Carl Zeiss Touit 50mm F/28 Macro Fuji X Review

The Touit lenses designed for the Fujifilm X series haven't been very successful so far and I feel that there are various reasons for this.

Firstly, the first two lenses released (12mm and 32mm) are probably too close in terms of focal length and performance to the Fuji 14mm f/2.8 and 35mm f/1.iv. Granted, the 2mm variance between the two wide bending lenses makes a bigger divergence than the 3mm variance between the two standard lenses.

Secondly, at that place is the fact that while the name Zeiss is synonymous with high prototype quality, Fujifilm has also managed to construct a very good reputation with its own line of lenses.

Finally, Touit lenses have been designed for ii systems (Fuji 10 and Sony APS-C). When this happens, products often stop upwards being more than successful on one system than the other, regardless of actual performance. I personally find a lens similar the 12mm f/two.8 more bonny on the Sony APS-C system, for the simple reason that it doesn't have any native broad bending primes.

X-T1, 1/8, f/ 8/1, ISO 200
X-T1, one/eight, f/ 8, ISO 200

The Touit 50mm is the third lens released by Zeiss and has an advantage because it is the first macro lens to take a ane:ane ratio for the Fuji X organization. This argument alone makes information technology stand out from the other two Touit lenses, but nosotros still have to see how well information technology performs…

Zeiss Touit 2.8/50M Main Specs

  • Focal length: 50mm
  • Focal length (equiv. 35mm): 75mm
  • Maximum aperture: 2.viii
  • Minimum aperture: 22
  • Number of aperture blades: 9 rounded aperture blades
  • Angle of view: 31°
  • Closest focusing distance: 15cm
  • Lens configuration:14 elements / xi groups
  • Special elements: 2 ED elements, 1 aspherical lens
  • Lens surface coating: Zeiss T Blanket
  •  Coverage at close range: 23,5 x 15,vi mm (0.93 x 0.61″)
  • Optical Image Stabilizer: None
  • Dimensions: 65mm Ø, 108 mm
  • Filter diamater: 52mm
  • Weight: 290g

Ergonomics and ease of use

The Touit 50mm is very calorie-free fifty-fifty without being the smallest lens for the Fuji X system. It has a prissy metal build and the provided lens hood is made of plastic.

X30, 1/50, f/ 22/10, ISO 400

The focus and aperture rings are covered past rubber which adds a very overnice feeling when using the rings. It is also a prissy addition when shooting in common cold environments without gloves. Yet, they inevitably attract more dust. The two rings are smooth and precise to turn, though the absence of a purely mechanical focus ring tin brand manually focussing at a very close distance less precise. The aperture ring can be turned in 1/3 steps. Annotation that the discontinuity ring is only nowadays for the Fuji Ten mount version and not the Sony E-mount version.

Image Quality

North.B.: With the exception of the marathon pictures, all images have been exported from RAW using Lightroom v.vii. For most of them I applied some sharpness correction to bring back the details that Adobe Camera Raw loses when rendering Fuji RAF files.

The Touit 50mm macro has an equivalent focal length of 75mm (on 35mm format) with a 1:1 scale and a minimum focussing altitude of 15cm, so the bodily capabilities of focusing close to an object are adept. However yous won't be able to take macro details of an insect for case as the focal length is likewise brusk.

X-T1, 1/15, f/ 16/1, ISO 200
X-T1, 1/xv, f/ xvi, ISO 200
X-T1, 4/1, f/ 11/1, ISO 200
X-T1, 4s, f/ eleven, ISO 200
X-T1, 2/1, f/ 11/1, ISO 200
X-T1, 2s, f/ 11, ISO 200

However, Fujifilm recently announced a serial of Macro Extension tubes that work with all Ten mount lenses. There are ii models, the MCEX-xi and MCEX-xvi, which evangelize unlike levels of magnification. I got the chance to examination the MCEX-16 at a contempo Fuji Touch & Try effect at the Riflessi Store and it works actually well. I was able to shoot at a minimum focus distance of 2/3cm average. I took a few test shots that you can encounter below. The outset is Heather'due south pupil and the second is a item of the lens cap. The educatee looks soft because I was manually focusing and at that distance, unless your field of study is dead still, focusing is quite a challenge.

X-T1, 1/60, f/ 56/10, ISO 400
X-T1, 1/lx, f/ 5.6, ISO 400
X-T1, 1/40, f/ 28/10, ISO 400
Ten-T1, 1/40, f/ 2.viii, ISO 400

Overall the Touit 50mm delivers very good image quality that a Zeiss connoisseur would certainly appreciate. First, let's talk about sharpness since it is a macro lens. Performance is already keen at f/ii.8 and reaches its peak at f/11. Of form here depth of field plays a very important function when focusing close. At fast apertures like two.8 you lot might not get almost anything in focus like the example below.

X-T1, 1/60, f/ 28/10, ISO 400
X-T1, 1/sixty, f/ 2.8, ISO 400

Unless this very shallow depth of field is an effect you are looking for, I would recommend working with slower apertures, also because the close focussing distance allows you lot to go enough shallow depth of field even at f/8.

This besides means using slower shutter speeds. Since the lens isn't optically stabilised, forget hand-held piece of work: you need a tripod. Sharpness is proficient at all apertures except f/22 where it is noticeably softer.

Since the rain hasn't stopped during the past 2 weeks, I decided to perform some bootleg still life tests by using random lite sources and objects I could find around the house. (I don't own a proper studio and proper wink lights … yet!) Inspired by a great article I read on fstoppers, I used an Ikea lamp, the Olympus Fl-600r and the Nissin i40 with their LED lights as my light sources, and three basic sheets of A4 paper to diffuse the light. For the ring shots, I placed the object inside a cylindrical green glass vase. While these shots are far from perfect from perfect from an lighting point of view, information technology does show that the Touit 50mm is a very capable lens that tin work well fifty-fifty for professional use.

The lens gives colour and contrast a very "modern" rendition in my opinion. Colours are vivid and powerful when combined with the Fuji 10-Trans sensor and tin can deliver very powerful results. The wait is likewise contrasty which delivers very dynamic images overall. The lens has Zeiss T Coating that reduces flare and chromatic abnormality and the lens works well in this regard. I oasis't found whatsoever trace of CA and flares are well-independent.

The 75mm equivalent focal length suggests that the lens can as well be a good option for portraits. However the 2.8 discontinuity is somehow limiting for those who desire more than shallow depth of field. What'south more, the wait isn't equally soft as a proper portrait lens, and will give you lot a more than contrasted result with perhaps excessive particular rendering. The Touit macro certainly tin't compete with the Fuji 56mm f/1.two but it tin can practise the chore every bit you can run across from the samples below. In short, I wouldn't advise that y'all buy this lens only for portraits peculiarly when you can get the wonderful Fuji 56mm f/1.2 for the same price.

Of grade nothing is stopping you from using the lens for some mural piece of work or general photography as well if you similar this kind of focal length, merely to me its main purpose is its macro capabilities.

Autofocus

The lens's autofocus performs well overall but information technology isn't the fastest I have tried on the X-T1. Often information technology will brand a quick back and forth movement before locking, especially when you reduce the focus distance (for example from the background to an object in the foreground). The functioning doesn't decrease when focusing really shut unless you lot are verging on the minimum focus distance of the lens. Just at that signal it is hard to judge the performance because you might be slightly under the limit, causing the lens to not focus correctly and practise the classic back and forth movement throughout the entire focus distance range. As such, if y'all are close to 15cm, information technology is advisable to switch to manual focus and use the focus assistance (like magnification) to be sure of where your focus betoken is.

The AF performed well with the MCEX-16 equally well. The focus motor of the lens isn't silent though–yous can clearly hear the machinery when focusing.

Heather also tried the lens during the Turin Marathon (I was testing the Fuji X30 for the same purpose). While this lens is certainly not designed for sports photography, it worked very well in AF-C mode on the 10-T1 most of the time.

X-T1, 1/250, f/ 4/1, ISO 400
Ten-T1, i/250, f/ 4, ISO 400

Neither the Touit 50mm nor Fujifilm cameras are optically stabilised so beware of shaky images. I found that even one/50 wasn't safe enough on some occasions. As I said earlier, this is a lens that most of the time will crave a tripod to get sharp macro shots.

Determination

The Zeiss Touit 50mm 2.8 Macro is a very nice lens capable of delivering excellent quality. It is very sharp, has good shut-up capabilities and practiced AF performance. I could not find a flaw during the fourth dimension I tested it. The rubber covering both the aperture and focus rings are nice to use, and the lens is very light and therefore like shooting fish in a barrel to behave. Since it offers a one:1 scale ratio for macro work, it is perhaps the most interesting lens out of the trio for the Fuji 10 system so far.

thumb-up What I like near the Touit ii.8/50 Macro

  • Smashing sharpness and colour rendition
  • 1:1 Macro capabilities
  • Works well with Fujifilm Macro Extension Tubes

thumb-down What I don't similar near the Touit 2.8/fifty Macro

  • AF motor is noisy
  • No optical stabilisation

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Source: https://www.mirrorlessons.com/2014/12/04/bringing-11-macro-to-the-fujifilm-x-system-the-zeiss-touit-50mm-macro-full-review/

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