Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 R XF Lens

A couple years ago when Fuji came out with the 50 f1.0 they had a hands on event in Brooklyn which I attended. I brought my Xpro3 to try with the lenses. I ended up liking the color, sharpness and shading of the 56mm over the 50mm by far. There is just something about the sharpness of the sharp parts and the fall off to out of focus. Also the color and shading seem better on the 56mm. The 50mm has more pop, but looks less realistic somehow. At f1.0, that depth of field is about 1 inch.When they first put this one on sale I hesitated and missed out. So when an email came saying it was again on sale, I gave my credit card whiplash I bought it so fast. Only taken a few shots around the neighborhood and am already in love. Not having a lot of trouble with AF as so ... MoreA couple years ago when Fuji came out with the 50 f1.0 they had a hands on event in Brooklyn which I attended. I brought my Xpro3 to try with the lenses. I ended up liking the color, sharpness and shading of the 56mm over the 50mm by far. There is just something about the sharpness of the sharp parts and the fall off to out of focus. Also the color and shading seem better on the 56mm. The 50mm has more pop, but looks less realistic somehow. At f1.0, that depth of field is about 1 inch.When they first put this one on sale I hesitated and missed out. So when an email came saying it was again on sale, I gave my credit card whiplash I bought it so fast. Only taken a few shots around the neighborhood and am already in love. Not having a lot of trouble with AF as so many have complained. However I do see it kind of losing it's mind on AE a bit. Especially when I first turn the camera on, it give me an overexposed mess until I point it someplace neutral and let it figure out how to expose right. (I use auto shutter and AF, manual everything else)It reminds me a lot of the legendary Canon 85mm f1.2 L. It has a similar color depth and rendering. But there is just something about how both of those lenses feel when you are using them I can't put into words. It has you taking photos of bottle caps and any random person. Everything is a composition.I like that the f stops are kind of weird. They are regular from 16 to 1.4, then it 'goes to eleven' by clicking a smidge more from 1.4 to 1.2.The iris is great. Some of my vintage lenses look fantastic wide open, then get all hard edged on the bokeh because they have a 6 bladed iris. No such discontinuity here.Would buy again.

I've owned a lot of 50-58mm lenses. If you get into adapted vintage lenses it's inevitable. Previously my favorites were Takumars and Meyer Optik Görlitz models with significant bokeh artifacts. Which I cherish for their idiosyncratic rendering, if the color and contrast are a bit faded.The Fuji 56mm is quite different. It brings to mind the legendary Canon 85mm f1.2 L.It somehow is razor sharp at f1.2 corner to corner yet equally characterful with great rendering, contrast, color and detail. Also like the Canon 85mm L it stumbles a bit at AF. Since it must throw a rather heavy mass back and forth when AF-ing.A couple years ago I got to try the new 50mm f1.0 and the 56mm f1.2 at a Fuji event.The 50mm was supposed to be the coveted new hotness. But I couldn't get ... MoreI've owned a lot of 50-58mm lenses. If you get into adapted vintage lenses it's inevitable. Previously my favorites were Takumars and Meyer Optik Görlitz models with significant bokeh artifacts. Which I cherish for their idiosyncratic rendering, if the color and contrast are a bit faded.The Fuji 56mm is quite different. It brings to mind the legendary Canon 85mm f1.2 L.It somehow is razor sharp at f1.2 corner to corner yet equally characterful with great rendering, contrast, color and detail. Also like the Canon 85mm L it stumbles a bit at AF. Since it must throw a rather heavy mass back and forth when AF-ing.A couple years ago I got to try the new 50mm f1.0 and the 56mm f1.2 at a Fuji event.The 50mm was supposed to be the coveted new hotness. But I couldn't get past the depth of the images the 56mm gave me.In short, if it's an artistic image, this lens makes it just a little more artistic.

Let me start by saying, I really like this lens a lot. My 3 star rating is meant to be an "average" score, not a condemnation of this lens. In order to get legendary 5-star status from me, this lens needed to have great optics, AF performance AND handling. It delivers on one of the three. Especially when dealing with expensive primes, all-around great AF performance is critical to making it more generally useful and valuable to own-something I'd confidently take anywhere and shoot anything with. Recent primes like the 23mm f/1.4 LM WR have great optics, AF performance, and handling, so we know Fuji can do it when they want to. That lens set my benchmark for this lens, which just doesn't measure up in comparison (sorry not sorry). Read on for details.Build Quality ... MoreLet me start by saying, I really like this lens a lot. My 3 star rating is meant to be an "average" score, not a condemnation of this lens. In order to get legendary 5-star status from me, this lens needed to have great optics, AF performance AND handling. It delivers on one of the three. Especially when dealing with expensive primes, all-around great AF performance is critical to making it more generally useful and valuable to own-something I'd confidently take anywhere and shoot anything with. Recent primes like the 23mm f/1.4 LM WR have great optics, AF performance, and handling, so we know Fuji can do it when they want to. That lens set my benchmark for this lens, which just doesn't measure up in comparison (sorry not sorry). Read on for details.Build Quality (2/5) - score received because I bought, then had to return, 2 of these for crazy white flecks/dust INSIDE the front element. A first for me, who has bought lenses new and used. Might've been bad luck, might reflect some QC lapses. Either way, not acceptable on a $1,000 product, nope. Otherwise, it was 5 stars - love that fluorine coating.Handling (2/5) - I'm sure this lens' stubby length makes it a good fit for a wider range of bodies, and it is light and I like the funnel shape. But frankly, its also compromised by its shape and size. For the first time ever (for me), the lens hood covers the aperture ring when reversed. No quick ring adjustment/firing "in the moment". Also nothing to hold onto but a cheap and slippery feeling Fuji lens hood during transport, which flexes a bit against the funnel neck when mounted to my XT3. Also makes me wonder if I'm pressuring the hood mount ring and risking breakage overtime. Not nearly enough space between the aperture ring and focus ring for hand-holding - when shooting it is easy to bump either and for the first time I'm doing that quite a lot. At least a finger width is usually enough to prevent this, but we don't have that here. The aperture ring could use more damping to prevent this - unfortunately it is both softer (quieter, great!) and easier to move (ugh!) than on the 23mm or some of my other lenses. The manual focus ring, however, is damped about the way I like it, and feels good. As with the 23mm f/1.4 LM WR lens, the aperture lock is pointless - it only locks me into "auto", or "manual". To be useful it should actually lock the ring at whatever setting I select, or not at all. I would much rather have had a function button, or an extra quarter or half inch of lens barrel (to house faster AF motors, for example!).Optical Quality (5/5) - Nothing to say here except, "wow dude". Other than some hard-to-detect onion ringing in the bokeh under some conditions, so far I see nothing to complain about here. This lens is sharp and contrasty wide open, improves until around f/2-f/2.8, and still looks great at around f/11. The "close" focusing distance is useful and welcome. Legendary optics.Autofocus (3/5) - The best optics in the world don't matter if you can't get the shot in the first place. Of all my lenses, this one does seem to have a split personality. In AF-S or even AF-C, it is sometimes quite punchy and quick - focusing at f/1.2-f/2 or so is not easy, and sometimes the lens nails it so quickly and easily I am genuinely impressed. It doesn't hunt a lot, but when you creep up to its MFD or shoot in lower light, however, it can frankly slow down a lot and be prone to misses. I don't mind the AF noise, I consider it useful feedback. But it also might alert people I am around, when I'm hoping to get a nice candid. Maybe a future body, or firmware update will improve things overall. For now, I'd say this lens makes you earn it more often than not, compared to other lenses I own which feel faster. It should be a lot better, end of story.Value (3/5) - at $1,000, this prime is too expensive to have the flaws it has. To be legendary it either needs to cost, say, $6-$700, or it needs to be faster/as fast as, say, the new 23mm f/1.4, or the "old" 90mm f/2. If you are on the fence, buy used/rent.Total score (15/25) = 3/5. Fuji's 90mm f2 is 38% longer, and 21% heavier, but managed to fit quad linear AF system. The 23mm LM WR is 2mm longer, and 84% of the weight, but manages to fit my hands better and house a linear motor(s) that seem to cope great even in low light or AF-C shooting. The Viltrox 56mm is 4mm shorter than this lens, but also fit my hands better, and offers very effective AF (faster than the original 56mm, but "worse" optics).Still, I recommend it overall, and I'm keeping mine. What can I say? The 56mm is such a favorite indoor/outdoor length of mine, and the wide aperture is useful too. Perhaps other reviewers will set me/you straight.