I have shot them all. Here is the truth, running down my Fuji lenses from wide to long. Some are third party Fuji non lenses.
The Rokinon 12mm manual. Ridiculous. Odd pictures. Does not talk to the camera. Never used.
The Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8. The OG. The Mac Daddy. My first Fuji lens. Sharp, about 24 to 80 equivalent, great on the widebody X-T cameras. I shot it on the X-T4 that weekend but wished for more reach. Not clandestine.
The Fujifilm 27mm f/2.8 pancake, the Fuji naan, on the X-E2. A de facto X100, the X100 negative 2. Forty three millimeter equivalent. My Leica Q343 at six thousand dollars less. Low profile, fast focusing, one of the best street setups. I hate the word pocketable. None of these cameras are pocketable.
The Fujifilm 16mm f/2.8. Silver, though I thought I bought black. Twenty four millimeter equivalent. Sharp, fast. Great for f/8 and be there close up environmental street. Plenty of bokeh. How much bokeh are we really caring about? We are not TikTok photographers. Looks sweet.
The Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2. The nighttime street lens. Drinks the light. Thirsty, baby. Lens flare. Nothing but success. Looks like eighties product shots with the big gaping aperture.
The Fujifilm 23mm f/2. The MacDaddy Classic. Thirty five equivalent. My first street setup on the X-Pro2. Looks great, feels great, does exactly what you want it to do. Clicky aperture. The X-Pro2 plus the 23 is the perfect street setup. I will never sell the X-Pro2. If you got one, you are going to get some money out of that.
And the Fujifilm 55-200mm f/3.5 to 4.8. My answer. I vote long lens as the best for street.
To everyone who says it is not street photography unless it is up close: the long lens will suck the snot out of the nose of the subject and they will never know it. Long range bokeh. Fast focus with the X-T4 and X-H2. If you do not want to get in people’s faces, get yourself a long lens. You are missing out on good street photography because you think you have to get close. That is nonsense.
Chaos during filming: I knocked a lens over, it survived. A filter screwed on too tight to remove. I have lost a lens. I have lost two. The mic cord hooked. The camera is on a charging cord. Not ready for prime time.
Bingo. Boingo. Bango. Best Fuji lens for street photography: the long lens. Mine is the 55-200.
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