The road to nirvana

My journey into Photography, Horology, and Audiophilia

Fujinon XF60mm f/2.4 R Macro

November 24, 2014

Specifications

There is no need to repeat what the manufacturer said here. One glaring information that I gathered is that the lens does not provide a 1:1 image ratio, but rather 1:2.

The lens is well-built, mostly of metal construction, even the supplied hood. It outclassed my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G in build quality.

Features that matter to me

I bought this lens because it was on sale at 60% discount plus a few hundred more in savings from Henry's at Glorietta.

Unlike most Nikkors with AF/MF switch, the Fujinon lens does not have any. In order for this function to be available, I have to wait for firmware update 2.4 for the X-E1.

The minimum focusing distance of 26.7mm is good and is close to the 31.4mm close focus of my Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8.

Aperture ring! I like lenses with aperture ring. There is no aperture lock and visual indicators for A, 22, 16, 11, 8, 5.6, 4 2.8, and 2.4 are clearly marked. The aperture ring turns smoothly and has a soft "snap" on the aperture detents unlike the 18-55mm kit lens.

The lens cap is pinch type and I prefer it that way.

Operation

Setting the lens aperture to A and the X-E1 shutter speed dial to A, allows for program AE mode to engage. For aperture priority, just rotate the aperture ring to what is appropriate for the scene.

Here is where it gets confusing. This lens is a macro lens, so what does the [MACRO] button on the X-E1 for? The manual describes it as "To focus at short distances." But what does it actually do?

  • it does not change the minimum focusing distance
  • it does change how focusing is performed, such that when macro is enabled on the X-E1, focusing on subjects close to the lens' MFD is somewhat faster than focusing on subjects farther away. When macro is disabled on the X-E1, focusing is faster when moving from close to far subject distance.
  • what can be confusing is that focusing on subjects within a certain relative distance, whether far or close has the same effect with macro enabled.

Be aware that it has a telescopic barrel that moves in an out, but does not rotate, during focus.

Performance

On the X-E1 with firmware version 2.3, the performance is sluggish in addition to being noisy. With our office lighting, it can hunt for focus when moving from far to very close subjects. However, I am not complaining. For the price I paid for this, I will be very forgiving.

It does not have optical stabilization, so I don't let the f/2.4 maximum aperture boost my confidence because at low lighting scenarios, it could get blurry.

Image quality for the price, is superb. They're very sharp and bokeh is good.

Conclusion

I'll find out much later...

Gallery

Later...