Since we started using the Fujifilm X-T2 in summer 2017 for our commercial work and YouTube content a lot of people asked us which native Fujinon lenses we use. While we use a variety of glass we have three lenses that we always carry in our camera bag. You can watch the video featuring the lenses and sample footage below in 4K:
The lenses I talked about in the video are really good workhorses for documentary work but also commercial productions as long as light is not an issue. Like I mentioned in the video I often shoot hand-held so image stabilization (OIS) is key and not something that would be nice to have but it’s necessary. Of course you won’t get a super shallow depth of field with a lens like the 55-200mm F/3.5-4.8 but it works great and the images are sharp and the focal length of up to 300mm in full-frame can be a life-saver.
The 10-24mm F/4 wide-angle is not only sharp and pretty much has no distortion but it also has internal image stabilization which is especially useful when filming at 24mm. The only downside of this ultra-wide-angle is the aperture of F/4 but at the moment there is no better alternative. The only alternative would be the 16-55mm F/2.8 but it makes a huge difference to me whether I shoot at 10mm or 16mm. It also doesn’t have internal image stabilization so for hand-held filming it’s not an ideal choice.
The 35mm F/1.4 seems like a no brainer and it really is a great lens to control depth of field and to film and photograph in dark locations and low light. A more affordable option would be the 35mm F/2 also from Fuji in case you are not sure if you really need an F/1.4 lens.
I will write another blog post about lenses for Fuji’s X-mount in the future featuring third-party lenses too.
You can buy the lenses below from B&H Photo:
XF 10-24mm F/4 R OIS wide angle lens
XF 55-200mm F/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS tele-photo lens
XF 35MM F/1.4 R prime lens
Some of the footage and photos featured in the video are part of our short film EXPLORING JAVA which you can watch below.
Written by Moritz Janisch on February 20, 2018