Fujifilm GF35-70mmF4.5-5.6 WR

This design has the potential to perform superbly at all focal lengths starting at about f/8, depending on focal length. My copy is fully sharp on a plane at medium to long distances starting at apertures which range from one third of a stop more open than f/8 to one third of a stop more stopped down than f/8, probably in concert with the variable maximum aperture of the lens with focal length. It’s rare for a lens to reach optimum performance starting only one stop smaller than wide open. Very many lenses require at least two stops to become sharp on a plane at distance if they ever do. Also, the performance of the GF35-70 is poor wide open so if you want sharp corner to corner on a plane at distance, forget about failing to at least stop down about one stop. For outdoor daytime use for landscape and a lot more, this speed limitation of approximately f/8 is generally not a problem so this wonderfully compact and light lens makes a superb addition to the GF system and is my primary lens, replacing the 32-64. I also have the 45-100, which performs best from about 60 to 90mm and fairly well still at 100mm but has increasingly annoying forward curvature of field near the corners only as you move from 60mm to 45mm. My copy is typical of this type. I also have a GF50 which is superb but really only offers about a one or at best two stop speed advantage over the 35-70 and so is not likely to be used very often. For the time being I’m also using a couple of adapted lenses including a Mamiya 105-210 manual focus zoom and the 45-85 Pentax A 645 lens from my 645Z outfit, with a MIREX tilt-shift adapter for occasions where tilt and/or 8 to 11mm of shift or rise or even fall are needed. Nowadays if you want such a T-S adapter it will have to be a Kipon one. I combine the MIREX Pentax 645 to EOS T-S adapter with a dumb EOS to GF adapter by Kipon, which unlike some Kipon adapters is beautifully made. A major aspect of lens quality for me is whether the flatness of field is sufficient. As a rule expect the extreme corners of any lens to perform the worst on a plane at distance but some lenses perform worst at a point roughly ⅔ of the way from the axis to the corners, though no two lenses are alike, neither the types nor, to a much lesser extent, individual copies. Don’t be surprised by the omission of the aperture ring from this 35-70 which contributes to its compactness.

Surprising image quality for a low priced kit lens! Wonderful performance and I am a happy camper.

Light weight, overall very good picture quality except close range focus, when you need to stop down for sharp result. Highly recommended

Bought this lens when it was on sale for $499.00. If this is a "kit lens" then it's the best kit lens I've ever used. Don't let the maximum aperture fool you. All the GFX cameras work excellent at higher ISO's, so unless you're wanting this lens for night time shooting or need to obliterate backgrounds with a shallow depth of field, it should work out just fine for any style. The bokeh at 70mm does a fantastic job of isolating the subject. The sweet spot of sharpness for this lens is around f/8.

Very sharp, great image quality, compact for a GF lens.

Compared with my Canon 24-70mm mk2 on an adapter to my 100S (my sharpest normal zoom lens) at 4 times the price of this lens ($499).. they are nearly the same sharpness. I would put that as an incredible value. Fujifilm will be smart to keep this lens fixed at $499 if they want to bring in more full frame users.