Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR (New version) lens review with samples...feat. X-H2 :-) 

Yeah it looks like shit doesn't it! Definitely, yeah. Trust me. And mute the audio.

@@TheMetalButcher Hahaha

Haha . Well said! This lens is unbelievable... Looks like they updated it based on their learnings from 50mm F1.0.

It’s really not that spotty in real world use

I highly doubt it

@@hardywoodaway9912 Fuji ha fatto la lista dei vecchi obbiettivi , pochi sono esclusi .

Also wondering about this, with a huge amount of m43 lenses, would it make a great content and expands the database? Or something happened in the past that I'm not aware of? Chris, if you're reading this, we'll be thankful if you'd like to answer this question, cheers!

@@Durio_zibethinus Maybe Peter Panasonic and Oliver Olympus ran away with Chris's highschool girlfriend ten years ago? ;)

I agree. Linear motor and f/1.4 at this size would have sold a lot better than this lens ever will, I am willing to bet. This AF motor misses pretty badly in AF-C and the lens really works best in professional portrait situations where AF-S can be used.

The old 56 f1.2 was already sharper than the Sigma in the corners according to Gordon Liang's direct comparison video. The Sigma is fine for portraits, but if you need corner to corner sharpness, this new Fuji looks crazy good.

How do you, as you say, “mitigate” the shortcomings? I was very interested in this lens until reviews suggested it cannot really hit moving targets in AF-C. In other words, not much better than the 50mm f1, another dream lens! I have a Viltrox 56mm which while not perfect is quite fast.

@@matt88169 In short, I'm more intentional when using this lens than with others, especially with fast moving subjects. I use Single focus mode with a small focus box. I wait patiently for the right moment, lock focus and take a photograph. My 18mm and 33mm lenses are more forgiving. I do not have to be as careful or patient. Eventually I will add the 90mm F2 to my kit, which will reduce the need for the 56mm to be my action telephoto (I have a young kid and they play sports).

@@jeremywenrich Thanks. Which body do you shoot with? Figuring out if the AF of the new 56mm will be up to the task is a challenge - some seem to show it can hit running kids, others say 'don't bother' (the 50mm f1 also gets this distinction I've noticed). Obviously it does not help that Fuji's AF-C isn't 100% reliable (I have an XT3). Reviewers always show the lens pulling focus back and forth, but what they don't show is attempting the same thing in worse lighting conditions. In my experience the better lenses will still acquire, focus, and hit something in poor light with reasonable good speed, the "lesser" lenses will not. Pretty hard to incorporate a flash in candid indoor sessions when your lens is typically hunting or missing focus. Obviously if I were shooting a soccer game I'd be likely to stop down somewhere between f2-f5.6 instead of wide open, top open up the DoF. Indoors you tend to need that wider aperture. Do you also shoot with it indoors? Curious if, in crappy or low light (think, light that requires ISO 1600 or higher@f1.4), it hunts a lot / misses a lot. I have the 23mm LM WR (similar to your 18mm and 33mm), and have found it quite fast and reliable indoors even in poor light (wide open at f1.4 - haven't tested other apertures as much just yet). In fact it seems up there with my red badge lens. Acquisition, tracking, hit rate have all been very good so far. If the 56mm is slower than the new primes, but has similarly good acquisition and hit rates in poor light, the slower speed is less of a problem for me. For a second reference I've found the 18-55mm kit lens in the same conditions is almost unusable (ISO 1600-6400 type shots). I love the lens, but frankly its AF is only fast in good light, in my experience - it is hard to shoot kids inside. If I can't get a lock, it doesn't matter that I'm using flash or no flash. Acquisition, tracking, hit rate. That is the holy trinity. For me, if the new Fuji can't handle a little action indoors or out it doesn't matter that the optics are stellar. I have the 50-140mm so am not interested in the 90mm f2, personally (and actually, I would recommend it over the 90mm potentially, since it is sharp as a tack, very fast, and can be had fairly cheap). But I do love the 85mm-ish focal length for an indoor/outdoor prime. I have the Viltrox 56mm f1.4 and it is a fast lens in good light that can definitely keep up with some action. In crappier light the AF performance varies from very good to hunting/missing quite a lot.

@@matt88169 This is a hard call. I shot an indoor wedding with poor lighting and black ceilings (bouncing flash off what white patches I could find). I found myself struggling to acquire focus with the 56mm WR, but I had only just received it, too. I felt more comfortable using my 33mm under those conditions. I want to make it clear that these were very dark conditions though. I can push the lens more now, but it does not excel at the scenarios you've noted. For that reason, you may wish to pass. I find myself often shooting in more favorable circumstances though and LOVE the lens. It is a must for me. No doubt about it. Thank you for the 50-140mm recommendation. I will consider it as it is on my short list and one of the only zooms that I'm considering.

@@jeremywenrich Sounds like a lens I better rent first. Given Fuji stuffed 4 linear motors into the 90mm, which is just 4 inches long, I'm shocked they couldn't shove two into the 56mm - it would have made this lens legendary. I don't want to oversell the 50-140mm to you, because I don't know your use cases / preferences, but if it disappointed you optically or in terms of AF I'd be shocked - especially if your use-case is replacing the 56mm for sports shots and doing some portraiture too. You probably won't have to be nearly as "intentional", so you can think more about composition and less about the focus issues. I think the 50-140mm lens deserves legendary status. In terms of cost its actually affordable if you consider that it might replace (and outperform in different ways) three different primes (50mm, 56mm, 90mm). I am quite familiar with it if you have questions. It is beastly to where I would recommend a deep grip for long shoots, but the images I've gotten make it worthwhile.

Sony 50mm F1.2 GM

Nikon 0.95 Noct

75/1.2 is better, including autofocus, but very large and heavy

The Viltrox is even better. Absolute IQ insanity that blows out of the water any Leica or Zeiss at any price. If I were Fujifilm, I'd start being a little bit worried. Viltrox has gone from being just another made in China mediocre performing manufacturer, to making breakthrough products that are simply astonishing and awe inspiring.

For 50 and higher my suggestion is they should research fast compact lens

$200 off a brand new lens? You sure it wasn’t the old version?

​@@bt82hongkong grey market. Only drawback is the 30days warranty. They sell the 50-140 for 1100USD. Or some rich punk in the facebook marketplace who don't know how to shoot and will sell the lens after a month or two from the purchase. 😂 I love those.

*Quick update to anyone wondering if this works on the XS -10 as there is very little information on the web . After buying and testing 56 mm WR on my XS-10 it seems to be working fine with breathtaking bokeh and colour rendering compared to my old Viltrox 56 .1.4 . I'm guessing the performance would improve further on newer Fuji cameras . Better start saving the XT -5 😁

@@djstuc I changed the 50f2 APO-Lanthar (also reviewed here as being perfection) for the 50f2 summicron. I’m pretty sure the 50f2 Cron would get a terrible review here. 😅 But the fact is that the APO-Lanthar was perfect from f2. Yes. And it was sterile and lacked any character. The Summicron (last version v5) is a legend. And it is NOT perfect. But every picture is magic. It’s nice and glowy and soft at f2 and it keeps getting sharper and more contrasty as you close the aperture. That lets me be more expressive. The older Fuji glass, yea the ones that get the bad reviews, are slow and have aberrations all over the place; but the original 35f1.4 and the original 56f1.2 are full of magic. The same with the older 23f1.4. It cuts through Fuji’s digital looking sensors and somehow manage to bring some organic reality to the images. They’re beautiful and the reason those lenses basically made Fuji. But these new replacement lenses built in the Philippines now or wherever they’re building them, lost all the charm of the Japanese built lenses. It’s like made by computers and pushed out a conveyor belt. No flaws. Same image at every aperture. 🤷🏻‍♂️