Review on Black Zeiss Touit 2.8/12 Wide-Angle Camera Lens for Fujifilm X-Mount Mirrorless Cameras by Jaie Bobin

This lens has been around for a while, but as it's relatively rare I thought I'd share a few thoughts. Introduced in 2013 at a sobering price of $1,250, it was both one of Zeiss' first autofocus lenses and the straightest wide-angle prime lens available with Fuji X and Sony E mounts. Honest reviewers rightly rated it. for optical performance and build quality that fell short of the gold standard of other established Zeiss lenses, and for the money it was hard to recommend compared to the objectively superior XF 14/2.8. Zeiss eventually lowered the price and then the entire Touit line due to weak sales and relentless competition from Korea and China, particularly the popular Samyang/Rokinon 12/2. and I didn't like its 6-blade cone), I bought a 9-blade Zeiss for $500 a few weeks ago (used and in excellent condition). When it comes to used lens prices, I think there's a lot to like and little to complain about. It's solidly built, quick to focus (with the latest firmware update 1.2 which enabled PDAF for cameras like my X-Pro3), has excellent optical performance (though not perfect) and seems right between the xf14/2.8 and the Samyang 12 / . 2 in terms of build quality and overall optical performance. If I didn't already have the xf16/1.4 and didn't like it, I would probably choose the "mighty" Fuji xf14/2.8. but I wanted wider because 21mm is too close to 24mm for my needs. For astrophotographers the Samyang's excellent coma control and extra aperture are currently second to none and the Fuji xf14/2.8 is one of the best travel and landscape UWAs available on any system, but for general photography the 12mm focal length is that Zeiss a decent option. at the right price.