Kit reviews
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FujifilmXF 56mm f/1.2 RAPD £1099
SPECS
PRICE £1099 CONTACT
www.fujifilm.eu/uk CONSTRUCTION 11 elements in 8 groups FOCAL LENGTH (35MMEQUIVALENT) 85mm MINIMUM APERTURE f/16 APERTURE BLADES 7 CLOSEST FOCUSING DISTANCE 0.7m FILTER SIZE 62mm DIMENSIONS (WxL) 73.2x69.7mm WEIGHT 405g
Nikon’s fastest aperture ultra-wide lens joins a set of f/1.8 optics that includes a 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm. They share the same maximum aperture but there are other similarities too. Each has SWM for silent focusing, they are all G lenses so have no aperture ring and, depending on the lens, have special glass elements or Nano Crystal Coat. The 20mm has 13 lens elements and of those two are Extra-Low Dispersion glass and there are two aspherical elements. Such extreme wide-angles, especially those with a fast aperture like this one, can be front heavy but this lens is nicely balanced and sat well on the APS-C and full-frame cameras I tried it with. The focusing barrel is smooth but positive and there is full-time manual override. There is only one control and that is a manual/autofocus option. The filter thread is 77mm which is a popular size. The front element does not protrude beyond the front of the lens body but it’s close so take care and a protection filter is advised. Optically, I thought the 20mm performed very well. I initially found that while the lens on a D750 produced sharp images at maximum aperture from the outset, on the D800 that wasn’t the case and I had to use the camera’s AF adjust feature. Once that was done, wide aperture shots were perfectly good. Central sharpness peaked at f/5.6 and f/8 but the differences between these apertures from the It could prove to be an expensive month for Fujifilm X-series users. But while the XF 50-140mm (below left) will be considered by many to be a must-have, this lens is arguably less essential. That’s not to say it’s a poor performer – quite the opposite, in fact – but more that its attributes are likely to appeal to a smaller number of photographers. Fujifilm does, of course, already produce an XF56mm f/1.2 lens. It’s a cracking piece of kit that’s melted the heart of many a portrait photographer with its super-wide maximum aperture that delivers boatloads of beautiful bokeh. It’s also around £300 cheaper than this version. Spend the extra money here, however, and you get a built-in apodisation filter (hence the APD in the name). Assuming that you’ve never heard of an apodisation filter, let me explain. It is effectively a neutral grey lens element that is part of the optical construction. Its sole purpose is to progressively reduce light transmittance from the centre to the edge which, in turn, creates an even more pronounced bokeh effect. If you peer through the lens, you can see the apodisation filter’s effect, which looks like the most subtle of graduated filters radiating from a clear centre. This darkening does have a minor effect on the effective aperture. Wide open at f/1.2, for example, the effective aperture is f/1.7. At f/1.4, it’s f/1.8 but by the time you arrive at f/5.6 there’s no difference. You don’t have to remember these numbers as there’s a red ring showing the effective aperture setting.
ABOVE You can’t help but shoot wide open with an f/1.2 aperture on offer. And this is indicative of the bokeh and sharpness that’s on offer when you do.
The verdict The 56mm APD achieves what it sets out to do, delivering the ultimate in bokeh effects, particularly whenmaximising the widemaximum aperture setting. But I’m just not sure that it’s worth the extra £300 for the majority of X-series users. If you shoot a lot of portraits or weddings then the cost may be justifiable, but when you consider the superb performance available from the non-APD version, this is probably only for the most devoted bokeh-philes out there. RP
There’s little doubt that the 56mm APD is effective at producing a more creamy bokeh effect when compared to the standard 56mm option, but the non-APD version could never be considered a bokeh slouch, especially when shooting at the wider end of the aperture range. It’s worth bearing in mind that the apodisation filter also has an effect on autofocus performance. If you have an X-series camera with phase-detection AF, it will switch to contrast-detection, which can mean marginally slower focusing speeds. During the test, I didn’t find this to be a huge issue, largely because I was shooting in good light, but in lower lighting conditions the focusing system may be a little less assured.
PROS
Impressive optical and build quality, great bokeh effects
CONS
Price, effect on focusing performance
NikonAF-SNikkor 20mm f/1.8GED £679
SPECS
PRICE £679 CONTACT
www.nikon.co.uk CONSTRUCTION 13 elements in 11 groups – 2 ED, 2 aspherical FOCAL RANGE (35MMEQUIVALENT) 20mm MINIMUMAPERTURE f/16 APERTURE BLADES 7 CLOSEST FOCUSING DISTANCE 20cm FILTER SIZE 77mm IMAGE STABILISER None DIMENSIONS (WXL) 82.5x80.5mm WEIGHT 355g
ABOVE With a bit of tweaking of the AF settings, the 20mm performed well even at wide apertures. It’s nicely balanced and compact, too.
The verdict With the arrival of the 20mm, the Nikon owner can invest in a range of fast aperture, high performance, lightweight primes without breaking the bank – relatively speaking, of course. The 20mm at £679 is the most expensive of Nikon’s f/1.8 lens series and its extreme field of view won’t suit everyone, but it’s a terrific lens and great for creative landscape, people and architecture shots, and the most important thing is that it is a high quality performer. WC
maximum and minimum settings – depth-of-field apart – was not that great. The scene was slightly different in the extreme corners where the wide apertures produced slightly smudgy results and f/5.6 was needed for good sharpness but that high level of quality was then maintained through to f/16. Moving in even a little from the extreme corners and some Smart Sharpen in Photoshop showed that the lens is perfectly useful at the wider apertures but stopping down to f/4 onwards only improves things. Generally, though, optically it’s a fine lens and I’d happily use it at maximum aperture when poor light demands it.
Lightweight, optical performance PROS
CONS Nothing of note – price?
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Issue 16 | Photography News
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