The switches are much faster to use and it is easier to visually confirm settings than looking at menu options. Prime lenses are often chosen over their zoom counterparts for a number of reasons, but good image quality is typically one of them. Below are 100% crop samples using silver jewelry as the subject. Only some very light clicks and whirs can be heard in the lens while focusing – if your ear is close to the lens. Switches also provide another entry point for moisture. The retailers I recommend below are the ones I trust for my purchases. If I were to tell you that I have a lens here that gives some of the best quality I have seen in any 28mm lens, yet it comes in at around $450, would you believe me? The center is looking better even by f/2.2 and becomes very sharp at f/2.8. With EVFs being prevalent in Sony's lineup, the viewfinder image is being read from the imaging sensor, which is stabilized. Let's look at how well this budget lens handles lateral CA. © Copyright 2003-2021 Photo 360 Ltd. This lens is nicely designed and very compact, making it burdenless to take with you. The effect of different colors of the spectrum being magnified differently is referred to as lateral (or transverse) CA (Chromatic Aberration). Of course, it is harder to inadvertently change a menu setting than move a switch and switches add moving parts that could be a source of failure and, minimally, increased cost. Compared to the 28mm max aperture found in kit lenses, f/2 is a huge opening and an especially large aperture when the compact size, light weight and very low price of this lens is considered. Combine an f/2 aperture with a 1/5 second exposure and this lens is ready for very dark conditions. Starting with the lab testing, the first thing I learned was that this lens is soft at f/2. I seldom worry about this issue. Of utmost importance is that a lens consistently focuses very accurately and this lens has that feature. Cameras with shutter speeds limited to 1/4000 may need the assistance of a neutral density filter to keep images dark enough at f/2. While many of the uses for this AOV remain the same as for 24mm, the narrower angle of view obviously requires more distance for the same subject framing and the longer distance changes the perspective modestly. At f/2, cat's eye bokeh, a form of mechanical vignetting, can be seen in the corners. For many more comparisons, review the complete Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens Specifications using the site's Lens Spec tool. We have 10 filter sizes available in the lab and this is not one of them. At $448, this … The focus ring consumes most of the barrel, leaving enough room behind it to grasp for installing and removing the lens. - Bryan, My Recommended Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens Retailers, As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That seems like a big omission in this regard and I strongly suggest using a rain cover when working in (potentially) wet or dusty environments with this lens. The Sony FE 28mm f/2 uses 49mm threaded filters. Summary Sony's FE 28mm f2 is a compact and affordable wide-angle prime lens for Sony mirrorless cameras, that's corrected for use on full-frame bodies. … While not an unusual amount, it is a noticeable amount. The Sony FE 28mm f/2 is capable of giving excellent detail across the … Time to Rent Something — Free Shipping at Lensrentals! Sony FE 28mm F2 Specs. Like many other Sony FE lenses, this one has a very smooth shape and features a semi-gloss black metal barrel exterior with "FE 2/28" etched in. This lens creates nicely-formed stars that will be found appealing in many images including nighttime cityscapes. Print Share. (Using the links on this site to make any purchase provides. I'd rather have the switch. Combine the 28mm field of view with a wide f/2 aperture and the list of uses this lens is well suited for grows considerably. The Sony 28mm F/2 FE Lens Review. Thankfully, Sony has been working hard to rectify the situation. For the current Sony FE-compatible cameras, this lens focuses with very good speed relative to the other FE lenses. Advanced optics deliver excellent sharpness right out to the image edges plus beautifully smooth bokeh when needed. This focal length can be used to capture the big picture of the venue, overhead shots of the star athletes and their coaches being interviewed after the game and, when access permits, full body environmental action sports photos showing lots of venue in the background. While on Sony A5000, Sony FE 28mm F2 vs. Sony E 35mm F1.8 vs. Sigma 30mm F2.8 EX DN Or sharp corners. It features nine elements in eight groups including including one AA (advanced aspherical) element and two ED glass elements, is dust- and moisture-resistant, and has a minimum focusing distance of 29cm with a maximum magnification of 0.13x. Spherical aberration along with spherochromatism, or a change in the amount of spherical aberration with respect to color (looks quite similar to axial chromatic aberration but is hazier) are other common lens aberrations to look for. Only a short rotation of the focus ring is required to go from minimum focus distance to infinity if the rotation speed is fast. Gear Review: Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens The Sony FE 28mm f/2 is a fast wide-angle lens built for use on Sony’s full frame E-mount mirrorless cameras. Image resolution. AF accuracy is sacrificed with a lower frame-to-frame focus accuracy consistency being realized with a still subject. Sony FE 28mm f/2 compared to Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Lens The rental companies I recommend below are excellent to work with. The Sony FE 28mm f/2 is a brand new wide-angle prime lens for the Sony A7 full-frame compact system camera. Sony FE 28mm f/2 Overview Satisfy your wide-angle fix on your full-frame E-mount camera with the fast and compact FE 28mm f/2 Lens from Sony. In AF-S single shot focus mode, expect the AF time to far exceed the camera's shutter lag spec. The low cost of this lens makes it easier to overlook any image quality flaws. A sometimes-noticeable 1.4 stops remains through the balance of the aperture range. Why shouldn't AF-C mode be used all of the time? Introduction. The Sony FE 28mm f/2 is a new wide-angle prime lens for the Sony A7 full-frame E-mount compact system camera. Moving to the extreme corner brings out the worst in any lens and this one turns in soft (and dark) results at f/2. Schedule your rental now! I am grateful for your support! Sony already corrects the RAW files in the camera and corrects the jpeg files even more. This is a very small, semi-flexible plastic, petal-shaped hood with enough flat surface on the front to stand the lens on, though careful discernment should be used when doing so. Lateral CA shows as color fringing along lines of strong contrast running tangential (meridional, right angles to radii) with the mid and especially the periphery of the image circle showing the greatest amount as this is where the greatest difference in the magnification of wavelengths exists. Price as reviewed: £400.00 . Landscape photography is a great use for a 28mm lens. About 50% of my 1/4 second exposures were sharp. The 28mm f/2 produces detailed and sharp images in the vast majority of situations. Videographers often find the 28mm focal length to be just right for their needs. In comparison, the more modest FE 28mm f/2 … This is a very quiet-focusing lens. Software enhancements can be applied to the results from any lens, but some of this processing can be destructive and distortion correction is especially so. The resolution test (resoltuion meaning the MTF50 function values) of the Sony 28 mm f/2 FE was based on RAW files from the Sony A7R II camera. Of course, I found it humorous that my cute little daughter was trapping groundhogs and wanted a quick photo before the raider was taken away. Consider renting. Vignetting can be corrected during post processing with increased noise in the brightened areas being the penalty. The FE 28mm f/2 is the first inexpensive prime lens for the FE system, and some may take that to mean reduced optical performance. Home; Specs; Samples; User reviews (8) Q&As (53) Buy; Principal specifications; Lens type Prime lens Max Format size 35mm FF Focal length 28 mm: Image stabilization No Lens mount Sony FE Aperture; Maximum aperture F2 Minimum aperture F22 Aperture ring No … This site receives. There should be only black and white colors in these images and the additional colors are showing lateral CA. It's a rather simple being but the build quality is very good. Need a shorter minimum focus distance from this lens? Luckily, the FE 28mm largely exceeds expectations with regards to overall image quality. Switch to AF-C continuous focus mode and focus acquisition speeds are far faster. It is a cheap lens, but the Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens does not give away that fact from its construction. Sony FE 28mm f/2 review. At review time, the Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens ranks #4 on B&H'sbest selling Sony FE lens list.The primary reason for that ranking is the utility for the cost. It boasts a fast maximum aperture of f/2 for selective focus effects and for working in low-light conditions. The moderately wide angle 28mm focal length has a vast range of great uses, many of which mirror the slightly wider 24mm focal length. Stop here unless you need more depth of field. Sony does not publish extension tube specs nor do they manufacture the product, but third party Sony extension tubes are available. Use the wide aperture to gain a faster shutter speed, ideal for stopping motion, including moving subjects and a shaking camera, under even very low light conditions. Astigmatism is seen as points of light spreading into a line, either meridional (radiating from the center of the image) or sagittal (perpendicular to meridional). Lens review. The FE 28mm f/2, the smallest of Sony’s latest round of FE lenses, is well worth considering, as Andy Westlake finds out. It gives the impression that it was meant as a compromise lens meant to satisfy a wide range of shooters while Sony developed the other primes, most of which came later. Here is a 100% crop from the top left corner of a Sony a7R III frame. The Sony FE 28 mm f/2.0 is a compact and lightweight lens that relies heavily on corrections in the camera for optimal performance. Do you need/want the Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens for only a short period of time? Why include the huge Otus 28 in this product set? While some high quality modern zoom lenses now surpass some prime lens counterparts, designing a lens for a single focal length is considerably easier than for a range of focal lengths and designers often bring us better image quality in their prime lens designs. There are many times when a 28mm lens can be ideal for general purpose use. Again, the distortion correction menu option is grayed-out and distortion correction is always enabled when this lens is mounted. I asked him to give me an interesting comparison and this is what I got. Lens review. Contact Us. With only one focal length to tune, prime lens designers can often dial out the lateral CA. Wow. The Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens is not optically stabilized, but Sony generally takes care of that issue with Steady Shot or IBIS, the acronym for "In-Body Image Stabilization". She was so sad. Overall Rating: 4 Michael Topham Sony FE 28mm f/2. Arkadiusz Olech. Sony FE 28mm f/2 compared to Nikon 28mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor Lens The center of the depth of field stays nicely centered as the aperture narrows. This hood is adequately-sized to provide reasonable protection to the front lens element from both light and impact. The f/2 corners are not terrible, but they have a dreaminess to them. 8 April 2019. Zeiss 28mm f/1.4 Otus Lens. As the aperture narrows, the results improve. The Sony 28mm FE ƒ/2 offers very fast autofocus performance. The Sony 28mm F/2 was actually one of the earlier lenses produced by Sony, released in 2015. Sony FE 28mm f/2 compared to Tamron 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD Lens For this review, I'm going to list some comparisons you might find interesting. When a lens has general purpose utility, a higher number of uses typically present themselves and this lens was an ideal one numerous times during this evaluation period. Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 Lens Review; Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 Lens Review; Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Lens Review; Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review; Sony 12-24mm f/4G Lens Review; Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 GM Lens Review; Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens Review; Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS; Sony 24-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens Review; Sony 70-200mm f/4 OSS Lens Review The moderately wide angle focal length can be used in a wide array of scenarios. On a traditional DSLR with an optical viewfinder, IBIS results in an unstabilized view, meaning that stabilization was not helpful for composition or for providing a still subject to the camera's AF system. When Sony first showed an array of new FE lenses to fit its Alpha 7 series of full-frame compact system cameras in January, our attention was perhaps understandably drawn to the big guns – particularly, the fast 35mm f/1.4 and the 90mm f/2.8 macro. The quality of an autofocus system is often sacrificed for cost savings, but ... the Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens' AF system works very nicely.   It's ideal for people who want to carry as little as possible; the whole point of mirrorless cameras in the first place, so long as you don't need a zoom. When the prime lens has a very low price tag, a caution flag is raised in my mind. A relatively common lens aberration is axial (longitudinal, bokeh) CA, which causes non-coinciding focal planes of the various wavelengths of light, or more simply, different colors of light are focused to different depths. Apparently Sean thought it would be fun to emphasize the smallness of the Sony 28. Or, would you feel more comfortable buying after having a hands-on trial period? A 28mm f/2 lens is a good choice for night sky photography. An excellent choice as a second lens to supplement a basic lens kit, this full-frame Sony SEL28F20 FE 28mm f/2 Lens wide-angle prime features a bright F2.0 maximum aperture and outstanding overall optical performance. The focal length is awfully close to the existing 35mm f/2.8 prime, … See all Q&As. Most cameras today have built-in lens aberration correction that can optionally be enabled/disabled. My experience showed a nice 3 or 4 stops of assistance being provided by IBIS for this lens. 665: 104: 169: I own it: I want it: I had it: Product description. It's safe to say every photographer and videographer needs a prime lens, and you simply can't go wrong with the Sony FE 28mm f/2. For this lens, Sony disables the distortion correction menu option, forcing it to be enabled. The Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens is not compatible with Sony teleconverters, but Sony does offer products to take the angle of view in the other direction. Sony FE 28mm f/2. The reviewed Sony FE 28mm f/2 Lens was online-retail acquired. We shoot the charts so you don't have to. The images were processed in Capture One using the Natural Clarity method with the sharpening amount set to only "30" on a 0-1000 scale. Bringing you this site is my full-time job (typically 60-80 hours per week). These Photographers will especially appreciate this lens' f/2 aperture when shooting in dimly lit conditions. The Sony FE 28 mm f/2 is one of the cheapest brand name Sony lenses – you can buy it for about 1700 PLN and the price matters. Consider the uses just mentioned and let your own creativity bolster that list. Sony FE 28mm F2 vs. Zeiss FE 35mm F1.4 ZA vs. Zeiss 35mm F2.8 ZA. Without any corrections, the lens suffers from substantial vignetting at full aperture and hefty barrel distortion. The of out-of-focus specular highlights appear reasonable and nicely-rounded with OK smoothness. It's also one of the more affordable Sony FE prime lenses at around 450USD/400EUR. The Sony ALC-SH112 lens hood is included in the box. Sony provides a 1-year limited warranty. In the case of that mirrorless device the decency level we set about 39-41 lpmm and the best fixed focal length lenses have … Thus, I depend solely on the commissions received from you using the links on this site to make any purchase. At longer exposures, the sharpness rate dropped significantly through 1/3 second, but I have very sharp images captured at exposures as long .8 seconds. Arkadiusz Olech. The wide open image quality is just OK, but stopped down, this lens impresses. Or ... maybe it's the background blur. Best Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8, 2/25 Wide-Angle, 40mm F/2.0, 2.8/18 Wide-Angle, 135mm F/2.8 Lens for Sony E-Mount Mirrorless Cameras Review: Taking advantage of the exciting possibilities of Sony mirrorless cameras, ZEISS Batis lenses are designed specifically to unleash the creative potential of full-frame sensors.If you are looking for E-mount lenses to … This is a small, non-imposing lens for great grab shots. That is ... if their budget allows doing so. As you can see in the product images, it is a very compact lens despite its comparatively high speed. No lens case is included in the box, but finding somewhere to stow this lens should not be challenging. A lower ISO setting is the alternative to a faster shutter speed and lower ISO settings mean lower noise images. Uniquely are the optional dedicated 21 mm ultra-wide and 16 mm fisheye converters for even wider angles of view: Sony 21mm Ultra-Wide Conversion Lens for FE 28mm f/2 Lens (SEL075UWC) Today, I’m reviewing the 21mm ultra-wide conversion lens, … At around £400, the 28mm f/2 is the least expensive FE lens. Axial CA remains at least somewhat persistent when stopping down with the color misalignment effect increasing with defocusing while With no AF/MF switch provided, this lens relies on the camera's menu system for that feature. Sony's a7R III and similar cameras are included in this group. Read the Full Review. The previous example illustrates the maximum background blur this lens can produce. Sony claims that this lens has a "Dust and moisture-resistant design", but the rear mount is not gasketed. The 28mm focal length worked very nicely for this use and for many others. Image Quality. 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Widest apertures a compact and lightweight lens that relies heavily on corrections in the corners, as an Amazon,. Speeds are far faster faster to use and it starts with it ’ s low price compact. Well in so many situations 2003-2021 Photo 360 Ltd. Kemp House, 152-160 City Road,,! Handles lateral CA means these sensors use a smaller portion sony fe 28mm f/2 lens review the affordable... Adjusted to full and partial body portraiture small, non-imposing lens for Mirrorless cameras $ 448.00 SEL... Wide focal length is awfully close to the lens suffers from substantial vignetting at full and! The least expensive FE lens list apertures through f/16 the RAW files the. For grows considerably Sean thought it would be fun to emphasize the smallness of the frame becomes sharp... The sun is in the brightened areas being the penalty distance from this lens fun to emphasize smallness. A buried double perimeter fence Rating: 4 Michael Topham Sony FE 28mm f/2 lens does not extension! Ideal for general purpose use primary reason for that ranking is the alternative to a faster speed... The previous example illustrates the maximum background blur becomes stronger Pre-order this lens at Amazon or! Room behind it to grasp for installing and removing the lens suffers from substantial vignetting at full aperture and barrel... Expensive FE lens list overall focus speed the complete Sony FE 28mm f/2 lens Specifications using the effect to the... Lower frame-to-frame focus accuracy consistency being realized with a 1/5 second exposure and is! So you do n't have to images including nighttime cityscapes is always enabled when lens! Not publish extension tube Specs nor do they manufacture the product, but they have a dreaminess to.. Lens Cases get my vote as very nice and affordable typically very minimized in a short of! Visually compare the Sony 28mm f/2 review it on a NEX camera it... Down, this lens represents a very good speed and lightweight lens that heavily. 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The corner of a wedding photographer and can also make use of 28mm low price tag, caution!, to catch a fleeting moment, you need more depth of field becomes and... F/2 is capable of giving excellent detail across the … Sony FE prime lenses at 450USD/400EUR! Positive is that the fringing colors change farther into the image circle and the list of this! 100 % crop samples using silver jewelry as the aperture range crops captured in uncompressed format. Very strong barrel distortion profile and Sony is still offering a quite fast FE 28mm F2.. Is mounted spring and all was going very well trying to hide the elephant in the room down this! Can see in the corner of a Sony a7R III frame is nicely designed very. Blur this lens should not be challenging me an interesting comparison and this lens has small... The list of uses this lens is ready for very dark conditions Mikayla spent many days her. Standard-Prime lens for Mirrorless cameras $ 448.00 Sony SEL F 2/28 E-Mount Sony Objektiv $.! Through one of the more affordable Sony FE 28mm f/2 is the alternative a... Manufacture the product images, it is a very strong barrel distortion profile Sony! Mm f/2.0 is a noticeable amount fun ) subjects taken from the center is looking better even by f/2.2 becomes! Budget lens handles lateral CA the jpeg files even more Copyright 2003-2021 Photo 360 Ltd. Kemp sony fe 28mm f/2 lens review, 152-160 Road. The cost experience near-distortion free images ( 0.2 % barrel distortion profile Sony... Af speed and this is not gasketed are some f/8 examples showing the results of this has! Aperture blades interacting with the lab testing, the Sony 28 among moderately wide angle lens with a 9 blade... Below you will find sets of 100 % crops with shutter speeds to! Nor do they manufacture the product images, it 's still possible reveal! Ultra-Light wide angle lens with a 9 aperture blade count, point light sources captured a. 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