 years at this point and I can say that it's easily still my favorite lens for astrophotography. Great video!
Samyang 85mm f1.8 is the king of manual lenses. It’s my favorite lens after the XF 23 1.4
It's definitely underappreciated I think
@@christopherfrost Would you prefer it to the Viltrox 85mm, which has autofocus and is slightly pricier?
@@maxwiltshire6159 It’s one of the best lenses I’ve ever used. It’s a breeze to manual focus at 85 1.8 unlike 50 1.2 for similar bokeh
I couldn’t agree anymore, it’s been my favorite manual lens and I’ve taken some of my best portraits with it.
This is my favorite RUclips channel! I love everything, including the gentle piano in background and your perfect and clear English.
The XC 35mm f2 is awesome for the price! Highly recommend, it was my first lens for Fujifilm. Nice reviews!
Hi can it use for portrait photography
Thanks Chris.
I got the Mitakon f0.95 35mm mark ii. Highly regarded in reviews.
It’s AWESOME. PRIMO.
Also bought the Samyang f1.4 85mm manual. It’s a GREAT mini-Tele/Portrait lens.
Love them both.
My 18-55mm “kit lens” is a great quality, reasonably priced super versatile work-horse, that you could leave on your camera for much of the time. Recommend this Highly!
Cheers.
Considered many of these lenses but settled on a 2nd hand 16-55mm for about 40% less than RRP. Blown away.
I bought a Fuji XE4 “body only” without realising what body only meant 😅 and now I’ve been on google looking for lens and I’ve seen £400-800 for a lens soooo I’m glad this vid is here ahah
I would love a XC50mm f2.
Thanks for your great reviews and tests
The XF is my favorite lens and similar price to the Viltrox lenses used. With it having shallower DOF than the 35mm, the aperture ring gets used a lot. I used it much less with the 23mm f2, so would like an XC of that one. They may as well do an 18mm and 90mm while they are at it 😉
Thanks to your videos I have purchased the 75mm f1.8 Samyang for the E mount and I must say I absolutely love it.
Brilliant video! Your channel helps me a lot when I am choosing my next lens for my X-T200. I would love to see a video on your favourite fuji lenses (first and third party)
Very helpful analysis for those who don’t have an unlimited budget! Thank you very much
Can you make an updated version of this video?
It'd be great to see the many new options since there have been many new release
Great video; thanks Chris.
Just a +1 for the Viltrox 23mm - really lovely lens and amazing value. I'm delighted with mine.
My kingdom for Sigma's APS-C primes on Fuji X... As much as I like some of the Viltrox options (the 23mm in parcitular), I'd much prefer the Sigma 56mm F1.4 for the weather sealing. I was encouraged a while back when Sigma's CEO said they'd explore bringing lenses to X mount if the market share grew, but that's now happened and no moves appear to have been made. Fingers crossed for the future, I guess!
Its is happening now. Sigma and Fuji 2021 ;)
2021 is about to end. Still no official first look so far
It’s happening in May 2022.
TT Artisan 50 mm F 1.2 for Fuji . Absolutely fantastic manual lens . Get it for around 100 u/s dollars . If you shoot black and white this lens is a stunner .
I agree. An amazing lens for it's price!
Nice review. But two more important lenses have been missed out. The 7artisans 25mm f1.8 which doesn't suffer from the field curvature issue like it's 35mm f1.2 and the 7artisans 35mm f0.95. both these two lenses deserved mention too in my opinion.
Thanks for the recs!
This was a huge help for me, someone who's just about to buy a fuji. Thanks.
I got a couple manual prime lenses for my X-E2, but my favourite is the 7Artisans 50mm F/1.8. It's pretty bright for the price, and the colour rendition is very nice. The fully-open vignetting is pretty low, too.
I would recommend the Samyang 16 mm f2.
More usable than 12 mm and less distorted, more natural.
I have the 23mm and 56mm for Viltrox. I think they are awesome lenses!
If you want really cheap and manual focus is not a problem for you, then go vintage! For 30-50 euros you can buy amazing lenses, a few decades old but still very good.
I use XT-4 and Pentax Takamur 55mm 1.8 is my favorite lens, colors I get with it are perfect, creamy bokeh...just love it. Also Fujinon 50mm 1.9 AX mount (old Fuji mount) very sharp
lens, with bokeh's out of this world...and they were 30-40euros each, plus an adapter. So for around 50e each, I got lenses that are really fantastic and I love working with them, and both
of them are less than the cheapest modern ones from the store. And you are not going for lesser quality with those, on the contrary.
I love the mitakon 35mm so much. It's not the sharpest in the world, but the handling, the character, the build quality.... I love it
I'm obviously a cheapskate as I have several of these. I would like to plug the ridiculously cheap 7artisans 25/1.8. It has acceptable sharpness but its best attribute is the close focus of about 8". This gives way more opportunity for defocused backgrounds and interesting bokeh effects than the faster Viltrox 23/1.4. I also enjoy it as a discrete street photography lens at f8 using zone focussing technique. Whilst I also own the Viltrox 23 and Fuji 27 I frequently opt for the 7artisans for its greater creative potential.
The Fujian 25mm/1.8 is practically the same and even cheaper. ;)
It's main drawback is its short focus throw though. For that, the Fujian 25mm/1.4 is better.
Right on time. Thank you for this video. I was planning to purchase some budget lens for my fuji system.
Thx a for this overview of fuji lenses. This helps me a lot. The length of the video is perfect. Not too many information but also not too little 🙌👏👌👍
Amazing video Chris! Loving your work. Please keep these reviews coming - soon you'll have covered all the lenses out there!
This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you very much!! Now I have many choices for my XT-4 with many good relatively cheap lenses!
Great round-up Christopher! This is very useful information and puts the image quality of each lens in context, to help with purchasing decisions.
Dear Christopher, great review for 2020. I miss the new TTArtisan 35mm f1.4 come in very late this october. I receive my copy last week. And I think this will be change the game. Great lens. Perhaps to grab it and test it out .....
Its really nice.
Impeccable timing! I just bought the X-H1 recently!
i had been waiting for this video for while now... thanks
This is the video I have been looking for!! Great job. Thank you.
thanks a lot for this video man!
so well structured etc.
i searched for cheaper fuji x mount alternatives for so long, but couldnt find any.
i think im gonna buy 2 or 3 of these.
Thank you so much! It's very helpful. I'm planning to buy a Fuji camera but having second thoughts because of the expensive lenses. However, I saw this and I'm kindof convinced now because now I know I've got the cheaper (but still good quality wise) options. I trust your review/opinion. Sample photos are very helpful.
Great summarising review. Wish more info such as that will be available. Had made the "judgement" of getting into the Fuji ecosystem a year and a half ago, after examining the camera itself thoroughly, but not fully understanding the importance of the lenses market. Then realised it is pretty expensive to get good autofocus lenses. For the M4/3 system, for example, the low-price availability is much higher.
Thank you!
Thanks Christopher I am considering 35mm 1.4 prime lens for indoor and portrait for my Fujifilm XT20 camera. Great and extremely thorough review. I am now subscribing to your channel.
When shooting manual switch to black and white jpg and use red focus peaking. Quick to nail focus with a red outline. If you have the RAF it will be color of course.
Great video, Chris. Super informative as always! Love your voice overs.
Wow, I was researching since last 2 months ! and I use to give the search key that you put on the tittle. Thanks ! had subscribed u long back !
Thanks so much for this awesome run down of lenses. I am a big fan of your reviews. Keep up the amazing work. God bless.
Great review Christopher I have two lenses you reviewed I just bought a TTartisans 23mm 1.4 lens = to 35mm manual lens I'm looking forward to getting it in the post soon I enjoy your reviews God bless from Tony.......
I'm planning to buy Fuji XS10 next month, thanks for making this :))
congratulations for the video, very interesting overview to create a fuji kit without spending too much
Awesome video! Love my Xt3, that 35mm f2 images look so great, I’ll have to pick one up 😊
Part 2 could include the TTartisans trio coming out now (17mm, 35mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.2, I think), the new 7Artisans bodycap 18mm f6.3 and their fisheye 7.5mm f2.8. Not sure if you mentioned the 16-50 II which I much prefer to the 15-45mm. Maybe do it when Tokina have released their versions of the Viltrox lenses which shouldn’t be too far away. 👍
Thanks for this video! At this date SIGMA finally joined the X mount which makes ir even better to enjoy Fujifilm cameras.
Great video as usual Chris.
I have the 23, 56 & 85mm Viltrox lenses and have to say, for a budget brand, they really are superb!
If you would have to choose two of them - which would it be ?
@@mvhan911 23 is easy to use, I'd get that one. The other two are a matter of preference.
Nice collection here!! 👍👍 Thanks for sharing!
I will appreciate a updated video on this topic with brightin star 35 an 50mm and the viltrox 13mm. But still a good overview
You, sir, are a savior! Very comprehensive overview and to the point. Thank you 📷
You're correct Fuji lenses can be a little expensive considering they're "only" for APS-C. However if one doesn't mind buying used, you could get some great deals. For example, for $200 I got the 27 2.8 and 50-230 lenses - both are awesome for the price. And the real bargain I got was the XC 16-50 for just $80 - it's been my favorite lens as of late.
Thank you so much for this video. I know it takes time to make such great content.
Thank you very much for this round-up video. I have been looking forward to this one for some time now, so I am very happy. All the work put into reviewing these lenses is highly appreciated!
With the 7artisans 18mm 6.3 there is now also a no-focus lens for Fuji X available. That should be even easier to use then AF lenses.
the starting statement wrecked me :'(
can you make a similar video for the videographers and bloggers here?
Great huge selection and very nice sum up of their strength and weaknesses
A very useful and informative video. Thanks
I got lucky and managed to get a brand new Mitakon 35mm/f0.95 mk.ii for about 50% of it's original price. Easily the best manual lens I've ever used.
If you can get one for cheap(er) go for it.
Great video, mate! What’s your thoughts about Meike 28mm f/2.8 for fuji? I didn’t see much videos about it. Specifically on fuji. Tks!
Great review! Thanks Chris
Nice one I will share this with my girlfriend who is owning one fuji 😌
Great collection! Missed the 9 mm Laowa. Maybe not really budget but third party and lovely little lens.
I agree the 35mm f2 is a little more expensive compared to the xc 35mm and equivalent "nifty-fifty" lenses I've bought before for my Nikon cameras, both APS-C and FF, but the build quality has saved me. My X-T3 had an unfortunate accident where it fell onto tile from a 4ft (1.2m) countertop, landing directly on the front of the lens. The plastic lens hood broke to pieces, but the lens and camera didn't show any damage at all. While I credit the lens hood for taking the first impact, I have no faith the cheaper plastic lenses of this focal length I've used before would have survived without some serious damage. For less than $400 on the used market, I don't think it's a bad value at all.
thaNks for the 4k resolution ... great round-up
Not to sound like a broken record, but I don’t trust half of these third party lenses (apart from Samyang, and maybe Mitakon) to produce consistent results. The two Zonlai lenses I had produced horrible field curvature, to the point where it was impossible to get sharp images across the frame, even at apertures like f/8. A word of warning for buyers hunting a bargain!
Viltrox is great
Great review. Very useful! Thank you a lot!
Thank you for this informative video. Any chance you could do an update now that fuji has opened up for third party lenses?
KamLan announced a new lens, the 32mm f1.1. It is priced the same as the 50mm f1.1 Mark II. I tried it during a camera show event earlier this week in Taiwan (where KamLan is found). It handles really nice and has very nice build quality. And the rings are smooth as well. However, I wasn't able to test out the image quality.
I also chatted with the founder of KamLan. He said he's interested in allowing reviewers review their products. Maybe give them another chance for the 32mm f1.1? I certainly would love to see your take on that lens.
I'll try to get in touch with them
@@christopherfrost Awesome, thanks!
There are also some super tele lenses from Sanyang and Meike with 100mm, 135mm and 300mm. The Meike 85mm f/2.8 is a good macro lens with a magnification of 1.5:1, the 7Artisans macro lens of 60mm is however cheaper.
It is great review. Personally I find investing in Fringer EF_X adapter for Canon autofocus lenses solves a lot and opens a whole new world to Fuji, especially if you already have some Canon lenses. Given also the fact what prices on Canon EF and EFs lenses are going down now as people sell them with a new RF bayonet intro. Also some great lenses from Sigma Art series become useful on Fuji.
Great overview 👍
The Samyang/Rokinon 135 f/2 is also very sharp!
Best Samyang lens by far, it's even better than the Zeiss in most ways except build quality.
Really nice Line up. I'd love to see how the 3rd party lenses are behaving regarding lens flares. I think this makes a huge difference in character - I really don't enjoy the flaring of the Fuji lenses, it's very digitally clean looking. Maybe that's a niche interest, but I'd love to see a video on that.
That xc 35mm is 👑
16-50 kit lens is also great!
I wish that the Viltrox lenses were available here in India. All we get is the 7artisans and a couple of Meike options right now. The Fuji xc35 is a must buy for anyone with a Fuji body unless they want to pony up for the XF or XR versions.
Everything about fuji cheap lens...! You are amazing..👍
Great choice of lenses. Bit surprised about 7Artisans 35/1.2 making it on the list after I've seen your review. With regards to Zonlai 22, I was unlucky, as both of my copies were a bit decentered. However, I am extremely happy with Kamlan 21/1.8, which I find sharper than their 28/1.4.
I always welcome your tutorial insightfulness.
A very cheap MF alternative to the 27mm pancake is Meike's 28mm f2.8 for around £50. Small light and sharp, with a sensible filter size (49mm) it is an ideal take anywhere lens with a XE or XT10/20/30 camera. Meike's 50mm f1.7 is also very good, if a bit heavy (it is designed optically as a FF lens) and the aperture/focus rings take some getting used to.
My copy of the Kamlan 38mm f1.4 is excellent and only let down by the need for a hood, due to it being prone to flare. You need an after market one though as the supplied hood is a bayonet fitting which is not executed very well, being difficult to mount properly and prone to falling off if only slightly knocked.
Hi Chris, your style of testing lenses and cameras are great, I am watching your videos from 2015. I have a small request, whenever you test 70-200 f2.8 Nikon,Sony,Sigma,tamron lenses test the focus breathing are they real 200mm are less than 200mm at 1.9m to 3.8m distance . All manufacturers hide this information. (We pay for 200mm f2.8 ) Thanks
Hi Chris, truly appreciate this video. I wonder if there's any new contenders worthy of mention now in 2024?
Great video. Thank you.
What does XF and XC stand for? Are they fit for every fuji camera?
XC is a cheaper line of lenses
I read that Fuji îs opening up the software for 3rd party lens manufacturers such as Sigma and Tamron as soon as the beginning of next year. Tamron glass is just viltrox with a double price almost. I own the x-t4 and even though I love Fuji’s lenses, I wouldn’t mind buying Sigma or Viltrox with official software:). I love how light the system is:)...I switched from Nikon.
"-A serious error in judgement"
My broke ass: Well damnit 😂
Zonlai 35/1.6 is the most “moody” lens i’ve ever used which is not expensive too, and ttartisian just release a new 50/1.2 which costs less than 500 RMB (around 75 dollars?) ,that may be a good choice too.
Finally the video we have been waiting for
Wonderful video, but let me correct you: 18-55 Fuji’s price is lower, I bought it for 280 € from eGlobal Central but it’s easy to find it “certified 2nd hand” at 250€ or new around €400
Another thing: I have my Nikon 135mm f/2.8 Ai-S from 1975 and it’s beautiful as so many retro lenses. Even the 50mm f/1.2 canon: it costs like 400 dollars!