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The Fujifilm XF 18mm f1.4 oddly reminds me of when I used to photograph events with a Tamron 10-24mm on a Nikon D90 – a long time ago. I used to have that thing at 20mm all the time, partly because it was terrible at its widest zoom, but mostly because I found I really liked the amount of context the images had. They isolated the subject a little bit, but also told a story about what was happening around them.
Skip forward a 15 years and I feel as though I’ve got my event and documentary photography set up dialled perfectly. On one X-Pro2 with a Peak Design strap I have either the 33mm f1.4 or the 90mm f2 and clipped to my Everyday sling, I have another X-Pro2 with the 18mm f1.4 glued to it. This gives me the perfect combination of flexibility, image quality and manoeuvrability.
I’ve freelanced at two events recently where I have felt really happy with the images I’ve created, all of which were captured with the 18mm. When it comes to weddings and typical events, clients appreciate the mix of focal lengths, but for me images that I feel tell the story the best, always come from the 18mm.
It offers just enough depth of field to give the images a hierarchy for the eye, whilst also rendering them tack sharp. Coupled with the JPEGs coming out of the X-Pro2 and Pro Neg profiles makes for beautifully dynamic images, all from a camera can easily be slung over your shoulder, or chucked in a bag.
When I was picking images for this post, I noticed that the vast majority of images in my Lightroom catalogue are still shot with the X100V, but that’s honestly because it lives in the house, not the office. It is the camera that gets picked up to photograph life moments, and there’s a lot of them. The thing is however, the 23mm (35mm equivalent) field of view is great for creating a snapshot, but the images are very one dimensional. There’s no narrative to them – no story.
I find the 18mm often gives just enough on the edges of the frame to immerse the viewer, making them feel part of the photograph. The speed, image quality and reliability of the Fujifilm XF 18mm f1.4 R LM WR makes it the perfect story telling device that I own.
