We are all gear heads (at least a little bit), if you weren’t you wouldn’t be reading a site dedicated to one brand of gear. So there are always new lenses, new cameras, new shiny things to catch our gaze and make us want to open our wallets. For many though that desire to get more gear must always be weighed against the need for more gear. Having been playing with the Fujifilm 50mm F2 lately, along with my kit of the 23mm F2 and 35mm F2 I’ve come to the realization that I can’t imagine myself ever needing anything more.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy shooting sports, so the 100-400mm or 50-140mm would both be fun lenses to have. But my sports and wildlife shooting is all hobby and for fun – so my NEED for these lenses is very minor. It makes much more sense to rent them on occasion. Similarly, I sometimes like shooting ultra wide, so something like the 14mm or 16mm would be a joy – but as I just noted, it’s very few and far between, so my need is minimal.
The Fujifilm F2 primes, or Fujicrons as they have been unofficially dubbed, are all lenses that I can and do use for my professional boudoir work. Many have asked before if I would prefer the F/1.4 lenses, and my honest answer is that sure I would love the extra stop of light, but I would prefer to wait until the second edition of those lenses are announced and released because I enjoy the quiet operation and fast AF of the newer lenses more than an extra stop of light that I can compensate for on my camera with exposure adjustments.
The 23mm F2 is about as wide as I ever like to go when shooting people. I am just not a huge fan of super wide portraits and I have to force myself to use the 23mm if I have enough room to make use of either the 35mm or 50mm. That said, with its field of view and excellent image quality, the 23mm has been a life saver in tight spaces and when I have gone for a more lifestyle/environmental look with my images.
The 35mm F2, as I have noted before, is my go-to lens for boudoir. It is sharp, fast and just offers a look that I find very pleasing for boudoir and portraiture in general. If given the choice and with enough room to work, I almost always reach for this lens.
The 50mm F2, the newcomer to the team has been a joy to work with over the past month. It offers a look very similar, in my opinion, to the 35mm f2, with just a slight added bit of compression and that ‘3D look’ that comes with it. If I have the working room (which I normally do in my studio) I like to take this out when I want to get a little tighter on my subjects without getting into their personal space like I may have to if I was using the 23mm or 35mm.
Teamed up and combined, these three lenses give me the ability to capture virtually any look that I could want for my boudoir photography. So for the time being – at least in my case – there is almost no need for me to even entertain the idea of purchasing more lenses.
But let’s be honest – as soon as Fujifilm makes their next announcement I will be right there with you all, mouth watering and wallet trembling. I just hope I have the mind to refer back to this post and remind myself of the reality of things. Unless Fujifilm starts announcing more F1.2 lenses to join the 56mm because then all bets are off. ha!
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