Having read so many positive reviews about the Fujinon XF 23mm, I decided to rent it for a quick weekend trip to Las Vegas. Since we only planned to be there for 24 hours, I knew my opportunities to shoot with the XF 23mm would be limited. Nevertheless, I thought spending a couple days with this highly regarded lens would give me an idea of how using it would compare to shooting with my X100S.
Well, after spending the weekend with the XF 23mm, I must say that everything I’ve read about it is true. Optically, it really is a great lens. From my completely unscientific testing, sharpness, resolution, etc all appear to be excellent. On my X-Pro1, I found the focusing to be a tad slower than the XF 35mm, but not enough to make a difference for the subjects I normally photograph. The one issue I did have with the XF 23mm was that I found myself missing focus quite a bit when shooting at f/1.4. Much more so than with the XF 35mm. Since I didn’t have an X-E2 to try this lens with, it’s hard to know if the X-Pro1 was the problem. Regardless, I was thoroughly impressed with the lens and the images it produced.
As much as I liked the XF 23mm however, I just can’t justify purchasing one right now. For my style of photography, my X100S works just as well and allows me to have a second body just in case my X-Pro1 acts up. With that, I’ll leave you with a few images from our early Sunday morning drive through the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
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