A seriously underrated lens

Introduction

The Fuji 60mm f/2.4 lens is not a specialized lens like the closest full frame "equivalents" available (85mm f/1.8 and faster portrait lenses and 90mm f/2.8 macro lenses). Instead it's trading true macro capabilities for half a stop faster aperture. Originally it got bad reputation due to its slow focus which was improved as new firmware updates and on-sensor PDAF came out in the Fuji world.

Handling

It's a well built metal lens. Even the hood is mostly metal (more on it later). The aperture ring is a bit looser than I'd like but it's better than most other Fuji lenses I've tried. Together with the manual focus ring it occupies most of the lens' barrel. The lens' inner barrel extends as you reach the minimum focus distance. The filter thread has a weird size of 39mm. Even more weirdly, it's also recessed into the lens which would make it difficult to use step-up rings.

I have two "issues" using the lens. First of all, the lens cap is small and fiddly. Add to this the fact that the filter thread is recessed and you can guess that putting the lens cap on and taking it off can be a nuisance. Solution: take the extra second or two to make sure the lens cap is properly attached.

Second, the lens hood's design is problematic. Its size is almost the same as the lens' and if you (like me) reverse your hoods for storage then you'll either block the lens release button on the camera body or (when the lens is unmounted) you won't have any space to hold onto the lens when reversing the lens hood (or putting the back lens cap). Solution: leave the lens hood at home The front lens element is deeply recessed anyway.

Performance

Autofocus: yes, it is slow but accurate. It's adequate for shooting static (or almost static) subjects. The closer you move into macro range the worse it gets (speed wise and accuracy wise). Hunting is not unusual either.
Sharpness: no complaints, it's an excellent lens in this regard. Other reviews say f/5.6 is the sharpest aperture but honestly I can't see any difference between that and shooting wide open.
Vignetting is minimal. If you look really hard you can spot it wide open. Not a problem for me since I sometimes end up adding vignetting in PP.
Distortion: visible pincushion which is automatically corrected in JPG files.
Chromatic aberration is minimal, if you can see it at all.
Bokeh is smooth and buttery. I love the way it renders out of focus areas.

Bottom line

It's a nice multi purpose short telephoto lens balancing close-up capabilities and a relatively large aperture. A few handling shortcomings are present though they can be easily overlooked, especially when you take the quality of images it produces into account. Autofocus performance however can be a deal-breaker for some.

Samples

Some of these images were edited in Photoshop although none of them have any sharpening applied.

I share your love of the Fuji 60mm f2.4 also your aversion to the silly lens hood. I bought a 3rd party parallel metal screw-in lens hood which comes with a cap for the hood as below. However, if i want to be really compact I use the small rectangular bayonet hood from my Fuji 35mm f1.4.

Vic Chapman wrote:

I share your love of the Fuji 60mm f2.4 also your aversion to the silly lens hood. I bought a 3rd party parallel metal screw-in lens hood which comes with a cap for the hood as below. However, if i want to be really compact I use the small rectangular bayonet hood from my Fuji 35mm f1.4.

I also use the 35 lens hood. But it is a great lens, not just for a general walk around street lens in good light. I concur that the AF could be better, particularly in low light closeups. I found the lens was continually hunting and had to switch to my trusty 35/1.4, which performed much better under those conditions. That said, I have gotten some great shots in low light and hi ISO.

Here are a few shots, note the B&W shots, particularly the girl with her hand over her face. One of the few that worked before I switched to the 35/1.4. Also, the Bangkok garbage collector taken at 6400 ISO.

Hi,

I like it too. A lot of people criticize the fact that it only magnifies to 1:2, but that suits me and I use it with the extension tubes if I want more.  I think I like best the fact that it's an excellent 'all-rounder'.  It combines qualities that make it a good general purpose tele, portrait and close focusing lens.  Add in its small size and light weight and it gives a lot in an inexpensive, and very portable package.

I agree about the filter thread/cap size.  It's fiddly.  And there are some filters you simply can't buy in 39mm.  I've changed over to a step-up ring and either 52mm or 58mm accessories.  I don't bother with the hood - the glass is deeply recessed anyway. (BTW if you do ever decide to use a step-up ring, you can't screw them directly into the face of the lens.  It's recessed, and they hit the face of the lens when it retracts and you get a "lens error".  You have to add the ring of an old 39mm with the glass knocked out as a spacer between the lens and the step-up ring.  Then it works fine.  Just buy a new cap in the right size too and no more hassles.)

I don't find it completely CA-free.  I get a bit of PF at wide apertures in extreme situations.  I only see it in really extreme contrast situations, but it's there.  Minor though, and gone if you stop down a couple of stops.

Regards, Rod

io_bg wrote:

Introduction

The Fuji 60mm f/2.4 lens is not a specialized lens like the closest full frame "equivalents" available (85mm f/1.8 and faster portrait lenses and 90mm f/2.8 macro lenses). Instead it's trading true macro capabilities for half a stop faster aperture. Originally it got bad reputation due to its slow focus which was improved as new firmware updates and on-sensor PDAF came out in the Fuji world.

Handling

It's a well built metal lens. Even the hood is mostly metal (more on it later). The aperture ring is a bit looser than I'd like but it's better than most other Fuji lenses I've tried. Together with the manual focus ring it occupies most of the lens' barrel. The lens' inner barrel extends as you reach the minimum focus distance. The filter thread has a weird size of 39mm. Even more weirdly, it's also recessed into the lens which would make it difficult to use step-up rings.

I have two "issues" using the lens. First of all, the lens cap is small and fiddly. Add to this the fact that the filter thread is recessed and you can guess that putting the lens cap on and taking it off can be a nuisance. Solution: take the extra second or two to make sure the lens cap is properly attached.

Second, the lens hood's design is problematic. Its size is almost the same as the lens' and if you (like me) reverse your hoods for storage then you'll either block the lens release button on the camera body or (when the lens is unmounted) you won't have any space to hold onto the lens when reversing the lens hood (or putting the back lens cap). Solution: leave the lens hood at home The front lens element is deeply recessed anyway.

Performance

Autofocus: yes, it is slow but accurate. It's adequate for shooting static (or almost static) subjects. The closer you move into macro range the worse it gets (speed wise and accuracy wise). Hunting is not unusual either.
Sharpness: no complaints, it's an excellent lens in this regard. Other reviews say f/5.6 is the sharpest aperture but honestly I can't see any difference between that and shooting wide open.
Vignetting is minimal. If you look really hard you can spot it wide open. Not a problem for me since I sometimes end up adding vignetting in PP.
Distortion: visible pincushion which is automatically corrected in JPG files.
Chromatic aberration is minimal, if you can see it at all.
Bokeh is smooth and buttery. I love the way it renders out of focus areas.

Bottom line

It's a nice multi purpose short telephoto lens balancing close-up capabilities and a relatively large aperture. A few handling shortcomings are present though they can be easily overlooked, especially when you take the quality of images it produces into account. Autofocus performance however can be a deal-breaker for some.

Samples

Some of these images were edited in Photoshop although none of them have any sharpening applied.

IQ wise, it's a great lens. But the AF is slow, and it's only 1/2 in macro.
--
It's all about photography

I agree with most of the points of the review. I dislike those fiddly little filter threads, and wish they'd just stepped out to the 52 that the 18 and 35/1.4 use. I didn't know the 35/1.4 hood fits; I'll try that.

While I save pennies to get my 56 repaired (dropped, contacts are flaky but optics are fine), I'm using it some for portraits, but really like it as a short tele.

Yesterday morning, riverside in New Orleans.

I don't own the 60mm but it is a lens I've been looking at for quite some time.  I've seen many wonderful shots that folks have posted.  I'm holding off a little longer to see if Fuji does release the rumored 80 f/2.8 with 1:1 macro.  Thanks for posting the pics, I love the B&W shots.

Vic Chapman wrote:

I share your love of the Fuji 60mm f2.4 also your aversion to the silly lens hood. I bought a 3rd party parallel metal screw-in lens hood which comes with a cap for the hood as below. However, if i want to be really compact I use the small rectangular bayonet hood from my Fuji 35mm f1.4.

That's a pretty ingenious solution. Now I wish I had the 35 1.4

jrk wrote:

I don't own the 60mm but it is a lens I've been looking at for quite some time. I've seen many wonderful shots that folks have posted. I'm holding off a little longer to see if Fuji does release the rumored 80 f/2.8 with 1:1 macro. Thanks for posting the pics, I love the B&W shots.

If macro's what you're after then yeah, I think that's the right thing to do.

Dave Jaseck wrote:

Any chance you could send a pic with the 35 f1.4 hood attached. Been eyeing that lens myself. Thanks

Hi Dave

Bit late here now but I'll do one in the morning and post it.

Vic

uniball wrote:

Dave Jaseck wrote:

Any chance you could send a pic with the 35 f1.4 hood attached. Been eyeing that lens myself. Thanks

I use the 35/1.4 hood on my 60. Some believe it's not enough hood. Perhaps not, but I live in sunny south Florida for most of the year and never had any issues with the shorter hood. Perhaps if I shot into the sun, but I don't. Perhaps at full macro the hood would get limiting. But then one is typically not dealing with sun anywhere near the frame.

That's an image off Google. My 60 is in the USA while I'm at our Swiss place at a very unusual time for me. The difference is even more obvious in real life than the image would suggest.

I not had flare problems either. The 60's front element is very deep set anyway at non-macro distances. I also use a 3rd party metal hood via a 39nn spacer ring and 55/58mm stepup ring when ultra compact is not necessary. I have 3rd party metal hoods for 90mm and 55-200 too that are a smaller.

I think it's a great lens myself. I don't think of it as a specialty macro so much as an all purpose lens with 1:2 capabilities.

PS - in order to use my ND filter (I only bought one size and adapt it to everything else), I had to install a clear filter to put threads off the lens so my adapter won't crash into the front of the lens. Recess is a goofy design in this case, but not a terrible workaround.

stevo23 wrote:

I think it's a great lens myself. I don't think of it as a specialty macro so much as an all purpose lens with 1:2 capabilities.

PS - in order to use my ND filter (I only bought one size and adapt it to everything else), I had to install a clear filter to put threads off the lens so my adapter won't crash into the front of the lens. Recess is a goofy design in this case, but not a terrible workaround.

I also use an old UV filter but with the glass pushed out as a spacer, then a stepup ring to 52mm so I can use a smaller screw-in metal hood but mostly, if my 35mm f1.4's bayonet hood is free i use that.

I find the 60mm f2.4 ideal for portraits since i don't like too thin a DoF and the f2,4 is just right for head shots with this lens. The narrower DoF of the 56mm f1.2 would be better for half and full length shots but I have the 90mm f2 for that.

Vic

Vic Chapman wrote:

stevo23 wrote:

I think it's a great lens myself. I don't think of it as a specialty macro so much as an all purpose lens with 1:2 capabilities.

PS - in order to use my ND filter (I only bought one size and adapt it to everything else), I had to install a clear filter to put threads off the lens so my adapter won't crash into the front of the lens. Recess is a goofy design in this case, but not a terrible workaround.

I also use an old UV filter but with the glass pushed out as a spacer, then a stepup ring

That is my plan too. I just haven't bothered to pop out the glass.

Hi,

Fine examples but I don't think it is an underrated lens. All reviewer think it's a great lens and image quality is stunning. The only problem is its slow AF but even that is not such a bug deal. I was close to buy one when I was in Tokyo in May but I resisted. I like its size but would like a slightly faster aperture.