It’s suited for photographers who need a fast autofocusing compact lens that is still capable of producing outstanding image quality.

In this review, I’ll go over a bit more about what makes this lens great and why it might be a better option than the 23mm f1.4 for most people. I’ve always been a fan of Fuji’s 35mm f1.4 lens, and still consider it my favorite lens that Fujifilm makes. As you can see, the XF 23mm f2 and XF 23mm f1.4 have delivered 18 and 14 spikes respectively as expected from their nine and seven aperture blades. But in the crop above it’s clear how much better-defined the spikes are from the XF 23mm f1.4. This is most likely down to the actual shape of the blades themselves. So first, let’s talk about the positive aspects of this little lens: the focal length, autofocus, price, size, image quality and bokeh.Its identically-priced sister the 50mm f/2 is much better at close distances. This lens is super sharp for normal pictures, so don't worry about it — you'll never see any difference in actual photos. In the crop above you’re looking at the XF 23mm f2 on the left and the XF 23mm f1.4 on the right; since the shooting distance remained the same, the slightly tighter coverage of the latter lens has delivered a slightly tighter view and crop as a result. Above left: Fujifilm XF 23mm f2. Above middle: Fujifilm XF 23mm f1.4. Above right: Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f4. The main issue that’s been documented with the Fuji 23mm is that it has a bit of softness at f2 and a close focus distance. Essentially, it means you won’t have as sharp of details if you focus super close to something and you’ve got the aperture set to f2.

It also has a maximum reproduction ratio of 0.13x. The aspherical elements are positioned, so the image plane is flat, providing edge-to-edge sharpness. If you’re new to the Fuji X Series lens system, there’s a good chance you’re grappling with a decision between Fuji’s 23mm and 35mm lens offerings.

The Fujinon 23mm f2 has some very nice natural color and contrast. You’ll see people say this lens is clinical because it doesn’t produce wild bokeh or crazy lens flares, while this is true, the lens still has some really nice character and I definitely wouldn’t call it clinical. Since my teenage years, photography was always present in my life. My dad used to have film cameras when I was young and he carried them with him on our family trips and holidays. When I was getting older I also had a small film camera. Later, when digital cameras became more and more affordable, I bought a Pentax K-30 with an 18-135mm lens. This camera boosted my photography.