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The world's most underrated lens: 60mm f/2.4 Fuji macro review

Notice the crispness of the groom’s suit and skin. Also, the colour rendition of Fuji’s X-trans sensor beats Nikon, Canon or Sony’s colour EVERY single time! There is no competition!

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

Minimum distance of focusing. 1/2 ratio.

Shot through champagne flutes.

A blurry picture of my 60mm f/2.4 macro