Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 CS 12mm

The Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 is the sharp, fast, stupidly affordable ultrawide that every Fuji shooter should own before blowing cash on a zoom. Embrace manual focus, and you'll wonder why you ever paid more for wide glass.

We didn't expect much from a sub-$300 wide-angle, but our test images made us do a double-take. Sharpness is excellent right from f/2.0, which is unusual for a fast prime this cheap. The two aspherical and three ED elements earn their keep—chromatic aberration is nearly nonexistent, and coma is well-controlled at the edges, making this a favorite for Milky Way hunters. The 98.9° field of view is rectilinear, so you get that dramatic perspective without goofy fisheye distortion. The only real surprise was how tactile and precise the manual focus ring feels; it's heavily damped and has a hard stop at infinity that's actually accurate.

The natural AF alternative for Fuji X is the Fujifilm XF 14mm f/2.8, which is smaller, weather-sealed, and has autofocus—but it's a full stop slower and costs triple the price. For zoom versatility, the Fuji 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR gives you stabilization and a useful range, but again, you lose that bright f/2.0 light-gathering and pay nearly $1,000. On the manual focus playground, the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D is wider and sharper at the edges, but it's also pricier and has more distortion. If you're cross-shopping with Sony E-mount, the Viltrox Air 15mm F1.7 offers autofocus at a similar price, but it's not as wide and isn't built for Fuji. For sheer bang-for-buck on Fuji X, the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 still runs circles around them all when it comes to dollar-per-star-in-your-night-shot.

You'll find this lens selling between $219 and $350 depending on the vendor, and even at the higher end it's a bargain. Our database shows the best deal currently at store_name (just $219), and at that price, you're getting $800 worth of optical performance. The only real cost is giving up autofocus and weather sealing. If you can live with that, it's an easy recommendation.

Let's cut to the chase: if you shoot Fuji X and don't absolutely need autofocus, the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 is the wide-angle lens you should probably buy. It's absurdly sharp, the f/2.0 aperture gobbles up light for astro landscapes, and it weighs about as much as a can of soda. For the price (we've seen it as low as $219), nothing else comes close to this combination of speed and optical quality. It's a manual focus lens, but at 12mm with focus peaking, that's more of a creative feature than a hassle.

If you need autofocus for video run-and-gun or fast-action street shooting, this isn't your lens. Grab the Fuji 14mm f/2.8 or a 10-24mm f/4 instead, and pay for the convenience. Full-frame shooters should skip entirely and look at a Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D.

Buy this lens if you love astrophotography, wide-angle landscapes, or just want a fast, sharp prime that won't drain your bank account. Manual focus is the only catch, but at this focal length and aperture, it's practically a set-and-forget affair. For the money, this is the easiest recommendation we've made all year.