Photographers who shoot with the Fujifilm mirrorless camera system have a distinct choice to make when shopping for a short telephoto prime lens. The company sells two versions of its 56mm prime—this Fujinon XF 56mm F1.2 R ($999.95) and the Fujinon XF 56mm F1.2 R APD ( at Amazon) . It's not just the cost of printing APD on the lens that carries a $500 premium—the apodization filter included in the pricier lens promises to smooth the defocused parts of an image for a more pleasing bokeh. Whether or not that's worth it to you is something you have to decide for yourself—either lens is able to capture sharp photos with a staggeringly shallow depth of field with ease. But neither quite matches our Editors' Choice short telephoto lens for the Fuji system, the longer Fujinon XF 90mm F2 R LM WR ($1,249.00 at Amazon) .

Design
Like most Fujinon lenses, the XF 56mm ($999.00 at Amazon)  has a premium feel; its metal barrel and physical apeture ring play a big part in that. It's a squat lens, measuring 2.7 by 2.9 inches (HD) with a 62mm front filter thread. It's a little heavy at 14.3 ounces, but still balances well with most of Fujifilm's mirrorless camera line. A reversible hood is included; not included is a neutral density filter, which is something you get wth the XF 56mm F1.2 R APD.

The aperture control ring sits at the base of the lens. It has a marking for its wide-open f/1.2 setting, as well as full-stop markings from f/1.4 through f/16, and an A (automatic) position if you prefer to let the camera control the f-stop. Adjustment from f/1.4 through f/16 is possible in third-stop increments. Image stabilization isn't included, but that's a rare feature in a lens of this type—the Zeiss Batis 85/1.8 ($1,199.00 at Amazon) , which covers an equivalent field of view when paired with Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras, does have it, but it's an exception.

The knurled manual focus ring occupies the bulk of the barrel. It's finished in metal—a departure from many lenses that feature rubberized focus rings. Manual focus with the XF 56mm isn't the most pleasant aspect of use. The focus by wire design means that turning the ring activates the in-lens focus motor, rather than turning physical components. There's not much lag in response, which helps, but the tactile feedback you get with a mechanical manual focus system just isn't there. That's not unique to Fujifilm—most lenses for mirrorless systems operate in the same manner. If you prefer manual focus, can always adapt an SLR lens to the body, or go for a mechanical lens that can be used with X cameras sans adapter, like the Lensbaby Velvet 56 ($449.95 at Amazon) .

The APD version of the lens can operate using contrast detect autofocus only. But the standard XF 56mm can take advantage of the hybrid phase and contrast autofocus systems used by advanced models like the X-T10 ($269.99 at Amazon) with which we tested the lens. Still, even with access to on-sensor phase detection, the XF 56mm is on the slower side to lock focus, requiring about 0.5-second to do so if the shot is defocused to begin with, and 0.3-second to lock and fire if focus was already fairly close to accurate.

I don't usually dwell on bokeh in reviews, because its appeal is largely subjective and can vary greatly based on the background and your subject's distance from said background. But others have compared the 56mm and the 56mm APD side by side, which confirms my thoughts on using the two lenses about a year apart: The differences in character are fairly subtle. I'm pretty happy with the way bokeh looks with the standard version of the lens, and I think I'd be hard-pressed to identify which version of the lens was used to capture images in a blind side by side comparison. But if you're a bokeh fiend, the 56mm APD does have a slightly smoother quality to its defocused backgrounds, though $500 is a steep premium to pay for that.

Image Quality
I used Imatest to check the sharpness of the XF 56mm when paired with the 16-megapixel X-T10. It delivers excellent image detail, even at f/1.2, where it scores 2,227 lines per picture height on a center-weighted sharpness test. The lens manages to maintain a high level of image quality right up to the edge of the frame, which lags just behind the center in terms of crispness. That's a little less than the 56mm APD netted, but it was tested on a different camera body, the X-T1 ($318.00 at Amazon) , and scores can be affected by sample variation, even when testing the same lens model.

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At f/1.4 and f/2 there is a slight drop in sharpness, but the XF 56mm still scores 2,098 lines and 2,200 lines respectively, both in excess of the 1,800 lines we look for in an image. At f/2.8 the score jumps to 2,545 lines, and it continues to improve at f/4 (2,706 lines) and f/5.6 (2,820 lines), before peaking at f/8 (2,845 lines). There's a nominal drop at f/11 (2,777 lines) and a more noticeable dip at f/16 (2,486 lines) due to diffraction. But any way you slice it, the XF 56mm performs with aplomb.

I used an ExpoDisc to see how evenly illuminated the frame is when the lens is shooting a uniformly gray scene. It is an exceptional performer, showing just a 1.1EV drop in brightness at the corners of the frame at f/1.2—that's barely noticeable in real-world conditions. At f/1.4 that drop is just 0.8EV, and at narrower apertures it's negligible to the point where I'd say the lens illuminates scenes evenly from edge to edge. Distortion is also a nonissue—there's none to speak of.

Conclusions
Fujifilm has no shortage of excellent lenses for its mirrorless camera system. The Fujinon XF 56mm F1.2 R stands out from the crowd due to its maximum aperture—there's only one other autofocus mirrorless lens that that gathers this much light. Some may be drawn to the pricier APD version due to the palpable, albeit subtle, differences in the way it draws out of focus backgrounds—but the APD filter adds cost, slows focus, and cuts light-gathering by about half at its widest aperture. At the end of the day, it's a subjective decision as to which of the pair is the right lens for you—I'd give slight preference to this one based on cost and its benefits when shooting in available light, but an equal argument can be made for the subtle character differences offered by the APD. As good as the 56mm and its sibling are, they don't quite earn Editors' Choice honors. Our favorite short telephoto prime for the Fuji X system is the XF 90mm F2 R LM WR. It has a longer focal length, which may be a turnoff for some who prefer the wider field of view offered by the 56mm, but it's also an incredible optical performer, faster to lock focus, and features a weatherproof design.

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