The world's most underrated lens: 60mm f/2.4 Fuji macro review
Shot an entire wedding with it.*
That’s how good it is.
This lens is probably the most underrated, scratch that, IS THE MOST UNDERRATED LENS of Fuji’s line-up. I’m talking about the misunderstood, forsaken little all-metal, made in Japan, Fuji 60mm f/2.4 macro. It is so good. I almost shot an entire wedding on it, barely touching my 23mm f/2.0 and 35mm f/1.4!
It has a special rendering…It gives a f/3.3 (bokeh equivalent) and 90mm focal on a full frame equivalent.
Who needs f/1.2! This lens on Chrome colour profile gives one heck of a cinematic look.
At maximal close-up distance, f/2.4
I swear…there’s a special sauce poured in this lens…the rendering!
No distortion.
It is also, well, a macro lens.
Maybe it is the secret sauce that goes into it, or maybe that I’m more artistically inspired by the limitation of a slow to focus lens, but I swear to God: I made my all time favourite wedding pic using this lens! Sure, it isn’t sharp as the 55mm f/1.4 Zeiss Otus. But for 1/10 of the cost, it’s worth having one in your bag.
I shot with so many lenses over the years…Fuji, Olympus, Canon and Nikon, which included a 14mm to 600mm, and if I got to grab only one lens and shoot for a year with it…it would not be this one hahaha. It would be the 35mm f/1.4 Fuji. BUT. Let’s say that one can shoot an entire wedding with a 23mm f/2 and a 60mm f/2.4. Attached an X-pro2 or Xt2 and you’re laughing.
Once again, I would not recommend this combo if you are new to photography. Do not listen to me. This lens is hard to use. You have to know what you’re doing. I cannot stress that enough. In the vast majority of the cases, a newbie would be better with a 56mm f/1.2: it will generate more WOW per shot than the 60mm f/2.4.
This lens forces you to be quite creative to compensate for the lack of speedy autofocus or adjustable focal length. It’s a 90mm equivalent: It’s pretty tight for indoor shot. It’s f/2.4 minimum, so you can’t just throw everything uninteresting out of focus. You need to think. So yes, in a way, the 60mm f/2.4 macro will make you a better photographer. You’ll try to find new details to make a close-up. You’ll pay more attention to the background. You’ll move your feet more.
I tried many Fuji lenses over the years. This 60mm f/2.4, I think, is the best kept secret of the Fuji line-up. It is better that you think of it as a manual lens with optional autofocus then the other way around. I read on the web, from another blogger, probably paid by Fuji haha, that this 60mm had a “fast autofocus”. What in the world!? It takes a full 2 seconds to go from close focus (maybe 3 feet) to infinity and back. 2 seconds! My previous 60mm f/2.8 macro Nikon AF-D was doing the same thing in maybe 0.5 second, top.
I also think that the Nikon versions are optically SHARPER. But who cares. There’s a pleasant rendering on this lens. You’ll just have to believe me.
In the hand of a pro, which I might or might not be, the 60mm f/2.4 is a hammer in competent hands, creating pure gold, forged at the press of a click.
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Cheers,
JP
Boom.
Slow autofocus…but if you know what you’re doing, this lens WILL DELIVER. For sure. Guaranteed.
Minimum distance of focusing. 1/2 ratio.
Shot through champagne flutes.
A blurry picture of my 60mm f/2.4 macro