looking for help finding neato and imperfect lenses for my xt10
i really like a real clunker lens. one that whines when it auto focuses and even sometimes needs a girl's help (me) to actually hit focus properly. anything that has some kinda quirks that make it more intimate and personal and makes us have to go about photography in a different way.
but we own a fujifilm camera, the x-t10, and all of our lenses feel effectively perfect. in fact, the only fuji lens we've ever used that felt shitty and useless (affectionate!!) was the 60mm macro. really want that lens!! it cries when it tries to focus and has different focus characteristics at each aperture and its aperture is fun to change and it's also very close to our ideal macro lens,, but its incredibly expensive.
in the shower today i realised that if i want a macro lens, it would probably make more sense to adapt a lens from another system, and then we'd also get way more option to choose from (but we really want that xf 60mm). and then that reminded me what it was like adapting a old film tamron 200mm prime, which was a really bad lens but also very fun to use compared to our fuji xc 50-230mm.
and i miss kinda bad lenses! nearly all of my lenses focus quietly and behave themselves, with exception to our ttartisan 27mm.
and i wanted help with that! suggestions, ideas, any help or direction to get a cool lens. i guess not necessarily a bad lens, but any lens that has something about it that makes taking pictures more fun. i've used an ef mount sigma 150mm macro before at a friends and i really loved how silly it felt while focusing and like thats the kinda thing im talking about. really just something silly about a lens. provided its like, less than 200 dollars
this is also for practical reasons! i want an ultra wide for my camera, a telephoto prime above 100mm, and a macro. however fujifilm has one telephoto prime that is extremely expensive and huge and doesn't even have its own cool quirks. fuji also has very expensive 80mm macro but also we really do not like that lens at all.
i dont actually know about wide angles that much
also im in new zealand if anyone wants to help
You mentioned the TTArtisan 27mm - that was going to be my suggestion! I love that lens on my Fuji's (before I sold all my Fuji's and lenses last month, haha!) The price is just right for an imperfect but very good lens. Enough character to be fun and creative, but plenty of resolving power.
Are you okay with manual focusing? I REALLY like adapting the old Pentax Auto 110 lenses to my Fuji's. They all cover the APSC frame (some with a little vignetting but not bad). They are stuck wide open at f2.8 unless you make a homemade aperture shim. Plenty sharp, nice vintage out of focus backgrounds, and funny because they are so tiny on that big body 😀
Quote from James Warner on December 21, 2023, 5:00 pmYou mentioned the TTArtisan 27mm - that was going to be my suggestion! I love that lens on my Fuji's (before I sold all my Fuji's and lenses last month, haha!) The price is just right for an imperfect but very good lens. Enough character to be fun and creative, but plenty of resolving power.
Are you okay with manual focusing? I REALLY like adapting the old Pentax Auto 110 lenses to my Fuji's. They all cover the APSC frame (some with a little vignetting but not bad). They are stuck wide open at f2.8 unless you make a homemade aperture shim. Plenty sharp, nice vintage out of focus backgrounds, and funny because they are so tiny on that big body
Kia Ora! Fully agree with the 110 lenses.
I had a lot of Fuji glass in the past but the lenses are just so damn expensive for what they are. I had almost all their fast primes but sold them all to switch to Pentax. I still have my X-Pro2 though and would never sell it.
In terms of ultra-wide and telephoto, and if you want AF, I suggest you get an EF-FX AF adapter. THe best one is the Fringer EF-FX Pro or Pro ii, don't bother with other cheaper options. It also has an aperture ring built in. Then, you can buy the cheap EF-S 11-18mm which is a great cheap ultra-wide. It also has image stabilisation. For telephoto, then you have all the EF and EF-S lenses to choose from and they are usually much cheaper than their Fuji counterparts! I do recommend the 55-250mm STM as a cheap option which also has I.S. But if you have the cash, then you can go for a Sigma 150-600mm contemporary or even one of the L lenses. For macro lenses, any good brand macro lenses would do! If you have the EF-FX adapter, then just get a PK to EF or M42 to EF adapter to adapt vintage manual lenses (with an aperture ring).
If you like manual lenses, I recommend getting a focal reducer or speed booster. I have the Zhongyi Lens Turbo ii EF-FX. You gain one stop of light and get the full frame effect. Only issue is that some lenses have extreme field curvature (mostly ultra fast lenses) but if you have f2 or above, they should be fine.
P.s. I am also Kiwi but I am based in Germany. If you look closely, you will see that my pic is somewhere between Auckland and Wellington, really high up close to Mt. Doom. I think my brothers back home are members here as well but they are inactive. They are in Auckland so if you need anything, just shout.
I'd add the TTArtisan 25mm f/2. It's tiny, crazy, cheap, but manual focus (or maybe AND). Wild rendition wide open. Fun to play with for sure. Not any of the three things you said though.
I have a canon FD 50mm 3.5 Macro that is fantastic. I use it for scanning negatives and it's been wonderful. there is a 1:1 extension tube as well.
As for autofocus, the only Af lenses i've used on my XT3 have been Fuji and none of them fit the bill exactly. If it wasn't for the seemingly inflated price of the original 18mm 2.0 i'd suggest that. It has some character and enjoyable to use close up for portraits. Not ultra wide. I got the original 23mm 1.4 recently and it has quickly become my favorite lens on the camera. I just love what comes off of it. An real OG fuji x lens with the sliding focus ring. Fun to use.
