Page 47 - Amateur Photographer - August 5, 2017

LENS TEST Testbench

‘This lens is perceptibly
faster at locking on and Fujinon XF
acquiring focus’ 50mm f/2 R WR

performance. Compared to the Fujinon XF Resolution
56mm f/1.2 R, which was known for making
some pesky whirring noises as it focused, this The results from our Image Engineering tests tell
lens is noticeably quieter. It’s not entirely silent us the lens gets gradually sharper in the centre
– you can still hear a faint clicking when the when it’s closed down from its maximum aperture
shutter is half depressed and the aperture of f/2 to f/4. There’s a very gradual increase in
blades move, but on the whole it’s a big corner sharpness between f/2 and f/5.6, with the
improvement. Testing the lens with an X-Pro2 sharpest results at the edge reaching their
and then switching across to using the XF optimum at f/8. With centre and corner sharpness
56mm f/1.2 R also highlighted the fact that being affected by diffraction beyond f/8, we’d
this lens is perceptibly faster at locking on consider f/4-f/5.6 to be the lens’s sweet spot.
and acquiring focus.
Image quality
The quality of the images created using this
lens do not disappoint, and by opening the
lens to its widest aperture setting of f/2, it’s
possible to create a pleasing separation
between near and far subjects. The quality The lens acquires focus quickly with minimal fuss
of out-of-focus highlights means a lot to
photographers who like to generate images
with a super shallow depth of fi eld. Bokeh has
a tendency to shift from circular in the centre Verdict 50mm centre 50mm corner
to an elliptical shape at the edges, and
although it doesn’t create the same ‘dreamy’ THIS lens is another well-received addition Shading
feel to images as the more expensive XF to Fujifi lm’s X-series. It follows on from the
56mm f/1.2 R or XF 56mm f/1.2 APD ASPH success of the XF 35mm f/2 R WR and XF Vignetting is apparent in images taken at f/2,
lenses do at their maximum apertures, it 23mm f/2 R WR lenses and complements although it is well controlled. Corners appear
delivers a pleasing level of background blur these wider focal length primes superbly. approximately 0.4EV darker than the centre and
that’ll satisfy almost everyone who uses it. X-series users aren’t short of choice when it you’ll start to see an improvement by f/2.8. The
Centre sharpness out-resolves corner comes to buying a fast mid-telephoto prime, vignetting correction that’s built into the raw file
sharpness at f/2 and the same can be said but this lens has key advantages in that it’s metadata did a good job of correcting shading on
right through the aperture range to f/11, at a convenient size for travelling and feels just our raw files when processing through Lightroom.
which point diffraction starts to soften images as good on smaller X-series camera bodies
noticeably. Sharpness in the centre improves such as the X-T20 as it does with the more
by stopping the lens down from f/2 to f/4 and advanced X-T2 and X-Pro2 models.
there’s a very gradual improvement in corner Added to this, it can
sharpness from f/2 to where it peaks at f/8. To focus quickly and has the Data file
preserve optimum sharpness right across the benefi t of being weather
frame from corner to corner, users will want to sealed. Factor in that it Price £449
shoot between f/4-5.6 on this lens. can be bought with the Filter diameter
Examination of our Image Engineering test XF 35mm f/2 R WR for 46mm
alongside real-world images revealed visible only £30 more than Lens elements 9 f/2 f/4
levels of corner shading at the widest aperture. you’d spend on the Groups 7
However, this soon disappears when the lens is XF 56mm f/1.2 R and Aperture blades 9 Curvilinear distortion
stopped down to f/2.8. Even at f/2, vignetting you can see why these Aperture f/2-f/16
from the lens isn’t distasteful. It’s tolerable for little f/2 primes are so Minimum focus Thanks to Fujifilm’s integration of software distortion
most applications and can be of benefi t to popular and continue distance correction, users can expect well-corrected JPEG
portraiture and other subjects where you’d to sell like hot cakes. 39cm and raw format files with virtually no curvilinear
like to encourage the viewer’s eye to travel Dimensions distortion. To take control over how much distortion
straight to the centre of the frame. 60x59.4mm correction is applied, you’ll need to use software
Chromatic aberration is handled reasonably Weight 200g such as Iridient Developer or Capture One.
well by the lens, with only minor fringes of Lens mount Fujifilm
colour being observed along high-contrast X-mount
edges at wide apertures. Distortion isn’t a Included
cause for concern on this lens either, and accessories Lens
users should be aware that Fujifi lm delivers cap, lens hood
correction for raw fi les via lens-specifi c SMIA TV = 0.4%
metadata. This is accessed automatically by the
raw converter you use to correct or mitigate
common optical phenomena. It’s the reason GOLD
you won’t fi nd Fujifi lm lenses listed under
lens profi les in Camera Raw or Lightroom.

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