I’ve tried the Fuji 23 f1.4 for a short period a few years ago and didn’t get on with it. I came to the Fuji system to be able to have a small, everyday kit I can take with me everywhere. To slow down and to frame my shots, to manual focus and to change my settings with real physical dials. To shoot street, portrait, reportage and travel photography. I adopted some legacy lenses via a speed-booster and have been very happy using them. But the idea of having a very small lens like the 35 f2 has always interested me. So I ordered the 35mm f2 WR as my walk around lens. But started to have second thoughts as I mostly use manual focus. And non of the reviews of this lens ever mention what it’s like to manually focus with it. Has anyone tried this lens against the Fuji 35 f1.4 in manual focus and could tell me which they prefer please?I know I could get one of the cheap Chinese manual focus only lenses. But from what I’ve read, non of them have the IQ of the Fuji lenses and the aperture rings are always de-clicked.

I don't think any of these AF lenses focus very well manually. Once you've used a proper manual focus lens, Voightlander or otherwise, it's hard to use focus by wire lenses.Have you thought about a Mitakon 35mm f.095? I really enjoyed that lens. Other options could include a Voightlander 35mm f2.5 Skopar, or a Voightlander 35mm f1.7 Ultron. These range between 400-800$ new. These are all good to great lenses, optically.

Mine seems to work okay but when I use MF I actually use BBF to zero in on the subject and then use the focus ring with peaking to fine tune. One positive thing about the shape if the lens is that it's easy to identify the focus ring quickly by feel.

Austin CB wrote:I don't think any of these AF lenses focus very well manually. Once you've used a proper manual focus lens, Voightlander or otherwise, it's hard to use focus by wire lenses.Have you thought about a Mitakon 35mm f.095? I really enjoyed that lens. Other options could include a Voightlander 35mm f2.5 Skopar, or a Voightlander 35mm f1.7 Ultron. These range between 400-800$ new. These are all good to great lenses, optically.Thanks for the suggestions. My first lens for my Fuji X-E1 (at the time) was the Voigtlander 40mm 1.4 Norton classic. Great little lens, but it was very soft in the corners, So I sold it. found out years later that Leica mount lenses, especially wide angles, don’t work very well on Fuji’s thicker sensor. I purchased an OM to Fuji metabones speedbooster and two great Zuiko lenses that I have been using for a few years now. But the speedbooster has issues with infinity focus on the X-Pro2. The back of the speedbooster hits the inside of the camera. So I wanted to try a native Fuji lens instead to get away from these issues. But obviously will now be dealing with a focus-by-wire issue.. it’s like you can’t win.

DominikT wrote:Austin CB wrote:I don't think any of these AF lenses focus very well manually. Once you've used a proper manual focus lens, Voightlander or otherwise, it's hard to use focus by wire lenses.Have you thought about a Mitakon 35mm f.095? I really enjoyed that lens. Other options could include a Voightlander 35mm f2.5 Skopar, or a Voightlander 35mm f1.7 Ultron. These range between 400-800$ new. These are all good to great lenses, optically.Thanks for the suggestions. My first lens for my Fuji X-E1 (at the time) was the Voigtlander 40mm 1.4 Norton classic. Great little lens, but it was very soft in the corners, So I sold it. found out years later that Leica mount lenses, especially wide angles, don’t work very well on Fuji’s thicker sensor. I purchased an OM to Fuji metabones speedbooster and two great Zuiko lenses that I have been using for a few years now. But the speedbooster has issues with infinity focus on the X-Pro2. The back of the speedbooster hits the inside of the camera. So I wanted to try a native Fuji lens instead to get away from these issues. But obviously will now be dealing with a focus-by-wire issue.. it’s like you can’t win.I don't think this is necessarily true with all Voightlander lenses, but in your case it sounds like the Mistaken would be perfect. It's a really versatile lens, very bright, dripping with color and contrast. My copy had some vignetting but it was really impressive.

Austin CB wrote:DominikT wrote:Austin CB wrote:I don't think any of these AF lenses focus very well manually. Once you've used a proper manual focus lens, Voightlander or otherwise, it's hard to use focus by wire lenses.Have you thought about a Mitakon 35mm f.095? I really enjoyed that lens. Other options could include a Voightlander 35mm f2.5 Skopar, or a Voightlander 35mm f1.7 Ultron. These range between 400-800$ new. These are all good to great lenses, optically.Thanks for the suggestions. My first lens for my Fuji X-E1 (at the time) was the Voigtlander 40mm 1.4 Norton classic. Great little lens, but it was very soft in the corners, So I sold it. found out years later that Leica mount lenses, especially wide angles, don’t work very well on Fuji’s thicker sensor. I purchased an OM to Fuji metabones speedbooster and two great Zuiko lenses that I have been using for a few years now. But the speedbooster has issues with infinity focus on the X-Pro2. The back of the speedbooster hits the inside of the camera. So I wanted to try a native Fuji lens instead to get away from these issues. But obviously will now be dealing with a focus-by-wire issue.. it’s like you can’t win.I don't think this is necessarily true with all Voightlander lenses, but in your case it sounds like the Mistaken would be perfect. It's a really versatile lens, very bright, dripping with color and contrast. My copy had some vignetting but it was really impressive.Can you tell me how you find the de-clicked aperture ring? Is it firm enough that you don’t change it by accident? I’ve noticed that the 7artisan 35 f0.95 also has some good reviews and is smaller and lighter than the mitikon. But also clickless.

I love the 7 artisans. It's a true art lens and doesn't have the optical qualities the Mitakon lens has, however. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of de-clicked aperture rings. But they're easy enough to work with. The Mitakon ring didn't get bumped around too much and was firm. From memory, the aperture ring worked in the opposite direction as Fujifilm.I really like the Fuji 35mm f2 and it's one of my most used lenses. But for manual focus only? That would be hard to swing for me personally.

DominikT wrote:I’ve tried the Fuji 23 f1.4 for a short period a few years ago and didn’t get on with it. I came to the Fuji system to be able to have a small, everyday kit I can take with me everywhere. To slow down and to frame my shots, to manual focus and to change my settings with real physical dials. To shoot street, portrait, reportage and travel photography. I adopted some legacy lenses via a speed-booster and have been very happy using them. But the idea of having a very small lens like the 35 f2 has always interested me. So I ordered the 35mm f2 WR as my walk around lens. But started to have second thoughts as I mostly use manual focus. And non of the reviews of this lens ever mention what it’s like to manually focus with it. Has anyone tried this lens against the Fuji 35 f1.4 in manual focus and could tell me which they prefer please?I know I could get one of the cheap Chinese manual focus only lenses. But from what I’ve read, non of them have the IQ of the Fuji lenses and the aperture rings are always de-clicked.As others have said, these Fujifilm primes aren't that great with manual focus.  They are focus-by-wire and don't have the responsive feel of good manual lenses.  I'll use manual focus when I can't trust AF and stop down for greater depth of field to compensate for lack of precise focusing.I learned to embrace AF, including using the back focus button method, over manual focus.

Would Rokinon or Samyang have a manual focus lens you would like?

johnCam wrote:Would Rokinon or Samyang have a manual focus lens you would like?I haven't tried either, although other posters here have tried and liked the lenses.

DominikT wrote:Austin CB wrote:...Can you tell me how you find the de-clicked aperture ring? Is it firm enough that you don’t change it by accident? I’ve noticed that the 7artisan 35 f0.95 also has some good reviews and is smaller and lighter than the mitikon. But also clickless.I have the 7Artisans 35mm 0.95. I got the lens because I like MF and I was curious about the mythical f/1 aperture and also because I wanted a wider manual lens. My widest manual lens was the Zuiko 50 mm 1:1.4 (with a basic adapter). I was surprised that the 7Artisans is very good wide open and the subject can be positioned almost anywhere except on the very borders of the frame. I think the lens is designed for isolating subjects at four meters or closer. The field looks flat at close range but it looks curved when getting to the borders with the focus point at 20m. However one can take landscape pictures that are sharp everywhere with the lens by setting the aperture to f/11 and focusing to Infinity. I still have a lot of experimenting to do with the lens and I am a bit limited by the Covid situation.To answer your question, the unclicked aperture ring is something to get used to but my own experience with it is quite positive. If one sees the aperture ring as a kind of dial to select the background then the unclicked ring is very handy. Additionally I have seen no focus shift with the lens. So one can focus with the iris wide open to get accurate focus and then close to another aperture before taking the picture. I think that when using the lens one becomes aware of the fact that the lens offers a wide choice of backgrounds to pick from with the aperture ring and that choice changes with the subject distance. I agree that someone expecting the aperture to stay in place from shot to shot will be very annoyed by the unclicked aperture ring and he will have with him a rubber band to fix the ring in place.I have a rubber band over the focus ring and it helps with the grip but more importantly it gives a tactile clue to make sure one does not move the aperture ring with the focus ring. So in the end the unclicked aperture is not so bad.Finally I think there is no competition between this 7Artisans lens and the Fuji lens: they each one cover different usage scenarios. Both can live happily together.

DominikT wrote:I’ve tried the Fuji 23 f1.4 for a short period a few years ago and didn’t get on with it. I came to the Fuji system to be able to have a small, everyday kit I can take with me everywhere. To slow down and to frame my shots, to manual focus and to change my settings with real physical dials. To shoot street, portrait, reportage and travel photography. I adopted some legacy lenses via a speed-booster and have been very happy using them. But the idea of having a very small lens like the 35 f2 has always interested me. So I ordered the 35mm f2 WR as my walk around lens. But started to have second thoughts as I mostly use manual focus. And non of the reviews of this lens ever mention what it’s like to manually focus with it. Has anyone tried this lens against the Fuji 35 f1.4 in manual focus and could tell me which they prefer please?I know I could get one of the cheap Chinese manual focus only lenses. But from what I’ve read, non of them have the IQ of the Fuji lenses and the aperture rings are always de-clicked.Dominik,All Fuji lenses are focus by wire - that is when you turn the focus ring you there is not mechanical connect with the lens elements.  The feel one gets when focusing a good manual focus lens - is no longer there.  Very few have a distance scale sop refocusing is not an option.  That is true of the 23 f1.4, the 35 f2, 35 f1.4, etc.  As far as de-clicked aperture why even have an aperture ring.  With a clicked aperture you can use you sense of feel to know the setting.  As far as I am concerned a de-clicked aperture is a waste.So if you like the feel of focusing the lens, knowing at all times the distance it is focused to - you will most likely be disappointed by focus by wire for manual focus.

Marcos Villaroman wrote:DominikT wrote:I’ve tried the Fuji 23 f1.4 for a short period a few years ago and didn’t get on with it. I came to the Fuji system to be able to have a small, everyday kit I can take with me everywhere. To slow down and to frame my shots, to manual focus and to change my settings with real physical dials. To shoot street, portrait, reportage and travel photography. I adopted some legacy lenses via a speed-booster and have been very happy using them. But the idea of having a very small lens like the 35 f2 has always interested me. So I ordered the 35mm f2 WR as my walk around lens. But started to have second thoughts as I mostly use manual focus. And non of the reviews of this lens ever mention what it’s like to manually focus with it. Has anyone tried this lens against the Fuji 35 f1.4 in manual focus and could tell me which they prefer please?I know I could get one of the cheap Chinese manual focus only lenses. But from what I’ve read, non of them have the IQ of the Fuji lenses and the aperture rings are always de-clicked.As others have said, these Fujifilm primes aren't that great with manual focus. They are focus-by-wire and don't have the responsive feel of good manual lenses. I'll use manual focus when I can't trust AF and stop down for greater depth of field to compensate for lack of precise focusing.I learned to embrace AF, including using the back focus button method, over manual focus.thank you for your replies everyone,That’s what I was afraid of, I briefly tried the 23 F1.4 and the focus ring felt broken to me. I don’t understand why Fuji can’t design these lenses so they are more intuitive for manual focus users. Their cameras are designed with physical dials like old manual film cameras, yet the lenses can’t be used in manual mode very well.I know some will say just use AF. But that’s not why I got into the Fuji system. I want to slow down and take my time taking photos the old fashioned way. If I want eye AF I can use my canon and L lenses, they are brilliant for that.well I’m still hoping that the 35 f2 will be okay to manually focus. I can just use MF less often. Or I’ll return it and try the 7artisan 35 f0.95 instead

DominikT wrote:I know I could get one of the cheap Chinese manual focus only lenses. But from what I’ve read, non of them have the IQ of the Fuji lenses and the aperture rings are always de-clicked.For my micro four thirds system, I bought a Chinese MF lens for street photography.  It's a Laowa and it has a click-stop aperture ring.  Image quality is pretty good.  I haven't done a side-by-side comparison between it and my much more expensive short primes or the X100V but in terms of my street photos, there's no significant difference.  CA is an issue in some cases but overall I have no complaints.  Its well-damped focus ring is much nicer for zone focusing although I do wish it had a longer focus throw; it only takes a few degrees of turning to go from 1m to 3m focus distance.

It suppose to be better than xf35mmf2 according to what I've seen.https://fuji-travel.com/7artisans-35mm-f1-2-mk-ii-awesome-ultra-fast-manual-focus-lens-review-and-sample-images/

My 35/1.4 feels similar to my 23/2. They both work perfectly well in MF, but generally I use the AF button to focus having chosen a point on which to focus. Functionally MF but with the speed and accuracy of AF.  I think the 23/1.4 is a different mechanism which you only get on a few lenses (14, 16/1.4 and 23/1.4 I think are the clutch focus lenses).

You will have to try it and decide. Of course MF by wire is very different from "true" MF, but that is due to the lenses being AF. You gain some, you lose some.

thanks all for your feedback. It's much appreciated.Just a quick update. I just received the 35 f2 lens and first impressions are that it's not that bad in MF mode as I thought. The focus ring does have some dampening to it so doesn't feel as loose as the 23 1.4 I tried a few years ago. Manual Focus does take a bit longer than my legacy lenses, as there is no focus hard stop. Wonder if there is a way to change how much you need to rotate the ring to go from close-up to infinity.The one thing that I did notice right away, which I will need to get use to is the rings are reversed compared to my legacy lenses with the aperture ring near the camera and the focus ring at the front. I keep grabbing the aperture ring to try and focus with it... haha.

Tools -> Button/dial settings ->Focus ring: Anti clockwise. On the the XTrans-4 cameras there is also:  "Focus ring operation: Non-linear or Linear.

In terms of MF, XF 35 1.4 is not perfect.Have a look at Ttartisan 35mm f1.4 or 50mm f1.2 for fujior wait for Laowa 33mm f0.95 argus.