Thoughts on the Fujifilm 33mm f1.4 R WR LensJournal

It has been a minute since I first was handed a Fujifilm X-T1 with the infamous 35mm f1.4 XF lens attached. That was back when I first started working here at Camera West in the Rancho Mirage store nearly seven years ago. Fujifilm has come a long, long way from that time and place with the X-T1 and 35mm f1.4. A very long way.

The 35mm f1.4mm was magical, and it was such a great lens to use, but as Fujifilm bodies got better, autofocus got better and the sensor got more demanding in many of these cameras, my X-T4 included, I found myself looking at other options like the 35mm f2.0 WR specifically because it was fast to autofocus and weather resistant. So, when Fujifilm reached out to me with the super-secret announcement of a new breed of the fast 35mm we loved, I was ecstatic!

In comes the Fujifilm 33mm f1.4 WR. From the first moment I mounted this lens on my trusty Fujifilm X-T4 was in love. The 33mm f1.4 R WR was the lens I had dreamed of and wanted over the past several years. It's fast, reasonably compact, a 50mm equivalent, superbly contrasty and sharp, and weather resistant. All that said, the 33mm is completely internal focus making it less susceptible to grime and gunk and more weather resistant.

Fujifilm has made a winning combo out of this lens. There is nothing new about the "Nifty Fifty." But there is a reason camera manufacturers have gone to great lengths to produce the fifty-millimeter focal length in a wide variety of speeds and configurations. I would harken this lens to the place of a 50mm Summilux-M ASPH on a Leica M or the 50mm f1.2 L lens for Canon EF cameras. The 33mm f1.4 R WR is the new 50mm icon lens for the Fujifilm X series mirrorless system.

Check out our Youtube Video on the Fujifilm XF 33mm F1.4 R LM WR!