in most of my tests, the newer lens out-performed the XF 35mm f1.4 to become my preferred choice.
Take a look at my results page and you'll see the XF 35mm f2 is sharper in the middle of the frame at large apertures and while the XF 35mm f1.4 enjoys the edge in the extreme corners, the XF 35mm f2 greatly improves as you move into the frame even only a little. Indeed in my night tests with both lenses, the newer model out-performed the older one in the mild-corner region. The superior performance from the new lens across much of the frame comes as no surprise if you examine the MTF charts for each, and see the XF 35mm f2 simply has a better profile for resolution.
There's also a World of difference in autofocus performance with the old XF 35mm f1.4 grinding away slowly and audibly compared to the swift and silent focusing of the new XF 35mm f2. Then there's build quality as while the XF 35mm f2 looks simple, it's the model that enjoys the benefit of weather-sealing. And while you'd assume the old XF 35mm f1.4 would win on bokeh and potential shallow depth-of-field effects with a focal ratio that's one stop brighter, in my tests it was much closer than you'd think.
