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Features

The First Prime Lenses You Should Buy for Your Fujifilm X Mount Camera

Brett Day
No Comments
08/21/2019
5 Mins read
Fujifilm XF 23mm F2 R WR

Last Updated on 08/21/2019 by Mark Beckenbach

If you’re looking to buy your first prime lenses for your Fujifilm X Mount camera, this roundup is one you don’t want to miss.

Fujifilm has been making significant waves in the camera marketplace since they introduced the X-T1. Since then, many more X Mount cameras have been added to the lineup, with the X-T3 now being their flagship camera. Fujifilm APS-C cameras are incredible performers, and their X-Trans sensor really shines when paired up with outstanding glass. Fujifilm users are lucky: there are many very affordable prime lenses on the platform that are genuinely stunning. Join us after the break to see which Fujifilm prime lenses we recommended for first-time buyers.

Fujifilm Prime Lenses
Shot with the Fujifilm 56mm 1.2 and the X-T3.

The incredible thing with the lenses on this list is not just the image quality they produce, but their prices too. Most of these Fujifilm prime lenses are ridiculously cheap, razor-sharp, easy to use, and most of them are weather sealed (usually a feature reserved for lenses that cost significantly more). Any of these prime lenses will serve not only the first time user well, but also the enthusiasts, semi-pros, and even professionals. It’s hard to go wrong with any of these prime lenses. Check them out below.

 

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

 

Fujifilm 16mm F2.8 R WR

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Small
  • Lightweight
  • Weather sealed
  • Fun to use
  • Affordable
  • Good for documentary work and travel
  • Incredibly fast autofocus

Cons

  • Not sure why there isn’t an effective manual focus distance scale for hyperfocal length shooting
  • It’s a wide-angle lens with a relatively slow aperture for an APS-C camera system
  • You can get the 16mm f1.4 on eBay new or used for good prices. And you also get two stops more of light and weather sealing in addition to snappy autofocus

Buy now ($399): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: The APS-C cameras Fujifilm makes are genuinely incredible. They are well made, feature-packed, and when paired with prime lenses like the ones listed here, they can create gorgeous images. If you are new to your camera and want to know how to get the most out of it, you should check out these guides that will help you master your camera in no time. There are guides available for the X-T3, the X-H1, the X-Pro 2, the X-T20, and the X-T2. Best of all, they are ridiculously cheap. Pick one up today.

 

Fujifilm 23mm F2 R WR

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Good image quality
  • Seriously and surprisingly fast focus. This lens is officially Fujifilm’s fastest.
  • Fast focus on the X Pro 2, X-T2 and even the X Pro 1. The latter completely shocked me.
  • Nice colors
  • Compact size
  • Weather sealing
  • Turning the aperture ring feels nice and smooth until the clicks come in. It’s a tactile experience that’s just lovely.
  • Sharp images
  • Fairly nice bokeh
  • Affordable price point

Cons

  • Something about this lens just simply doesn’t have the magic that the 23mm f1.4 R does.

Buy now ($449): Adorama

 

Fujifilm 35mm F2 R WR

 

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great sharpness
  • Nine aperture blades make the bokeh as good as it can be
  • Small size
  • Weather resistance
  • The fastest focusing lens that Fujifilm has offered as of the publication of this review.

Cons

  • Just f2â€Ĥa refresh to the 35mm f1.4 actually would have been more appreciated and pushed the system ahead overall

Buy now ($399): Adorama

 

Captured with the Fujifilm X-T3 and the 56mm f1.2

Pro Tip: Fujifilm cameras are excellent for portrait photography. The X-Trans sensor is capable of capturing great details, and lenses like the 56mm f1.2 can create pure magic. However, having knowledge of how to pose your models or couples is essential. Getting to a shoot and not having the confidence to tell your subjects what to do, or running out of ideas, are not situations you want to find yourself in. This bundle of 3,100+ Portrait Photography Poses Cards will ensure that you never find yourself running out of poses. Best of all, you can show the pose to your subjects so that they mimic it perfectly. This bundle is just $29. This is one tool all portrait photographers should have in their kit.

 

Fujifilm 50mm F2 R WR

 

prime lenses fujiflm

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • It’s $449
  • Weather sealing
  • Fast autofocus performance on the newer cameras (sorry X Pro 1 users)
  • Sharp optics and image quality
  • Nice bokeh
  • Only gets sharper when you use a flash
  • Pretty compact
  • Nice build quality

Cons

  • Not much, honestly

Buy now ($449): Adorama

 

Rokinon/Samyang 50mm F1.2

 

prime lenses fujifilm

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 it’s time for Rokinon and Samyang to give their lenses a metal body/exterior.

Buy now ($449): Adorama

 

landscape photography
Estes Park, CO. Shot with the Fujifilm X-T3 and the Rokinon 12mm f2.

Pro Tip: Fujifilm cameras are great performers when it comes to landscape photography. The cameras, like most of these prime lenses, are small and lightweight, which make them excellent travel companions. If you really want to get the most out of the X-Trans sensor though you’re going to want to use a sturdy tripod when shooting landscapes. You don’t have to break the bank to get a great tripod these days. This one from MeFoto is sturdy and can hold your gear securely. Put your gear on it and the only thing you’ll have to worry about is your composition.

 

Fujifilm 56mm F1.2

 

prime lenses fujiflm

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Super sharp wide open. In fact, this is the sharpest lens for mirrorless cameras that we’ve tested
  • Excellent resolution and sharpness when studio lighting is used with it
  • Dreamy bokeh
  • Great feel in the hand
  • In good to fair lighting, its focusing abilities are about as fast as the company’s 35mm f1.4 offering
  • Almost no reason to stop it down, and you’ll be encouraged to shoot wide open

Cons

  • Even though it is an f1.2 lens, we wish that the aperture were faster
  • Misfocusing happens a bit more than we’d like it to in low light situations
  • Fairly expensive
  • Color rendition from the 35mm f1.4 is a tad better

Buy now ($999): Adorama

 

Fujifilm 60mm F2.4 Macro

 

prime lenses fujifilm

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Very sharp, though isn’t as sharp as the 35mm f1.4 despite what many folks say
  • Great color
  • Minimal distortion
  • Amazing feel in the hands

Cons

  • Slow to focus
  • Doesn’t focus as closely as Zeiss’s 50mm f2.8 Touit option

Buy now ($649): Adorama

 

Fujifilm 90mm F2 R LM WR

 

prime lenses fujiflm

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Superb image quality
  • Weather sealing
  • Great bokeh
  • Very sharp image quality
  • Makes great use of Fujifilm’s Classic Chrome and Astia film renderings
  • Well balanced with both the X Pro 1 and the X-T1
  • Lightweight lens
  • The focusing ring feels really big and beefy.
  • Surprisingly fast and accurate focusing
  • Pretty much no distortion
  • Perhaps the single best portrait lens that Fujifilm has made for the X series camera system–even better than the 56mm f1.2.

Cons

  • Fujifilm’s largest prime lens to date of publishing this review
  • No image stabilization

Buy now ($949): Adorama

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