I felt the same with the 23 F1.4 and 23 F2 and 16 F2.8! Now I just take the 18 F1.4 plus one tighter prime. It reminds me that I took a lot of photos and videos at 18mm with the 18-55 kit lens when I had it.
I did the same, sold the 23mm 1.4 for the 18mm 1.4. Together with the 56mm 1.2 (or perhaps the new 33mm 1.4) a great combo! For my 23mm needs I use the x100V as my everyday carry cam.
I am in nearly the same boat exactly. I have been hemming and hawing about trading my 16 for the 18 for very similar reasons. I LOVE it, but honestly only sometimes. When everything clicks. Otherwise, my subject matter has changed enough to things that dont hold up well to distortion, I do more video than I used to, the 16 feels very wide often, and focus speed is semi important. Makes wanting to switch to the 18 very appealing. I would keep my 2 prime kit as the 16 (or 18 if I switch) and the new 33. I upgraded from the 35 f2 and its great. Having the 16 and the 33 has been an awesome kit for almost everything that I do, and changing to the 18 feels like it may prefect what I am going for...in my mind. I do mostly semi environmental portraits of families and kids and such, and on the other side of the coin is automotive photography (granted I use the 16-55, 50-140 and the 100-400 for that if is it planned and paid shoot). But for a normal working or walking around kit, it does well for me. I still have the 3 F2 primes, and honestly they get less love than they used to, though I really do love them.
Nice to see you’re doing well! I think the system lacked a lens that could do it all: wide to get the whole scene, portrait lens when you get close, smooth and fast focusing for video, sharp for days. This 18mm finally ticks all the boxes! 🙏🏻
Recently tested the 18mm f1.4 and the 33mm f1.4, I found that 18mm is sharper than 33mm, secondly, close up picture was very nice too, I can use it for group photos, portrait and macros, I love this 18mm f1.4 len so much.
About time you was back 🤛🏼📸 yes I’ve bought the the 18mm 1.4 & the 33mm 1.4 combo 💪🏻 and it feels just right with the 18mm being in between the 16mm & the 23mm focal length! And it’s a great combo that works
Feel the same way about 28mm: few steps gives you either that 35 or 24mm feel. Many people actually say this about the 35mm -- it's the midpoint between 28mm and 50mm. But I think the modern look is a bit wider angle, and 28mm is becoming the new 35mm for an all-purpose lens.
@@HVRIS Maybe ! I think this new trend to using wide angles is driven a bit by technology allowing for fast wide angle lenses with corner to corner sharpness. No one could have shot the Revenant in the 90s. Perhaps our proclivity to using wider lenses will eventually look dated but it's definitely the current thing, unlocked by modern lens designs
The 18mm f/1.4 is truly amazing. It's even sharper than the Sony 24mm G Master and has less aberrations wide open. During a 2 week holiday, I rented the A7R4 + 35mm GM to try out for 7 days. I returned it after 4 days because the Fuji 18 was just far superior both in versatility and colours. The R4 also has really bad eye autofocus, pretty much the same level as Fujifilm to be honest. I wasn't impressed, considering the whole world praised Sony. The Fuji 18mm f/1.4 just does everything well. Street/documentary. Holidays, cafe and dinners, shooting my girlfriend sitting next to me (35mm fov will never be that versatile). I considered the 16 for a bit, but the 16mm f/1.4 is actually a 17mm (16-55 f/2.8 is actually wider), so I was kinda meh...
I’m genuinely surprised that’s your experience with Sony over Fuji. I know Sony has better autofocus but didn’t feel like I needed that over what I have with Fuji. Either way thanks for letting me know that the grass isn’t greener on the other side 😂
First off, great review and awesome content that you make on your channel. Keep it up! So, I went ahead and tested out the 18mm (27mm equiv) on my X-T4. There were definitely a lot of pros than cons in the photography or imaging department. But as a hybrid shooter, I was not keen about the video aspect of the new 18mm. The autofocusing had a lot of focus breathing and it was jumpy as if it lacked certainty. I sat down for a good awhile testing different AF custom settings. Yet, I could not find any sweet spot. Also, the focus throw on the MF is too short for focus racking, so I felt like it was a catch 22 for me. Obviously, different strokes for different folks, but I think I am going to get the 16mm f/1.4 instead. The AF focus and MF focus throw is much better than the 18mm despite it being an older lens. Let me know what you think about this? Thanks!
Thank you for the kind comment! 🙏🏼 For me in the video department it’s been a mixed bag. If the talking head scene does not have a busy background, the autofocus is absolutely fine! However, over time, I am noticing it being hesitant in tricky environments (you’d think this shouldn’t happen with a brand new lens). Overall, if you wanted to go for the 16mm instead, I don’t think you’d be missing out. The 18mm is not an upgrade, it’s a different offering. So if it’s not working for you, go for the 16mm (if you want that manual focus option) 🙏🏼
@@HVRIS I should add that I sold my 16/1.4 and 23/2 to pay for it. 28mm is an acquired taste but given that my favourite film camera was the Fuji GS690W, the 'Texas Leica' I've been addicted to 28mm ever since. I bought the 16/1.4 as no good 28mm equiv existed in the Fuji line up at the time and it was the best compromise of fov and aperture but as soon as this lens was available I knew I would no longer need/use the 16/1.4. Likewise the 23/2. I am now considering the 33/1.4 as I am so pleased with the 18/1.4 and mainly in advance of the X-H2 which I think these lenses were created for.
Ah, I loved this conversational video… I am by no means a professional however I do love to create with Fuji as my outlet! I appreciate your thoughts and perspectives on this lens, it gave me a considerable amount of information I needed in making a buying decision. Thanks for your time and effort making this video!
Im in the same situation. Im fairly certain the 18mm can replace my 16mm 1.4 but im not too sure about it replacing my 23mm. But just carrying one lens sounds so much better.
Do the internal components shift when tilting the camera up and down? I rented the lens to test it out and I love it. I'm wondering if I was sent a bad copy.
16mm f/1.4 is perfect lens works wonders for me personally especially for street graffiti photography, I would definitely like to try out 18mm f/1.4 for street perspective view.
18mm doesn't have the same close focusing as 16mm. Personally I used to have a Nikon 24mm 1.4, which makes my 16mm feel like home. Most impactful when you go up close and down low angle, get to object and background for context storytelling.
That is true! And that’s why I am keeping the 16mm. But, the 18mm is right behind the 16mm in terms of close focus distance so I don’t feel like I’m missing out 👌🏻
I own a lot of Fuji glass but not these 3 😆 No particular reason, although for the 56 I'm actually not a big fan of the length... I rather jump to the mindblowing 90mm f2
