DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

The 16mm f1.4: can it possibly be worth it?

Started Mar 15, 2017 | Discussions thread
ForumParentFirstPrevious
Flat view
Ian387 Forum Member • Posts: 50
The 16mm f1.4: can it possibly be worth it?

Hi everyone,

First some background: I got my lovely X-T2 a couple of weeks ago with the 18-55mm kit lens, and I'm really impressed with the images it's producing. I'm going on a hiking trip to the southern Japanese islands off Kyushu soon, so I'll be picking up the 23mm f2 for its WR properties in the rain and for more subtle street scenes.

Fuji have a promotion in Japan where, having bought the X-T2, I can get ¥25,000 (£180, $220) off the 16mm f1.4 if I purchase it by the end of the month. The offer also applies to the 23/1.4, 56, 16-55 and 90, although I don't plan to buy any of those.

I was planning to get the 16 or 14 at some point in the future for landscape shots, and leaning towards the 16 since it also has macro abilities, WR, and wider aperture for night cityscapes. With the cashback it's ¥83,000, but that's still £590 ($720) which is a serious sum of money. Can it possibly be worth it? I'm wondering whether 16mm is substantially different enough from the 18mm of my kit lens to make it worth the outlay, and how much use it will end up getting. Would I be better off with the 14mm for wider landscapes? For owners of the 16, are there actually many situations where you'd switch out from the 18-55 or 23/2 to use it?

Lastly, does the 16 typically ever go on sale? If it'll be discounted at some point in the future I'll probably wait, but if this is the lowest offer I'm likely to find for such a high quality lens then it would be a shame to miss the opportunity.

Thanks all!

 Ian387's gear list:Ian387's gear list
Fujifilm X-T2 Fujifilm XF 23mm F1.4 R Fujifilm 16-55mm F2.8R LM WR Fujifilm 50-230mm II Fujifilm XF 35mm F2 R WR
Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4 R WR Fujifilm X-T2
If you believe there are incorrect tags, please send us this post using our feedback form.
ForumParentFirstPrevious
Flat view
Post (hide subjects) Posted by
(unknown member)
ForumParentFirstPrevious
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum PPrevious NNext WNext unread UUpvote SSubscribe RReply QQuote BBookmark MMy threads
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow