I know how anxious many of you are to see real life images from a production Fujinon GF20-35 lens, so please bear with me that this is not a review, nor a first impressions. It’s just the first few images I took from my newly acquired Fujinon GF20-35MM F4 lens for the GFX system. Where appropriate, I’ve included a link where you can download a ZIP file with the full-size JPEG images so that you can pixel peep to your heart’s desire.
A full first impressions review is in progress, but I’ll share a few thoughts after using the lens for several hours:
- Much lighter than I expected, especially given its size, which is just about the same as the GF32-64
- Sharp from F4 through to F11 from corner to corner, at all focal lengths
- The lack of a linear focusing motor doesn’t seem to have any negative impact on focus speed
- Zooms internally so the lens does not grow when zooming like the GF32-64 does
- As expected of a wide angle zoom, there is software distortion and vignetting correction at play, which can be seen in the test images below
First Images
Please note that these images are edited to taste and may include cropping, keystone and other corrections. I treed to provide a variety of images to give you a sense of the lens’ capabilities. For unedited images, please see the test images gallery below.
Test Images (available for download here @ 186MB)
Please note that these are only processed for exposure; no other corrections have been applied. You can download the ZIP file (186MB) to view them in their full 102MP resolution.
It’s wonderful to discover this website – found this website thru dpreview on the post about this 20-35 lens. I think you have convinced me that I should get this instead of the XF8-16 for the ASPC format, which I was also thinking about. You have perhaps also settled one of my internal debate on whether I should get a Leica M. Leica is a brand that I cannot ready myself to buy yet for budget reasons – but who doesn’t want one right? I imagine every photography enthusiast would have this thought crosses their mind at one point. There are multiple pages on your website where you show M11 photos side by side with GFX100s, and the GFX100s come out looking better (to me that is). So you have really helped out this budget constrained person (at least for the time being, but the thought of getting a Leica M will forever gnaw at me until the day I die or get a M, whichever happens sooner). Thanks a lot for that. I am a native of Hong Kong so I love your photos even more for this reason.
Hi there. Thanks for writing in and for the positive comments! I think you’ve made the right decision to get the wide angle lens for the GFX rather than the APSC cameras. My understanding is that it’s easier to make a longer focal length lens with less aberrations than a very short lens. The GF20-35 is an excellent lens at all focal lengths, and it’s surprisingly light too.
I think every photography enthusiast has to scratch the Leica itch at some point in time. If you want to try it out with a very low chance of losing any money, I’d recommend buying a second hand M10 along with a second hand 35MM Summicron Lens. In Hong Kong, there are many reputable shops that you can buy them from. I really like Fotopia for their great service and excellent product.
An M10 is currently listed on Carousell for HK$30k. That’s about what I sold mine for when the M11 came out, so it shows that the second hand market is a pretty safe place to park your money. If Leica isn’t for you, you can always sell the camera and lens for close to what you bought it for. Something to ponder 🙂
I hope to run into you somewhere in Hong Kong. Let me know when you get your Leica or the GF20-35. I wish you a Happy Chinese New Year! I hope the year of the rabbit is filled with good health, wealth and happiness.