A Look at The Fujifilm XF 56mm f1.2 R APD Lens

A Look at The Fujifilm XF 56mm f1.2 R APD Lens:

I imagine some of you are getting ready for Thanksgiving, so I’m going to keep it short today.  I know I still have to do a little last minute food shopping myself but I thought I’d write up one more post before Thanksgiving.  So, last night I was working on some of the pictures for my upcoming Fuji X-E3 review (which I’ll probably post next week), and I started to look at a couple of files I took with the XF 56mm f1.2 APD.  The lens is my own copy, not a loaner but I haven’t used it in months until a couple of days ago with the X-E3.  The funny thing is it’s been so long since I’ve used the XF 56mm APD that I kind of forgot how much of an impact this lens has in terms of rendering.  The smooth bokeh is so pleasing…to be honest, it kind of surprised me in a good way.

So, I went back to some of my older images I had in my backup drives, and found a few.  I actually have quite a lot of portraits I never posted here for some reason.  I decided to rework these, and thought I’d put them up.  I think a couple of these are in a post I did a long time ago but I re-processed them in Capture One this time.  While I still have ones I have not posted here, I will one day but I wanted to post these particularly because of the bokeh.  I just love how this lens transitions from sharpness to a buttery smoothness.  In my opinion, the XF 56mm f1.2 APD is really something special.  It’s one of those lenses that isn’t necessarily all about technical perfection.  Yes, it is sharp, etc. but it has a character to it that makes it unique.  In my opinion, that’s what you’re paying for when you buy a lens like this one.

The XF 56mm f1.2 R APD lens does have its weaknesses.  For one, the price is higher than the regular version, and the autofocus isn’t as fast but quite honestly, I just don’t care because I just love what this lens produces at f1.2.  Of course, the non-APD version is excellent as well; I actually reviewed it a while back, and loved it.  It was actually a little difficult for me to decide which version to buy.  In the end, I thought of what I was really going to use this lens for most, and the answer is portraits.  So, I felt that the positives of the APD version far outweighed the negatives for me.  I did save some money with a Fuji rebate offer but truthfully, even if I didn’t get anything off, I would’ve jumped for it.  I don’t trade my lenses in often if ever, so I know I would get my money’s worth.

The funny thing is, I’ve reviewed almost all the Fuji lenses but not this one yet.  I think after the X-E3 review, I will take a closer look at the XF 56mm APD, and maybe right up a review.  I’ve owned this lens for a long time now, so I feel I know the quirks, and its strengths pretty well.  Anyway, for those who celebrate it, have a great Thanksgiving!  Thanks for stopping by!