Is the 14mm f/2.8 an overkill for the X-T200 or will it make the difference?

I love the compactness and lightness of the X-T200 while still having a comfortable grip to hold the camera with my thumb and fingers compared to the X-E4 for instance that would need too add an extra grip for comfort.

Said that, I was wondering if the 14mm would give me sensible better IQ than the 15-45mm on the wide end in this bayer sensor. Has anybody paired this camera and lens?

Photography Raptor wrote:

Said that, I was wondering if the 14mm would give me sensible better IQ than the 15-45mm on the wide end in this bayer sensor. Has anybody paired this camera and lens?

I have both 15-45 and 14/2.8, but haven't bothered to do a 'shootout' just yet.

The question is what you want to gain. The faster aperture will make the biggest difference, imho, in terms of what the 14/2.8 will enable you to shoot that the 15-45 might not. The physical aperture ring and manual focus with clutch mechanism change how you handle the lens, but make little difference to what you can shoot.

Is the 15-45 your only current lens? If so, I would consider if the faster aperture makes a meaningful difference to you. Because unless 14/15mm is a key FOV for you, you might want to look at expanding your focal range or aperture, rather than doubling up on the wide end. E.g. a tele zoom or f1.4 prime are also options to add to your capabilities.

With all that said, the 14/2.8 is a fantastic lens. If 14/15mm is a FOV you find yourself shooting frequently, it is a very capable and rewarding lens to use.

FTOG wrote:

Photography Raptor wrote:

Said that, I was wondering if the 14mm would give me sensible better IQ than the 15-45mm on the wide end in this bayer sensor. Has anybody paired this camera and lens?

I have both 15-45 and 14/2.8, but haven't bothered to do a 'shootout' just yet.

The question is what you want to gain. The faster aperture will make the biggest difference, imho, in terms of what the 14/2.8 will enable you to shoot that the 15-45 might not. The physical aperture ring and manual focus with clutch mechanism change how you handle the lens, but make little difference to what you can shoot.

Is the 15-45 your only current lens? If so, I would consider if the faster aperture makes a meaningful difference to you. Because unless 14/15mm is a key FOV for you, you might want to look at expanding your focal range or aperture, rather than doubling up on the wide end. E.g. a tele zoom or f1.4 prime are also options to add to your capabilities.

With all that said, the 14/2.8 is a fantastic lens. If 14/15mm is a FOV you find yourself shooting frequently, it is a very capable and rewarding lens to use.

I like that focal lenght to do landscape. The 15-45mm at 15mm is very sharp but the corners are bad due to the lens distortion (on the other hand the lens is stabilized and has really close focus distance).

I think on the newest X-Trans 26MP sensor with almost one more stop of dynamic range than the 24MP bayer sensor in the X-T200 the upgrade is worth it given the photos I was able to see in flickr. The thing is that I haven't found photos of the 14mm combined with the bayer sensor.

My idea is to pair the 14mm with the 50-230mm forgetting about the intermediate focal lenghts for hiking as lightweight as possible.

Photography Raptor wrote:

FTOG wrote:

Photography Raptor wrote:

Said that, I was wondering if the 14mm would give me sensible better IQ than the 15-45mm on the wide end in this bayer sensor. Has anybody paired this camera and lens?

I have both 15-45 and 14/2.8, but haven't bothered to do a 'shootout' just yet.

The question is what you want to gain. The faster aperture will make the biggest difference, imho, in terms of what the 14/2.8 will enable you to shoot that the 15-45 might not. The physical aperture ring and manual focus with clutch mechanism change how you handle the lens, but make little difference to what you can shoot.

Is the 15-45 your only current lens? If so, I would consider if the faster aperture makes a meaningful difference to you. Because unless 14/15mm is a key FOV for you, you might want to look at expanding your focal range or aperture, rather than doubling up on the wide end. E.g. a tele zoom or f1.4 prime are also options to add to your capabilities.

With all that said, the 14/2.8 is a fantastic lens. If 14/15mm is a FOV you find yourself shooting frequently, it is a very capable and rewarding lens to use.

I like that focal lenght to do landscape. The 15-45mm at 15mm is very sharp but the corners are bad due to the lens distortion (on the other hand the lens is stabilized and has really close focus distance).

The 14/2.8 certainly handles distortion extremely well, and if this is a FOV you gravitate towards, it's a lens that will make you very happy.

I think on the newest X-Trans 26MP sensor with almost one more stop of dynamic range than the 24MP bayer sensor in the X-T200 the upgrade is worth it given the photos I was able to see in flickr. The thing is that I haven't found photos of the 14mm combined with the bayer sensor.

The lens won't behave differently on a different type of sensor. Any differences will be differences from sensor to sensor.

As for judging a lens by photos on flickr or elsewhere: Not knowing the degree of post applied to any photo online, I'd take what you see with a grain of salt always.

My idea is to pair the 14mm with the 50-230mm forgetting about the intermediate focal lenghts for hiking as lightweight as possible.

In the past, I've often carried 14mm, 23mm and 50mm. Recently I've acquired 15-45 and 50-230. I can certainly see potential in carrying the 14mm with the 50-230, but it is quite a substantial gap between 14mm and 50mm. I'd personally carry at a prime between those two focal lengths as well, or bring the 15-45 for focal length "emergencies". Luckily the latter is extremely light.

From my own quiver, a minimalist setup for landscape would be either the 15-45 and 50-230, or 14mm, 23mm and 50-230. I've recently experimented with a minimalist kit, and considering zooms where I am normally a prime shooter.

Photography Raptor wrote:

I love the compactness and lightness of the X-T200 while still having a comfortable grip to hold the camera with my thumb and fingers compared to the X-E4 for instance that would need too add an extra grip for comfort.

Said that, I was wondering if the 14mm would give me sensible better IQ than the 15-45mm on the wide end in this bayer sensor. Has anybody paired this camera and lens?

The following review was originally published in 2015 and doesn't use a camera with a Bayer sensor, but you might find the discussion and field of view comparisons interesting:

https://www.fujivsfuji.com/wide-angle-primes-14mm-f2pt8-vs-16mm-f1pt4-vs-18mm-f2

As for distortion (as FTOG points out above), one of the stand-out features of the 14mm is its excellent performance with regard to this property:

https://www.opticallimits.com/fuji_x/807-fuji14f28?start=1

https://www.lenstip.com/387.6-Lens_review-Fujifilm_Fujinon_XF_14_mm_f_2.8_R_Distortion.html

https://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/fujinon/xf-14mm-f2.8-r/review/

[Edited]

The X-T200 may come up a bit short in the feature/user interface departments, but it’s capable of outstanding image quality - at least as good (or better) than any X-Trans Fuji. No lens is overkill for it.