Fujifilm AstrHori AF 27mm F2.8 Auto Focus APS-C Large Review
The AstrHori 27mm F2.8 is a pancake lens that weighs more than a zoom. It's good for macro autofocus, but bad at almost everything else.
Overview
This is a weird one. The AstrHori AF 27mm F2.8 is a pancake lens that forgot to be light. It weighs a hefty 408g, which is more than some zooms. Forget the 'ultra-compact' marketing. The one thing to know is that it's a specialized tool for close-up shooting, not a general-purpose walk-around lens. It has autofocus and stabilization, which is rare for a third-party macro lens, but that's about where the good news ends for most shooters.
Performance
What surprised me was just how bad it is at the things you'd expect from a fast prime. Its portrait score is a dismal 20.6 out of 100, and its bokeh and optical quality land in the bottom 10th percentile. That F2.8 aperture feels more like F4 in practice. The only thing that performs is the autofocus, which is in the 95th percentile, and its macro capability, which scores a 94th percentile. So it focuses fast on tiny things, but the image it produces isn't that great.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Autofocus is fast and accurate, with good eye/face tracking. 96th
- Built-in image stabilization is a nice bonus. 95th
- Can focus really close (0.3m) for macro-style shots. 88th
- The de-clicked aperture ring is a cool, tactile feature.
Cons
- Heavy and chunky for a supposed 'pancake' lens. 8th
- Optical quality and bokeh are genuinely poor. 8th
- The F2.8 aperture is slow and doesn't give nice background blur. 11th
- Not versatile at all. It's basically a macro-only lens.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Optics
| Focal Length Min | 27 |
| Focal Length Max | 27 |
Aperture
| Max Aperture | f/27 |
Build
| Mount | Fujifilm X |
| Weight | 0.4 kg / 0.9 lbs |
AF & Stabilization
| AF Type | STM |
| Stabilization | Yes |
Focus
| Min Focus Distance | 27 |
Value & Pricing
At $126, it's not expensive, but it's also not a good value. You're paying for autofocus and stabilization on a lens that takes mediocre pictures. If you need a cheap macro lens with AF, it's an option. For literally anything else, it's a waste of money.
vs Competition
Don't even look at the Viltrox 35mm F1.7 or Fujifilm's own 27mm F2.8 pancake for comparison—they're in a different league for general use. The real competition is other cheap macro options. If you can live without autofocus, a manual focus extension tube or a used manual macro lens will give you better image quality for the same price. This lens tries to do macro with modern conveniences, but sacrifices the core image quality to get there.
| Spec | Fujifilm AstrHori AF 27mm F2.8 Auto Focus APS-C Large | Meike Meike 55mm F1.4 Standard Aperture APS-C Frame AF | Viltrox VILTROX 25mm F1.7 f/1.7 AF Lens for Fuji X Mount, | Canon Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens | Nikon Nikon S-Line Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II Lens (Nikon Z) | Tamron Tamron Di III Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD Lens for Sony |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focal Length | 27mm | 55mm | 25mm | 24mm | 24-70mm | 17-70mm |
| Max Aperture | f/27 | f/1.4 | f/1.7 | f/1.8 | f/2.8 | f/2.8 |
| Mount | Fujifilm X | Nikon Z | Fujifilm X | Canon RF | Nikon Z | Sony E Mount |
| Stabilization | true | true | true | true | true | true |
| Weather Sealed | false | false | false | false | true | false |
| Weight (g) | 408 | 281 | 400 | 269 | 676 | 544 |
| AF Type | STM | STM | STM | Autofocus | Autofocus | Autofocus |
| Lens Type | - | - | - | Zoom | Zoom | Zoom |
Verdict
Skip it. Unless your only goal is to shoot close-up subjects with autofocus on a tight budget, and you don't care about how the photos look, this lens makes no sense. Its weight, poor optics, and lack of versatility make it a frustrating choice next to better general-purpose primes or dedicated manual macro gear.