Fujifilm Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR Lens, Black

2024-09-08T20:00:00

Outperformed my expectations!

Darwin

Originally posted at

2024-03-15T19:20:56

Excellent lens, I am a portrait photographer and this lens rarely leaves my camera body.

Jacadra Y.

2023-11-21T09:57:57

Great build, superior image quality, good but not speedy auto focus.

ERIC V.

2023-01-02T19:00:00

I've been shooting fixed wide lenses for almost the entire time I've owned cameras and wanted to mix it up. I travel a little less than I used to and have found I really enjoy taking photos of the animals at the zoo. I also owed my wife better portraits than a 35mm could offer. I've been very pleased with the 56mm since it arrived last week. It got here right before the west coast got dumped with rain, which was cool, because this lens is weather resistant. The all metal construction is a refreshing change from the plastic world we live in, and the lens isn't too heavy. The aperture ring makes satisfying clicks. Just note the focus motors are a little noisy and this lens probably won't do well for your video project if you depend on continual autofocus. I've paired this lens with my XPro3, which if you don't own one, is an opinionated camera to say the least. If you do own one, this lens is pretty much at the limit of where the optical viewfinder is useful, and I'm trying to get used to using this lens with the optical viewfinder alone. The photo quality is superb. The lens impressed me from the first shot. The limiting factors are just that on a cropped body, you'll need to step back a bit to get that portrait (but the bokeh will make it worth your while) and the photographer behind the camera (I need to learn better exposure on my camera, and to try to stabilize shots better). Please enjoy some of my first few photos, and consider giving the 56mm a place in your life if you're like me and want a more portrait focused lens.

Kyle

Originally posted at

2022-12-20T10:37:39

Let me start by saying, I really like this lens a lot. My 3 star rating is meant to be an "average" score, not a condemnation of this lens. In order to get legendary 5-star status from me, this lens needed to have great optics, AF performance AND handling. It delivers on one of the three. Especially when dealing with expensive primes, all-around great AF performance is critical to making it more generally useful and valuable to own-something I'd confidently take anywhere and shoot anything with. Recent primes like the 23mm f/1.4 LM WR have great optics, AF performance, and handling, so we know Fuji can do it when they want to. That lens set my benchmark for this lens, which just doesn't measure up in comparison (sorry not sorry). Read on for details. Build Quality (2/5) - score received because I bought, then had to return, 2 of these for crazy white flecks/dust INSIDE the front element. A first for me, who has bought lenses new and used. Might've been bad luck, might reflect some QC lapses. Either way, not acceptable on a $1,000 product, nope. Otherwise, it was 5 stars - love that fluorine coating. Handling (2/5) - I'm sure this lens' stubby length makes it a good fit for a wider range of bodies, and it is light and I like the funnel shape. But frankly, its also compromised by its shape and size. For the first time ever (for me), the lens hood covers the aperture ring when reversed. No quick ring adjustment/firing "in the moment". Also nothing to hold onto but a cheap and slippery feeling Fuji lens hood during transport, which flexes a bit against the funnel neck when mounted to my XT3. Also makes me wonder if I'm pressuring the hood mount ring and risking breakage overtime. Not nearly enough space between the aperture ring and focus ring for hand-holding - when shooting it is easy to bump either and for the first time I'm doing that quite a lot. At least a finger width is usually enough to prevent this, but we don't have that here. The aperture ring could use more damping to prevent this - unfortunately it is both softer (quieter, great!) and easier to move (ugh!) than on the 23mm or some of my other lenses. The manual focus ring, however, is damped about the way I like it, and feels good. As with the 23mm f/1.4 LM WR lens, the aperture lock is pointless - it only locks me into "auto", or "manual". To be useful it should actually lock the ring at whatever setting I select, or not at all. I would much rather have had a function button, or an extra quarter or half inch of lens barrel (to house faster AF motors, for example!). Optical Quality (5/5) - Nothing to say here except, "wow dude". Other than some hard-to-detect onion ringing in the bokeh under some conditions, so far I see nothing to complain about here. This lens is sharp and contrasty wide open, improves until around f/2-f/2.8, and still looks great at around f/11. The "close" focusing distance is useful and welcome. Legendary optics. Autofocus (3/5) - The best optics in the world don't matter if you can't get the shot in the first place. Of all my lenses, this one does seem to have a split personality. In AF-S or even AF-C, it is sometimes quite punchy and quick - focusing at f/1.2-f/2 or so is not easy, and sometimes the lens nails it so quickly and easily I am genuinely impressed. It doesn't hunt a lot, but when you creep up to its MFD or shoot in lower light, however, it can frankly slow down a lot and be prone to misses. I don't mind the AF noise, I consider it useful feedback. But it also might alert people I am around, when I'm hoping to get a nice candid. Maybe a future body, or firmware update will improve things overall. For now, I'd say this lens makes you earn it more often than not, compared to other lenses I own which feel faster. It should be a lot better, end of story. Value (3/5) - at $1,000, this prime is too expensive to have the flaws it has. To be legendary it either needs to cost, say, $6-$700, or it needs to be faster/as fast as, say, the new 23mm f/1.4, or the "old" 90mm f/2. If you are on the fence, buy used/rent. Total score (15/25) = 3/5. Fuji's 90mm f2 is 38% longer, and 21% heavier, but managed to fit quad linear AF system. The 23mm LM WR is 2mm longer, and 84% of the weight, but manages to fit my hands better and house a linear motor(s) that seem to cope great even in low light or AF-C shooting. The Viltrox 56mm is 4mm shorter than this lens, but also fit my hands better, and offers very effective AF (faster than the original 56mm, but "worse" optics). Still, I recommend it overall, and I'm keeping mine. What can I say? The 56mm is such a favorite indoor/outdoor length of mine, and the wide aperture is useful too. Perhaps other reviewers will set me/you straight.

MATT H.

2022-12-15T17:01:05

I'm primarily a wedding photographer, and I got this lens for its low-light capabilities and farther reach than the 33mm f/1.4. It does not disappoint. If you are new to the Fuji x-mount system or are considering switching systems, you should note that the autofocus isn't very fast. You should also note that it's not bad either. It works great for moderately moving subjects (think a slower first-dance), but can't keep up in "shoot from the hip" street photography if both you and your subject are moving. If you're considering upgrading from the previous version of the 56mm 1.2, I can't help you. The weather sealing and resolving power made choosing the newer "WR" version worth the price.

MICAH N.

2022-11-17T23:16:25

The XF 56/1.2 WR is all I was hoping for. Extremely sharp, wide open and very accurate focus. I?m getting high rate of keepers and tack sharp with beautiful bokeh even on my oldish X-T30. Highly recommend to everybody.

YOSEF M.

2022-10-23T09:47:49

Love this lens! And Adorama... I wouldn't shop anywhere else.

THOMAS C.

2022-10-02T14:31:58

[First impressions after testing on an X-T3] Image Quality: The sharpness is very good wide open and it gets very crisp at f/2.8, and the bokeh is nice. There doesn't seem to be much to complain about, much like Fuji's other new prime lenses. Focusing: -It uses a DC Motor which makes soft whirring sounds that's audible in quiet environments. Probably the only times it'll be an annoyance is when pushing its limits, such as focusing from far-to-near quickly and when it hunts for focus. The sounds might be an issue for video work. -Autofocus is behind Linear Motors in speed and confidence. It doesn't seem bad, but it doesn't match the other lenses in this generation. -Manual focusing is very sensitive, and it makes a little stepping sounds due to its DC Motor. This could be spun as a positive because it gives a slight audible & physical feedback whereas a Linear Motor has virtually no feedback. Aperture Ring: -The aperture ring has very soft indents when turning (at least on my copy) which can make it easy to bump out of place, but it also makes for easy 1-finger operation. For comparison, it requires noticeably more force to adjust the aperture ring on the new 23 & 33 with 2 fingers than to adjust the aperture ring on this 56 with just 1 finger - it's a big difference. Conclusion: If this had a Linear Motor it would've felt more modern. Everything else about the lens seems good so far, although the aperture ring might bother some.

MATTHEW L.