{"id":4954,"date":"2015-05-08T21:31:59","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T02:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=4954"},"modified":"2015-05-12T20:02:28","modified_gmt":"2015-05-13T01:02:28","slug":"sony-zeiss-fe-35mm-f1-4-vs-fuji-xf-23mm-f1-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/sony-zeiss-fe-35mm-f1-4-vs-fuji-xf-23mm-f1-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Sony Zeiss FE 35mm f\/1.4 vs. Fuji XF 23mm f\/1.4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ok, so this is one of those comparisons that really isn’t particularly fair. \u00a0You’ve got a $1,600 Zeiss prime up against a $900 Fuji prime, and the test bed cameras aren’t the same resolution. \u00a0There are lots of problems with testing like this, but I’m going to do it anyway. \u00a0Why? \u00a0It’s fun! \u00a0Today I’m comparing the Sony Zeiss FE 35mm f\/1.4 (reviewed here<\/a><\/em>), mounted on the Sony A7 II<\/a> and the Fujinon XF 23mm f\/1.4 (reviewed here<\/a>)<\/em>, mounted on the Fuji X-T1<\/a>. \u00a0Both of these lenses have approximately the same field of view, and they both have the same fast f\/1.4 maximum aperture. \u00a0They are also both highly regarded lenses for their respective systems, so let’s see how they stack up. \u00a0And please, please take these tests with a grain of salt. \u00a0This is a fun comparison, and both of these lenses are really quite excellent.<\/p>\n

\"Sony
Sony A7 II with Zeiss FE 35mm f\/1.4 – Fuji X-T1 with Fujinon XF 23mm f\/1.4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Contenders<\/h3>\n

Fujinon XF 24mm f\/1.4<\/h4>\n

Diameter: 72mm
\nLength: 63mm
\nWeight: 301g
\nPrice:\u00a0$899<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sony Zeiss Distagon FE 35mm f\/1.4 ZA<\/h4>\n

Diameter: 78.5mm
\nLength: 112mm
\nWeight: 630g
\nPrice: $1,598<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the picture and specifications above, you can see that the Zeiss 35mm f\/1.4 is roughly double the, well, everything, of the Fuji 23mm f\/1.4. \u00a0It’s nearly twice as long, over twice as heavy and almost twice as expensive. \u00a0It’s a monster sized lens, especially considering it’s a mirrorless optic. \u00a0The Fuji is considerably more compact and easy to carry. \u00a0It’s worth pointing out that the two lenses share the same maximum aperture, but due to the focal length differences, the Sony should provide around 1 stop shallower depth of field at the same aperture, allowing for greater subject separation. \u00a0Some would say I should be comparing the Fuji to the Zeiss Loxia 35mm f\/2.0 instead. \u00a0It’s a valid point, but again…this is for fun: the two flagship lenses at this angle of view for each system.<\/p>\n

The Test<\/h3>\n

This is a simple test, taken at a focus distance of approximately 2 meters. \u00a0This is a general focus distance that is good for environmental portraiture and other similar shots. \u00a0The lenses were tripod mounted and the blocks in the crops you’ll see were set at the center and the very left edge of the frame. \u00a0The full frame examined can be seen below (this is the Sony 35mm shot at f\/2.0):<\/p>\n

\"The
The Test Scene – Zeiss 35mm f\/1.4 ZA @ f\/2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I took images focused on the center set of blocks, at full stop apertures, starting at f\/1.4, and crops are presented below. \u00a0Now, let’s talk about the difference in test bed resolution. \u00a0The A7 II has a 24 megapixel full frame sensor, while the Fuji X-T1 has a 16 megapixel APS-C sensor. \u00a0I could compare full resolution between the two, and you’d see a pretty big difference. \u00a0Let me clue you in: The Sony combo shows more detail. \u00a0In some cases, a LOT more detail. \u00a0There’s just more detail that can be captured. \u00a0On one hand, this is certainly a big advantage to the Sony system, and we shouldn’t discount it. \u00a0On the other hand, it’s not really helpful to compare lenses when the sensors behind those lenses are of differing resolutions.<\/p>\n

So, for the 100% crop comparisons below, I have resized the Sony images to the same pixel dimensions as the Fuji files. \u00a0This should still give a slight advantage to the Sony, but makes comparing the two a bit easier. \u00a0Don’t worry…I’ll post a few full size crops at the end.<\/p>\n

So, let’s look at the center. \u00a0Click on the image, which will bring you to a full size image in a new window. \u00a0You may need to zoom in after the image loads to see the images at full size.<\/p>\n

\"100%<\/a>
100% Crops – Center (Sony resized to 16MP) – Click to view full size<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few things can be seen here. \u00a0First, at f\/1.4, the Sony is clearly sharper, even when reduced to 16 megapixels. \u00a0There is incredible contrast and clarity to the image straight from f\/1.4. \u00a0If you compare the f\/2.0 Sony shot to the f\/1.4 Fuji shot, which would provide comparable depth of field, the difference is perhaps even greater. Looking at the top edges of the blocks, you can see that the Fuji controls CA slightly better, as a light-colored fringe can be seen along the top edge of the block at f\/1.4. Stopping down improves the Fuji quickly, such that by f\/2.0, the two are quite close, and by f\/4, it’s hard to really pick between them. \u00a0The Zeiss still may hold a slight edge here, but it’s very close indeed. \u00a0I only show to f\/4 on the center crops because neither lens improves upon stopping down further.<\/p>\n

Now let’s look at the far edge crops.<\/p>\n

\"Edge<\/a>
100% Edge Crops (Sony resized to 16MP) – Click to View Full Size<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here things are a fair bit more lopsided. \u00a0The FE 35mm puts in an absolutely stunning performance here, with still extremely sharp images even right at the frame edge from f\/1.4. \u00a0The Fuji does OK here, but simply can’t keep up. \u00a0Stopping down helps equalize things, and by f\/2.8 both lenses are producing very strong resolution. \u00a0By f\/5.6, the Zeiss still has a very slim edge, but it’s very close at these smaller apertures.<\/p>\n

It’s clear that both lenses are very good, but the Zeiss is simply in a league of its own. \u00a0I’ve never seen a 35mm lens (or equivalent angle of view) with such a wide aperture perform this strongly. \u00a0it’s quite remarkable. \u00a0To get an idea of the full advantage this lens on the higher resolution sensor gives you, take a look at the f\/1.4 edge crops at full size:<\/p>\n

\"100%<\/a>
100% Edge Crops, f\/1.4 – Click to Enlarge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bokeh<\/h3>\n

With a fast moderate wide-angle, the quality of out of focus blur is also of great importance. \u00a0While the full frame lens will allow for about one stop shallower depth of field due to the longer focal length, both lenses are very capable of providing for excellent subject isolation. \u00a0Below are crops showing how the background is rendered in this scene:<\/p>\n

\"100%<\/a>
100% Crops – Bokeh (Sony resized to 16MP) – Click to view full size<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can clearly see the depth of field differences here, but if you want to compare for similar depth of field, then simply look at crops down diagonally (f\/1.4 on Fuji, f\/2 on Sony and so on). \u00a0Both lenses are fine here, but the FE is once again a cut above. \u00a0It’s really quite remarkable that the lens designers were able to make this lens as sharp as it is while still providing for excellent background blur.<\/p>\n

Another Note:<\/h4>\n

I also took one other scene, though crops don’t make much sense here, and it led me to discover something. \u00a0Focus breathing is a phenomenon that many lenses experience, and often it is due to a lens shortening actual focal length the closer one focuses. \u00a0Close up, I was able to see that the FE 35mm exhibits rather pronounced focus breathing, except it lengthens the focal length. \u00a0I’d estimate that the FE 35mm is actually closer to a 42mm lens at close focus.<\/p>\n

The shots below I originally took tripod mounted again, but the FE shot was considerably tighter in framing and also\u00a0produced blur that was more pronounced than the usual 1 stop difference. \u00a0I retook the Fuji shot at the lens’ minimum focus distance (which is the same as the Sony’s), but it still didn’t match. \u00a0This can actually be seen in the magnification factors. \u00a0The Fuji at MFD is 0.1x (0.15x framing in full frame terms), while the Sony is 0.18x at MFD. \u00a0In any case, here’s what you can expect when going for maximum subject isolation with these lenses:<\/p>\n

\"Purple<\/a>
Purple and Green – Fujinon XF 23mm f\/1.4 @ f\/1.4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Purple<\/a>
Purple and Green – Zeiss Distagon 35mm f\/1.4 ZA @ f\/1.4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n