I enjoy this lens, but when buying it I already had experience with different macro lenses at shorter and longer focal length so I was aware of the drawbacks you mention so they don't weigh so heavily for me. I like having the wider field of view since it can also help to get a bit of extra depth of field, when I do not want to shoot 1:1 macro. I still also have the XF80mm for when I want more working distance, and the Laowa 65mm 2x macro lens for when I want even more magnification. The drawback of shooting with the XF80mm macro lens is that it is very easy to come too close to the subject without realising it, and then the lens refuses to focus.... or focuses on something in the far distance instead. (At that point it is better to switch to manual focus).
I 100% agree with you, that getting too close is not what you want in macrophotography. I kept my xf60mm instead, even though it's only 0.5x mag. and the AF is slow at close focus. The fx60mm also works great for portraits, land scapes... and the bokeh of the xf60mm is just beautiful.
The 30mm is the most versatile lens I ever owned in 30 years of photography. Image quality is excellent, the 45mm equivalent is a perfect normal fov. So no, it’s not overrated, it’s excellent.
Strongly disagree with most of what you said. If you do macro, you obviously should be skilled at planning your shots, protect your gear, and get the right lighting regardless of your lens. It gets even more complicated in slow motion video work but minimum focus distance should not prevents any well planned production to get the shot regardless of the subject. So no, it's not overrated, the 80mm cannot do what the 30mm can, and vice-versa. Doesn't mean the 80 is overrated, different focal length for different needs.
No problem 😉 I appreciate constructive disagreement! I think you can be skilled at planning your shots but the this focal length for macro is much more limiting than the 80mm. If you get super close, yes you can somehow light your shot, but not in some angles. If you want your subject to move while having the minimum focus distance that is also much more difficult with the 30mm. You do need more space to work with the 80mm but, as you said, on a well planned production, that is much easier to achieve than the points I mentioned before. The 30mm is good for casual user who want to walk around with their lens. For dedicated macro work, the 80mm makes more sense imo. Thanks for watching!
Nice video! You made some good points about this lens not being that great for dedicated macro work. I'm not sure what the intention was when Fuji made this lens, but for me I like to just throw it on my camera as a general-use walk around lens because I can still get a bit of background separation at 2.8 if I want, it's small and weather sealed, and also it gives the option of shooting things closer than usual. I still enjoy shooting things at less than 1x magnification because it's closer than my other lenses let me get (besides my Laowa 65mm). I think of this lens more as a general use compact prime lens that has the flexibility to shoot macro - I definitely wouldn't use it as my only macro lens for professional macro work or anything like that. For example, if I go hiking I may bring this lens because it's wide enough to still shoot scenery and and my friends and stuff, but also can get closer than usual if I happen to see anything small that I wanna shoot, and don't need to worry about getting caught in the rain like I would with my Laowa ;)
All valid but I think the macro part is awesome feature on a "normal" speed 30mm. I think the 80 is still the better-suited option solving these limitations. Having said that, I love my 30mm LOL
I don't think Fuji set out to create a great macro lens with this one. It's just an extremely versatile lens with pretty much no limitations, when it comes to the min focus distance. It's like saying a run of the mill sports car is overrated, because it can't compete in a serious race. It's not meant to. I do agree about the focus limit switch.
Harder to light at its closest focus distance, I can agree. If I need to stick a subject in what amounts to the area INSIDE the lens hood, I'll use something else. How many have a need to photograph fire, at a macro distance? Focus limiter, maybe, but another thing to add, another cost passed to the consumer, and probably a bigger or heavier lens too. Sure, 80mm is probably better, but is massively more heavy, and massively bigger, and has a price to match that increase in size and weight. The 30mm and 80mm are 2 completely different lenses.
Please correct me if I’m incorrect here, but maximum magnification, not the distance to the subject, is the thing people should focus on, right? The distance to the subject with a given lens does not tell you anything about how much magnification you’ll get. Is it just me or is that a weird thing people do?
While the working distance on its own doesn't tell you how much magnification you'll get, it does tell you what challenges to expect, and it might give you an idea of how much perspective distortion (or compression) your subject will have. Here are the specs of Fuji's two 1:1 macro lenses when shooting at 1:1: XF 30mm has a minimum shooting distance of 10.0cm from the sensor with a working distance of 1.2cm from the lens barrel. XF 80mm has a minimum shooting distance of 24.6cm from the sensor with a working distance of 9.8cm from the lens barrel. When shooting small subjects at high reproduction ratios, the subject will show much more perspective distortion on the 30mm compared to the 80mm's more compressed look, which could be important to consider when choosing between the two lenses.
That's why there's not many macro Lens below 50mm 100mm 85mm are pretty good and even then specially in film industry we use diopters so we can keep same distance with the subject
Hi, I like to use the 30mm in combination with streetphotography. It is very small, wr and you can get close in some situations. Easy to take along. I also have a laowa 65mm for having more space between object and lens. That is a mf lens ,but that doesnt bother me at all.
It’s pretty good for hobbyist youtube stuff: model making, watches and so on. You can use it for headshots too. Might not be a pro lens but for creators its a pretty good deal. Hunting can be an issue, but otherwise for me the price is right and it’s worked well for me🙃 Good video and great points. If I had the money I would have gone for the 80, and may still do that, but for now this was a good deal. Thanks for making this!
I like to use the 30 to show more perspective distortion when I make assembly notes so it's easier to judge how far apart components are, but the 80 is often more appropriate for commercial use. 🙂
I bought the 80mm macro (used) since I’m usually in the garden capturing flowers, insects and foliage. The focal length is better suited and yes, the focus limiter switch comes in very handy. The 80 mm macro price new is outside of my budget, but I found one that was four months old on eBay at 60% of the new price and purchased it.
Well for half the price of the 30mm and a third of the price of the 80mm, I bought the Laowa 65mm which has a 2x magnification. It is obviously fully manual, but I thoroughly enjoy it anyway. 😅
@@ThierryGibralta for an amateur photographer like me, it works great. However it seems to be prone to chromatic aberrations, especially when I shoot insects on which the sunlight reflects brightly. I mostly use it for insects, flowers and details in nature. But it also works fine for portraits, even if I prefer my beloved xf90 for that kind of thing.
Has anyone ditched their 35mm f2 for this lens? Granted, the 35 has a wider aperture but, wow, that dreadful focus breathing. I should say I usually am making films, so the focus breathing is an issue. This presentation has helped me not to get too excited about the macro capability, but I have one of those extension tubes for that anyway.
I sold my 35 F2 for this lens. It’s great. The 35 does give more background compression but it’s minor. That said you can get so close with the 30 that you can get even shallower if you want. The macro capability is obviously amazing so you get more options there. AND the biggest selling point for me is the linear motors which are amazing for video.
Focus stack on a manual lens is a full time job, not going to happen for me. The focus breathing is necessary on a lens that can focus from infinity to 2X.
I just got this lens a few days ago, and so far, I am unimpressed. As a newly released lens, I expected better optics. My XF56mm, for instance, is sharp at the full aperature range, but this 30mm is almost useless at f16 and f22 for macro work that needs to be pin sharp, and I don't find that using it as a general walk-around is even as good as the XF27mm. Has anyone else found anything similar? I was disappointed, given the superb quality of my other XF lenses.
@@ThierryGibralta My opinion, the 30mm F2.8 does normal photography better than other Fujifilm macro lenses and that's the only appeal of it. It may not be the best macro lens but if you need a walkaround lens that can *also* do macro then it's the best.
Well you use the right lens for the job.However this reveals more about your own limited knowledge of Fujifilm . So it doesn’t fit YOUR needs, but that isn’t the only Use case scenario. You haven’t really done yourself any favours with this video. Try harder!
Every video is based on my needs and opinions. If you watched the whole video you may have heard that I emphasize that it is a good lens, but creates limitation for actual macro users. Looking forward to seeing your expert opinion in a video!
@@ThierryGibralta I’m not claiming to be an expert , that’s your territory, and for what it’s worth you could have demonstrated focus stacking with the lens. Let’s face it who puts the front element so close to food that it’s stuck to it. I much prefer Pal2tech’s review of the 30mm macro, I think you could learn a thing or two. You say that you stated it’s a good lens, but the title of your video says don’t buy it. In other words click bait, which you try to justify by some curious criticisms .
@@davidhawkeye2298 the xf30mm is described as a 1x magnification ratio macro lens, and this magnification ratio is reached at the minimal focus distance, which is the one shown in the video. Every picture taken at a greater distance from the subject is technically proxy photo, not macro. So if you are looking for a macro lens that can be used as such, it is indeed probably not a very good one. It doesn't mean that it's not a brilliant lens, with its incredibly light weight, compact size and overall versatility. It just might not be for everyone and we should be able to say so. No hard feelings, mate. Pal2tech's video is indeed nice too.
