Is 35mm F1.4 worth getting if you have 18-55 zoom?

Hi Greg,

I'm still waiting on the zoom kits to arrive here, so I've still got time pondering my lens buying options.....  I do like primes for balance, but for a moment, let me play devils advocate in a thread full of people who love their 35mm primes.  I'd be cautious of buying another lens with your hard earned cash unless unless you know you need to shoot a 35mm at f1.4 - 3.5.

It 's often true that primes resolve better than zooms but it isn't always true.  There appears to be a consensus in this forum that the 18-55 zoom out resolves the 18mm.  No-one has published any objective tests but that's what people are posting.  Another example -  the Nikon 14-24 2.8 outresolves every prime Nikon make within its focal length including some very good ones.  None of that's to say that the Fuji zoom outresolves the 35mm/1.4.  I don't know whether it does or doesn't and I doubt anyone else does as a result of any rigorous methodology.  Or by how much.  (It is, of course, a truism that the zoom has zero performance at f1.4.)

I'd suggest having a look back through the posted photos from the 35mm/1.4.  At least half are posted with the EXIF showing that they were shot stopped down smaller than f3.5.  The zoom can do that and do it well.  No point in duplicating the FL.  Of the others shot wider, they show that the 35mm is excellent wide open.  No doubt about it.  The question is how many f 1.4 shots are you going to shoot where your images and your style need you to buy that lens. A man can only take so many portraits with only the eyes in focus. And there's a 56mm just around the corner to feed your f1.4 desires......not to mention a few other enticing lenses.

Personally, I'm coming from a background where I own both a DSLR system and a good compact.  I'm only considering buying into the X series to get high IQ in a small and light kit with a decent EVF and non-P&S controls.  If I start accumulating another system with multiple lenses, the budget and the camera case are going to grow......  So, at least to start with, I plan to buy additional lenses only if they're offering a FOV outside the zoom range (like the 14mm or the 10-24, or the 55-200 zooms) unless my photography really, really starts to need duplicated FLs with a wider aperture.

And having played devils advocate, heck, sometimes there are things in life you just like........in which case, don't ask us, just do it:-)

Rod