Fujifilm’s Not-So- Hidden Gem (The 35mm f/1.4)
Almost two years ago I rented a camera and lens that I swore I would obtain myself. Not something to rent and then return, which nearly broke my heart, but something I would buy and own. Well, after months of waiting and being patient, I own at least one of those items and I want to discuss my experience with this gear. I’m of course, if you read the title, talking about Fujifilm’s XF 35mm f/1.4 lens.
July 2021. I traveled back to Nashville, Tennessee to visit my parents (and to surprise my dad who had no idea I was coming to visit him for the Fourth of July) and I knew we would do some sight seeing. Naturally, I wanted to bring some type of camera, but I wanted to test out a specific combination: The Fujifilm X-Pro 3 paired with a 35mm lens (after crop it’s close to 50mm blah, blah, blah). I thought this would be perfect to walk around with, not super bulky and easily to put inside a bag. However, I did end up bringing my telephoto lens, so I didn’t achieve that minimalistic goal I had at that time. Still, I rented those items from the lovely lensprotogo team, and they worked with me on making sure it shipped out to another state that I currently wasn’t in, and that I could go pick it up and drop it off there so I wouldn’t have to travel with it. See some examples here.
I used the pair as my walk around camera while exploring Downtown Nashville. I wanted to experience a bit of street photography and found that this pairing was incredible for it. I tried the 35mm with my X-T3 later as well and fell in love with the lens. I’m glad to say that many months later, I finally have this lens in my possession. I’ve had it for nearly a month now, but haven’t gone on any trips to fully test it out, but luckily, my girlfriend was so incredible and surprised me with a mini road trip to Maria, TX. What a place to test out this nifty little lens.
Marfa is a small, quiet town in West Texas. Known for it’s art scene and serenity (and the Marfa lights, but that’s a story for another day) and this was a fantastic place to capture with the 35mm lens. When I used this in Nashville, I found that it was a near perfect walk around lens to capture the environment around me and portraits of those around me. I can say that it lived up to its standards from 2021. This lens was paired to two different cameras, primarily on the Fujifilm X-H2s but there are a few photos from the X-T3. I used a film recipe from FujiXWeekly that he calls “Vibrant Arizona” and this did not disappoint. The colors feel so bright and I feel like it accurately captured Marfa.
The wildest part about this lens is that it’s one of Fuji’s oldest in its X mount line up. Originally releasing on January 9th, 2012, this lens became so popular that even used versions of this lens still go for near retail price for a brand new lens. When I discovered how beautiful its images are, it was something I had to add to my collection. It’s small, lightweight, and produces images that give character similar of a vintage 50mm lens. Now, to briefly explain, the 35mm focal length on the crop sensor camera adds a 1.5x crop factor - 35mm x 1.5 = 52mm, turning this into a nifty fifty lens. The one downside to this lens is its lack of any form of weather resistance. Now, there are updated models of this lens, like the 33mm f/1.4 or the smaller 35mm f/2 lens. Both are weather resistant, but the 1.4 version lets in a bit more lights, and can give you a more shallow depth of field for your portrait shots. Still, this lens works like a charm, even after eleven years, I fell in love with it nearly two years ago and still love it today. It’s something I would easily recommend if you were looking for a compact portrait lens or to capture street photography. It’s a versatile lens and you can’t go wrong with adding it to your arsenal.