Finally grabbed an X-S20 after saving up for months and now Im staring at my empty lens mount like a total dummy. I really want to get into landscape photography for this big trip Im taking to the Olympic National Park in about three weeks so the clock is kinda ticking. I did some digging and everyone keeps pointing towards a few specific ones:
- XF 10-24mm f4 R OIS WR
- XF 16mm f1.4 R WR
- Tamron 11-20mm f2.8
I saw some people complaining that the 10-24mm isnt sharp enough on the newer sensors or that the f4 is too slow if I want to try some milky way shots while Im out there. My logic was to maybe go for the 16mm prime because its supposed to be legendary but then I worry Ill be constantly wishing I could go wider when I get to those huge coastline views.
Budget is around 900 bucks give or take and I dont mind buying used if it gets me better glass. Is the 10-24mm actually worth it for a beginner or should I be looking at the Tamron instead? I heard the Tamron doesnt have an aperture ring which kinda bums me out since thats half the reason I bought into Fuji in the first place but if the image quality is better maybe I should just suck it up and deal with it...
Are you hauling a tripod? In my experience, the Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f4 R OIS WR OIS is vital because it stops blur during slow exposures, tho the Samyang 12mm f2.0 AF beats it for astro.
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Olympic is no joke when it comes to the weather. I remember hiking out to the coast with a lens that wasnt properly sealed and the mist basically ruined my day because the internal elements fogged up for hours. You might want to consider how much youll actually miss that aperture ring tho. I moved to a third-party zoom once and ended up hating the ergonomics because digging through menus just to change my f-stop felt so disconnected from the shooting experience. A few things to watch out for:
- Third-party glass often lacks the heavy-duty weather sealing that native Fuji stuff has, which is a big risk in the PNW.
- Balancing a front-heavy lens on the X-S20 can be a pain if youre hiking for miles.
- An f4 max aperture is definitely gonna struggle with the Milky Way unless you have a star tracker or dont mind a ton of noise. I would suggest being really cautious about going for the cheapest option. Sigma and Tamron make some sharp stuff, but the color rendering doesnt always match the Fuji film sims perfectly. Honestly, I've seen so many people regret buying a lens that wasnt ready for the rain just to save a few bucks... especially when you're standing in the middle of a rainforest.
Same boat, watching this
Be careful with that Washington rain! I would suggest the Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f4 R OIS WR.
- super reliable
- weather sealed Safe bet for a beginner tbh.
