Why go Third-Party on Fujifilm

It seems like every day a new third-party lens is released. While initially relying exclusively on first-party lenses, I have come to replace some first-party lenses with third-party options. Why though? The short answer to this question is that the third-party options are great, yet, I still want to provide a longer and more detailed answer to this question. 

Native and third-party optics side by side.

Optical Quality rivalling native lenses

 A decade ago, most third-party options kept the price affordable by compromising on optics. The result was optics that suffered from softness wide-open and even stopped down with many suffering from terrible chromatic aberrations. However, these times are over and even very cheap optics provide great sharpness, even wide-open. The best example is ttArtisan's newly released 56mm f/1.8 which is sharp wide-open, despite its price tag of 180€. Also, higher-end third-party lenses such as Viltrox’s new PRO-APS-C series lenses offer fantastic sharpness and optical aberration control that is rivalling Fujifilm’s best prime lenses or even beating them. I think debates about whether a lens is a hair sharper than another are completely pointless, yet, the bottom line is that the default assumption that buying third-party means compromising on optical quality is relegated to the past.

Excellent optic at a budget price: Sigma 56mm f/1.4

Build Quality

Usually lens manufacturers have to compromise on some aspect of a lens to keep the price down and I have realised that many third-party lens producers did and still do compromise on built quality. Often, this means that cheaper materials such as plastic are being used in the construction, and that features such as custom buttons, aperture rings and weather-sealing are missing to keep the price low. However, more and more third-party lenses feature build quality rivalling native lenses. Sigma’s Art lenses are built out of metal and are weather-sealed while Viltrox’s PRO Series lenses are metallic, feature custom buttons, an aperture ring and weather-sealing. As a Fuji user, I value an aperture ring and weather sealing a lot, making a lack thereof a deal breaker. Now that third-party manufacturers are building lenses to the same degree as native lenses, I am happy to choose a Viltrox over a Fuji lens. 

On par with the native glass: The Viltrox PRO lenses feature amazing weather-sealing

The Bang for the Buck

A final reason to buy into third-party lenses is the amazing value they provide. Often third-party optics undercut comparable first-party lenses by half the price of the latter. It’s truly impressive how manufacturers keep prices low while not compromising optics or built quality. I recently found myself having to choose between a Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 or a Viltrox 75mm f/1.2. Both serve as amazing short telephoto primes with hardly any weaknesses, yet Fuji charges double that of Viltrox. In that case, it is hard to justify why to invest more in a native lens if it does not offer any added benefits. Ultimately, choosing more affordable third-party lenses also offers the peace of mind of not needing to carry a car’s worth of equipment in my backpack during events. The savings by buying third-party can then be directed towards investing in other equipment that could potentially offer greater value to both the photographer and their clients.

More light for less money: The Viltrox 27mm f/1.2 has replaced Fuji’s 33mm f/1.4 in my kit

Conclusion

In conclusion, third-party lenses have come a long way. From being cheap and optically and build quality compromised, some have evolved to be on par with native glass while sticking to a significantly lower price tag. Accordingly, it does not come as a surprise that many photographers make the choice of their camera system dependent on the availability of third-party lenses. It also does not come as a surprise that Canon, a brand that has locked out third-party lenses on their RF mount for years, has finally opened up its mount to Sigma and Tamron to produce lenses for them. I'm not saying that every third-party lens competes with native options, but I can assert with confidence that many high-end third-party options are well-equipped to substitute first-party optics. They are crafted to similar standards, offering comparable sharpness, and perhaps most importantly, often come at half the cost of native lenses, making me choose third-party over first-party at many instances. 

Superb bokeh: Viltrox 27mm f/1.2

The “full-frame” look at a budget price: the Viltrox 75mm f/1.2

So compact, yet so powerful: the Sigma 56mm f/1.4

Author: Pit Haupert

Instagram: pitsphotoblog

Mail: haupertipit@gmail.com