Sella174 said:
Ah, just the person to ask ... I'm on the fence whether to get the 35mm or the 27mm lens (only have enough dinero for either, not both). The 27mm seems a very nice, compact lens for everyday, carry-everywhere use; whereas the 35mm is, well, the 35mm lens.
Also, the 50-230mm or 55-200mm question ...
Ahhh.. tough question for me to answer. I was similarly on the fence until most Fuji gear went on a really good sale for a stretch earlier this year so I got both, the 27 first.
If you want/need light and compact, the 27 is a good choice.
If you don't mind the 18-55 zoom, it covers that range well enough.
The 35/1.4 is just a little "special" and certainly can AF in much lower light than the others because of the larger aperture when using CDAF so that's an advantage. That large aperture is primarily great for some nice OOF blur that the 27 and 18-55 can't provide quite as much of. It's a nice lens for centered-subject shots with large aperture so the softer borders and corners disappear into the blur.
I don't intend to buy into all the other large aperture and pricey primes being offered at this time. I still have my SLR kit for those features.
I do find Fui's 14, 23 and 56mm lenses to be very compelling but I can buy some interesting glass for my D800s for that price too!
Here's the whole (in)decision history.
I started, last year, with an Xa1 kitted with the 16-50; a very good, small, light, if slow, lens and I was impressed with the overall IQ of the system. It is/was my intent to convert this body for IR use.
Late Dec I got an XM1 with dual lens kit which included the 50-230mm and other valuable stuff in a bundle I couldn't pass up. I might still sell the XM1 + 16-50 as I don't need 2 compact, non-EVF bodies and the difference between them AFA IQ is concerned is minimal, the XM1 seems to have lower high ISO chroma noise tho. Whenever I convert one of them to IR tho, it'll still be nice to have a regular one around to handle some of the tripod + adapted lens work. That tilt display is really handy and I have a bunch of vintage lenses I'm eager to try with adapters.
Then, I wanted something much more compact than these zooms so the 27mm, on a half price sale, fit the bill. Attached to the the xa/m1 it makes a nearly pocketable solution and IQ is pretty good tho I found I've used it rather little so far. Not because it's not a great little combo, I've just had a bunch of non-photo priorities chewing up my time the last few months and that's likely to continue, to my dismay.
Shortly after that I nabbed excellent deals on XE1s with the 18-55 lens kits.
I REALLY like the simple and effective controls on the XA1 and XM1 but when a friend brought his XE1+35/1.4 for me to try I was very sold on the EVF and how (relatively) small and light the Fuji 35 is. I didn't really intend to buy much Fuji system glass but I thought the 35 was certainly worth the (reduced) price because it was smaller and lighter than adapting a Nikon-mount Sigma 35/1.4 plus it would have fast AF vs MF. The images my friend took with his helped clinch the deal; I like the way the Fuji 35/1.4 renders a scene.
If being compact is not a requirement, the 18-55 kit zoom does a perfectly good job of filling in for the 27 prime with far more versatility, if not quite as sharp.
I didn't want the larger heavier 55-200 while I still have some SLR gear that covers that range better the way I'd normally use it.
I've got surprisingly sharp results from the 50-230, tho I've only used it a little so far. I do have a couple shots I have to re-examine as the bokeh was, well, strange, and in a way I've not seen before so might be something to do with the Xtrans sensor rather than the lens. Still, the lens is slow but works well enough to provide that focal range when I want it. I've been considering the 55-200 for the larger aperture and faster AF + better support by the XT1 (LMO + faster AF) but when I think I'll be after more speed and image quality I'll likely use an SLR with a long lens. Fuji's prices returning back to normal sealed that decision!
What I really want to see is how the new WR lenses will be priced and how they'll perform. I will then compare that to the Pentax WR gear I have and that's when I decide if the XT1 has a future in my bag or not.
For what I wanted from the Fuji system, the XA1 and XE1 are adequate. XE2 would be even sweeter but I won't upgrade unless the XE2 price drops a lot. The XT1 is a bit of overkill but I do enjoy the camera, despite its interface that's not quite the way I think it should have been done.
Overall I'm really enjoying the Fuji equipment, it's smaller, lighter, very capable and also fun to use. i really like that what I see in the viewfinder is pretty much what I get as a final result; less reliance on experience (or guesswork if using Pentax?) for compensating a shot compared to using an SLR. That just makes the process faster and easier, especially when the camera is as easy to use as the XE series.
Battery life is shorter but when I'm on the road I don't have time to shoot a lot anyway so the battery life if acceptable for that kind of use.
To add some extra confusion to the mix, i went to my local shop to handle an Olympus OMD E-M10 today... I like it too. Very small and compact but feels surprisingly heavy, or at least it gives a real feeling of density. It handles OK for a tiny camera but I find that my aging eyeballs have a hard time seeing what all the buttons are and the display graphics are also small. I hate to have to carry my glasses with me too!
AF with the kit lens was really quick, felt more responsive than the Fujis... and it has IBIS.
I also want to try the Sony a6000 when it arrives here. Another excellent for the price unit tho I doubt I'll go for that when I already have a D5300 in that league and I don't yet want another lens system to buy unless the body is really appealing to use. I've got more gear than I need at the moment so I can sit by and let prices drop and maybe Ricoh-Pentax will bring out an APSC or FF ML body with IBIS in the near future. I'm still partial to Pentax at times.
