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Features

6 Spectacular Third Party Lenses to Use on Fujifilm X Mount Cameras

Brett Day
No Comments
08/14/2019
4 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Zeiss 50mm f2.8 Touit product photos (6 of 7)ISO 4001-50 sec at f - 2.8

Last Updated on 08/14/2019 by Mark Beckenbach

There might not be many third party lenses for Fujifilm X Mount cameras, but the ones you can get your hands on are top drawer.

The Fujifilm platform is unique: there are very few third-party lenses available for the system. Fujifilm’s reluctance to share the secrets of their AF systems with the like of Sigma, Tamron, and others means that, for the most part, users can only choose from native Fujifilm glass. This is not a bad thing as Fujifilm lenses are fantastic, but many Fujifilm users believe that there are no third-party lenses available at all to use with Fujifilm X Mount cameras. This is a bad thing: there are some genuinely spectacular manual focus lenses for the platform, including some from Zeiss. If you own a Fujifilm X Mount camera, you owe it to yourself to check out these six stunning third-party lenses.

Fujifilm x mount
Shot with the Zeiss 50mm f2.8 on the Fujifilm X-Pro 1

All six of these manual focus prime lenses are real gems. The offerings from Zeiss have the build and image quality we have all come to know and love from their lenses. The Samyang/Rokinon lenses have incredibly sharp optics, while the Mitakon f0.95 and the Lensbaby 23mm trio are unique in their own individual ways. These lenses will not disappoint, nor will they break the bank. Don’t be afraid to use manual focus lenses: they are easy to use. Fujifilm X mount cameras like the X-T3, the X-H1, and the X-Pro 2 have superb focus peaking features, so manual focusing is a piece of cake. With these lenses, you will be able to create gorgeous, sharp, contrasty images that have a look and feel that’s utterly different from first-party Fujifilm Lenses. You don’t want to overlook these lenses any longer.

 

Zeiss Touit 12mm F2.8

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Very good build quality for a mirrorless camera lens
  • Sharp and contrasty
  • Distortion only really apparent around the corners
  • Compact size
  • Fairly fast autofocusing speed

Cons

  • Expensive
  • The lens hood is made from plastic and doesn’t feel very Zeiss-like at all

Buy now ($899): Adorama

 

Rokinon 12mm F2

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great colors
  • Small build
  • Lightweight
  • Nice aperture clicks
  • Sharp

Cons

  • There are lenses with better bokeh for sure

Buy now ($279): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: Third-Party lenses for Fujifilm X Mount cameras are few and far between, but did you know that you can adapt a large quantity of Canon EF, and EF-S Mount lenses to your Fujifilm X Mount camera? The Fringer Canon EF to Fujifilm X Mount adapter will open up a ton of new doors for Fujifilm shooters as it will allow the use of Sigma, Tamron, and the vast majority of Canon lenses on your camera with autofocus and aperture control. It’s literally plug-and-play, and for just $349 it can beyours.

 

Lensbaby Trio

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Compact size
  • Nice feel, though the exterior is a bit plasticky
  • Good image quality
  • Fun to use with a camera that has focus peaking

Cons

  • No aperture changes

Buy now ($299.95): Adorama

 

Mitakon 35mm F0.95 II

 

Fujifilm X Mount Mitakon

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Ultrafast f0.95 aperture
  • Balances well with Fujifilm cameras
  • Adds a nice weight to Fuji cameras
  • The smooth, accurate focusing ring

Cons

  • No Autofocus
  • The aperture ring is clickless, easy to move by accident
  • No electronic communication with the cameras

Buy now ($519): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: Whether you shoot with first-party lenses or third party lenses, one thing remains the same when it comes to Fujifilm X Mount cameras – quickly draining batteries. While you can get 350 shots per charge, it is worth carrying some spare batteries around with you if you plan on taking pictures for any significant amount of time. The last thing you want to do is run out of juice right before magic happens. Fortunately, there are some fantastic third-party batteries available that won’t break the bank.

 

Samyang 50mm F1.2

 

Fujifilm X Mount Samyang

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Very, very sharp image delivery
  • Beautiful bokeh
  • Smooth focusing ring
  • Lightweight design
  • Affordable price point

Cons

  • We really think that it’s time for Rokinon and Samyang to give their lenses a metal body/exterior

Buy now ($449): Adorama

 

Zeiss 50mm F2.8 Touit

 

Fujifilm X Mount

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Super sharp both wide open and stopped down, though we feel like we’ve seen sharper macro lenses
  • Beautiful color rendition: the way it performs with skin tones impressed us quite a bit
  • Fairly fast to focus
  • Great feel despite the fact that we’re not completely smitten over the rubber

Cons

  • Slow focusing when in the macro range
  • Lack of depth of field scale, which can make focusing at the macro range even tougher to do

Buy now ($899): Adorama

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