What do you think about Fuji 18mm f1.4 for landscape photography?

Hi,

So far i've taken my XT2 together with 23 F2 and 14 F2.8 for my hiking trips.

The 14mm is mainly used for landscapes but when we get to huts / villages or when I want to take photos of me and my family I usually switch to the 23mm.

I'm considering to change my hiking setup to a single lens only.

The new 18mm seems like a potential fit - on one hand it's relatively wide and can be a good fit with landscape photography and on the other hand it's not too wide and can provide nice results also for taking photos of me and my family (+ it performs well in low light situations which is always a bonus).

I'm aware that a single lens is a compromise - just trying to find the best "balanced" lens for my needs.

Any thoughts?

The 18 f/1.4 is great all-purpose lens for that sort of thing. A good focal length for stitching a super-wide view too.

If you take very wide images with the 14mm of buildings, interiors or landscapes with lots of foreground detail then the 18mm isn't as wide of course and stitching is tricky. If your wide images are mainly/mostly distant stuff with nothing in the foreground a few handheld frames will stitch perfectly with modern software and Eric's suggestion was just what I was about to say myself.

18 is a bit wide for portraits but not groups, you could stand back and plan to crop, but you'll have plenty of pixels for that. Head and shoulder shots need to be taken from a reasonable distance and cropped to 80mm (on 35mm film) field of view.  Or the nose looks too big.  Similarly too long makes the face look flat.

Any focal length can be used to make good landscape photos. Personally, I find the 18mm a bit of no-man's land, I prefer wider and/or longer. If you are mostly thinking landscapes, f/1.4 is a bit of a waste.

One more vote for the 10-24mm zoom. The newer one is pretty decent even at 24mm, at least my copy is. And the OIS helps for low light situations.

I used to have the 18mm f2 and it was excellent for all types of photography, including landscape. I also had the 14mm f2.8 for a short time until it was damaged and not repairable. Now I have the 16mm f2.8, along with the 23mm f2, 35mm f2, and 50mm f2, plus a bunch of manual lenses.

It all depends on what you want to capture in your images. If you want to downsize from 14mm to 18mm, then go for it. I went through a phase of going wider and wider, until I reached 8mm, but now my 16mm sits in the bag because all I use is 23mm, 35mm, and 50mm, with 23mm the least used of the three. The photos below are the type of landscape images I like to shoot today and were taken using the FX35mm f2 R WR and the FX50mm f2 R WR.

Hi,

I hike with either a day pack or a full pack for multiple nights and enjoy my landscape photography en route. So, I get that gear weight and clutter is a factor.

My thoughts? I don't like one lens solutions. I've tried it, but having used multiple FLs (primes and zooms) for a lifetime, I always 'see' missed opportunities and find it frustrating. Why have an interchangeable lens camera but just one lens? It's personal of course, but that's my approach.

I think you have a good and flexible set up now with the 14 and 23mm. Together they weigh 415g (according to the DPR data). The new 18/1.4 weighs 370g by itself. It's Fuji's latest and sharpest WA lens, and no doubt a desirable one. Key questions.... Is 45g critical to you? Are you prepared to lose the flexibility of two FL choices? Is an incremental improvement in sharpness critical to your photography? Do you need f1.4 for some other use (not being needed for landscape photography)? And are you prepared to pay for an expensive new lens to get any of these things?

If you did go with just the 18mm lens, you could also consider adding say a 27mm to give you a near standard lens for very little extra weight at all. But that's not a one lens solution.... Just thinking aloud there. As you can see, I prefer more than one FL.

Different thought..... If one-lens simplicity appeals strongly to you, have you considered a zoom? There are many Fuji options.

Hope that helps,

Rod

For landscapes I'd go with the 18mm f2. You'll be using it stopped down, so why pay for the faster aperture and have to carry a heavier lens?

Nick on the Baltic wrote:

For landscapes I'd go with the 18mm f2. You'll be using it stopped down, so why pay for the faster aperture and have to carry a heavier lens?

Because the 18mm f/1.4 is several orders of magnitude sharper across the frame at any aperture, no CA, great sunstars.etc.

The 18mm 1.4 is an amazing lens ! I hate pixel peeping but when I do with this lens I’m blown away at the detail and the out of focus areas are so smooth

Erik Baumgartner wrote:

Nick on the Baltic wrote:

For landscapes I'd go with the 18mm f2. You'll be using it stopped down, so why pay for the faster aperture and have to carry a heavier lens?

Because the 18mm f/1.4 is several orders of magnitude sharper across the frame at any aperture, no CA, great sunstars.etc.

Hey Erik, no offence but your statement is complete bogus and I don’t think there was much intelligent thought behind it.

Yes, we get the new 1.4 primes from Fujifilm are much better optically, but “several orders of magnitude” sharper is quite the bogus claim.

Let me explain:

An example of an order of magnitude written in scientific notation using base ten would be 10^1,10^2, 10^3 … etc.

Now MTF charts usually use 15 line pairs and 45 line pairs to give you an idea of how the lens will perform.

Let’s use base 15 as that’s convenient in this case. 3 orders of magnitude above 15 is 3,375. The lens would have to resolve that many line pairs.

If you compare the MTF charts of both lenses, you see there is a noticeable improvement in resolution at all apertures and across the lens, it definitely is not “orders of magnitude” better, although I get why you said it, to exaggerate for dramatic effect how much better it is to you.

(Yes this is me trying to sound smart, and poking fun at you, please don’t take it personally )

Erik Baumgartner wrote:

Nick on the Baltic wrote:

For landscapes I'd go with the 18mm f2. You'll be using it stopped down, so why pay for the faster aperture and have to carry a heavier lens?

Because the 18mm f/1.4 is several orders of magnitude sharper across the frame at any aperture, no CA, great sunstars.etc.

Fair enough. I haven't tried it, so I wouldn't know.

'Orders of magnitude' sounds a bit hyperbolic though 

Ofir B wrote:

Hi,

So far i've taken my XT2 together with 23 F2 and 14 F2.8 for my hiking trips.

The 14mm is mainly used for landscapes but when we get to huts / villages or when I want to take photos of me and my family I usually switch to the 23mm.

I'm considering to change my hiking setup to a single lens only.

The new 18mm seems like a potential fit - on one hand it's relatively wide and can be a good fit with landscape photography and on the other hand it's not too wide and can provide nice results also for taking photos of me and my family (+ it performs well in low light situations which is always a bonus).

I'm aware that a single lens is a compromise - just trying to find the best "balanced" lens for my needs.

Any thoughts?

As it turns out, I owned the 23 F2 and 14 F2.8 and traded them in for the 18/f1.4.  It is a wonderful lens and I have no regrets letting go of the 23 & 14.  In my film days (1980-1999), one of my favorite lenses was a Nikon 27/f2 and the 18 reminds me of that lens: both are sharp from edge to edge.  In fact, it is one of the two lenses I regret trading away when I switched to digital.  The 18 of course is weather resistant and has quiet, fast AF, has great rendering and is wonderful for landscapes and for tight, cramped and often poorly lit urban settings likes the ones I deal with when traveling in Asia.

I think for "wide" landscapes it would be fine, but it's hard to get much of the Near ---> Far exaggerated perspective with a 28mm EFL. You need at least 24mm or 21mm to get that in my experience. So I would be hesitant to give up the wider lens and settle for a compromise focal length if landscape is important.

mtnroads wrote:

I think for "wide" landscapes it would be fine, but it's hard to get much of the Near ---> Far exaggerated perspective with a 28mm EFL. You need at least 24mm or 21mm to get that in my experience. So I would be hesitant to give up the wider lens and settle for a compromise focal length if landscape is important.

There are compromises in every direction.  If you go to say 14mm or 16mm to get the exaggerated perspective, that same exaggeration diminishes background elevation and the reduction in magnification 'getting it all in' diminishes fine detail unless it's close to the camera.  One can use almost any FL for landscape, including any of the WA lenses.  One just has to know and work with the different foibles at each FL.

Regards, Rod

Ofir B wrote:

Hi,

So far i've taken my XT2 together with 23 F2 and 14 F2.8 for my hiking trips.

The 14mm is mainly used for landscapes but when we get to huts / villages or when I want to take photos of me and my family I usually switch to the 23mm.

I'm considering to change my hiking setup to a single lens only.

The new 18mm seems like a potential fit - on one hand it's relatively wide and can be a good fit with landscape photography and on the other hand it's not too wide and can provide nice results also for taking photos of me and my family (+ it performs well in low light situations which is always a bonus).

I'm aware that a single lens is a compromise - just trying to find the best "balanced" lens for my needs.

Any thoughts?

I think if you are looking for a very sharp fixed lens for landscape, general purpose and indoor family, I think the new 18/1.4 is the right lens.

I am thinking about adding one to my collection. Out of the three new 1.4, I think this one is the most valuable one. The focal length is versatile enough for most general shootings although it won't add any extra punch or dramatize the scene like other wider wide angle ( like the 14, 16 or 10-24, 8-16 ) lenses. The focal length is always referred as snap shot focal length which is ordinary or even a little boring. However it requires you to think through the composition, background, elements included and angles in order to deliver nice pictures. It is close to the 23mm focal length but it is friendlier for indoor space and landscape in most cases given that it is a little wider.

Another advantage is that it will take full advantage of the high pixel sensor which will be in most ( if not all) next generation Fuji X bodies. In case you plan to upgrade your camera to the newer bodies in a year or 2, you will appreciate the resolution of the new lens.

Another good news is that if you need to shoot at 23mm occasionally, you can toggle the spot finder mode to convert the 18mm focal length to 23mm( by digital crop, just like the Leica Q/Q2) . Although the bokeh will not be the same as from an actual 23mm lens, it will be still decent enough.

I don't remember if XT2 got sport finder mode from firmware upgrade, but I am sure you will find this feature in all current generation bodies and probably the newer bodies that are coming soon. This feature is handy, and will become even more useful when the sensor resolution is upgraded later.

So, I would say yes to upgrading to the new 18/1.4 WR

However, I would save the 14/2.8. It is the best true wide angle fixed lens that Fuji current offers. This FL is a classic and very versatile for some serious landscape, environmental, architect ( outdoor or indoor) photography.

nonicks wrote:

Ofir B wrote:

Hi,

So far i've taken my XT2 together with 23 F2 and 14 F2.8 for my hiking trips.

The 14mm is mainly used for landscapes but when we get to huts / villages or when I want to take photos of me and my family I usually switch to the 23mm.

I'm considering to change my hiking setup to a single lens only.

The new 18mm seems like a potential fit - on one hand it's relatively wide and can be a good fit with landscape photography and on the other hand it's not too wide and can provide nice results also for taking photos of me and my family (+ it performs well in low light situations which is always a bonus).

I'm aware that a single lens is a compromise - just trying to find the best "balanced" lens for my needs.

Any thoughts?

I think if you are looking for a very sharp fixed lens for landscape, general purpose and indoor family, I think the new 18/1.4 is the right lens.

I am thinking about adding one to my collection. Out of the three new 1.4, I think this one is the most valuable one. The focal length is versatile enough for most general shootings although it won't add any extra punch or dramatize the scene like other wider wide angle ( like the 14, 16 or 10-24, 8-16 ) lenses. The focal length is always referred as snap shot focal length which is ordinary or even a little boring. However it requires you to think through the composition, background, elements included and angles in order to deliver nice pictures. It is close to the 23mm focal length but it is friendlier for indoor space and landscape in most cases given that it is a little wider.

Another advantage is that it will take full advantage of the high pixel sensor which will be in most ( if not all) next generation Fuji X bodies. In case you plan to upgrade your camera to the newer bodies in a year or 2, you will appreciate the resolution of the new lens.

Another good news is that if you need to shoot at 23mm occasionally, you can toggle the spot finder mode to convert the 18mm focal length to 23mm( by digital crop, just like the Leica Q/Q2) . Although the bokeh will not be the same as from an actual 23mm lens, it will be still decent enough.

Am I missing something here? Which Fuji ILC has this feature?

I don't remember if XT2 got sport finder mode from firmware upgrade, but I am sure you will find this feature in all current generation bodies and probably the newer bodies that are coming soon. This feature is handy, and will become even more useful when the sensor resolution is upgraded later.

So, I would say yes to upgrading to the new 18/1.4 WR

However, I would save the 14/2.8. It is the best true wide angle fixed lens that Fuji current offers. This FL is a classic and very versatile for some serious landscape, environmental, architect ( outdoor or indoor) photography.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/183079213@N06/

Apologies. I found the information in the manual.

Sports finder mode...check out the video from pal2tech (or you could find the information in the manual 😉):

https://youtu.be/I5vUkTrHS7A