Fuji VS Fuji has continued its excellent and succinct line of comparative reviews of Fujifilm XF lenses, this time facing off the 14mm and 18mm primes. It's obvious from the comparison that at the pixel level, the 14mm lens is sharper and more contrasty. Fuji VS Fuji conclude the following:

“Given the compact size, light weight, and faster aperture, I’d say the FUJINON XF 18mm ƒ/2 was made with street photographers in mind, more so than landscape fans. The creamier bokeh also suggests it could be useful for wide-angle portraiture. In some ways, the FUJINON XF 18mm ƒ/2’s characteristics remind me of the old Nikkor 85mm ƒ/1,4 AF-D; optimized for centre sharpness and soft backgrounds. The corners and edges on that lens were terrible, much worse than the FUJINON XF 18mm ƒ/2, but the centre was sharp so it worked great for portraiture.”

Somehow, the 18mm has got a bad rep amount Fujifilm XF fans. ohm is one of those that values compactness and versatility over absolute sharpness. To that end, the 18mm is a better match. But small, reasonably sharp FF equivalents exist, too. Voigtlander's 21mm f/4 lens is more compact than the 18mm, and almost as inexpensive. On film or a modern FF mirrorless digital, it covers the same FOV at a similar DOF as the 14mm whilst taking up much less space.

When Fujifilm debut a FF mirrorless, compact-loving photographers will rejoice at the sudden bevy of FF LTM/M options.