The Fujifilm XF 27mm F2.8 WR.

Why do people (myself included) love this lens so much? On paper, it kind of sucks. It's a fixed focal length, it has slow-ish and clunky autofocus that extends in and out randomly (making all sorts of noises) and its got a very "middle thermometer" maximum aperture of f2.8 (or f4.0 FF Equiv.). It's also about $500AUD new, which isn't cheap given the above mentioned specs. What is DOES have going for it though is...enough. It has enough. Enough for us photographers to just do what we do. This lens just gets out of your way and lets you get back to finding compositions, making pictures and enjoying the craft. This is largely thanks to the fact that the lens itself is tiny, it's weather sealed and it complements the X series camera bodies perfectly. I can distinctly remember reading Zack Arias reviewing and raving about the X100 and the Xpro-1 when they were first released by Fujifilm in 2011-2012. This was at a time when I was lugging around my 5Dmk2 with my 430EX Flash (IYKYK), so Fujifilm cameras felt like a rebellion and uprising of sorts against the big DSLR bodies of the times. Having this lens fixed to the front of my Xpro-3 takes me back to 2011 and my original X100, how excited I was by photography all over again and how liberating it was, creatively, not to be lugging around such big cameras and lenses. My camera truly started coming everywhere with me back then, and it is again now in December 2024, all thanks to this little lens (and camera).

Me and my XPro-3 + Fuji XF 27mm F2.8 WR + Squarehood Lens Hood

Because I constantly have my camera with me now, I'm starting to find my feet again (creatively) with digital. I'm enjoying the SOOC JPEG workflow and the freedom to "overshoot"/ experiment, without the thought in the back of my head that each shot is going to cost me ~$1 in film + dev + scanning costs like 35mm does. This past weekend I had my camera with me almost the entire weekend and was super pleased with some of the shots I got. I'm especially pleased because in retrospect I realise that I NEVER would have gotten any of these shots on a traditional DSLR, or even if I were using any of the larger f1 primes from Fuji, as my camera honestly would have just stayed at home (that's just me though).

On Saturday I walked my dog through our neighbourhood (we live in a bayside town) and was on my way to one of the main piers when I stumbled accross this beautiful Chevrolet parked in a driveway. I just had to stop....

Given the 27mm is approximately 40mm FF Equivalent on the APS-C sensor, I find the perspective this lens provides to be very natural and pleasing to the eye. It's not as "tele-ish" as a 35mm (~50mm FF) and not as "wide" as a 23mm (~35mm FF) on the X-Pro3. It's just right...for this sort of stuff..

Chevrolet - Fuji XF 27mm f2.8 WR @f8 + X-Pro3

Boat window - Fuji 27mm f2.8 @f8 + Fuji X-Pro3

At f8 this lens is super sharp and I cannot fault the image quality to my eye. I think this is where this lens really shines - contextual and mid-range detail shots. If you enjoy more Street Photography style shooting and you aren't a complete bokeh whore, then this lens is unbelievable and everything you could ask for from an everyday cary lens.

Stern - Fuji 27mm f2.8 @f8 + Fuji X-Pro3

Hopefully by now you get the picture (pun intended). It's a great lens to take everywhere with you. Trust me...this lens will inspire you to go out with your camera more often, find your angles, try new compositions, and dare I say, have a bit of fun too ;-) Thanks for reading. Ty Van Haren.