Lens I Had Was Fine Until It Wasn’t: FUJIFILM GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR Preview.
Again. The lens I had…
…was fine. Especially for pics of stuff.
Perfect for subjects that do not move. My issue? People pics taken by me. When it hits…
…I get exactly what I am looking for. While still creating images I like…
…misses are easy. And I began to notice that even when I do hit…
…there is less detail than what I have grown used to from the other lenses I have, whether the one AF lens or M adapted glass. Great images. And a little lack of extreme detail often works for a portrait. But this performance led me to wonder what a native lens with a similar spec could do. This led me to borrow the lens in question from a kind and supportive soul…
…for a bit of a test. Not only up against the TTArtisan,…
…but also another lens…
…that I have called the precious on multiple occasions. It has created wonderful images, including this bridal portrait.
But for portraits, it has largely been superseded by the not as fast but far more flexible Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 I obtained after it…
…and for a fast 50mm it has recently been sidelined by a not as good but far better than it has any business being, just fine for my purposes, and much smaller, lighter, and less expensive alternative.
And regarding the G Master 50mm f/1.2 there is this important tidbit. 90% of my reasoning for purchasing it was an attempt to somewhat replicate the subject isolation from a distance look of medium format. A taste of which I received during my brief dance with the Pentax 645D.
But what did that camera in eventually was the fact that I was hopelessly spoiled by modern mirrorless advances like IBIS and Face/Eye Phase Detect Autofocusing. And it did a fine job.
So close. But, it was not enough to stop my march towards digital medium format aided by a healthy dose of used gear depreciation and courtesy recent events…
…I am one portrait AF lens closer to that medium format goal.
So, the pics. Three quick snaps of my wife with the three lenses is all it took for things to shift immediately.
TTArtisan 90mm f/1.25.
A wonderful pic. But zoom in on the eyes and that detail I have grown used to with the other glass I am using is not there.
There are advantages to the TTArtisan over the GF.
- The obvious difference is the aperture. But then I remember the Pentax 645D/75mm f/2.8 wedding pic above. Yeah… I am good with f/1.7.
- Price. This is a huge one. The main reason I started with the TTArtisan.
Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM.
A wonderful pic. Ignoring the framing not lining up the sharpness is there for sure. But the way the background renders on the smaller sensor does not quite match what I am looking for. And then…
Now I will admit that technically speaking the GM is the better lens when speaking in equivalencies.
- The GM is faster, relatively speaking, at f/1.2 as compared to the adjusted for full frame equivalency f/1.343 of the GF 80mm f/1.7. This is not a difference I will notice in actual use.
- The GM has better AF, with more modern motors for faster and quieter autofocusing. Perfect for video, where I would not recommend anyone use the GF 80mm f/1.7 for video. Tried it. Nope. But I have no plans to use the GFX100S for video, and if I ever did for some reason, the GF 50mm f/3.5 is swift and dead silent.
FUJIFILM GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR.
The best of both worlds. The rendering from the TTArtisan matched wth the sharpness of the GM. Perfect for me.
But this is not a reason-based decision. Much like when I have repeatedly said if you want a Leica, you want a Leica. If you want medium format, you want medium format. And I want medium format. So this is what happened next.
- Boxed up and started the return/refund process for the TTArtisan with KEH.
- Boxed up my FE 50mm f/1.2 GM for sale at the camera store to help fund…
- The GF 80mm f/1.7 purchased Like New used from KEH.
As a part of my continuing effort to refine my kit while consolidating and letting go of stuff I do not use I threw another bit of underutlized kit to cover the balance. Also looking to move away from holding onto gear I like to say I have towards focusing on gear that I will use. A move from gear I like to take pictures of to gear I like taking pictures with.
So what of the other native GF AF fast and/or portrait lenses?
Personal preference, but after comparing these lenses, I believe the 80mm f/1.7 is the best compromise. I was looking for a one additional lens only so flexibility was key.
FUJIFILM GF 63mm f/2.8 R WR Lens
This is the one I was first leaning towards, largely driven by its reasonable price, but…
- In isolation I am fine with the f/2.8 aperture, but it did not make sense for a solution primarily meant to be used for portraits.
- 63mm kind of steps on the 50mm focal length wise.
FUJIFILM GF 55mm f/1.7R WR Lens
Same size, weight, and price as the GF 80mm, but…
- 55mm steps all over the 50mm I already have which makes no sense for a second lens. I briefly considered a trade, but I am too attached to its smaller f/3.5 little sibling.
FUJIFILM GF 110mm f/2 R LM WR Lens
The big man on campus of FUJIFILM portrait glass, and I have read that it has much better AF, but…
- That price is also big to go along with it.
- Same goes for size and weight. I much prefer the relatively compact GF 80mm f/1.7.
- Similarly the 80mm makes a better match for my 50mm focal length wise as well.
Enough of that.
As I await the arrival of my copy, here are some sample pics I took out and about.
Crop sample. Full size image.
Crop.
Crop of the crop.
Another crop example. Full image.
Crop.
Thoughts.
I pretty much covered everything above.
In parting, I reiterate that this is all nonsense. A major and much needed distraction. That being said I am glad I made the switch. A trade of a slightly narrower field of view and smaller maximum aperture for autofocus. A fair trade.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 
11 Replies to “Lens I Had Was Fine Until It Wasn’t: FUJIFILM GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR Preview.”
Comments are closed.