Fujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4 Hands-on Review: An excellent, if expensive, super-fast wide-angle prime lens
posted Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 2:00 PM EST
Click here to read our Fuji XF 18mm f/1.4 WR Hands-on Review
Back in the spring, Fujifilm announced a new addition to the already-expansive X-mount lens lineup, the Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R WR lens. This super-fast wide-angle prime lens is Fuji's fourth f/1.4 prime lens, sitting right in between the 16mm f/1.4 and 23mm f/1.4 primes. The XF 18mm f/1.4 lens also serves as an upgrade or an alternative to Fuji's existing 18mm prime, the pancake-shaped XF 18mm f/2. This new lens offers not only a slightly faster aperture but also an updated autofocus system and a fully weather-sealed construction. It's also quite a bit more expensive.
When the lens was first announced, we received hands-on with an early prototype of this new 27mm-eq. prime lens, but we couldn't share images from the lens at that time. We've since swapped it out for a full-production sample. I shared a batch of real-world sample images a while back, but I've now had an opportunity to assess and analyze my shooting experience after having used the lens out in the field.
As always, the Hands-on Review goes into much more detail, but suffice it to say, this new fast prime is another outstanding lens for Fujifilm's crop-sensor mirrorless platform. The XF 18mm f/1.4 is very sharp, even wide open -- though stopping down does help. The AF system is swift and quiet, and the lens also focuses quite closely on subjects. Combined with the wide maximum aperture, you can create some striking close-up wide-angle images with a very pleasing shallow depth of field. The build quality is also top-notch, much like I've experienced with other recent Fujifilm XF-series lenses.
The drawbacks with this lens are minimal, with the main concern being its $1000 price tag. That's a solid chunk of change for a lens, especially with an existing, fast 18mm prime already in the lineup. But this lens has features and upgrades the earlier 18mm does not, and if you're looking for a weather-sealed fast and versatile prime lens for your Fuji X Series camera, the new XF 18mm f/1.4 is worth considering.
For all the details of how the new XF 18mm f/1.4 lens performs in the field, head over to the in-depth Fujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4 WR Hands-on Review!