Best 28mm legacy lenses

[Tim Devine]

It's my fave too.  I really like the 28mm focal length to begin with, and I love everything about the SMC Pentax 28mm f/3.5 K (color, sharpness, contrast, etc.)  It sings on the a7R/a7R II.

 

 

-Tim

 

1k.jpg

 

I have to highly recommend the pentax k28 f3.5.

Wonderfully built and a joy to handle. Excellent sharpness to the corners at f8 and f11.

Wonderful 3d rendering and deep rich colours.

This lens stays on my a7r in preference to the zeiss fe 16-35 and 24-70.

It is a lens that is cheap to buy but difficult to find (and will be more sought after by pentaxians given the anouncmemt of their first FF dslr)

[Colin Surprenant]

Hi,

 

Would love to ear about experience with the m-rokkor 28 2.8 (Minolta CLE)? anyone?

 

Thanks,

Colin

[Colin Surprenant]

I just saw that addicted2light previously sent some info and shots about the m-rokkor 28 2.8 in http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/405-minolta-for-leica-m-rokkor-28mm-f28/ - looks good!

 

Colin

[addicted2light]

I just saw that addicted2light previously sent some info and shots about the m-rokkor 28 2.8 in http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/405-minolta-for-leica-m-rokkor-28mm-f28/ - looks good!

 

Colin

 

Yes, and I can confirm my previous findings even for the demanding sensor of the A7r.

 

The Minolta M-Rokkor it is still my best 28 so far: even on the A7r no smearing and no color shift whatsoever. It is even sharper than the *fantastic* Contax Zeiss 28-85mm Vario-Sonnar @28mm.

 

The following image has been shot at f/2.8 or f/4 (camera on tripod, 2s release).

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And here you can see the extreme top left corner; looks good to me! (remember, this is @ f/2.8 or f/4)

[LCT]

[...] Would love to ear about experience with the m-rokkor 28 2.8 (Minolta CLE)? anyone? [...]

 

Great lens indeed aside from the white spots issue. It is a tiny lens as well, even slightly smaller than the Elmarit 28/2.8 asph. The latter is sharper though and more contrasty. 

[#tf]

It can be interesting here - one another Minolta 28mm lens comparison

[scrane]

The 28/2.8 (AIs only) is one of Nikon's best.

[ACG]

Of the ones that I've tried (Canon 28mm f/2.8 IS, Nikon Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-s, Contax Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8 C/Y, Canon FDn 28mm f/2.8...), my favorite is the SMC Pentax 28mm f/3.5 (original K, non M version.)  It's a slow lens, but I shoot landscapes, so my interest is more stopped down performance (although it does quite well at larger apertures.)  I'd love to have the Leica R 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit V2 lens that Rich and a couple others mention, as well as the new FE 28mm f/2.  But there is something about the Pentax that makes me think I'd keep it no matter what.  It gives such a bang for the buck, it's amazing.

 

Here's a f/11 shot with the a7R.

 

 

Full size

 

-Tim[/quote

 

I agree totally.

I choose the Pentax k28 f3.5 over the Sony Fe 16-35 or the Zeiss loxia 21 or 35 every time.

I guess it is the colours and 3D pop that draw me to this lens. There is something that is very “honest” about the images that the k series lenses produce. Blues and greens look “film” blue and green rather than “digital / photoshopped” blue and green

[Sprocketdog23]

My favourite is a Konica Hexanon. The 28mm is the f3.5 one (think I’ve got the 5 element one) - super sharp and lovely colours and contrast.

 

Got some faster 28’s but this KAR lens seems made for the A7

[nerp]

I have the Takumar/Pentax 28mm f/3.5 in several flavors:

Super-Takumar:

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Super-Multi-Coated Takumar:

SMC Pentax-M:

and I like them all. The Pentax-M 28mm f/2.8 is nice, too, but doesn't seem as sharp, especially at wide apertures:

[picman]

Very happy with my Zeiss Contax 28mm/f2 (the Hollywood lens).

[AntonioS]

I have some 28mm lenses.

The SMC Pentax-A 28mm 2.8 and the older SMC-Pentax-M 28mm are very sharp on mid apertures and cheap.

But the Minolta MD Rokkor 28 3.5 is my pick. It's very sharp even wide open, at least my sample is.

 

[scrane]

Nikon 28/2.8 AIs on a D700

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[Shazz]

The Minolta 28 mm f2 in the Restyle issue is extremely good value. Far cheaper than you can imagine. Great for street photography, shooting loose from the hip and regroup later.

[actionphotopassion]

On 11/27/2020 at 2:54 PM, Shazz said:

The Minolta 28 mm f2 in the Restyle issue is extremely good value. Far cheaper than you can imagine. Great for street photography, shooting loose from the hip and regroup later.

Agreed and when used with LAEA-5 with the right body camera it's AFing...So... it's a no brainer here.

[SandyW]

Konica Hexanon 21mm f2.8.  A fantastic lens which delivers wonderful image quality.  My go-to landscape lens on Sony A7III.