I listed my recommended Fujinon lenses for Fujifilm X cameras in Part 1. In this second segment I will give my recommendations for third party lenses. Like in the previous article, I will be focusing on what I’ve actually used, because I prefer to talk about what I have experience with. My opinions are based off of my own use of these different lenses.
Let’s jump right in!
Rokinon/Samyang 12mm f/2 NCS CS
Salt & Stars – Bonneville Salt Flats, UT – Fujifilm X-E1 & Rokinon 12mm
The 12mm f/2 NCS CS ultra-wide-angle lens, which is sold under both the Rokinon and Samyang brands (it’s the exact same lens), is a great manual focus lens. It’s sharp with surprisingly little distortion and few flaws. Since it is so cheap, it’s a great budget-friendly alternative to the Fujinon 16mm f/1.4, or even a companion to it. Not everyone needs a lens as wide-angle as this one, but it’s a fantastic option for those who do. If you need something ultra-wide for astrophotography or dramatic landscapes, this is a must-have lens!
Securely In Father’s Arms – Mount Rushmore, SD – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & Meike 35mm
The Meike 35mm f/1.7 is a “nifty-fifty” standard prime lens on Fujifilm X cameras, and if you don’t mind an all-manual lens, this is a great budget-friendly option. In fact, it’s probably the best $80 you’ll ever spend on new camera gear! It’s not without flaws, though. You can read my review of the lens here. For the cheap price, I wouldn’t be afraid to try the Meike 28mm f/2.8 or the Meike 50mm f/2, either. In fact, you could buy all three for less than the cost of one Fujinon lens! The 7Artisans 25mm f/1.8 is a good alternative, which I reviewed here. I’ve never tried the 7artisans 35mm f/1.2, which is an intriguing option but a little more expensive.
There are, of course, plenty of other third-party lenses, of which I’ve tried zero. I know that the Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 II is highly regarded, yet it’s also on the expensive side of things. The Rokinon 50mm f/1.2 and Rokinon 100mm f/2.8 are two lenses that I’ve seen highly recommended by others, and, based on my experience with their 12mm lens, I’d definitely believe it. However, I don’t want to spend much time on lenses that I have no experience with. Instead, let me offer one other alternative: vintage lenses.
You can typically buy old film lenses for very little money. Since most people don’t shoot film any longer, these lenses are cheap, yet many of them are exceptionally good in quality. You will need an adapter to mount them to your Fujifilm X camera, since they’ll have a different mount. Just make sure you know which mount the lens is so that you buy the right adapter. Thankfully most adapters are pretty inexpensive. Below is a video that I made on this topic.
heavens, you have plenty of lovely lens…
Well, I don’t currently own all of them. I would love to! Typically if I want a certain lens I have to part with a different one.
Third party lenses:
I did a bad bad thing this week. I went to a local camera store just to look around. But then I saw this:
Minolta MC Rokkor-X PG 58mm f1.2
My wallet is considerably lighter today thanks to ‘just looking around.’ I recently picked up a used X-E3 and set it up with fantastic “recipes” from a photographer named Ritchie. (Nice guy… you should try his formulas!) I was worried that this 58mm would be too front heavy hanging on that little X-E3. Turns out, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.
Today, a K&F MD to FX adapter arrived from Amazon. The adapter and lens together are long’ish but no more than some old telephoto lenses were. I haven’t had much time to test it yet, but so far, everything I read about this lens having legendary highlights that glow and amazing bokeh seem to be true. As this is now an 87mm portrait lens on my Fuji, I guess I’m going to have to head out to a Meetup Group somewhere and try it out on some head-shot models.
If anyone knows of a good and reasonably priced MD to FX focal reducer that you can personally recommend, please let me know. I’m aware of the Metabones Speed Booster and that’s why I put in the part about ‘reasonably priced.’
The good thing about this lens is, if I don’t like it as lens, it’ll make a great boat anchor! This thing is HEAVY man. (That’s how we used to talk in the ’60s and ’70s…that’s really heavy man!)
Love this comment! I have learned to leave my wallet at home when “just looking around” because otherwise I would be broke. What a wonderful find, though! I don’t have any recommendations for focal reducers, but if I hear anything I will let you know. Thanks again!
I’m glad it’s okay to add a little humor to these posts. Seems too many folks are so dead serious in their opinions about this or that thing in photography, I sometimes wonder if we lost the ability to enjoy the art of it.
Do you have a place on your site for viewers to add or look for links to gear, resources, even other sites we all might like? The other day, I found this link I’d like to pass along:
https://www.freestylephoto.biz/16240767-Fujinon-60mm-f-2.4-XF-Lens-for-Fujifilm-X-series-Cameras
It’s a close out of a 60mm Fuji lens. It’s $399.99. I’m reasonably sure there’s a Fuji shooter out there who would like to have this lens at a pretty good price, but I don’t know where to post stuff like this to share with y’all.
I have a gear page (fujixweekly.com/gear) that’s a work-in-progress and will likely get revamped in the coming few weeks. The 60mm macro is such a good lens, and $400 is a great price. Thank you for sharing!
Had time this morning to get the Rokkor 58mm outside for a quick backlight shot in the backyard. The lens has a softness to it even at f5.6 in this image of the little cactus pot we have on a bench, with the sun hitting it from behind. I purposely let the highlights blow on most everything because I wanted the almost specular light on the spider web strands to pop against the dark background. They are hard to see, but even the out of focus web strands to the right of the cactus can be seen by letting the highlights go. Overall, I’m loving this lens. I still can’t wait to find time for portrait work!
Ritchie,
I tried posting the file here, but all that pasted was the filename. Please let me know if the image doesn’t upload correctly. Or is it even possible to post examples? Thanks.
spidey_cactus.jpeg
Honestly, I’m not sure how to post pictures in the comments, if it’s even possible. I will look into it.