In the past I shot with zooms but my main arsenal is now prime lenses. I believe that not only do primes offer superior quality (with a few exceptions) and portability, but most importantly they allow you to think creatively. Some of the legends of photography shot with one lens their entire career; others “limited” themselves to two, maximum three lenses. This way there were able to train their eye to see and compose, which eventually led to superb work.
Therefore, when Fuji was kind enough to let me try a brand new Fujinon XF 10-24 F4 R OIS lens, I approached the subject with a dose of zoom hostility and prejudgment. As a fan and heavy user of the superb XF 14mm F2.8 R lens, I wondered if I would ever enjoy this much bigger and heavier addition to the Fuji X-series line-up.
On paper there is not much difference in focal length between 10mm and 14mm, some would argue. WRONG! In a wide-angle world, it makes a considerable difference. And for a serious landscape photographer, the wider you go, the more impact you create. Of course this is assuming you know how to craft grand vistas with such a demanding tool.
Having said that, I have spent the weekend shooting almost all my imagery at the wide-end of this lens, 10mm. What an impact it creates! While it is too early to evaluate all the technical attributes and write a full review of this lens, I can say with full confidence that if you are a serious landscape photographer, this lens should find its way into your bag.
Here are some recent images shot with the X-T1 and XF 10-24 F4 R OIS. Stay tuned.
and some B&Ws…
2014 © Olaf Sztaba Photography. All rights reserved.
Just, beautiful very involving and beautiful.
The last photo has considerable distortion. Did you try to fix it or is this right off the body? NICE PICS§
Straight from the camera. No adjustments.
Olaf
This is not a lens distortion. It is a perspective distortion, due to the angle of view of the image.
You have created some wonderful images with the X-T1 and the XF 10-24mm lens. I can not wait to get my hands on a copy. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Stockografie
Great photos Olaf – I’ve pre-ordered the 10-24mm and I definitely think that I’ve made the right decision, would be interested in hearing about corner softness and CA (those were my biggest frustrations with the Nikon 16-35mm f/4). Looks like you were in my neck of the woods, next time you’re in the Comox Valley give me a shout. Would love to sit down over coffee and chat, or could take you out to some of the local spots that are a bit more off the beaten track.
Cheers,
Dave
I look forward to your thoughts about the 10-24 vs. 14. I held off buying the 14 on the slim chance that I would prefer the 10-24 more — or at least enough to put up with the 10-24’s larger size and weight.
Can’t wait to get this lens in my line up. Thanks for the write up! Enjoyed the images, great country!