Fuji 35 & 60 or 56 only?

[scottduffy]

Guys I'm just about to cancel my order to Mathers for an Xe1 and purchase from here instead. My budget allows for the body and 56mm lens or the body and 35 & 60mm combo. I shoot mainly portraits of my son so what would you choose and why?

 

[BacktotheFuji]

56mm will restrict you, however good it is. No probs if shooting headshots only though. I find the 35mm is excellent all round, but still a bit tight indoors for toddlers.

 

[scottduffy]

Can I just confirm the crop factor with the body is 1.5 so the 56 will be just a tad longer than a standard 50 on a crop sensor canon?

 

[les hawkins]

I would go for the 35 & 60. Mainly because of the 35. Which will give you a bit more room to play with if shooting indoors and your son is as active as my kids. I tried out the 60 recently in a shop mainly looking at the macro. Nice sharp lens but a pain to focus both manually and auto in the macro range. Didn't really look at portraits.
Have you tried the kit zoom? It's a nice lens, maybe go for the 35 and the zoom gives you a bit more flexibility at the loss of only couple of stops compared to the 60.

Here's a review of the 56 compared to the kit
http://www.bigheadtaco.com/2014/05/review-fujifilm-xf56mm-vs-xf18-55mm.html?m=1

 

[scottduffy]

Hi les, I've not even tried the body yet. I can't find a store with one in stock so I'm just going to take the plunge. I've heard good things about the 35 and I've also heard it's pretty slow to focus on this and I'm particular. My thinking was basically the 56 does what he wants which is take good portraits however so will the 35 and I assume the 60 will be decent too as I had the 60mm canon variant and it was good too. I'm just wondering if I'll regret buying those two rather than just getting the one. Decisions decisions.

 

[Alastair]

The 35mm is a fantastic lens, the 60mm is good but I'm personally not keen on it (maxing out at x0.5 magniifcation and being slower focussing than the 55-200mm it's neither fish nor foul) and I'd rather have the 55-200mm and/or the 56mm. Try and think about the lens line-up you might want in 2-3 years time and make sure whatever you buy now is on that list. With hindsight I'd put my target list as 14/23/56/55-200, but like many others that bought the X-Pro1 in the winter sale last year I started out with 18/35/60 - which is an excellent line-up, but Fuji have been pushung the bar even higher since the original trinity was released. Fantastic as the 35mm is, I find myself now using the 23mm as AF walkabout lens*.

Another consideration.. there are lots of very good, very reasonably priced 50/55mm lenses* that can be used as manual focus portrait lenses with an adapter. But there are almost no good quality, reasonably priced 35mm manual focus lenses (and 35mm is a focal length that I consider to be less suitablefor manual focus). Getting the 35mm, a cheap m42-FX adapter and a manual focus 50/55mm might be another option that saves some cash (not buying the 60mm) and might mean being able to buy the 56mm a bit sooner in the future.


*more often than not it's a manual focus fast 50mm that lives on the front of my X-Pro1. The Fujis work very well with vintage lenses.

 

[scottduffy]

Hi Alastair, I've never used a manual focus lens. I was thinking when I decided to buy into the x system that I wanted the 56mm and the 55-200. I don't know enough about the shorter primes as yet. I think I'll go for the 56 and then buy the zoom later. That way I'll have the portrait lens I wanted. I'll need look check out the price of the zoom too as I might get that sooner than I thought.

Thanks for the advice folks.

 

[twist]

35 is wonderful 60 not so much ime.

If I were you I would get the 35 now and either stretch (as youve already done) OR save a little more for the 56. You'll have some time to get to know your new setup in the meantime. Alternatively, skip the 35 and get the 56 and get the 35 used later.

 

[Barrysprout]

We don't live too far apart Scott If you fancy trying some other lenses one day we could maybe have a Fuji meet.

I would go the route of 35mm now and maybe a manual focus 50mm legacy lens. And see how you get on with the system before investing in the 56mm

 

[scottduffy]

That sounds promising. I'm hopefully purchasing the body first thing tomorrow as I'm cancelling my Mathers order. I might be in touch tomorrow as it would certainly help to test them and have someone show me the ropes. Where are you then? I'm on my phone and can't see a thing about you.

 

[scottduffy]

Twist that's what I was thinking. Get the one lens I really wanted now which is the 56 then buy the 35 in a couple of months. That's what I'll do I'm almost sure. X

 

[Barrysprout]

That sounds promising. I'm hopefully purchasing the body first thing tomorrow as I'm cancelling my Mathers order. I might be in touch tomorrow as it would certainly help to test them and have someone show me the ropes. Where are you then? I'm on my phone and can't see a thing about you.

I'm in Stirling, so about half hour between us. Haven't got the 56 in hand yet, only purchased yesterday. But I've got the 14,18,35,60 & 55-200. Samyang 8mm and a couple of adapters for manual lenses.

 

[scottduffy]

God all the bases covered. Stirling is a nice wee drive for me so yes that would be great.

 

[leeboy22001]

If the 35 is a little too long there's always the 27mm 2.8, tack sharp and fine for indoor use on kids

 

[scottduffy]

I'll have a proper read about the primes as soon as I can. Can't wait to purchase the 56 right enough but there will no doubt be none advertised !!

 

[Barrysprout]

I'll have a proper read about the primes as soon as I can. Can't wait to purchase the 56 right enough but there will no doubt be none advertised !!

AWW you just missed one yesterday! Think someone is selling a 60 on the forum though

 

[scottduffy]

I noticed mate. Well done. I think I'll wait for another. Hopefully be a bit quicker off the mark with this one. I didn't know how much they normally sold for as my phones not ideal for searches etc. I normally check on my laptop and was too slow.

 

[Swanseajack]

Also, if buying new, dont forget that theres a current £200 cashback from Fuji if buying two lenses. Worth considering if you can stretch to two lenses. Offer on until end of Septemebre 2014.

I bought the 35 & 55-200mm earlier in the year when they had the £300 offer for two lens purchase.

Linky > http://www.fujifilm.eu/uk/products/digital-cameras/promotions/

 

[jj_glos]

I like my 60mm, I will eventually pick up the 56mm for the f1.2 but I like using the 60mm. I'm certainly in no rush to get the 56mm now I have the 60mm.

 

[Swanseajack]

I was the same, I thought the 60mm was a fantastic portrait lens and ok for close up. I never found it slow for my needs, as I only used it during daytime, so the light was good.

 

[Barrysprout]

I like my 60mm, I will eventually pick up the 56mm for the f1.2 but I like using the 60mm. I'm certainly in no rush to get the 56mm now I have the 60mm.

It took just over 20 minutes from typing that before you purchased

@scottduffy you need to add the "other brands" forum to your watch list on the phone app and make sure alerts are on. That way as soon as a new thread goes in there it will let you know.

 

[jj_glos]

It took just over 20 minutes from typing that before you purchased

@scottduffy you need to add the "other brands" forum to your watch list on the phone app and make sure alerts are on. That way as soon as a new thread goes in there it will let you know.

Yes it was very opportune! I've been watching the forums for a couple of months to get one for the price I wanted to pay, I've passed up a few whilst waiting (and missed one!). Now to decide what to do with the 60mm...

 

[scottduffy]

Ah I thought you only got alerts for your threads. Thanks for the heads up. Do you just subscribe to that forum or is there anything else i need to do?

 

[woof woof]

Another consideration.. there are lots of very good, very reasonably priced 50/55mm lenses* that can be used as manual focus portrait lenses with an adapter. But there are almost no good quality, reasonably priced 35mm manual focus lenses (and 35mm is a focal length that I consider to be less suitablefor manual focus). Getting the 35mm, a cheap m42-FX adapter and a manual focus 50/55mm might be another option that saves some cash (not buying the 60mm) and might mean being able to buy the 56mm a bit sooner in the future.

I'm a bit phased by that as I've owned two, Minolta 35mm f2.8 and f1.8. As far as I know there are Olympus Zuiko and Canon FD 35mm's and doubtless many more from other manufacturers too so I suppose it all hangs on what your definition of good quality and reasonably priced are. Price wise it took me 30 seconds to Google my way to a Zuiko 35mm f2.8 at a well known dealer for £49. That seems like a reasonable price to me.

Also, I find 35mm and shorter focal length lenses perfectly suitable for manual focus, and of course their field of view has to be multiplied by x1.5 when mounted on a Fuji. I use 24 and 28mm and occasionally my 35mm lenses with both peaking and magnified view on my Sony A7 and with a magnified view on my Panasonic G1 cameras.

 

[kennysarmy]

Hardly used my 35mm since I picked up the 23mm.....

 

[Alastair]

I'm a bit phased by that as I've owned two, Minolta 35mm f2.8 and f1.8. As far as I know there are Olympus Zuiko and Canon FD 35mm's and doubtless many more from other manufacturers too so I suppose it all hangs on what your definition of good quality and reasonably priced are. Price wise it took me 30 seconds to Google my way to a Zuiko 35mm f2.8 at a well known dealer for £49. That seems like a reasonable price to me.

Also, I find 35mm and shorter focal length lenses perfectly suitable for manual focus, and of course their field of view has to be multiplied by x1.5 when mounted on a Fuji. I use 24 and 28mm and occasionally my 35mm lenses with both peaking and magnified view on my Sony A7 and with a magnified view on my Panasonic G1 cameras.

Alan - I'm not as familar with mounts other than m42 and QBM where there aren't as many 35mm options (I was lucky, picked up a CZJ Flektagon 35/2.4 for £5 but that's an exceptional bargain), and £50 is about where I'd pitch the top end of "reasonably priced" for most people coming to manual focus lenses for the first time and wanting a dabble. I'm going to wish you hadn't pointed out the Minolta and Zuiko options, that's probably going to end up costing me another couple of adapters.. ..

My comment about manual vs. autofocus is that I'd generally use a 56mm-ish lens for portraits where I would almost always manual focus whether the lens is AF or MF, but a 35mm-ish lens would be a more general purpose focal length and would gain most from having AF available. It was purely about relatve benefit when you can't have every lens you want at first and want to stretch your budget the best. Getting the Fujinon 35mm (or the Fujinon 23mm) and a cheap 50/1.8 (or the slightly longer Helios) manual focus lens plus adapter would make more sense to me than getting the Fujinon 56mm and a manual focus 35mm. I don't think the 56mm would be restrictive for child portraits, but I think it might be restrictive as the only AF lens in the kit bag for a general purpose walkabout lens.