Fujifilm Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 Review
The Fujifilm Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 is an extraordinary lens. It has excellent optics crammed into a pancake form, weighing in at only 77g, making it the lightest Fuji lens in their X mount lineup. It covers an equivalent angle of view as a 40mm lens on a full-frame sensor.
For an overview of the Fujifilm X system, see my Fujifilm X System Guide. For other reviews of Fujifilm X System gear, click here to see my complete list of Fujifilm gear reviews.
Just as a comparison, this lens weighs in at over eight times less than the Fuji 16-55mm f/2.8! They both let in the same amount of light with their maximum f/2.8 apertures. With this pancake, you lose the ability to zoom, but so what? Take a few steps forward or back to frame your shot, 27mm is nearly right in the smack bang middle of 16mm and 55mm*. Carry an 18mm f/2.0 and 60mm f/2.4 if you really need it and you'll still be weighing in at less than the zoom.
* NOTE: The middle of 16mm and 55mm is not 35.5mm (the mean), it's actually around 29mm. Why? Because we measure focal lengths logarithmically, not linearly. 35.5mm is much closer to 55mm than it is to 16mm. 29mm is approximately 1.85 times "longer" than 16mm and 1.85 times "shorter" than 55mm. Thus, 27mm is actually very close to the "middle" of 16mm and 55mm. I should also note that stepping forwards and backwards doesn't actually give you exactly the same shot as using a different focal length, but it's another way of composing your images without zooming.
For an overview of the Fujifilm X system, see my Fujifilm X System Guide. For other reviews of Fujifilm X System gear, click here to see my complete list of Fujifilm gear reviews.
Just as a comparison, this lens weighs in at over eight times less than the Fuji 16-55mm f/2.8! They both let in the same amount of light with their maximum f/2.8 apertures. With this pancake, you lose the ability to zoom, but so what? Take a few steps forward or back to frame your shot, 27mm is nearly right in the smack bang middle of 16mm and 55mm*. Carry an 18mm f/2.0 and 60mm f/2.4 if you really need it and you'll still be weighing in at less than the zoom.
* NOTE: The middle of 16mm and 55mm is not 35.5mm (the mean), it's actually around 29mm. Why? Because we measure focal lengths logarithmically, not linearly. 35.5mm is much closer to 55mm than it is to 16mm. 29mm is approximately 1.85 times "longer" than 16mm and 1.85 times "shorter" than 55mm. Thus, 27mm is actually very close to the "middle" of 16mm and 55mm. I should also note that stepping forwards and backwards doesn't actually give you exactly the same shot as using a different focal length, but it's another way of composing your images without zooming.
Fujifilm's Fujinon lenses are always excellent. Unlike cheaper Nikon or Canon lenses, both of whom are cutting costs in order to bring the cheapest acceptable lens with decent optical quality to the market, Fuji lenses are premium products, priced accordingly and they perform accordingly. Compared to DSLR lenses such as the similar Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM, this Fuji lens is much better built, containing much more metal, feeling much more solid and costs over twice as much. That said, lenses are great investments and I am confident that this Fuji lens will last a lifetime of shooting on Fuji's X series cameras.
This lens excels at all metrics, despite being Fuji's cheapest prime on their X system. Even though it has a relatively slow f/2.8 aperture, compared to primes which go up to f/1.4 or even f/1.2, remember that it is still as fast as the fastest professional zoom lenses such as Fuji's 16-55mm f/2.8 or 50-140mm f/2.8. Due to its slower aperture, I generally use this lens outdoors, where f/2.8 is more than enough unless it's after sunset. It's sharp at all apertures, up to wide open, it's well built, with heaps of metal and feels solid. There's not much more that can be said about a lens that is so small, light, well built and optically excellent.
I love this lens because of its excellent image quality and size. A lens this small makes my X-T1 extremely light (around 500g in total, so just about 50g more than the X100) and makes my X-E2 decisively puny, weighing in at under the weight of the X100. A lens this light is great to wear around my neck and I love carrying it around on my amazing X-T1 and shooting all day without feeling any weight.
This lens excels at all metrics, despite being Fuji's cheapest prime on their X system. Even though it has a relatively slow f/2.8 aperture, compared to primes which go up to f/1.4 or even f/1.2, remember that it is still as fast as the fastest professional zoom lenses such as Fuji's 16-55mm f/2.8 or 50-140mm f/2.8. Due to its slower aperture, I generally use this lens outdoors, where f/2.8 is more than enough unless it's after sunset. It's sharp at all apertures, up to wide open, it's well built, with heaps of metal and feels solid. There's not much more that can be said about a lens that is so small, light, well built and optically excellent.
I love this lens because of its excellent image quality and size. A lens this small makes my X-T1 extremely light (around 500g in total, so just about 50g more than the X100) and makes my X-E2 decisively puny, weighing in at under the weight of the X100. A lens this light is great to wear around my neck and I love carrying it around on my amazing X-T1 and shooting all day without feeling any weight.
Specifications
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What's in the Box
The box contains a minimalist design and like the more modern Fujinon lenses (all of the Fuji X lenses apart from the original three - 18mm f/2.0, 35mm f/1.4, 60mm f/2.4), the box is made from simple corrugated cardboard which contains:
The lens wrapping cloth is an oversized carrying bag that is useful to throw the lens in when packing it in a bag so it doesn't get scratched. It provides no meaningful protection against knocks or drops. Note that this lens does not come with a lens hood. This isn't a problem, as the lens handles flare extremely well and I haven't had an issue with lens flare or been in a situation where a lens hood is necessary. Even if a lens hood were included, I would not use it, as I want the lens small. The photo of the box on the right was taken with the Fuji 27mm f/2.8! |
Samples
I'll put up two pictures I took as I was unboxing the lens to show you what the lens is capable of. I'll include two 100% crops on the point of focus as well so you can feast on all that pixel-peeping goodness and see for yourself how sharp this lens is. Don't take my word for it! I usually don't include 100% crops because that's not how we view or print images, but since these two pictures are just test shots, why not.
Both of these shots were shot wide-open at f/2.8, so if it's sharp at f/2.8, you'd expect it to be extremely sharp when stopped down. Personally, because this lens is already comparatively slow, it has to be good wide-open otherwise it's practically useless indoors in dim light once stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8. It's great that it's sharp at f/2.8.
The autofocus of the 27mm f/2.8 is snappy, but not instantaneous. Its autofocus motor is a little noisy, it's not silent like Nikon's SWM motors, but rather, sounds like one of those older Nikon screw mount lenses. If you're used to pro DSLR lenses, it will be slower, but it's more than plenty fast enough for almost all uses. Because the autofocus sensors of the X-T1 are on the sensor rather than on a separate module, it does not suffer from missing focus the way a DSLR can. Focus is not as fast as a DSLR, but in terms of accuracy, when the focus is found and locked, the pictures always turn out tack sharp because of how well the focus has locked and how accurate the on sensor phase-detect autofocus system is. The key point stopping many from achieving sharp images, provided they have decent technique and equipment is missed focus. The Fuji mirrorless system definitely helps here.
Both of these shots were shot wide-open at f/2.8, so if it's sharp at f/2.8, you'd expect it to be extremely sharp when stopped down. Personally, because this lens is already comparatively slow, it has to be good wide-open otherwise it's practically useless indoors in dim light once stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8. It's great that it's sharp at f/2.8.
The autofocus of the 27mm f/2.8 is snappy, but not instantaneous. Its autofocus motor is a little noisy, it's not silent like Nikon's SWM motors, but rather, sounds like one of those older Nikon screw mount lenses. If you're used to pro DSLR lenses, it will be slower, but it's more than plenty fast enough for almost all uses. Because the autofocus sensors of the X-T1 are on the sensor rather than on a separate module, it does not suffer from missing focus the way a DSLR can. Focus is not as fast as a DSLR, but in terms of accuracy, when the focus is found and locked, the pictures always turn out tack sharp because of how well the focus has locked and how accurate the on sensor phase-detect autofocus system is. The key point stopping many from achieving sharp images, provided they have decent technique and equipment is missed focus. The Fuji mirrorless system definitely helps here.
I finally had the chance to get some real world shots with this lens, so here are some images which show what this lens is capable of doing - it certainly is one of Fuji's sharpest lenses, despite being so tiny!
Compared to Fuji 35mm f/1.4 and Zeiss 32mm f/1.8
The Fuji 35mm f/1.4 and Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 lenses are both slightly longer than this Fuji 27mm f/2.8, meaning that they capture a narrower angle of view. From experience, this 27mm lens has a slightly more natural perspective for walking around type shooting, where I find 50mm equivalent lenses (e.g. the Fuji 35mm and Zeiss 32mm) to be a little too long, meaning that I have to take a small step backwards to be getting the frame I'm seeing with my eyes. This 27mm (40mm equivalent on full-frame) Fuji lens captures those images perfectly. I find 35mm equivalent lenses (e.g. the Fuji 23mm f/1.4 or the lens on the X100) to be a little too short, so I have to take a small step closer.
In terms of low light performance, there is no doubt that the Fuji 35mm f/1.4 takes the cake over this 27mm f/2.8. But also remember that the 35mm f/1.4 is almost three times heavier than this 27mm f/2.8. An f/1.4 aperture is two stops faster than f/2.8, allowing in four times as much light, which is a significant amount for low-light no-flash photography. The difference between these two lenses could be the difference between shooting muddy images at ISO6400 and clean images at ISO1600. Or even worse, it can be the difference between managing to get a shot and not managing to get a shot. The f/1.4 aperture and slightly longer focal length on the Fuji 35mm also allows better subject separation, so if you shoot mostly portraits where you want the background out-of-focus, go with the 35mm f/1.4. For daylight, which is where I use this lens most, it doesn't make a difference because we're almost always shooting at around f/5.6 or f/8.
In terms of sharpness, the Zeiss 32mm f/1.8 is sharpest, followed by the Fuji 35mm f/1.4, then the Fuji 27mm f/2.8. That said, you'd be splitting hairs trying to see any difference in sharpness at normal sizes. I can't see any differences in sharpness at anything less than 100% crops, which is irrelevant unless you're printing images the size of your wall or printing for exhibitions. For 99% of people, the sharpness of these three lenses are equal. In terms of price, the Zeiss is the most expensive and the worst value. The Fuji 35mm is around 40% more expensive than the Fuji 27mm, making them both excellent value, but they are different lenses - the 27mm is very much a specialty lens, designed specifically to be small and the 35mm is a normal lens designed to be in the bags of most photographers.
Personally, if I was looking at buying either the Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 or this Fujinon 27mm f/2.8, I would always pick the 35mm f/1.4. It's not that much more expensive and it's simply a much more versatile lens. The Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 lens is something I would add later on when I already have a few lenses and I'm finding that they're a little big or expensive. If that's the case, add this Fuji 27mm f/2.8 and you'll have something light and fun you can take out during the day. The 27mm is a very specially designed lens that makes compromises in order to be small.
In terms of low light performance, there is no doubt that the Fuji 35mm f/1.4 takes the cake over this 27mm f/2.8. But also remember that the 35mm f/1.4 is almost three times heavier than this 27mm f/2.8. An f/1.4 aperture is two stops faster than f/2.8, allowing in four times as much light, which is a significant amount for low-light no-flash photography. The difference between these two lenses could be the difference between shooting muddy images at ISO6400 and clean images at ISO1600. Or even worse, it can be the difference between managing to get a shot and not managing to get a shot. The f/1.4 aperture and slightly longer focal length on the Fuji 35mm also allows better subject separation, so if you shoot mostly portraits where you want the background out-of-focus, go with the 35mm f/1.4. For daylight, which is where I use this lens most, it doesn't make a difference because we're almost always shooting at around f/5.6 or f/8.
In terms of sharpness, the Zeiss 32mm f/1.8 is sharpest, followed by the Fuji 35mm f/1.4, then the Fuji 27mm f/2.8. That said, you'd be splitting hairs trying to see any difference in sharpness at normal sizes. I can't see any differences in sharpness at anything less than 100% crops, which is irrelevant unless you're printing images the size of your wall or printing for exhibitions. For 99% of people, the sharpness of these three lenses are equal. In terms of price, the Zeiss is the most expensive and the worst value. The Fuji 35mm is around 40% more expensive than the Fuji 27mm, making them both excellent value, but they are different lenses - the 27mm is very much a specialty lens, designed specifically to be small and the 35mm is a normal lens designed to be in the bags of most photographers.
Personally, if I was looking at buying either the Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 or this Fujinon 27mm f/2.8, I would always pick the 35mm f/1.4. It's not that much more expensive and it's simply a much more versatile lens. The Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 lens is something I would add later on when I already have a few lenses and I'm finding that they're a little big or expensive. If that's the case, add this Fuji 27mm f/2.8 and you'll have something light and fun you can take out during the day. The 27mm is a very specially designed lens that makes compromises in order to be small.
Compared to the Fuji X100 (X100S/X100T)
The Fuji X100 (X100S/X100T) has a 23mm f/2 lens (equivalent to 35mm on a full-frame sensor). That makes it a little wider than what I'd usually like, but it's nice because it allows us to get a little closer to the subject - this allows us to make more powerful images. The quality on both the lenses is the same. Even though the X100's lens is faster at f/2, it suffers from haloing and haze at that aperture, so it's really an f/2.8 lens if you're after optimal image quality. At f/2.8, I cannot tell the difference between the sharpness of the 27mm vs the 23mm on the X100.
For most people, the 27mm f/2.8 lens is what I would get if looking to add a small lens to an already complete X series kit which I can take out and use during the day when I simply don't want to carry anything heavier. That's what it's designed for and that's what it completely excels at - being small and light. The X100 is a complete camera and there is definitely a nice feel to having a fixed focal length camera. I would go for the X100 (X100S/X100T) if I don't already have two Fuji X-mount bodies as then I'll be adding a backup body as well as a new lens, but the value equation is questionable.
From a purely practical standpoint, the price of this lens, along with an X-E2 is less than the price of a brand-new X100T, which has features comparable to the X-E2. The X100T adds an optical viewfinder, but the X-E2 adds the ability to use all your other X mount lenses when you need it, whereas the X100T is fixed lens. Thus, from a pure value standpoint, especially if you have other X mount lenses or intend to purchase some, the X-E2 with this 27mm f/2.8 looks like the better value proposition.
In many ways, these comparisons are never fair on the X100 series, much in the same way that comparing LEICA to Nikon, Canon or even Fujifilm isn't really fair on LEICA. The Fuji X100 series demand a very expensive price premium because of how dearly many photographers hold the concept of a fixed-lens rangefinder style camera in their hearts. This isn't to mention that the X100 is usually the gateway into the Fujifilm X system, many photographers, like me, buy an X100 to complement their DSLR kits and end up jumping straight into Fuji! For those reasons and perhaps many more, the Fuji X100 series is a premium product - much like LEICA is a premium product. It was never designed to appeal to the buyer who purchases based on raw value alone.
For most people, the 27mm f/2.8 lens is what I would get if looking to add a small lens to an already complete X series kit which I can take out and use during the day when I simply don't want to carry anything heavier. That's what it's designed for and that's what it completely excels at - being small and light. The X100 is a complete camera and there is definitely a nice feel to having a fixed focal length camera. I would go for the X100 (X100S/X100T) if I don't already have two Fuji X-mount bodies as then I'll be adding a backup body as well as a new lens, but the value equation is questionable.
From a purely practical standpoint, the price of this lens, along with an X-E2 is less than the price of a brand-new X100T, which has features comparable to the X-E2. The X100T adds an optical viewfinder, but the X-E2 adds the ability to use all your other X mount lenses when you need it, whereas the X100T is fixed lens. Thus, from a pure value standpoint, especially if you have other X mount lenses or intend to purchase some, the X-E2 with this 27mm f/2.8 looks like the better value proposition.
In many ways, these comparisons are never fair on the X100 series, much in the same way that comparing LEICA to Nikon, Canon or even Fujifilm isn't really fair on LEICA. The Fuji X100 series demand a very expensive price premium because of how dearly many photographers hold the concept of a fixed-lens rangefinder style camera in their hearts. This isn't to mention that the X100 is usually the gateway into the Fujifilm X system, many photographers, like me, buy an X100 to complement their DSLR kits and end up jumping straight into Fuji! For those reasons and perhaps many more, the Fuji X100 series is a premium product - much like LEICA is a premium product. It was never designed to appeal to the buyer who purchases based on raw value alone.