Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Fuji 56mm -- the perfect portrait lens

The portrait focal length for a full frame lens is considered to fall between 75mm and 105mm because is provides the least amount of perspective distortion on a face. Wider than that and excessive rounding occurs. Longer than that and telephoto compression begins. The ideal portrait lens would sit right in the middle at 85mm, or 56mm on an APS-C sensor. Of course, this is all a rule of thumb and also depends not only on the distance from the subject, but also on the desired subjective effect.

The Fuji 56mm is not only tack sharp, but maintains its sharpness even at its widest aperture of f/1.2 where it also delivers the sweetest bokeh effects of any lens out there. This series of photos was taken with filtered daylight and the lens aperture either wide open or close to it.  One nice thing about this mid-range portrait length is that it allows you to come in close to fill up the frame with just the head, or pull back to include more of the body, while still maintaining an ideal perspective.










Here is the link to my complete hands-on review of the Fuji 56mm f/1.2 lens.

If you are planning on purchasing this camera or lens, you can help support this site at no extra cost to you by purchasing from one of our affiliate sellers listed below -- and thanks for your support.

 The Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R lens is available for ordering at:   BH-photo  Amazon

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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 19, 2014 at 12:53 PM

    Received our X-T1 this week .... lovely little camera and great lenses.
    I had the chance to play with the 56mm f1.2 today.... time to start saving.
    All in all, the new X series is giving dSLRs a good run for their money.

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  2. Jess UngerMarch 19, 2014 at 1:46 PM

    "sweetest bokeh effects of any lens out there. "
    it's a nice lens. but are you really ready to say that?

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    1. Tom Grill:March 20, 2014 at 8:13 PM

      Absolutely a good question, Jess. I'd be skeptical too, except that I have been shooting a lot of very fast aperture lens for a very long time -- Nikon, and Leica M -- and use them wide open. This lens can hold its own with any of them, and is exceptional at its widest aperture of f/1.2.

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  3. AnonymousMarch 19, 2014 at 8:48 PM

    The famous curmudgeon, "digilloyd" says "This series explores sharpness and bokeh of the new Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R. Some oddball and unpleasant bokeh effects are shown."

    http://diglloyd.com/blog/2014/20140319_3-Fujifilm-56f1_2-aseries-OlympicBar.html

    Not sure what's up. Any further thoughts Mr. Grill?

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    1. Tom Grill:March 20, 2014 at 8:15 PM

      Went to the sight but couldn't enter without registering so I move on. Not sure what "oddball" and "unpleasant" bokeh means, but I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder, etc., etc.

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