{"id":1974,"date":"2013-07-07T14:43:03","date_gmt":"2013-07-07T19:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=1974"},"modified":"2013-07-11T18:00:54","modified_gmt":"2013-07-11T23:00:54","slug":"zeiss-touit-12mm-f2-8-vs-fujinon-14mm-f2-8-r","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/zeiss-touit-12mm-f2-8-vs-fujinon-14mm-f2-8-r\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeiss Touit 12mm f\/2.8 vs Fujinon 14mm f\/2.8 R"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the release of Zeiss lenses for Fuji and Sony’s NEX, many owners of Fuji’s X system have been wondering whether the new Zeiss Touit 12mm f\/2.8 Distagon is worth the nearly $400 price premium over Fuji’s already outstanding 14mm f\/2.8. \u00a0I reviewed the 14mm f\/2.8 last month<\/a>, and I’ve found it to be one of the very best ultra-wide lenses for any system, and the very best ultra-wide I had used to date. \u00a0However, if there’s one company that is known for outstanding wide-angle design, it’s Zeiss. \u00a0Their 21mm f\/2.8 for full frame cameras (originally for the Contax\/Yashica mount, later re-released for Canon and Nikon) is widely considered the best wide-angle lens ever made. \u00a0Their recent 15mm f\/2.8 is also extremely highly regarded.<\/p>\n

I have the Touit 12mm in hand for a week for review.\u00a0(Edit: Full review of the Touit 12mm is now up<\/a>)<\/em>\u00a0 In addition to that full review, I wanted to pit the Zeiss 12mm against Fuji’s 14mm. \u00a0Obviously, if you have a preference in focal length, that will likely be more important than some of the optical differences here…if you really need the wider field of view offered by the Zeiss, then that should be your route. \u00a0I personally find, for a prime lens, the slightly longer focal length of the 14 is slightly more usable day-to-day, but when you need the width, you need the width.<\/p>\n

The Lenses<\/h3>\n
\"Fujinon<\/a>
Fujinon 14mm f\/2.8 (left), Zeiss 12mm f\/2.8 (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both lenses have a very solid build quality, and both are made predominantly of metal. \u00a0While the Fuji 14’s focus and aperture rings are also metal, the Zeiss takes a different approach, using a very grippy and soft rubber for both rings. \u00a0The aperture ring on the Zeiss feels better, with less play and similar resistance to the Fuji 14mm, while the Fuji’s manual focus feel is far superior, with the focus clutch mechanism to provide a true distance and depth of field scale. \u00a0I am not a fan of the focus ring on the Zeiss 12mm, as it provides very little tactile feedback, and the texture of the ring is a little bizarre.<\/p>\n

They are somewhat similar in size. \u00a0The Zeiss is very slightly longer, but it flares at the end, and that small difference in diameter makes a big difference in how they feel on the camera. \u00a0While the Fuji 14mm is not small for a mirrorless lens, it is relatively compact and fits well in bags and balances well on the camera. \u00a0The Zeiss 12mm, with its large hood and wide diameter feels very large on the camera, and the extra width of the lens makes it much harder to deal with in smaller bags that I use for my mirrorless kits. \u00a0The Zeiss is heavier than the 14mm, but the weight isn’t much of a factor with either lens.<\/p>\n

Next, let’s take a look at a direct head to head comparison.<\/p>\n

Continue: Head-To-Head Test 1<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Head-to-Head Test 1:<\/h3>\n
\"Test<\/a>
Test 1: Full scene<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I performed two tests with these lenses. \u00a0The first test was an indoor shootout of a flat subject, focused relatively closely (about 3-4 feet). \u00a0This first setup is of a bookcase. \u00a0I leveled the books that the crops are taken from, so they were even with the front of the shelf. \u00a0I then framed the scene and ensured that the camera was square to the shelf in all directions. \u00a0Crops are taken from the center and the upper left corner (This corresponds to the lower left corner when holding the camera in landscape orientation).<\/p>\n

The camera was mounted on a sturdy tripod and photos were taken at full stop aperture settings from f\/2.8 to f\/8. \u00a0A remote cable release was used to release the shutter. \u00a0After the Zeiss shots were taken, I switched to the Fuji 14mm and moved the camera back until the framing of the scene was identical between the two lenses. \u00a0I then shot the Fuji images in the same manner as the Zeiss images.<\/p>\n

Below you will see 100% crops from the test images. \u00a0I am showing crops from f\/2.8, f\/4 and f\/8. \u00a0 The lenses both were sharpest at f\/8. \u00a0When you click on the image below to enlarge, you may need to click on the green arrow at the bottom of the screen to enlarge to full size to see the true 100% crops:<\/p>\n

\"Test<\/a>
Test #1: 100% Crops, Click to Enlarge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As you can see, the two lenses have extremely similar contrast curves and color response. \u00a0In fact, they look almost identical with the exception of how much detail they resolve.<\/p>\n

Wide open, the Fuji 14mm is very slightly sharper in the center, though both lenses are very sharp here. \u00a0In the corner at f\/2.8, the Zeiss 12mm is a fair bit sharper. \u00a0Excellent across the field performance for an ultra-wide at f\/2.8.<\/p>\n

However, even by f\/4, the corners of the Fuji have caught up to the Zeiss, and at smaller apertures, you can see the Fuji is slightly sharper than the Zeiss in both the center and the corner. \u00a0What is most noticeable here is that the Zeiss is quite good…but it’s not quite as good as the Fuji except at f\/2.8, where it has better corner resolution. \u00a0All in all, an impressive showing by the Fuji 14mm, while the Zeiss is no slouch either.<\/p>\n

Now, let’s take a look at an outdoor scene.<\/p>\n

Continue: Head-to-Head Test 2<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Head-to-Head Test 2:<\/h3>\n

The next test was done outside, and is of the front of a building. \u00a0Focus distance was about 20 feet or so. \u00a0These shots were done hand-held, but due to the copious light and high shutter speeds for all shots, there should be no chance for camera shake to influence the results. \u00a0I will not be showing the whole picture, as it is my place of employment, but I will be showing the center and corner crops. \u00a0In these shots, the corner is taken from the upper right corner. \u00a0I have included crops at f\/2.8 and f\/8. \u00a0Again, shots were originally taken with the Zeiss, then I moved back one or two steps and framed the shot identically with the 14mm.<\/p>\n

Again, click to enlarge, then click the green arrow at the bottom of the screen to go to 100%.<\/p>\n

\"Test<\/a>
Test #2 – 100% Crops, Click to Enlarge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Again, similar trends emerge, however in this test, the Fuji 14mm doesn’t have the lagging corners that were present in the closer focus test. \u00a0In the outdoor test, while the Zeiss 12mm is quite sharp across the whole frame, the Fuji 14mm is sharper at all points. \u00a0It is especially noticeable in the final crop, which is just left of the focus point, where you can really see a difference between the two lenses.<\/p>\n

I will continue to shoot with the Zeiss 12mm over the coming week, and will be writing my full review soon (Edit: Full review here)<\/em><\/a>. \u00a0In addition to these tests, I have already shot a fair bit with the Zeiss 12mm in real world situations, and so far, it appears to be right in line with these tests. \u00a0The Touit 12mm is a good lens. \u00a0A very good lens, in fact. \u00a0But the Fuji 14mm appears to be just a little bit better, all while coming in a smaller package and costing $350 less than the Zeiss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the release of Zeiss lenses for Fuji and Sony’s NEX, many owners of Fuji’s X system have been wondering whether the new Zeiss Touit 12mm f\/2.8 Distagon is worth the nearly $400 price premium over Fuji’s already outstanding 14mm f\/2.8. \u00a0I reviewed the 14mm f\/2.8 last month, and I’ve found it to be one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[192,225,246,251,249,250],"class_list":["post-1974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shop","tag-comparison","tag-fuji","tag-fujinon","tag-touit","tag-ultra-wide","tag-zeiss"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p28RGq-vQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1974"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1982,"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974\/revisions\/1982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}