X100f Vs xt30 plus xf 23mm 1.4

Sorabh wrote:

Erik Baumgartner wrote:

Sorabh wrote:

Erik Baumgartner wrote:

Sorabh wrote:

Hi. I’ve had an x100f which I’ve been really happy with for the past two years.

recently I managed to buy an xt30 for quite cheap and bought myself a 56mm 1.2.

would I be better off buying the xf 23mm 1.4 (the old one) to gain that one stop of light and sell my x100f?

I realise I’d be losing a camera but the x100f is selling for a very good price on eBay right now and it could find more lenses.

but part of me thinks I’ve loved the x100f so much because of its small form factor!

help?!!!

I would avoid the old 23 f/1.4 unless you can thoroughly test it first. The 23mm lens in my X100V is significantly better than any of the three crappy 23 f/1.4s I tried.

Hi. Thanks for your comment.

crappy in what else? Focus or sharpness?

Poor sharpness and terrible blooming wide open (to varying degrees) with the first two brand new copies. The third one, a used copy, managed to attain 'meh' status, still significantly worse than my 16-55 or the 23 f/2 prime I also tried.

Wow. That’s really disappointing. I always thought people loved that lens to the same degree as they love the 35mm 1.4 or 56 1.2mm.

There are some very good copies out there, but they seem to be few and far between these days. If you really want one, I'd try to find a good early production copy. If the new 23 WR is like the new 18 WR though, I doubt any copies of the old 23 will hold a candle to the new version.