Fujifilm 23mm f/2 Review

Fujifilm 23mm f/2: The Perfect Everyday Prime?

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Introduction

The Fujifilm 23mm f/2 R WR has been a staple in my camera bag for the last couple years. As someone who spends a lot of hours on foot capturing scenes, I often choose gear that’s comfortable ergonomically, lightweight, while still balancing a good amount of quality. Lately, the Fujifilm 23mm f/2 has been my go-to for everyday shooting, and while it does have some weaknesses (which we will discuss below), it has generally been a great fit for me, and I’ve made a lot of images with it that I’m happy with.

Why I Picked the Fujifilm 23mm f/2

My first kit on this system was Fujifilm X-T3 and the 18mm f/2 prime, but I quickly found 18mm (27mm equivalent) to be a little too wide for my taste at the time. I wanted something closer to the classic 35mm field of view, which led me to the 23mm f/2 (35mm equivalent). Additionally, I was spending entire days—sometimes 5+ hours—walking the streets and shooting, so size & weight were also a big factor in my decision. The 23mm f/2 checked these boxes for me: it’s compact, lightweight, fast enough, and still gives me image quality I’m happy with.

Key Strengths

1. Size and Weight

The Fujifilm 23mm f/2 is very small and light, making it a good fit for long photo walks or travel days. It’s not heavy enough to make the weight of my camera setup feel off center, and when carrying around this lens on my X-T5, it’s never felt too heavy or uncomfortable hanging around my neck.

2. Autofocus Performance

For my needs—primarily street photography—the autofocus is fast and reliable enough in almost all cases. I’ve very rarely missed a shot I wanted on this lens due to focus hunting or anything like that. This said, the Fujifilm 23mm f/2 prime does sometimes struggle in very low light, occasionally hunting for focus, and can result in missed shots. Honestly though, for a lens at this price, and at this size, that’s to be expected, and it hasn’t impacted my workflow much at all. As for video, I have played around with this lens, and when switching focus from one object to another, it is noticeably slower than other lenses in my kit. That said, I wouldn’t recommend this for a video setup, but it definitely meets the mark for still images.

3. Image Quality

Street photography with the Fujifilm 23mm f/2 prime lens.

Despite its small size, this lens delivers impressive sharpness, straight out of camera. Compared to other lenses I’ve used in this focal range, the 23mm f/2 holds up really well, producing crisp images with good contrast and color rendering. That said, I edit my images a lot, so often times I’m not really driven purely by image quality, because I am adding softness or textures to work in the editing process anyway. For commercial images, however, this lens doesn’t disappoint in my opinion, and I have even brought it with me for client work!

4. Build Quality

Despite it being so light weight, the build quality of the Fujifilm 23mm f/2 is solid, and doesn’t feel cheap in spite of the plastic feel. The weather resistance/weather-sealing technology is also a nice touch, as I am not the type of photography to shy away from photographing in bad weather. As for the aperture ring, I find it to be well-damped—not too loose not too stiff—which makes for a satisfying shooting experience. It’s firm enough that I never worry about accidentally bumping into a different aperture, but still smooth enough that I can easily slide into a different aperture without any major force.

The Cons Of The Fujifilm 23mm f/2

1. Low Light Performance

Street photography at night with the Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4.

While the f/2 aperture is great, it does have its limitations in very low-light environments. I can definitely get away with using it at f/2 and pairing that with higher ISOs, but having a little extra speed would be nice in some cases. In these situations, I sometimes choose the Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4 version for that extra bit of light-gathering ability. So if you’re primarily shoot at night, especially hand held, you might want to consider a faster prime instead.

2. Autofocus in Video

As I mentioned previously, for stills, the autofocus is great, but in video mode, I’ve found that it tends to hunt a bit, especially in low contrast scenes. The same can be said in some very low-light situations, but this lens does do a better job for focusing stills in low light compared to the 23mm f/1.4. This all said, if video is your main focus, you might want to look into a lens with a more robust focusing motor.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Fujifilm 23mm f/2 is an excellent daily carry lens, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a light, easy, minimal carry setup. While it has some limitations in low light & on the video side of things, ultimately its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses for my personal style of photography. If you’re looking for a versatile, lightweight prime lens for Fujifilm’s X system, this is definitely worth considering.

Find the products discussed below!

• Fujifilm 23mm f/2

• Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4 (older version)

• Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4 (newer version)

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