Surprisingly everyone that ventured a guess on the site, in person and on Youtube, did so correctly. The Brielle Murch video is indeed the one filmed with a Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M ASPH. Surprisingly, no one mentioned the different exposure as being the primary reason for picking one video over the other. Youtube introduced more compression than I expected, and it greatly diminished the differences between these two lenses, yet the “Leica Look” shined through. I considered presenting screen captures for comparison so that you can see the small differences between these lenses, but after going through several hundred frames of each video I really can’t pick which would be the best/most fair/most accurate. Generally the Summilux looks better, but sometimes the Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R has an edge.
To me the biggest advantage of all between these lenses comes from handling. The Summilux manually focuses on the X-Pro2 very well, through the EVF or on the LCD, which makes the focus by wire nature of the XF56 very noticeable and off-putting. The Summilux has a level of sharpness to it through the EVF and LCD that the XF56 does not, which makes achieving critical focus significantly easier and faster. While I didn’t change the focal point in these videos, I imagine tracking a subject manually with the XF56 would be futile, because the image looks very flat when it is in focus or close to in focus.
I think it is fair to say that, if you enjoy the look of Fuji’s new video engine and want to use an X-Pro 2 for serious recording, you need to use a sharp manual lens to perform focus pulls, etc.Fuji’s current focus by wire system isn’t calibrated for fast precision focusing and you have to eyeball what is in focus, since focus assist does’t work while filming. I imagine the Fujifilm X-T2 will come with many pro recording features, considering Fuji’s statements about 4k being reserved for the X-T2 and how much some love the look of what the X-Pro 2 can deliver. Both lenses have a unique look that I love, and I look forward to shooting them for years to come.
Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M ASPH