Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR Review

Dustin Abbott

August 15th, 2023

Fuji’s move to the 40MP resolution point on some of their higher end cameras has been pretty punishing on many of their existing lenses, but it also really makes it clear which lenses are exceptional. I reviewed one such lens earlier this year in the form of the XF 33mm F1.4 R LM WR, and immediately people began to tell me that I needed to try out the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR as well, as it was even better. Well, they were right; this lens is awesome! It’s a clear and easy choice for those looking for a premium prime lens covering the classic 35mm angle of view (23mm is 34.5mm in full frame equivalence due to Fuji’s 1.5x crop factor). The XF 23mm has been out for roughly a year and a half now, but it feels like it was made for these new high resolution bodies. This is an easy lens to produce lovely photos with.

Fuji has opened up their platform to third party lenses, and there are a number of lenses that look pretty much identical on paper, but aren’t in practice. This includes a Tokina ATX-M 23mm F1.4 ($299 USD), Viltrox 23mm F1.4 ($299 USD, and the Sigma 23mm F1.4 DN that is rumored to soon be coming in Fuji X-mount ($549 USD). The Sigma, in many ways, will prove the most competitive (based on my findings with the Sony E-mount version), but I think there are still a number of ways where the Fuji XF 23mm F1.4 is operating on its own level. It’s got solid features, great autofocus, and gorgeous optics.

But that does come at a cost. The Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR retails for $899, which means that you are going to pay for that goodness. If we were all made of money, we would all choose the absolute best gear regardless of cost, but in the real world the reality of a lens costing hundreds of dollars more than the competition is going to be a factor. My review will remember that tension that you, as the consumer, have to deal with as a part of my assessment.

So should you add one to your kit? We’ll try to answer that question in this review. If you would prefer to watch your reviews, you can choose watch my definitive video review below…or just keep reading.

Thanks to Fujifilm Canada for loaning me the 23mm F1.4. I’ll be doing this review on my X-H2, which I reviewed here. As always, this is a completely independent review and my conclusions are my own.

Fuji XF 23mm Build and Handling

Fuji likes to essentially build the feature list of their lenses right into the name, so if you learn to “speak Fuji” you can quickly get a sense of what a lens does and does not have right from the name. In this case, the name includes R, LM, and WR, which is a robust feature set.

R = Ring, or specifically an aperture ring.
LM = Linear Motor, Fuji’s premium focus system
WR = Weather Resistance

That adds up to a fairly premium lens despite the compact size of the lens. This lens is slightly larger and heavier than the previous generation 23mm F1.4, but the tradeoff is that it is better at everything. The Fuji XF 23mm F1.4 is pretty much identical to the 33mm F1.4, having very pleasing proportions that look very nice when mounted on the camera.

Now, to be fair, I tested both of these lenses on one of Fuji’s largest APS-C bodies – the X-H2, so if you are using one the very small bodies and want to travel as light as possible, there are smaller/lighter alternatives (the XF 23mm F2, for example). To me, however, this is a great size lens on the X-H2.

The dimensions of the XF 23mm F1.4 are 2.6 (D) x 3.1″ (L) / 67 x 77.8mm with a 58mm front filter thread size. The weight is a very moderate 13.2 oz or 375g. That makes the 23mm very slightly larger and heavier than the 33mm, but barely; it is just a few millimeters longer and about 5 grams heavier. As with the 33mm options, the two competing lenses from Viltrox and Tokina are identical in their own proportions and specifications. Both are 2.6 x 2.8″ (65 x 72mm) though the Viltrox weighs in at 260g while the Tokina is slightly heavier at 276g. But there’s more – they both have the same optical design (11 elements in 10 groups) and the same MFD (30cm) and maximum magnification (0.10x). Same filter thread size (52mm) and same number of aperture blades (9). That’s weirdly similar. The Sigma (in Sony form) is more unique at 65.8 x 79.2mm and 330g in weight, making it the most similar to the Fuji. Here’s a look at a comparison chart between the for lenses:

Bottom line is that while the Fuji is the heaviest of this group, it is also the best made, has full weather sealing, and has a slightly larger/more robust linear focus motor. The weight is still very light and I found the camera and lens effortless to carry around even without a strap for hours while exploring the Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Indiana.

The aperture ring is the Fuji standard. It moves nicely with defined detents at the one third stop marks and with markings at the full stops (F1.4. F2, F2.8, etc…). Rotate the lens all the way to the right and click the little button on the ring if you want to move into A (automatic) mode and control aperture from within the camera.

The manual focus ring works fairly well. I could focus with fairly good precision and didn’t notice visible stepping despite being a focus by wire system.

The Fuji XF 23mm is a very nicely made lens despite its light weight. It feels very “metal” and dense. The lens has a classic semi-glass black finish to it and is completed with thorough weather sealing (as already noted) that has a rear gasket and internal seals.

The included lens hood is is made of plastic but feels more substantial than the one on the 33mm that I tested.

There are no switches on the barrel, as AF/MF is handled via a lever/button on Fuji camera bodies. But many other lensmakers are including things like a focus hold button and/or declick option in lenses in this price zone, and it feels like the standard has been raised and Fuji isn’t quite meeting it. There is also no lens based optical stabilization. I used the X-H2 for this review, which has good in-camera-image-stabilization, so I didn’t actually miss it, but if you are shooting with an older camera, you might.

There are nine rounded aperture blades and I felt like the aperture did quite a good job of retaining a circular shape when stopped down. Here’s a look at the geometry at F1.4, F2, and F2.8:

There is significant lag in the aperture when trying to do aperture racking for video (already difficult because of the clicks) along with visible “steps”. There will be no smooth opening and closing of aperture for an aperture rack.

The minimum focus distance is 19cm, which allows for a reasonably high 0.20x, which is the best amongst these competing lenses (Viltrox and Tokina have 0.10x and the Sigma has about 0.14x). Here’s a look at MFD:

Up close performance is good, and this real world shot shows both the magnification level and the detail available.

Contrast certainly isn’t at macro level, but there’s enough detail there to make up close shots with strongly blurred backgrounds a definite strength.

Overall, the build and features of the lens are very nice, and, as noted in the intro, the compact nature of the lens makes it easy to bring along.

Fujinon XF 23mm Autofocus Performance

The Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 Macro is equipped with a linear focus motor, and that motor does the job of moving focus quickly and smoothly. It was also very accurate on my X-H2, which gave me more confidence using it than I typically feel when using Fuji. I really felt like I could rely on getting accurate autofocus in a wide variety of situations. I was a guest at a wedding, and when the bride and groom came through the door I only had a quick moment to turn and take a shot. They were backlit, there were about 10 rows of people between me and them, and I shot at F1.4. Autofocus was accurate despite all these factors.

General portrait work was very good, with consistently accurate focus.

Autofocus up close was good as well, allowing for lovely close shots:

Focus was quiet and quick, allowing me to grab shots even during action, like on the golf course.

As odd as it may seem, I was also relieved to see good focus at smaller apertures, like for landscapes or architecture. Sometimes lenses focus fine at wide apertures, but not at smaller apertures.

The XF 23mm F1.4 was also quite good for video work, though I continue to see a few Fuji quirks. Focus pulls were good, with no visible steps. Focus breathing is extremely low, which helps focus transitions look very smooth. But on the negative side, touching a new focus area on the screen doesn’t always produce a reaction, or sometimes the move to focus to a new area is delayed. I think that is largely on Fuji’s focus system and touchscreens, which just aren’t as responsive as some competing brands, but there is clearly the potential in the lens for strong performance for video.

When doing my hand test (blocking focus on my face with my hand and then removing it to allow focus to return to the eye), I saw mixed results. The problem was never focus on my face, but rather sometimes the focus system didn’t move to my hand. It would focus on the background beyond me instead. Bottom line: there’s still room for improvement on the video AF front for Fuji, but I actually don’t think that the lens is the problem.

Autofocus was definitely better than average, however, so I’m satisfied. Most of the time focus very – ahem – sweet:

This is the kind of lens I would want to have on my Fuji camera in critical focus situations.

Fuji XF 23mm Image Quality Breakdown

The Fuji XF 23mm has a complex optical formula of 15 elements in 10 groups, which includes 2 aspherical and 3 ED elements – essentially an identical optical design to the 33mm. The MTF chart shows very sharp center performance, a dip in the midframe, and then a minor correction where the edges of the frame are slightly sharper.

It’s worth noting that Fuji displays their MTF charts at higher values than usual. Most MTF charts use 10 and 30 lines/mm, but Fuji shows their MTF charts at 15 and 45 lines/mm. That’s actually useful since the release of their 40MP sensors, as the more demanding MTF chart (at 45 l/mm) is a more accurate representation of how lenses will perform on a high resolution body. As noted in the intro, I feel like the XF 23mm F1.4 has joined a very short list of lenses that I feel really thrive on the 40MP cameras.

Fuji’s correction profiles are typically quite good, but I’ll turn them off to take a look at the actual lens performance when it comes to vignette and distortion.

We can see that there is some barrel distortion and fairly heavy vignette present. If I do a manual correction I find that the distortion pattern is quite linear and is corrected with a value +13. The vignette is heavy, requiring a +81 to clear it up (about 3 stops). The correction profile does all of this easily either in camera for JPEG/Video or in software for RAW files.

Nothing too troubling here. How about chromatic aberrations? First of all, nothing jumped out at me in real world testing. When I went looking for longitudinal chromatic aberrations, I really could not find much of anything. Bokeh highlights were neutral, and there was little fringing to be seen. In this shot I don’t see any fringing either in the crystals or in the bokeh highlights beyond.

I saw next to no lateral chromatic aberrations near the edge of the frame either on my chart in on bare branches in real world shots, so nothing to worry about on that front.

Here’s a look at my test chart that the crops came from (40MP images from the X-H2):

Here’s a look at F1.4 crops (about 175% magnification) from the center, mid-frame, and corner:

The XF 23mm F1.4 has more consistent sharpness, contrast, and detail across the frame than the 33mm did, making it one the sharpest Fuji prime lenses that I’ve yet tested. The results look very much like a good lens on one of the full frame platforms that I test, which is, frankly, very unusual on APS-C. I was very pleased to get high contrast, detailed results even at F1.4:

That’s very big deal when you are talking about this level of resolution. A full frame camera would have to be roughly 91MP to have a similar level of pixel density, so the XF 23mm F1.4 is being held to a higher standard in these tests than on any other platforms, and the fact that a compact lens is succeeding so well under these demands is very impressive. Don’t expect anywhere near this level of performance from the Viltrox or Tokina 23mm F1.4 lenses. I don’t have either of them on hand to compare to, but when I looked back on my review of the Viltrox, it didn’t deliver as good of results on Sony even though I tested it on just an 18MP resolution point. The Sigma will likely be the strongest competitor based on my Sony E-mount test, and I’ll revisit this comparison when I do a review on X-mount.

Even a mild stop down to F1.8 produces improved contrast across the frame and brighter corners.

Stopping the lens down to F2 adds a bit more contrast in the mid-frame and corner, with the center mostly staying the same. Stopping on down to F2.8 improves contrast and clarity to fantastic levels across the frame.

Real world images in this range are crisp and detailed all across the frame (this shot at F2.8):

The importance of this cannot be overstated, particularly if you are looking for lenses that are a good match for a high resolution body. Diffraction comes early on high resolution cameras, so being able to get your best results at wider apertures is really important. High resolution bodies also tend to be noisier at high ISO values, so the ability to get crisp results at large apertures allows one to keep the ISO down in lower light situations and get clean results. The XF 23mm F1.4 is one of the best pairings for Fuji’s 40MP sensors that I’ve yet reviewed.

At landscape apertures there is plenty of detail across the frame. Couple that with Fuji’s excellent color rendition, and you have a lens very well suited for landscape work:

Diffraction sets in pretty early on my X-H2, so by F8 images are starting to soften slightly, and by F16 the effect is very pronounced. On the new higher resolution bodies with the 40MP sensor, I would try to stay at F8 or larger as much as possible.

$31-Diffraction$

The 23mm is clearly sharper than the 33mm, but I would give the edge to the 33mm for the quality of the bokeh. It’s not unusual for the lens with wider focal lengths to be less “creamy” in the bokeh region than longer focal lengths. This shot of the morning dew shows what I would consider the biggest “bokeh issue” for the lens – it has more outlining than what I would like to see.

When you arrived at strongly defocused backgrounds (look at the upper portion of the image below), the bokeh looks quite good. But in the early transition to defocus there are still some harder edges.

You can see it here in this shot of votive candles: the defocused region is only okay, certainly not exceptional.

One final image to illustrate the point – this shot of an ornate stair rail shows a lot of outlined circles in the defocused regions; you certainly couldn’t classify it as “soft”.

This is often the Achille’s heel for very sharp, high contrast lenses. It’s hard to turn that contrast off in the defocused area. It’s a rare lens that can combine both intense contrast and sharpness with very soft and creamy defocused areas, so often lens designers have to look for some compromise between the two. The XF 23mm F1.4 is biased towards the sharpness side of the equation.

This isn’t to say the bokeh is bad (it’s not), but it’s just a little busier than I personally would like. When at its best the XF 23mm F1.4 delivers images that have great detail on the subject and fairly nice rendering in the background.

This image is a good segway into a discussion of flare resistance. You can see from the upper right portion of the image above that there was bright sunlight coming into the frame, and yet contrast has held up. There’s a hint of an artistic veiling effect that shows up a little more strongly in this image here:

I’m actually very partial to this effect, as it can add an artistic effect to images. In fact, one of my favorite images from the wedding I (casually) shot with this lens was this “getaway” image of the bride and groom where I intentionally got low to get some flare effectives in the image. Contrast is strong in the image, but there is a very nice sunstar effect. There is a moderate ghosting artifact near the bottom of the frame, but nothing too heinous.

I was very pleased with the look of the sunbursts from the lens. They are nicely defined with blades that end in points.

Color rendition is typically a strength for Fuji glass, and I think that’s true here. Color are rich, nicely saturated, and images have a pleasing “pop” to them.

Here’s another shot of an interior space that shows nice color rendition.

Skin tones were also very nice. I would consider this a great option for wedding photographers for a lot of the reasons I’ve already mentioned.

Like the 33mm, this is a lens that I would personally enjoy owning. I don’t love the bokeh, but it does pretty much everything else very well. Check out the image gallery here to see more of those images for yourself and to draw your own conclusions from them.

Conclusion

Fuji’s transition to the very high resolution point on some of their recent cameras has prompted my own move to the X-H2 as my Fuji camera and test body. I’ve quickly discovered that a 40MP APS-C sensor really changes the calculus of what lenses are going to be acceptable to someone who looks critically at lenses for a living. I’ve been left disappointed by a number of lenses that just don’t seem to ever get quite sharp enough to resolve this sensor, so a lens like the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR is a breath of fresh air. It makes my X-H2 essentially the equivalent of a full frame camera, with great detail and autofocus, but with a smaller, lighter form factor than what most full frame lenses can compare to. I love my Sony FE 35mm F1.4 G Master lens, and have marveled at how compact it is (for what it is), but there’s no arguing the fact that it is 50% bigger and heavier than this XF 23mm F1.4. That is the (potential) advantage of APS-C, and it is nice to see it realized here.

A lens like this is a great option in lower light or at night, as you can shoot with confidence at large apertures and still get crisp, detailed results.

Autofocus performance was also a clear cut above older Fuji lenses, and, while Fuji still has a ways to go to quite match what Sony and Canon are doing, the gap seems to be closing a bit. If you have purchased or are considering purchasing an X-H2 or X-T5 (or some future body with the 40MP sensor), then I can recommend the XF 23mm F1.4 to the short list of lenses that have high enough performance to thrive on that platform. At the same time, the price tag of $899 USD is not cheap, so a lens like the Sigma 23mm F1.4 DN might become the next best thing if you can’t afford the Fuji. I can also say, with confidence, that the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR is the best lens you can get at this focal length in X-mount.

Pros:

Well made lens in a compact package
Good build and weather sealing
Linear motor is quiet and fast
Good stickiness on eyes during focus
Focus pulls are smoothly damped
Very low focus breathing
Good sharpness across the frame from F1.4 on
Low levels of chromatic aberrations
Beautiful color rendition

Cons:

- No declick option or physical controls other than aperture ring
- Bokeh has some outlining
- Vignette fairly heavy

Gear Used:

Purchase the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

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DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 LM WR Gallery

Dustin Abbott

August 15th, 2023

Fuji’s move to the 40MP resolution point on some of their higher end cameras has been pretty punishing on many of their existing lenses, but it also really makes it clear which lenses are exceptional. I reviewed one such lens earlier this year in the form of the XF 33mm F1.4 R LM WR, and immediately people began to tell me that I needed to try out the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR as well, as it was even better. Well, they were right; this lens is awesome! It’s a clear and easy choice for those looking for a premium prime lens covering the classic 35mm angle of view (23mm is 34.5mm in full frame equivalence due to Fuji’s 1.5x crop factor). The XF 23mm has been out for roughly a year and a half now, but it feels like it was made for these new high resolution bodies. This is an easy lens to produce lovely photos with.

Fuji has opened up their platform to third party lenses, and there are a number of lenses that look pretty much identical on paper, but aren’t in practice. This includes a Tokina ATX-M 23mm F1.4 ($299 USD), Viltrox 23mm F1.4 ($299 USD, and the Sigma 23mm F1.4 DN that is rumored to soon be coming in Fuji X-mount ($549 USD). The Sigma, in many ways, will prove the most competitive (based on my findings with the Sony E-mount version), but I think there are still a number of ways where the Fuji XF 23mm F1.4 is operating on its own level. It’s got solid features, great autofocus, and gorgeous optics.

But that does come at a cost. The Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR retails for $899, which means that you are going to pay for that goodness. If we were all made of money, we would all choose the absolute best gear regardless of cost, but in the real world the reality of a lens costing hundreds of dollars more than the competition is going to be a factor. My review will remember that tension that you, as the consumer, have to deal with as a part of my assessment.

So should you add one to your kit? We’ll try to answer that question in this review. If you want more information, you can choose to watch my definitive video review or read the text review…or just enjoy the photos below.

Thanks to Fujifilm Canada for loaning me the 23mm F1.4. I’ll be doing this review on my X-H2, which I reviewed here. As always, this is a completely independent review and my conclusions are my own.

Images of the Fuji XF 23mm F1.4

Images Taken with Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4

Gear Used:

Purchase the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

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Keywords: 23mm, 23mm F1.4, XF 23mm F1.4, Fuji, Fuji 23mm Review, Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 Review, LM, WR, R, 33mm, 33, 1.4, F1.4, F/1.4, Fujinon, Fujifilm, X-H2, FujiFILM X-H2, X-H2 Review, X-T5, Fuji X-H2, Fuji X-H2 Review, Fujinon, Dustin Abbott, Review, Sensor, Tracking, IBIS, Stabilization, Eye AF, Viltrox, XF, Review, Hands On, Video Test, Sharpness, High ISO, Autofocus, Dynamic Range, 40MP, 40 MP, Lens, Comparison, Test, Dustinabbott.net, APS-C, X-Trans, letthelightin, DA, #letthelightin, #fuji

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 LM WR Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

May 22nd, 2023

One of the biggest advantages for APS-C is the ability to have large aperture prime lenses that are still compact and lightweight. The Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 R LM WR weighs only 360g while boasting an extremely nice build quality, great weather sealing, good autofocus, and having the nice color rendition that Fuji optical glass provides. It was announced in September 2021, and, being a newer lens, has Fuji’s updated focus design that makes it more versatile for things like video. The XF 33mm offers a full frame 50mm equivalent angle of view (normal), and as such is going to be an indispensable addition to many photographer’s kit. This is an easy lens to produce lovely photos with.

The single greatest challenge for the XF 33mm is not some flaw of its own but rather the fact that there are two other XF mount 33mm F1.4 lenses to choose from: the Viltrox 33mm F1.4 at under $300 and the Tokina atx-m 33mm F1.4 at $350. The Fuji XF 33mm comes in at a much more premium $800 price point. I haven’t spent time with the Tokina, but I did review the Viltrox and found it to be fairly strong lens. The Fuji is the more mature, nuanced lens, but it will face a bit of a value question by comparison.

That’s a financial decision, obviously, but I will say that this has been one of my favorite Fuji primes that I’ve reviewed thus far. The lens offers nice colors, a decent magnification ratio that bests the other two alternatives, pleasant bokeh, and good sharpness.

So should you add one to your kit? You can answer that question by watching my video review, reading the text review, or just enjoy the photos below.

Images of the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4

Image Taken with the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4

Gear Used:

Purchase the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 XF @ Viltrox Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T4 @B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S10 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | | Camera Canada | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

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DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 LM WR Review

Dustin Abbott

May 22nd, 2023

One of the biggest advantages for APS-C is the ability to have large aperture prime lenses that are still compact and lightweight. The Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 R LM WR weighs only 360g while boasting an extremely nice build quality, great weather sealing, good autofocus, and having the nice color rendition that Fuji optical glass provides. It was announced in September 2021, and, being a newer lens, has Fuji’s updated focus design that makes it more versatile for things like video. The XF 33mm offers a full frame 50mm equivalent angle of view (normal), and as such is going to be an indispensable addition to many photographer’s kit. This is an easy lens to produce lovely photos with.

The single greatest challenge for the XF 33mm is not some flaw of its own but rather the fact that there are two other XF mount 33mm F1.4 lenses to choose from: the Viltrox 33mm F1.4 at under $300 and the Tokina atx-m 33mm F1.4 at $350. The Fuji XF 33mm comes in at a much more premium $800 price point. I haven’t spent time with the Tokina, but I did review the Viltrox and found it to be fairly strong lens. The Fuji is the more mature, nuanced lens, but it will face a bit of a value question by comparison.

That’s a financial decision, obviously, but I will say that this has been one of my favorite Fuji primes that I’ve reviewed thus far. The lens offers nice colors, a decent magnification ratio that bests the other two alternatives, pleasant bokeh, and good sharpness.

So should you add one to your kit? We’ll try to answer that question in this review. If you would prefer to watch your reviews, you can choose watch my definitive video review below…or just keep reading.

Fuji XF 33mm Build and Handling

Fuji likes to essentially build the feature list of their lenses right into the name, so if you learn to “speak Fuji” you can quickly get a sense of what a lens does and does not have right from the name. In this case, the name includes R, LM, and WR, which is a robust feature set.

R = Ring, or specifically an aperture ring.
LM = Linear Motor, Fuji’s premium focus system
WR = Weather Resistance

That adds up to a fairly premium lens despite the compact size of the lens. The Fuji XF 33mm F1.4 has very pleasing proportions that look very nice when mounted on the camera.

Now, to be fair, I tested the lens on one of Fuji’s largest APS-C bodies – the X-H2, so if you are using one the very small bodies and want to travel as light as possible, there are smaller/lighter alternatives. To me, however, this is a great size lens on the X-H2.

The dimensions of the XF 33mm are 2.6 (D) x 2.9″ (L) / 67 x 73.5mm with a 58mm front filter thread size. As noted, the weight comes in at 12.7 oz or 360g. What’s weird is that the two competing lenses (Viltrox and Tokina) are identical in their own proportions and specifications. Both are 2.6 x 2.8″ (65 x 72mm) though the Viltrox weighs in at 270g while the Tokina is slightly heavier at 285g. But there’s more – they both have the same optical design (10 elements in 9 groups) and the same MFD (40cm) and maximum magnification (0.10x). Same filter thread size (52mm) and same number of aperture blades (9). The angle of view isn’t identical, so they aren’t the same optical design, but I have very rarely seen two lenses from two different companies with such similar specs. Here’s a look at a comparison chart between the three lenses:

The Fuji looks slightly larger than the Viltrox side by side, but nothing significant.

The aperture ring is the Fuji standard. It moves nicely with defined detents at the one third stop marks and with markings at the full stops (F1.4. F2, F2.8, etc…). Rotate the lens all the way to the right and click the little button on the ring if you want to move into A (automatic) mode and control aperture from within the camera.

The manual focus ring works fairly well. I could focus with fairly good precision and didn’t notice visible stepping despite being a focus by wire system.

The Fuji XF 33mm is a very nicely made lens despite its light weight. It feels very “metal” and dense. The lens has a classic semi-glass black finish to it and is completed with thorough weather sealing (as already noted) that has a rear gasket and internal seals.

The included lens hood is is made of plastic and is nothing particularly special. It feels like a cheap tack on compared to the build quality of the lens, and it stands out because the Viltrox costs 2 1/2x less but has a very nice metal lens hood that matches the lens better. The hood doesn’t even match in terms of texture.

There are no switches on the barrel, as AF/MF is handled via a lever/button on Fuji camera bodies. But many other lensmakers are including things like a focus hold button and/or declick option in lenses in this price zone, and it feels like the standard has been raised and Fuji isn’t quite meeting it. There is also no lens based optical stabilization. I used the X-H2 for this review, which has good in-camera-image-stabilization, so I didn’t actually miss it, but if you are shooting with an older camera, you might.

There are nine rounded aperture blades and I felt like the aperture did quite a good job of retaining a circular shape when stopped down. Here’s a look at the geometry at F1.4, F2, and F2.8:

The minimum focus distance is 30cm, which allows for a pretty average (for a 50mm lens) 0.15x magnification, though both the Viltrox and Tokina underwhelm with a 0.10x magnification, making the Fuji look pretty generous by comparison. Here’s a look at MFD:

Up close performance is good, and this real world shot shows both the magnification level and the detail available.

Contrast certainly isn’t at macro level, but there’s enough detail there to make up close shots with strongly blurred backgrounds a definite strength.

Overall, the build and features of the lens are very nice, and, as noted in the intro, the compact nature of the lens makes it easy to bring along.

Fujinon XF 33mm Autofocus Performance

The Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 Macro is equipped with a linear focus motor, and that motor does the job of moving focus quickly and smoothly.

Focus accuracy was generally good as well, delivering well focused results in a variety of lighting conditions. This shot of Ferrari shows good focus even at F1.4:

I used it at a games night with friends, and it delivered nicely focused results in typical room lighting.

Focus was quiet and quick, and focus accuracy is most situations was very good. Here, for example, focus grabbed the tiny spring buds that I was trying to capture.

I will noted that if the “green box” was not on the area that I wanted, focus would not grab an obvious foreground subject even with whole sensor tracking engaged. I got this shot, for example:

When what I was looking for was this shot:

This seems to be a Fuji issue and not this particular lens, however.

If I tested focus pulls in stills mode, I would hear a little clacking not from the focus motor but the aperture blades. Focus was tuned for speed there. If I switched to video mode, the damping was definitely increased, and focus pulls were more smooth and gradual rather than snappy. This is good, though I did see a few visible steps, particularly right before final subject lock. Not a flawless performance, but definitely better than what I saw from earlier Fuji lenses. Worth noting is that focus breathing is very minimal as well.

When doing my hand test I had a hard time getting the focus system to leave my face even with my hand covering most of the frame. I had to intentionally block all of my face before focus would shift to my hand. It was a little frustrating for that exercise, but I did appreciate that if I passed my hand back and forth laterally in front of the camera focus never wavered from my eyes, so stickiness was good.

Here’s another shot that shows off real world precision of focus (on an X-H2), and I thought it did a good job:

I was satisfied with the focus performance here in general, and, if focus isn’t quite at the top tier level I see from other brands like Sony or Canon, I don’t feel like the gap between Fuji products and them is quite as wide anymore.

Fuji XF 33mm Image Quality Breakdown

The Fuji XF 33mm has a complex optical formula of 15 elements in 10 groups, which includes 2 aspherical and 3 ED elements. That’s 5 elements more than either the Viltrox or the Tokina. It does pay off here, however, as I feel like the XF 33mm strikes a very nice balance between sharpness, bokeh, and general rendering. The MTF chart suggests a sharp center with a fairly steep decline to the mid-frame, but the sharpness essentially flatlines from there to the edge of the frame.

The extremely high resolution of the Fujifilm X-H2 (40.2MP) that I’m reviewing the lens on will give it a sterner test than any of the available cameras when it was released, though I would largely say that the XF 33mm is up to the task. Images have nice detail, and this simple shot of pine needles in the rain (at F1.4) stood out to me.

Fuji’s correction profiles are typically quite good, but I’ll turn them off to take a look at the actual lens performance when it comes to vignette and distortion.

We can see that there is some distortion (pincushion style) and vignette. If I do a manual correction I find that the distortion pattern is very linear and easily fixes with a value of -5. The vignette is a bit heavier, but a +62 clears it up (about 2 1/4 stops). The correction profile does all of this easily either in camera for JPEG/Video or in software for RAW files.

Nothing too troubling here. How about chromatic aberrations? First of all, nothing jumped out at me in real world testing. When I went looking for longitudinal chromatic aberrations, I was able to find some mostly in the form of some blue/green fringing around some specular bokeh highlights, but nothing obvious or egregious.

I saw next to no lateral chromatic aberrations near the edge of the frame either on my chart in on bare branches in real world shots, so nothing to worry about on that front.

Here’s a look at my test chart that the crops came from (40MP images from the X-H2):

Here’s a look at F1.4 crops (about 175% magnification) from the center, mid-frame, and corner:

You can see that the resolution does indeed drop off significantly from the center to the mid-frame results, with a very shallow decline from there to the corners. Fortunately real world images at wide apertures are mostly composed in the area where resolution is higher on a lens like this, and when you hit the sweet spot, you can get nice, high contrast results.

Contrast isn’t off the charts, but I did think that the detail in this night scene at F1.4 was perfectly usable.

When I compared to the Viltrox at F1.4 the Fuji had a clear advantage in sharpness across the frame.

Stopping the lens down to F2 starts to improve the contrast across the frame, and I do see better detail starting to emerge in the midframe and corners.

Things are looking better by F2.8, and better still by F4. Smaller aperture images have nice detail across the frame, like this shot at F5.6:

How about this old barn at F5.6, where I see only a slight bit less contrast near the edge of the frame:

If I check back in with the Viltrox, one of the biggest things I see is how much more consistent the metering was with the Fuji lens when shooting my chart tests. The Viltrox rendered oddly dark even though there was only a very minor difference in shutter speed. The Fuji is sharper and better centered across the frame. This is a case of “you get what you pay for”:

Minimum aperture is F16, but on a high resolution body like the X-H2 diffraction has long set in and robbed the image of most clarity and contrast:

On the new higher resolution bodies with the 40MP sensor, I would try to stay at F8 or larger as much as possible.

So detail is quite good, but my favorite part of the lens is the combination of sharpness and bokeh. It renders very nicely, with a nicely blurred background. Up close (where the background blur is increased) the bokeh is very soft and creamy:

Even if you move back a bit and allow for a more complicated background, the rendering remained quite good and not strongly “jittery”.

I also continued to like the bokeh with the lens stopped down a bit (F2.8 here):

When I let the sun into the frame I found that contrast dipped a bit but neither did I see anything too appalling.

Color rendition were very nice – punchy and clean.

After being a little underwhelmed by the 30mm F2.8 Macro, it’s very nice to wrap up a review on a recent Fuji prime and think, “that’s a lens I’d like to own!” I generally liked the images that I got with the XF 33mm and appreciate the nice balanced design of the optics. Check out the image gallery to see more of those images for yourself and to draw your own conclusions from them.

Conclusion

Fuji has taken quite a few “kicks at the can” at the “normal” focal length, with three previous 35mm designs, and, while I liked the XF 35mm F2 a fair bit, this newer Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 checks the most boxes for me. It delivers a really nice blend of sharpness, bokeh, and color rendition while having a nice weather sealed build, good autofocus, and a compact form factor.

There’s relatively little to criticize, as while the wide open contrast isn’t record breaking, it’s also what allows for the nice defocus in the background.

The XF 33mm is a lens that isn’t outclassed by the daunting new 40MP Fuji sensors which is huge in and of itself. While I can’t speak for the Tokinon 33mm F1.4, the copy of the Viltrox 33mm F1.4 is easily outclassed by the Fuji, which does help to justify the higher price tag. The Fuji also has a more sophisticated focus system, weather sealing, and much nicer color. The Viltrox or Tokina are probably still good budget alternatives, but I suspect that those who are looking for a great normal lens will be most satisfied by saving up and adding the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4. It’s one of the more complete short prime lenses that I’ve tested thus far on Fuji.

Pros:

Well made lens in a compact package
Good build and weather sealing
Linear motor is quiet and fast
Good stickiness on eyes during focus
Focus pulls are smoothly damped
Good center sharpness from F1.4 on
Excellent sharpness across frame when stopped down
Very nice bokeh
Low levels of chromatic aberrations
Beautiful color rendition

Cons:

Lens hood feels cheap
No declick option or physical controls other than aperture ring
Softer in midframe and corner at large apertures
Some slight stepping in video focus pulls

Gear Used:

Purchase the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 XF @ Viltrox Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T4 @B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S10 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

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Keywords: 33mm, 33mm F1.4, XF 33mm F1.4, Fuji, Fuji 33mm Review, Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 Review, LM, WR, R, 33mm, 33, 1.4, F1.4, F/1.4, Fujinon, Fujifilm, X-H2, FujiFILM X-H2, X-H2 Review, X-T5, Fuji X-H2, Fuji X-H2 Review, Fujinon, Dustin Abbott, Review, Sensor, Tracking, IBIS, Stabilization, Eye AF, Viltrox, XF, Review, Hands On, Video Test, Sharpness, High ISO, Autofocus, Dynamic Range, 40MP, 40 MP, Lens, Comparison, Test, Dustinabbott.net, APS-C, X-Trans, letthelightin, DA

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Sony FE 35mm F1.4 G Master Review

Dustin Abbott

May 10th, 2021

The classic 35mm focal length is one that, until recently, was slightly underrepresented on Sony. For years the sole “professional” option was the Sony Zeiss Distagon 35mm F1.4, a lens with a very mixed reputation that seems to be due to having a lot of sample variation (some good copies, some not so good). That lens was also quite expensive, typically retailing for well over $1500 USD (the price has dropped subsequent to the release of the GM lens). Samyang later brought a competing lens at a much lower price point (the Samyang AF 35mm F1.4, my review here). Sony later released a compact alternative, the Sony FE 35mm F1.8, a lens that most concluded is very good though perhaps slightly overpriced (my review here). The aging Distagon lens was still begging for a replacement, however, as it came before Sony’s G Master premium lens series had surfaced. That replacement is here in the form of the Sony 35mm F1.4 G Master, a fabulous new lens that will almost certainly serve as the benchmark by whttps://www.sony.ca/en/electronics/camera-lenses/sel14f18gm/specifications#featureshich other 35mm lenses are evaluated against for a while. Sigma did just release a cheaper alternative in the form of the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN ART (my review here), though the 35mm F1.4 GM still has a number of clear advantages that we’ll detail in our review. The photos and tests that I share as a part of my review cycle of the 35GM (as we’ll call it for brevity) have all been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here).

Sony has really hit its stride in lens development in the past few years, as while early G Master lenses were good on many levels, I didn’t find them as exceptional as their price point suggested they should be and in relation to competitors from other brands. But more recent GM lenses (and G lenses, for that matter), have been a different story. The 24mm F1.4 G Master (my review here) was exceptional because it delivered the optical and autofocus performance while also keeping the size and price down to acceptable levels. The Sony 135mm F1.8 GM isn’t cheap, but it is one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever tested (my review here), with exceptional autofocus and build. It is professional grade in every way. The recent Sony 35mm F1.4 and 14mm F1.8 GM lenses (which I’m also testing at the moment) continue in the vein of the 24mm F1.4 GM, delivering exceptional optical qualities while also managing to keep the size relatively compact and the price relatively moderate. I suspect that will be a winning formula for Sony, who is showing tremendous maturation as a brand right now.

The Sony 35mm F1.4 GM is going to be the clear choice for working professionals and/discerning amateurs because it has many strengths and few flaws. The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN provides a great new alternative if you are on a tight budget, but the GM lens is the clear choice if you want the best. The 35GM is smaller and lighter, has slightly more refined autofocus, higher magnification and better close up performance, and manages to deliver a more nuanced optical performance. The difference between the two is not night and day, but the various advantages start to add up. Perhaps my best way to illustrate the differences between two lenses is to show this photo:

They were taken of the same subject, though obviously not at identical times. At a pixel level, the lock is incredibly sharp on both of them and rendered with excellent contrast, but I suspect you will instinctively favor the overall rendering on the left from the GM lens where the chain link fence melts away to creamy defocus in a more artistic, pleasing way. That’s the nuance of what Sony has achieved with the 35GM; a rare lens that succeeds on both the artistic and technical sides of things. To discover more, read on here or you can watch either my long format definitive review or shorter standard video reviews below.

Thanks to Sony Canada for getting me an early loaner of the lens. As always, this is a completely independent review.

Sony 35GM Build, Handling, and Features

The first thing that is important to highlight with the 35GM is that Sony has managed to produce another high quality prime lens that manages to give great build and feature quality while managing size and weight. The GM lens is obviously smaller and light than Sigma’s new 35mm F1.4 DN ART lens:

More specifically, the GM lens is 116g lighter (525 vs 640g) and right over 15mm shorter (96 vs 111.5mm). The Sigma lens is remarkably similar in size and weight to the older Distagon lens, but Sony has managed to make meaningful size and weight reductions to the new GM lens. Here’s a look at a full list of specification comparisons.

The lens is 76mm in diameter and sports a 67mm front filter thread.

While I love the toughness and functionality of GM lenses, I don’t find them aesthetically top notch. They are feature rich lenses (which is great), but the Sony design language tends to result in lenses that look functional but a bit busy. That’s a subjective statement, of course, so your opinion may be completely different.

The upside is that the GM lenses are always very feature rich. That starts with the aperture, where you have multiple options for controlling aperture. You can change it from within the camera, manually change it via one third stop detents, or have a declicked aperture by selecting the switch on the right side of the barrel.

The lens also sports a focus hold button along with an AF/MF switch.

The 35GM has a professional grade of weather sealing, with 9 total seal points, beginning with a seal at the lens mount, internal seals, and then a fluorine coating on the front element. This is a lens designed for professional use in a wide variety of environmental conditions.

The manual focus ring is about three centimeters in diameter, has a ribbed, rubberized texture, and moves smoothly. The damping is a little on the light side, however, and so the focus action isn’t as excellent as I’ve seen in some lenses. The focus ring is nicely linear, however, which makes for highly repeatable results.

An area of real strength for the lens is that it can focus down as closely as 25cm (9.8″), which allows a very high 0.26x magnification figure. That bests the new Sigma DN lens (0.19x), the older Distagon lens (0.18x), the Samyang AF 35mm F1.4 (0.17x), and even the FE 35mm F1.8 (0.24x). Here’s what MFD looks like:

As you can see, my typical bill that I use for this test pretty much fills the frame, and also worth noting is that close up performance is excellent here. Good contrast and detail, and a surprisingly flat plane of focus that shows little field curvature. That’s unusual for a wide angle lens that focuses so closely, and this makes the close up performance even more useful. Here’s a real world example at MFD and F1.4:

That’s going to prove very useful in the real world.

The 35GM sports a high aperture blade count of 11, which is useful in maintaining a circular shape as the aperture is stopped down.

We can see from this series (F1.4, F2, and F2.8) that even at F2.8 the aperture is basically perfectly circular, and while there is some geometric deformation at F1.4 (lemon shape), the the F2 example shows a perfect circular shape even at the edges of the frame. This further helps the quality of the bokeh in a variety of situations.

In short, the 35GM basically ticks all the boxes. It is wonderfully compact and light for a professional grade F1.4 lens, has a wide variety of features, and is functionally pretty much perfect other than lacking a bit of feel during manual focus. It looks great mounted on the camera, has quality weather sealing, and works just as I would want. There are are smaller, lighter F1.8 options, but Sony has designed this lens so that there isn’t a huge impact in size and portability when moving up to the pro-grade option.

Sony 35mm F1.4 GM Autofocus and Video Performance

Sony has developed a winning autofocus formula in recent GM lenses by utilizing XD (Extreme Dynamic) Linear Motors. They evaluate the amount of torque needed to drive the focusing element(s) and then multiply the number of linear motors needed for fast, quiet focus. In this case, the necessary number was two, though I’ve seen as many as four in a lens like the 135mm F1.8 GM. Sony nailed the formula here, though as autofocus is fast, utterly quiet, and very accurate. I was able to get consistently excellent focus even when focusing on difficult subjects.

I had no problem pinpointing narrow depth of field subjects and got consistently well focused results.

During an available light portrait session I shot through budding trees with a lot of layers, and I got consistent tracking of and focus on the eyes; not one shot in the series was misfocused.

Using a strong ND filter to allow me to record a long exposure didn’t slow down autofocus, either. I didn’t really notice a difference in focus speed with the ND filter attached.

I used the 35GM for a number of video episodes, and found that autofocus was completely reliable, with consistently excellent tracking of my eyes during the episodes. I also did a test where I moved towards, then away from the camera at various speeds, and also got excellent tracking results there. Focus proved nice and sticky, but I also noted that the focus transitions were nice and smooth, which could prove important to getting footage that isn’t distracting to the viewer.

Likewise, my focus pull test proved to be smooth and accurate, with no focus sounds picked up by the onboard microphones. All good! The only negative for video shooters is the 35GM is guilty of significant focus breathing; objects will change significantly in size depending on how much they are in or out of focus.

This is really the only nitpick, however. Autofocus is much like the rest of the execution of the lens: excellent.

Sony 35GM Optical Performance

Sony has employed a relatively complex optical performance here with 14 elements in 10 groups. There are two extreme aspherical elements, the first of which has a greater degree of curvature than what is employed by many lens makers (one of Sony’s breakthroughs that has enable better performance from more compact lenses recently) along with an extra low dispersion element. The end result of all of this is excellent sharpness and contrast even at F1.4:

Pretty awesome!

We noted in our intro that Sony delivers a more nuanced (sophisticated) optical performance than the recent Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN lens, but it’s important to back that statement up with proof. Those of you who read or watched my review of the Sigma know that it is a very sharp lens that I was impressed with, but the Sony manages to equal the sharpness of the Sigma while also giving a nicer overall rendering.

First of all, let’s a take a look at the vignette and distortion. What we find is a very mild amount of pincushion distortion (surprising, as I typically see barrel distortion at this focal length). It only required a -1 to correct, which is part of the reason that close up performance is so good and delivers such a flat plane of focus.

Vignette is considerably heavier, however, requiring a +67 to correct for and sliding the midpoint fully to 0. This points to over 2.5 stops of corner shading, which is heavier than what we saw on the Sigma, though the GM lens has less distortion.

Longitudinal chromatic aberrations (LoCA) are fairly well controlled, though you will see some purple or green fringing in some high contrast situations.

My worst real world sample was here, where the large aperture (F1.4) produced a shallow enough depth of field that these transition contrast areas around the bare branches had some purple fringing on them.

Fortunately I saw only a couple of real world situations where this was a factor, and in most situations LoCA was not a factor.

LaCA (Lateral CA) was extremely well controlled, with no evidence of fringing along the edges on either side of black and white transitions.

[Show picture list]

The well controlled aberrations point to very strong contrast even at wide apertures, and that was certainly the case. Here’s a look at my test chart shot with the 50MP Sony Alpha 1.

And here are the crops from the center, mid-frame, and corner at F1.4:

You can see excellent resolution and contrast that is very consistent across the frame.

I found the Sigma DN lens to be very sharp, and we can see that it holds pretty close in the center of the frame.

The 35GM delivers a more even performance across the frame, though, and is stronger in the midframe and into the corners.

This produces a really strong real-world performance where the 35GM is almost as sharp and contrasty at F1.4 as it is in landscape apertures like F5.6:

Here’s another example taken from near the edge of an image:

And, for good measure, here’s a full image that shows both nice foreground defocus but also amazing detail at F1.4:

That’s not to say that there are no gains by stepping the lens down. You can see that detail and (particularly) contrast improves when stopping down:

But there is no lack of sharpness and contrast at F1.4, though, which allows you to use aperture to control depth of field rather than being forced to use it to achieve usable sharpness and contrast.

I’ll also note that despite having high sharpness, skin tones were rendered nicely and without any of the waxy, overdone look sometimes found on images from lens with high sharpness.

This will make for a great environmental portrait lens.

Minimum aperture here is F16, and on a higher resolution camera like mine, diffraction is softening the image enough to where it isn’t as sharp at F16 as it is at F1.4. A lower resolution sensor like Sony’s 24MP options will probably see less softening at the smallest aperture.

Where Sony has really excelled here is by designing a lens that can deliver both high levels of sharpness and contrast on the subject while also delivering very soft, pleasing bokeh. I think this image is a great case in point:

My experience is that few lenses manage to do both these things, and that makes the 35GM a rare and special one.

I saw many reasons to be happy about the bokeh rendering from the lens:

Here’s a few more “bokeh images”:

Sony has some of the best coatings in the business right now, and I’ve found a lot of their recent lenses to be class leaders in flare resistance. That’s true with the 35GM, too, which showed a high degree of resistance to either ghosting or veiling. The sun in this image is actually very intense and directional, but there’s no evidence of flare artifacts.

This is certainly a strength relative to my long-time favorite 35mm lens – the Canon EF 35mm F1.4L II, as it’s single greatest weakness is probably its being prone to more flare than you would expect for an otherwise excellent lens.

Like the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN, the 35GM proved to be a very strong performer for astrophotography. The high levels of sharpness and low amounts of CA combine for very crisp start points, and while the star points are very slightly deformed near the edge of the frame, coma is really quite well controlled. The advantage of being able to shoot at F1.4 is that one can shoot at lower ISO speeds (less noise) and/or faster shutter speeds, resulting in less movement of the stars.

I love the 35mm focal length as a walkaround, general purpose focal length, and I can safely say the 35GM has been one of my favorites optically thus far. Feel free to check out more images by visiting the image gallery here.

Conclusion

Sony has been on a tear with their lens designs recently, and the new Sony FE 35mm F1.4 G Master is proof positive of that. Early mirrorless cameras were almost exclusively smaller sensors (APS-C and Micro 4/3rds), and that, combined with the fact that less space is required in lens design since you don’t need to leave room to accommodate a mirror in the camera, allowed for smaller lenses and cameras relative to DSLR designs. But when Sony began to develop full frame mirrorless cameras and lenses, the size of the lenses drastically increased. The FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM was actually larger than most competing DSLR equivalents, for example, as was true for most of the early GM lenses. But Sony has obviously cracked the code of how to create high quality lenses that have genuine size and weight advantages over competing lenses. It is that extra ingredient that helps make the 35GM so special. It is optically as good as any 35mm lens that I’ve previously tested, but that fact that it is smaller than almost all the 35mm F1.4 options I’ve previously tested is just icing on the cake.

My experience is that compact, lightweight lenses just get used more often. I’m more likely to pack them for trips or excursions where I’m taking multiple lenses. I’m more likely to reach for them when hiking. The fact that you aren’t compromising on build, features, or weather sealing means there is really no downside to using the smaller lens, particularly when it is is just as good (better!) than the competition. The 35GM has that magical blending of sharpness and softness that few but the best lenses achieve. It delivers a richer, more nuanced optical performance than any of the competitors I’ve tested.

The final hurdle for any professional grade lens is the price, and the Sony 35mm F1.4 GM isn’t cheap. It costs $1399 USD, which makes it one of the most expensive 35mm options on Sony FE. But it is also cheaper than many of the first party pro grade 35mm lenses from the past, and arguably a better, more complete lens than any of them. I feel like it is priced fairly. There are cheaper 35mm options on Sony (the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN is perhaps the best alternative), but there aren’t any better ones than the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 G Master. If you want the best 35mm option currently available for Sony, then the 35GM is the way to go.

Pros:

Smaller and lighter than competitors
High grade of build
Quality weather sealing
Good features and general handling
Fast, quiet, and accurate autofocus
Excellent wide open sharpness across the frame
Beautifully soft bokeh
Aperture retains a circular shape better than most
Low chromatic aberrations
Good flare resistance
Good handling of coma
High magnification and excellent up close performance

Cons:

Manual focus ring could use a little more feeling and weight
More expensive than most other 35mm options on Sony
Some pronounced focus breathing

Gear Used:

Purchase the Sony 35mm F1.4 GM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN ART @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK
BenQ SW271 4K Photo Editing Monitor – B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Keywords: Sony 35mm F1.4, Sony 35 F1.4 GM, 35mm 1.4 GM, 1.4, f/1.4, F1.4, Sony 35mm F1.8 G Master, Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN, 35mm, Review, Sony 35mm F1.4 Review, G Master, GM, Review, Sony, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a9, sony a7III, sony a7RIV, a7R3, Sony Alpha 1, Sony A1

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sony FE 35mm F1.4 G Master Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

May 2nd, 2021

The classic 35mm focal length is one that, until recently, was slightly underrepresented on Sony. For years the sole “professional” option was the Sony Zeiss Distagon 35mm F1.4, a lens with a very mixed reputation that seems to be due to having a lot of sample variation (some good copies, some not so good). That lens was also quite expensive, typically retailing for well over $1500 USD (the price has dropped subsequent to the release of the GM lens). Samyang later brought a competing lens at a much lower price point (the Samyang AF 35mm F1.4, my review here). Sony later released a compact alternative, the Sony FE 35mm F1.8, a lens that most concluded is very good though perhaps slightly overpriced (my review here). The aging Distagon lens was still begging for a replacement, however, as it came before Sony’s G Master premium lens series had surfaced. That replacement is here in the form of the Sony 35mm F1.4 G Master, a fabulous new lens that will almost certainly serve as the benchmark by which other 35mm lenses are evaluated against for a while. Sigma did just release a cheaper alternative in the form of the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN ART (my review here), though the 35mm F1.4 GM still has a number of clear advantages that we’ll detail in our review. The photos and tests that I share as a part of my review cycle have all been done with the new Sony Alpha 1 which will serve as my benchmark camera for the foreseeable future (my review here).

Sony has really hit its stride in lens development in the past few years, as while early G Master lenses were good on many levels, I didn’t find them as exceptional as their price point suggested they should be and in relation to competitors from other brands. But more recent GM lenses (and G lenses, for that matter), have been a different story. The 24mm F1.4 G Master (my review here) was exceptional because it delivered the optical and autofocus performance while also keeping the size and price down to acceptable levels. The Sony 135mm F1.8 GM isn’t cheap, but it is one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever tested (my review here), with exceptional autofocus and build. It is professional grade in every way. The recent Sony 35mm F1.4 and 14mm F1.8 GM lenses (which I’m also testing at the moment) continue in the vein of the 24mm F1.4 GM, delivering exceptional optical qualities while also managing to keep the size relatively compact and the price relatively moderate. I suspect that will be a winning formula for Sony, who is showing tremendous maturation as a brand right now.

The Sony 35mm F1.4 GM is going to be the clear choice for working professionals and/discerning amateurs because it has many strengths and few flaws. The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN provides a new alternative if you are on a tight budget, but the GM lens is the clear choice if you want the best. I’ll detail why in my review. You can read my text review or watch my video reviews, or just enjoy the photos below…

Thanks to Sony Canada for getting me an early loaner of the lens. As always, this is a completely independent review.

Photos of the Sony 35mm F1.4 GM

Photos taken with the Sony 35mm F1.4 GM

Gear Used:

Purchase the Sony 35mm F1.4 GM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN ART @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK
BenQ SW271 4K Photo Editing Monitor – B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Purchase the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN ART @ B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/3vdsWI0 | Amazon https://amzn.to/3gBj4ne | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/3dPBnmI | Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3njr3GU | Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3viMrP7 | Ebay https://ebay.us/btZDSM

Keywords: Sony 35mm F1.4, Sony 35 F1.4 GM, 35mm 1.4 GM, 1.4, f/1.4, F1.4, Sony 35mm F1.8 G Master, Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN, 35mm, Review, Sony 35mm F1.4 Review, G Master, GM, Review, Sony, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, Sony a9, sony a7III, sony a7RIV, a7R3, Sony Alpha 1, Sony A1

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Viltrox AF 33mm and 56mm F1.4 EF-M Reviews

Dustin Abbott

January 20th, 2021

Photography is expensive, so a lot of the gear that I end up reviewing is often outside the budget of many people. Fortunately there has been a rise in the past 3-4 years of what I classify as “boutique third party brands”. These are smaller startup lensmakers who don’t have a widely established reputation but often provide strong value for money. They have been great for filling in the gaps and enabling photographers on a budget to experiment with wide aperture prime lenses. But most of these companies make only manual focus lenses…save Viltrox, who I’ve watched quickly transition from manual focus to autofocus…and they’ve tackled not one camera system but three different ones. I’ve reviewed several of the Viltrox compact primes on both Sony and Fuji APS-C previously, but now Viltrox is tackling Canon EF-M and has developed shiny new silver versions of their AF 23mm F1.4, AF 33mm F1.4, and AF 56mm F1.4 lenses for Canon EF-M as well.

Canon has a slightly different crop factor (1.6x) compared to the 1.5x crop of Fuji and Sony, so the angle of view here is slightly different. We have 37mm, 53mm, and 90mm (rounded up) equivalent focal lengths here, but they still roughly correspond to the traditional 35, 50, and 85mm focal lengths so popular amongst photographers.

These Viltrox primes offer great value for money, and, I particularly find them welcome on Canon, where wide aperture prime lenses have been very scarce. Sony has the most choices, and Fuji has options, too, howbeit expensive ones. Canon has benefitted from getting a Sigma trinity of primes recently, but there is only one Canon branded F1.4 lens – the EF-M 32mm F1.4. Viltrox has some room to operate here, and I think these three lenses will be well received. I’ve done this review on a Canon EOS M5 mirrorless camera. You can either watch the review below or just check out the images in the galleries!

Photos of the Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4

Photos of the Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4

Photos taken with the Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 (Canon EOS M5)

Gear Used:

Purchase the Viltrox AF 23mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Pergear | Viltrox Store | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Pergear | Viltrox Store | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Pergear | Viltrox Store | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Canon EOS M5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Peak Design Slide Lite: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK
Peak Design Leash Strap: Peak Design Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK
BenQ SW271 4K Photo Editing Monitor – B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon.ca | Amazon UK
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Exposure Software X6 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)
Visit Dustin’s Amazon Storefront and see his favorite gear

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Use Code “DUSTINHDR” to get $10 off ($15 CDN) any Skylum product: Luminar, Aurora, or AirMagic

Keywords: Viltrox, 23mm, 33mm, 56mm, AF, EF-M, f/1.4, 1.4, Viltrox 23mm Review, Viltrox 33mm Review, Viltrox 56mm Review, Dustin Abbott, Review, Hands-On, Portrait, Bokeh, Sample Images, Video, Resolution, Demonstration, Resolution, Focus, Canon EF-M, Fuji X, Sony E, Canon EOS M5, M50, M50 MK II

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4 Review and Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

October 28th, 2020

Chinese lens maker Viltrox has proved to be a very quick study for a new lens maker. They started with a few manual focus lenses (typical), but, by their third lens, graduated to autofocus lenses (not typical!) That has remained their focus, and since the AF 85mm F1.8 STM they have made nothing but autofocus lenses. Most recently they have completed a series of three autofocus lenses for APS-C mirrorless cameras that correspond to the most popular focal lengths among prime lenses, including the 23mm F1.4 (35mm full frame equivalent), 33mm F1.4 (50mm full frame equivalent), and now the Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4 (85mm full frame equivalent).

The AF 56mm F1.4 gives Fuji (and eventually Sony…and possibly Canon) APS-C shooters the option of a reasonably priced portrait option with decent autofocus, good image sharpness, and quality bokeh.

I did encounter a few autofocus quirks during my review, but in checking out user reviews, it seems like my experience may have been somewhat isolated. Viltrox has been very good about continuing to improve performance via firmware in all of their lenses, however, so I have high hopes that will be the case here as well. If you would like to dive deeper into lens performance, check out the video review below…or just peruse the gallery of photos taken with the AF 56mm f1.4 from Viltrox.

Photos of the Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4

Photos Taken with the Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4

Purchase the Viltrox AF 56mm F1.4 @ Viltrox Store (Use Code DUSTINABBOTT for 10% off) | Pergear | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the FUJIFILM X-T200 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Purchase the Fujinon XC 35mm F2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK
Purchase the FUJIFILM X-T30 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Purchase the Fujinon XF 18-55mm F2.8-F4 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Use Code “DUSTINHDR” to get $10 off ($15 CDN) any Skylum product: Luminar, Aurora, or AirMagic

Keywords: Viltrox, Fuji, 56mm, Viltrox 56mm Review, AF, STM, 56mm F1.4, XF, FE, Viltrox 56mm F1.4, 1.4, F1.4, Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm X-T3, Dustin Abbott, Review, Autofocus, Hands On, Video Test, Portrait, Video, Bokeh, Real World, Comparison, VS

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR Review

Dustin Abbott

August 15th, 2023

Fuji XF 23mm Build and Handling

Fujinon XF 23mm Autofocus Performance

Fuji XF 23mm Image Quality Breakdown

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

Purchase the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 LM WR Gallery

Dustin Abbott

August 15th, 2023

Images of the Fuji XF 23mm F1.4

Images Taken with Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4

Purchase the Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | Adorama | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 LM WR Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

May 22nd, 2023

Images of the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4

Image Taken with the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4

Purchase the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 XF @ Viltrox Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T4 @B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S10 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | | Camera Canada | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Use Code “DUSTINHDR” to get $10 off ($15 CDN) any Skylum product: Luminar, Aurora, or AirMagic

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 LM WR Review

Dustin Abbott

May 22nd, 2023

Fuji XF 33mm Build and Handling

Fujinon XF 33mm Autofocus Performance

Fuji XF 33mm Image Quality Breakdown

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

Purchase the Fujinon XF 33mm F1.4 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH

Purchase the Viltrox AF 33mm F1.4 XF @ Viltrox Store | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T4 @B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S10 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Want to support this channel? Use these affiliate links to shop at: B&H Photo | Amazon | | Camera Canada | Ebay | Make a donation via Paypal

Use Code “DUSTINHDR” to get $10 off ($15 CDN) any Skylum product: Luminar, Aurora, or AirMagic

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Sony FE 35mm F1.4 G Master Review

Dustin Abbott

May 10th, 2021

Sony 35GM Build, Handling, and Features

Sony 35mm F1.4 GM Autofocus and Video Performance

Sony 35GM Optical Performance

Conclusion

Pros:

Cons:

Purchase the Sony 35mm F1.4 GM @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DN ART @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Purchase a Sony a9M2 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Buy DA Merchandise https://bit.ly/TWIMerch

Purchase a Sony a7C @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Related Articles at DustinAbbott.net

Sony FE 35mm F1.4 G Master Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

May 2nd, 2021

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay

Sony a9 Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay
Sony a7RIV Camera: B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay