UKH

Hi,

So I am going to get a wide angle lens for my Fuji xt1 to take climbing. It will be used for a mixture landscape shots and climbing action shots. Currently trying to toss up between:

Samyang 12mm - cheap, great image quality, lightweight. The big draw back is that it's manual focus (although in wide angle that should only be an issue when someone is climbing off the belay above you, after that everything further than 1 meter will be in focus anyway and I use a guide plate for taking shots of seconds.

I also wonder if a prime will be limiting or wether cropping photos will be fine?

Zeiss touit 12mm - very similar, perhaps not quite as good image quality but has autofocus. Draw back is that it's more expensive and larger.

Fuji 10-24mm zoom - the most versatile lens, but draw back is that it is very expensive, bigger and heavier. 

At the moment I'm leaning towards the samyang as it leaves me alot of spare cash to get some other things. But will I regret the manual focus when trying to get that shot off a belay in the middle of january in Scotland?

You can add the Fuji 14mm F2.8 to the list.

https://alikgriffin.com/fujifilm-14mm-f2-8-review/

I have the Samyang for my Sony NEX-6. It's a bit of a pain having fully manual, but not a problem for landscape etc where you have time to fiddle with it. I imagine it would be a bit more tricky taking climbing, but I suppose you could just leave it on 5.6f, infinity focus, set your ISO and whatever else at the start of the route and then just snap with it.... I've never taken it one a route, but mostly because it's quite big compared to my pancake lens.

The Fuji 10-24mm is a very fine lens. I love using mine. Except it is not weather resistant which may be a factor when in full Scottish conditions.

Me too - fabulous lens. But I too wouldn't risk it in winter (it cost a lot!) and it would also be quite heavy to climb with.

I’m very pleased with the 16mm. Weather sealed, fast and a great Astro lens too. Quite big though.

The 10-24 is fab.

I'm another very happy Fuji 10-24 user, but like you, I think it's too heavy to take on most climbs.

I also think that there is an optimum width for climbing photography at around 24-35 or possibly 24-50 mm (optical). iirc, APSC 10-24 works out at about 16-35 optical. (Someone correct me, please, if I've got that wrong.) Too wide and there's a high risk of too much close up detail of ropes, feet, etc and the climbing background gets too distorted.

How about a prime? I can't remember off the top of my head what exactly Fuji offer, but I have been tempted by one of their 35mm equivalent lenses. Lighter, a bit less expensive, and there's quite a lot to be said for the discipline of fixed focal length.

Or another option would be the Fuji 18-55, which is good both for wideish angle, and for pulling in more distant subjects. And it's quite a bit lighter than the 10-24, more compact, and not as expensive.

Yeah, the 35mm f2 is a tiny lens and another cracker.

Yes, I've heard good things about that lens but it was the ~35mm *equivalent* I was writing about:

https://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/lenses?lensfocal=533

I sold my 18-55 to get a 35mm prime! It was good but not quite wide enough for what I'm after and for day to day stuff I much prfepr shooting prime.

I'm really intrigued by the 14mm fujinon prime. But I just wonder if a prime will be really limiting when strapped into a belay? I could crop, but I'm shooting on an xt1 so only have 16mp to play with so super agressive crops may begin to show in the resolution. The new wide angle zoom from Fuji (8-16 or something) is weather proof and ticks all the boxes but is prohibitvaly expensive.

The toss up is now really between the 14mm and 10-24 I reckon. Lack of weather sealing is obviously an issue but I'll have insurance on it and after years of completely abusing un weather resistant cameras I've yet to break one, so I wonder if WR is over rated a little bit?

Yeah makes me think I'll regret the manual focus

Ah, OK, I did wonder if you might have had one.

Sounds like you have an argument for getting a new body as well as a new lens

Re weatherproofing, see Robert Durran's comments in reply to me on the other current Fuji thread. For me, it'd come down to weight and ease of one-handed use. But now it sounds like you've got an argument for 1 new body and *two* new lenses!

Also, have you handled a 10-24 (sorry if you've said elsewhere on the thread)? That could be decisive: it's a reasonably chunky lens; great for landscapes, but for me, a bit too big, wide, and heavy for UK rock climbing.

Hmm no I haven't had a chance to have a play with one yet - are we talking significantly larger than the 18-55??

Sorry about delay in replying: I've been away.

Answer, yes, I'd say it is significantly larger, particularly in diameter. There's useful info on the Fuji website about size and weight, and one thing to keep in mind is that the lens body does *not* extend at its greatest focal length, so it can be more compact in use than some zooms. The X-E1 + 18-55 fits snugly into the smallest Ortlieb bag, the Protect, but the 10-24 is decidedly tight. HTH.

Well the lens that gets the shot is the one which you could be arsed to carry on the day. Even though it is fuji's least rated lens I'd get the 18mm pancake for a pocket sized outfit. (The XC 50-230 is also not highly regarded and I think it's bloody brilliant).

I think the Samyang  12mm would be too wide for shots looking upwards and turn steep climbs into slabs. I would say 24mm equivalent is the sweet spot for climbing but the wonderful fuji option (16mm f 1.4) is kinda heavy, bulky and expensive for the crag.

You're not the only one. Very light, versatile, affordable and excellent quality.

I use the 18mm in the mountains and think it is a great lens for mountaineering.  Pretty good focal length and very compact. 

Interesting. I'd thought of getting one for climbing (light, compact, good focal length) but got the impression from DPreview comments that it's not as sharp as other Fuji lenses, so that put me off. How do you find the sharpness?

It quite possibly isn’t, but I have little to compare it to. I can’t complain, but I mainly use it stopped down where lenses are more forgiving. 

I have also only recently moved to Fuji. I purchased a second hand one from wex as I could have returned it if I wasn’t happy with it. 

I do know where you are coming from, but for me the difference is that with the 18mm prime paired with an xe3 I can fit it in a small pouch on my waist so it is always available.  With a zoom lens it would need to live in my bag far more and therefore be less accessible. 

Thanks. Also, good point about accessibility in your second post this evening.

If you're considering the 14mm or the 10-24 I would recommend the 10-24 for it's versatility.

Other's have mentioned the 18mm but if you're concerned about sharpness across the frame then I would avoid it, personally I wouldn't part with my copy but that's because the lack of sharpness at the edges along with the vignetting is what made me purchase the lens.

You mentioned that you're an XT-1 user and you may have already "Sugru'd" it but if not, Google it as it really is a fantastic upgrade to the camera for a few £'s.