Sony 28mm f/2 -- Extended Review W/ Tons of Image Samples

[MichaelComeau]

Hi all,

 

I received my Sony 28mm f/2 a few weeks ago and I've been really enjoying shooting with this little beast of a lens.

 

Pros:

 

-Very sharp stopped down a bit.

-Great compact size

-Very light weight

-Reasonable price

-Includes a hood (unlike some competitors who will go unnamed...)

 

Cons

 

-A little distortion

-Could be sharper wide open.

 

I'm finding that it's fantastic for street photography.

 

It didn't quite wow me the way the 55mm f/1.8.

 

It's more of a working man's "just get the job done" lens.

 

The 35mm f/2.8 may have better optics and is lighter, but for the money, the 28mm f/2 is a great deal.

 

Well done Sony! Hopefully, I can scrape the cash together for the 90mm macro.

 

Here are some image samples: (there are dozens in my full review)

 

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Click here to read my full review

 

 

[christer]

I think you should spend more time on creating images and post processing than on "testing" lenses.

[Kilsort]

What happened to you Christer?

 

I thought the review was pretty alright and some of the sample images very good.

 

I quite like 28mm on APS-C, as well as 16mm, on an A7* this would be something like 20mm on APS-C which I tend to find a bit meh.

[Adrichardson]

Some great photos there. How do you find af performance? I was using it in Italy alongside my 55/1.8 and found I got far fewer keepers firm the 28/2 due to af errors (eg focusing on the background). It's OK in af-s or dmf mode, but af-c is a bit of a lottery. In contrast the 55/1.8 nails focus 99% of the time. From memory the 35/2.8 (which I stupidly sold) turned in a much better performance for street photography in terms of af performance...

 

Distortion is definitely an issue. I've been using DXO and you need to time the focus distance slider until it looks right.

[MichaelComeau]

Some great photos there. How do you find af performance? I was using it in Italy alongside my 55/1.8 and found I got far fewer keepers firm the 28/2 due to af errors (eg focusing on the background). It's OK in af-s or dmf mode, but af-c is a bit of a lottery. In contrast the 55/1.8 nails focus 99% of the time. From memory the 35/2.8 (which I stupidly sold) turned in a much better performance for street photography in terms of af performance...

 

Distortion is definitely an issue. I've been using DXO and you need to time the focus distance slider until it looks right.

I've found autofocus accuracy to be fine. I never use AF-C mode.

 

When I've gotten focuses misses, it's been because I was trying to focus on a moving subject. That's when I'd get those focus misses on the background. But otherwise it's fine.

 

I agree, the 55mm f/1.8 is crazy. Even at f/1.8, it just never misses.

[Adrichardson]

I'm not sure if it's the Zeiss secret sauce or what, but it's amazing even in bad light. Tracking was definitely a weak point on the 28/2, but it could just be that my expectations are too high for something that wide...

[bbphoto]

Took this lens to Utah last week with the A7rii. Not super wide, and definitely has some distortion, but JPEG mode helps to cut most of that in camera. Raw profile doesn't a decent job. Here's a couple shots i got with it.

 

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