23mm f/2 vs 35mm f/2 beside my 12mm

Hi Guys,

Before I switched to Fuji I used prime lenses on my Canon DSLR. Previous year, I used a cheap XC 16-50mm on my X-T1.

Now I want to switch to prime lenses again. I bought a Samyang 12mm for Fuji, for the landscapes on my travels and some wide-angle reportage shots. Now I'm in doubt between the 23mm f/2 and the 35mm f/2 beside this 12mm. I will use this one especially for Streetphotography and on travels.

What would you recommend? Are the 12mm and 23mm too close to each other?

Look at all the pictures you took with the 16-55 and see what focal length you took the most of.

Then get a prime of that.

Personal preference, just set your zoom to 23 and to 35 to see which you prefer for the intended types of photos. 12mm is so wide that the 23 isn’t anywhere close to it, just decide if you wider 23 our slightly longer 35.

jvdr wrote:

Hi Guys,

Before I switched to Fuji I used prime lenses on my Canon DSLR. Previous year, I used a cheap XC 16-50mm on my X-T1.

Now I want to switch to prime lenses again. I bought a Samyang 12mm for Fuji, for the landscapes on my travels and some wide-angle reportage shots. Now I'm in doubt between the 23mm f/2 and the 35mm f/2 beside this 12mm. I will use this one especially for Streetphotography and on travels.

What would you recommend? Are the 12mm and 23mm too close to each other?

Although I sometimes use the 35/1.4 for street...

...it usually seems a bit tight to me, and I tend to prefer the 16/1.4...

...or the 23...

Even the 16’s perspective is way different from the 12. Atypically, I also like longer lenses (than “normal”) for street, like the 90...

...or even the Rokinon 135/2...

especially for street performers. The svelte 60/2.4 is great for candid portraits, too...

Vignetting added

No simple answers! All shots from New Orleans, low rez images from a tablet.

For me, the 23 and 12mm are not too close. But it depends what you want. There are people shooting street with 50mm and above on a crop sensor.

The 23 and 12 are not too close but personally I love doing street with a wide and a long. My favorite current combo is the 14 and 35f1.4. I like to have the 14 on one body and the 35 on another. That said, if I am going out  with just one lens, I use the 45 on my gfx which is the same focal length as the 23.  So, I’d probably opt for the 23 if you intend to use only that. IF you intend to take two, I think the 12 and 35 make a better complement.

That’s why you need to buy a 23, 35, 50/56 and just have it all. 😊

jvdr wrote:

Hi Guys,

Before I switched to Fuji I used prime lenses on my Canon DSLR. Previous year, I used a cheap XC 16-50mm on my X-T1.

Now I want to switch to prime lenses again. I bought a Samyang 12mm for Fuji, for the landscapes on my travels and some wide-angle reportage shots. Now I'm in doubt between the 23mm f/2 and the 35mm f/2 beside this 12mm. I will use this one especially for Streetphotography and on travels.

What would you recommend? Are the 12mm and 23mm too close to each other?

They're not too close at all. For me, 23mm is a very useful focal length, 35mm isn't very important. This is just how I seem to see things when I'm imaging photos. Others get a lot out of the 35mm focal length.

RivkiLocker wrote:

The 23 and 12 are not too close but personally I love doing street with a wide and a long. My favorite current combo is the 14 and 35f1.4. I like to have the 14 on one body and the 35 on another. That said, if I am going out with just one lens, I use the 45 on my gfx which is the same focal length as the 23. So, I’d probably opt for the 23 if you intend to use only that. IF you intend to take two, I think the 12 and 35 make a better complement.

I completely agree with this.  I like to separate focal lengths as much as possible, you have plenty of room to manouvre in between.

I have the 35F2, I don't find it in any way tight, I've used it plenty indoors and took pictures of groups of people.  I really don't get this '35 is too tight' complaint whatsoever.  A 50mm on FF is ideal for street, a 35 on APSC is much the same.  A 23mm will be slightly better for taking in more of the environment, but honestly, unless you only ever shoot down tight alleyways or your idea of 'street' is to capture the whole street itself!?  a 35mm on APSC is plenty wide enough.

You should also note that the 23mm is very soft with tragic discoloration at close focus distance, if this is important to you.  You really need to stop it down to 5.6 for decent sharpness for this purpose, no matter what anyone tells you, just watch the reviews and see the proof for yourself.  It performs very good at F2 from a distance.  The 35 suffers a little from the same but nowhere near as bad.  It often has a bit of a 'glow' and softening when at CFD at F2 but is already very decent by 2.8.  Otherwise it is tack sharp at all apertures for general shooting.

Cagey75 wrote:

RivkiLocker wrote:

The 23 and 12 are not too close but personally I love doing street with a wide and a long. My favorite current combo is the 14 and 35f1.4. I like to have the 14 on one body and the 35 on another. That said, if I am going out with just one lens, I use the 45 on my gfx which is the same focal length as the 23. So, I’d probably opt for the 23 if you intend to use only that. IF you intend to take two, I think the 12 and 35 make a better complement.

I completely agree with this. I like to separate focal lengths as much as possible, you have plenty of room to manouvre in between.

I have the 35F2, I don't find it in any way tight, I've used it plenty indoors and took pictures of groups of people. I really don't get this '35 is too tight' complaint whatsoever. A 50mm on FF is ideal for street, a 35 on APSC is much the same. A 23mm will be slightly better for taking in more of the environment, but honestly, unless you only ever shoot down tight alleyways or your idea of 'street' is to capture the whole street itself!? a 35mm on APSC is plenty wide enough.

You should also note that the 23mm is very soft with tragic discoloration at close focus distance, if this is important to you. You really need to stop it down to 5.6 for decent sharpness for this purpose, no matter what anyone tells you, just watch the reviews and see the proof for yourself. It performs very good at F2 from a distance. The 35 suffers a little from the same but nowhere near as bad. It often has a bit of a 'glow' and softening when at CFD at F2 but is already very decent by 2.8. Otherwise it is tack sharp at all apertures for general shooting.

I also don’t understand the, “The 35 is too tight” narrative. The 50mm was the master of street photography back in the day.