After a few weeks of waiting, I finally got hold of the lens which was the reason why I bought the GFX system in the first place. The GF 23 mm f4. And this beauty translate to 18 mm in full frame speak - identical to the angles I got from the old 18mm f2.8 Zeiss Batis on my Alpha 7R. I have always loved wide angle street photography, and this lens just brought everything together.
As with the other lenses on the Fuji GFX line-up, sharpness was never an issue. But I was taken aback by the resolving power of this one. Rarely do I get to enjoy such sharpness on any wide-angle lens. This lens is exceptional in that department.
A lot of reviews were crying out for a faster aperture. But for me, f4 is a reasonable compromise. As it is, it was already hefty. Imagine the engineering needed should this come with a wider aperture? It might be twice its size and twice as heavy.
I only had a single opportunity to take this lens for a spin. Still learning it limitations while understanding which aspect which will make this lens shine. Stop it down to f11, and I was in dreamland - providing there is enough light ...
More photos to come on this lens in the future. The next couple of weeks would be a busy one but I will definitely be bringing it to Penang in a couple of weeks time when I have a short break planned ...