My top three Fujifilm lenses I own or have used.

Although I’ve only been with Fujifilm for around three years, I have used and owned many X-Mount lenses, from cheap manual lenses, to adapted vintage glass through XC and XF lenses. Let’s look at my top three lenses that I recommend.

3… Fujifilm XF18-135mm

I’m not going to lie, when I first had this lens I absolutely hated it for a number of reasons. However, after a couple of weeks using it, I fell in love with it, and would now not consider my kit to be without it.

It’s big, it’s heavy, it misses focus once in a while (all lenses do, but this one just feels to skip a beat a tiny bit more) but with all that said, it’s a fantastic lens

Firstly, image quality in my copy of the lens is fantastic at the wide end, and more than acceptable at the long end of this rather long range. And that range is the second reason I enjoy the lens so much, it’s a great walk around lens for most subjects. Thirdly, it has amazing image stabilisation, so although not the fastest apertures, it doesn’t matter, as the stabilisation means it’s amazing in low light!

2… XF27mm F/2.8

I no longer own this lens. I bought it really cheap, for only £99 and sold it for double that, and since then the prices have only been rising!

It is such a small, compact lens, which produces great, sharp images. It’s lacking an aperture ring, but that’s ok (the newer version has an aperture ring), but that’s about the only fault with it.

I really miss the small size, it made the camera so much more pocketable. The 28mm focal length is equal to just over 40mm in full frame terms, and it’s such a great focal length for everyday shooting.

1… Viltrox 23mm F/1.4

I absolutely love, love, love my Viltrox 23mm F/1.4. I shoot with it almost exclusively with it wide open at F/1.4 and it gives an amazing image that just has a vintage look to it. It’s sharp, it’s well built, it’s got a great aperture ring and is a pleasure to use.

At the equivalent of 35mm full frame, it’s the only focal length you ever really need for most of the time, hence it almost lives on my camera!

I can’t make it clear enough at how much I love the Viltrox 23mm. It’s a beautiful lens that renders images like no other lens. It does have a little vignetting wide open, but that didn’t bother me as firstly I quite often add vignette, and secondly, it’s simple to remove if need be! But needs never be!

Honorary mentions

I can’t end this list without mentioning the Meike 25mm F1.8 (which I sold) as when I look back at those images it took, I live everything about them. It’s a manual lens, and that’s why I sold it… But I shouldn’t have!

And finally, not mentioned here as it’s a bit of a niche lens, but my trusty TTArtisan 7.5mm F/2 is one I recommend for super wide photographs. It’s given me some of my best images, and is very versatile as it can be used as a fisheye (which it is), or it can be de-fished to turn it into an ultra-wide angle. Perfect!

Conclusion

Of course, you may need lenses for different uses, so your list will be nothing like this. We are all different, but hopefully this will get you thinking, especially if you’ve ever considered one of these lenses. Whatever you choose, enjoy! And share your top 3 in the comments.

---

I am a semi-professional photographer who runs a weekly meeting photography group as well as numerous Facebook groups (Great Photography Walks South Wales and Fujifilm Lovers Worldwide Group). I also have a brand-new blog website dedicated to various other things which I like to call The Ramblings Of A Welshman. I hope you can join me there; you might find it interesting!