Fujifilm GF 20-35mm f/4: a Masterpiece Among Zooms
Related: Eastern Sierra, Fujifilm, Fujifilm GF 20-35mm f/4 R WR, Fujifilm GFX100S, Fujifilm Lenses, Fujifilm medium format, Fujifilm mirrorless, Jason W, medium format, Mt Dana area, peak bagging
Some zoom lenses bore me to tears with their mediocrity, others are decent but I would never consider them versus a quality prime lens.
With the Fujifilm GF 20-35mm f/4, Fujifilm has delivered a reference lens. It’s so good that I am baffled at the mediocre efforts with lenses like the Fujifilm GF 35mm f/3.5. But it’s also their newest lens, and maybe there are some optical advances in the pipeline that raise the game with some "II" versions of existing lenses? We can hope.
I’ve spent a good deal of effort on the Fujifilm GF 20-35mm f/4 in diglloyd Medium Format, with more to come. That’s driven purely by merit, as I now consider the 20-35 to be a must-have lens for the Fujifilm system.
From what I see, the Fujifilm GF 23mm f/4 and Fujifilm GF 30mm f/3.5 have no reason to exist given what the 20-35mm delivers.
I am on the hunt for a really good sample of the 20-35mm. The loaner sample that I used on my recent trip is on its way back to B&H Photo. This is a risk since that sample was impressively good across the range, albeit needing f/8 at the long end. Doing really well across the zoom range is rare. Maybe sending it back was foolish—not sure yet. What I really want is something even a little better than that sample.
Budget is tight, but the 20-35mm is now my top priority for lenses.
Together with the 35-70mm, you have an amazing 20mm to 70mm medium format 100 megapixel system that can be easily carried from low to high in the mountains. If only Fujifilm would fix their buggy/broken Focus BKT feature.
And as unhappy as I am with Fujifilm’s buggy Focus BKT, consider the depth of field of this 8-frame focus stack below, which delivers incredible detail near to far with, with moving subject matter. Some retouching was needed, but WOW.
Fujifilm GFX100S + GF20-35mmF4 R WR @ 19.3mm equiv (23.4mm)
ENV: Dana Canyon, altitude 10400 ft / 3170 m, 60°F / 15°C
RAW: Camera ASTIA, LACA corrected, vignetting corrected, WB 5100°K tint 21, push 0.66 stops, +20 Shadows, +40 Whites, +30 Dehaze, +10 Clarity, diffraction mitigating sharpening, +10 Vibrance, SmartSharpen{25,0.7,0}
[low-res image for bot]
Jason W writes:
Your images of the 20-35 makes it clear why used prices on the 23/4 have tanked the way they have. That's saying a lot, considering that the 23/4 used to be a killer app (along with the 110/2) that made the GFX system worth investing in.
Even with the left side weakness, it's one of the best wide angle performances I've seen outside of a 150 megapixel digital back, and the flexibility here is superior.
DIGLLOYD: yep—the 20-305mm is a must-have lens for the GFX system.
Fujifilm GFX100S + GF20-35mmF4 R WR @ 22mm equiv (26.7mm)
ENV: Data Lake 1, altitude 11200 ft / 3414 m, 58°F / 14°C
RAW: Camera ASTIA, LACA corrected, vignetting corrected, WB 5200°K tint 21, push 0.4 stops, -40 Highlights, +30 Whites, +30 Dehaze, +10 Clarity, diffraction mitigating sharpening, SmartSharpen{30,0.7,0}
[low-res image for bot]
