New Fuji Lens for newborn

Hi,

I know this is very early but my Mrs is expecting and we are planning for our first born's arrival next year. So after becoming a soon to be daddy I somehow have managed to convince my wife to to let me buy a new lens to take those awesome photos for our child.

I have an X-T10 with an 18-55. I am not a pro but like I have learnt a lot with this setup. I have been looking at Fuji's XF 90mm F2 R LM WR.

Just wondering what the guru's of dpreview think about the best lens for a newborn to go along with 18-55 or if that is enough?

TIA

35mm 1.4!

I'd suggest the 35 1.4
It would be a great low light option for you.

Newborn faces are very forgiving and dont require longer focal lengths to avoid distortion of noses and such, and it will be some time before you have to worry about running around chasing for photos.

It's a very nice all around creative tool with it's 50mm equivilent,  close focusing,  and nice bokeh.

I say the 35mm f2.0, all of the xtrans III sensors can do 1600 ISO with low to no noise. the faster focus will come in handy when the baby starts moving. Also the super narrow DOF at 1.4 will be difficult to capture in focus when the baby is on the move. just my $0.02!

I would stay away from the 90mm if you primary interest is photography a newborn at the moment. Although it is great for portraits, I don't think it is great for this kind of portrait.

Keep in mind that a little baby/newborn can't stand up You will be taking pictures looking down at him/her. Probably mostly between a 90 and 45 degree angle. 90mm is just too long unless you want to be a on a ladder!

I would suggest a 23mm if he/she is going to be on the ground (you on your knees) or a in a crib (you standing). You could probably go up to the 50mm/56mm if you were going to stand while your baby was lying on the ground. I would say the 23mm f2 or 35mm f2.

Mons1eur wrote:

Hi,

I know this is very early but my Mrs is expecting and we are planning for our first born's arrival next year. So after becoming a soon to be daddy I somehow have managed to convince my wife to to let me buy a new lens to take those awesome photos for our child.

I have an X-T10 with an 18-55. I am not a pro but like I have learnt a lot with this setup. I have been looking at Fuji's XF 90mm F2 R LM WR.

Just wondering what the guru's of dpreview think about the best lens for a newborn to go along with 18-55 or if that is enough?

TIA

The 90 mm f/2 is too long for a newborn. I use the 56 mm f/1.2 with my newborn and can just barely make this work within the confines of a pretty large living room and a large nursery.

I have the 56 f/1.2 and 23 mm f/2. I use both extensively with my newborn.

I have been experimenting with this lens side-by-side with my Nikon FF gear and I am very impressed with the quality of the 56 mm for newborn portraits. It helps a lot that the X-T20 is easy to carry around.

I am considering one of the 35 mm lenses, likely the f/1.4 since the 23 mm is a touch on the wide side for a newborn. The only issue is the that f/1.2 and f/1.4 lenses focus a bit slower than the new f/2 lenses. The f/2 lenses are near instant. The older ones take a split second or two longer to initially grab focus. Once you have the initial scene in focus, the subsequent focus is easy to get. But, focus is slower than the f/2 lenses.

The quality of the f/2 lenses is very high. I don't often open the aperture beyond f/2 since the DOF is to shallow even for a newborn.

My favorite lens for my 7 months old (don't move much yet), is by far the 56mm

ons1eur wrote:

Hi,

I know this is very early but my Mrs is expecting and we are planning for our first born's arrival next year. So after becoming a soon to be daddy I somehow have managed to convince my wife to to let me buy a new lens to take those awesome photos for our child.

I have an X-T10 with an 18-55. I am not a pro but like I have learnt a lot with this setup. I have been looking at Fuji's XF 90mm F2 R LM WR.

Just wondering what the guru's of dpreview think about the best lens for a newborn to go along with 18-55 or if that is enough?

TIA

I would vote for the 35mm f2 or 50mm f2.

The 35mm f1.4 is a great lens but the slower AF might frustrate you when the baby starts moving more.

On the same note, if you used a 90mm on a baby that's starting to move, crawl, and walk, he/she will move out of focus very quickly! You will then want a new lens after 6 months.

TomasT wrote:

35mm 1.4!

Would be my first choice followed by the 56 f1.2.

eliehbk wrote:

My favorite lens for my 7 months old (don't move much yet), is by far the 56mm

ons1eur wrote:

Hi,

I know this is very early but my Mrs is expecting and we are planning for our first born's arrival next year. So after becoming a soon to be daddy I somehow have managed to convince my wife to to let me buy a new lens to take those awesome photos for our child.

I have an X-T10 with an 18-55. I am not a pro but like I have learnt a lot with this setup. I have been looking at Fuji's XF 90mm F2 R LM WR.

Just wondering what the guru's of dpreview think about the best lens for a newborn to go along with 18-55 or if that is enough?

TIA

I'm in a similar boat (new baby arriving soon). My spouse won a new x-t20 for me, which replaced an 11 year old Evolt-500 (which I loved) about a month ago, but our budget won't stretch to get anything beyond the included 16-50 that was included with the camera.

I was considering the Yongnuo YN 50mm f/1.8 and a FotodioX Canon EF to Fuji adapter, which would total around 120 bucks for a fast 50mm, albeit with manual focus.

Although that might seem like a crazy expenditure to get a manual lens, I've read good things about the yongnuo 50mm.

Quayton wrote:

eliehbk wrote:

My favorite lens for my 7 months old (don't move much yet), is by far the 56mm

ons1eur wrote:

Hi,

I know this is very early but my Mrs is expecting and we are planning for our first born's arrival next year. So after becoming a soon to be daddy I somehow have managed to convince my wife to to let me buy a new lens to take those awesome photos for our child.

I have an X-T10 with an 18-55. I am not a pro but like I have learnt a lot with this setup. I have been looking at Fuji's XF 90mm F2 R LM WR.

Just wondering what the guru's of dpreview think about the best lens for a newborn to go along with 18-55 or if that is enough?

TIA

I'm in a similar boat (new baby arriving soon). My spouse won a new x-t20 for me, which replaced an 11 year old Evolt-500 (which I loved) about a month ago, but our budget won't stretch to get anything beyond the included 16-50 that was included with the camera.

I was considering the Yongnuo YN 50mm f/1.8 and a FotodioX Canon EF to Fuji adapter, which would total around 120 bucks for a fast 50mm, albeit with manual focus.

Although that might seem like a crazy expenditure to get a manual lens, I've read good things about the yongnuo 50mm.

The kit 16-50 lens will be much better than this setup. You'd be better served to save a few $ and buy the 18-55 2.8-4, or a used f/2 prime lens than wasting $120 on this setup.

23 f/1.4 all the way. Anything longer forces you to be far away from your baby. If he was standing, that would be OK, but since he is mainly flat, and I cannot fly, the 23 (or wider) is what works.

Mons1eur wrote:

Hi,

I know this is very early but my Mrs is expecting and we are planning for our first born's arrival next year. So after becoming a soon to be daddy I somehow have managed to convince my wife to to let me buy a new lens to take those awesome photos for our child.

I have an X-T10 with an 18-55. I am not a pro but like I have learnt a lot with this setup. I have been looking at Fuji's XF 90mm F2 R LM WR.

Just wondering what the guru's of dpreview think about the best lens for a newborn to go along with 18-55 or if that is enough?

TIA

Hi Mons1eur,

I had asked the same question when my kid was on the way and I will pass on the comment/piece of advice that I received and that turned out to be the most on point.

The camera you will have with you most and therefore end up using the most - is your smartphone. It will give you some of the most memorable photos of your kid. Also, babies do not move fast, you will be able to get great pics with the 18-55mm you have right now. (I had been told to get a pin-hole camera as a joke).

While not lens advice, as a dad, I can say - if you had to 'somehow manage to convince the wife' that you need a new lens, it is most likely G.A.S. which can come regardless of baby on the way or not. You are spending too much time thinking about the camera, which i can assure you is not that important in the grand scheme of things.

Cheers!

shakenmartini wrote:

Quayton wrote:

eliehbk wrote:

My favorite lens for my 7 months old (don't move much yet), is by far the 56mm

ons1eur wrote:

Hi,

I know this is very early but my Mrs is expecting and we are planning for our first born's arrival next year. So after becoming a soon to be daddy I somehow have managed to convince my wife to to let me buy a new lens to take those awesome photos for our child.

I have an X-T10 with an 18-55. I am not a pro but like I have learnt a lot with this setup. I have been looking at Fuji's XF 90mm F2 R LM WR.

Just wondering what the guru's of dpreview think about the best lens for a newborn to go along with 18-55 or if that is enough?

TIA

I'm in a similar boat (new baby arriving soon). My spouse won a new x-t20 for me, which replaced an 11 year old Evolt-500 (which I loved) about a month ago, but our budget won't stretch to get anything beyond the included 16-50 that was included with the camera.

I was considering the Yongnuo YN 50mm f/1.8 and a FotodioX Canon EF to Fuji adapter, which would total around 120 bucks for a fast 50mm, albeit with manual focus.

Although that might seem like a crazy expenditure to get a manual lens, I've read good things about the yongnuo 50mm.

The kit 16-50 lens will be much better than this setup. You'd be better served to save a few $ and buy the 18-55 2.8-4, or a used f/2 prime lens than wasting $120 on this setup.

You make a good point. I probably should wait, and it's probably not worth suggesting this idea to anyone else either. Thanks for the opinion.

Another vote for the 35mmF2. Our son was born 2 weeks ago and I got that lens specifically for that reason. Here is the reasoning if you're interested:

1. A fast prime is necessary to shoot in natural light with a fast enough shutter speed to avoid motion blur; anything slower than 1/100 might show it.
2. Wider than 50mm equiv will distort features too much and/or include too much background - something that's likely to be very cluttered around a newborn.
3. OIS is irrelevant at those shutter speeds and focal length.
4. I tried a 50mm (80mm equiv on Canon 1.6 APSC) with our daughter and while the results were decent, I had to back up quite a bit for full body shots at which point it's hard to hold the child's gaze - it just wasn't as flexible.
5. The much smaller size of this setup means the camera is always close at hand to capture fleeting moments.
6. Why not the faster F1.4? I was more comfortable with the F2's faster focusing and that I could shoot at F2 without worrying about sharpness.

To my mind there is only one downside  to this lens for newborn photography: due to the wider angle of view, slightly longer than normal close focus distance and image quality deterioration at close focus it makes for very poor isolation when you want to shoot say just your baby's wrinkly little hand. Not sure I've identified the best lens for that in the Fuji lineup yet.