Sony AF 28 F2.8  reviews

sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

user: Alphaville   review date: April-10-13  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Tamron 4-5.6/28-105
Minolta 3.5-5.6/28-80 (D)
Tokina/Soligor 3.5-4.5/19-35

price paid:

110 Euro (used like new)

positive:

sturdy, small, light-weight, sharp,f 2.8

negative:

Rubber on the lens body (underside) is not as good as it was on the Minolta predecessor, easily shows fingers

comment:

I honestly do not know what to criticize. I use it a lot for low light photography paired with my Minolta 1.7/50 and both are an amazing pair. Well, I could criticize the low quality rubber strip on the underside of the lens. But come on...
Love it.

sharpness: 4.5 

color: 4 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 4 

user: Hols52   review date: February-24-13  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

price paid:

£120

positive:

Light - great focal length for street photography

negative:

Built in hood - waste of time really

comment:

Very useful little lens for using around town for street photography. I always feel with this type of photography a focal length somewhere between 35 and 50 would be ideal. Well this lens on the A77 achieves just that - with about 40. It is also small and light - again ideal for walking around the town.

But on top of this the IQ is very good, auto focus absolutely fine - like the other "cheap" sony lenses the image quality and focusing are very good - not for the money - just very good per se.

I have again given a "5" for build quality as although it is plastic it feels well put together and the lightness is lovely - just like the other small sony fixed focals.

sharpness: 4 

color: 4 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

user: Snegren   review date: November-16-11  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Minolta 28 F2.8
SAL 16-50 F2.8

price paid:

249 EUR (new)

positive:

Cheap, small, well built
49 mm filter (same a big brother and look alike Minolta 50 F1.7)
FF

negative:

Built-in hood

comment:

Bought it to replace my minolta 28 when it wouldn't focus anymore. The SAL 28 F2.8 is an exact copy with modern glass coatings. Optically superior to my minolta copy. Adequate IQ but not stellar. Think my SAL 16-50 F2.8 shows a bit more class. AF prone to hunting on A700. Never had flare issues on APS-C or film.

sharpness: 4.5 

color: 5 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 4 

user: NIKO   review date: July-11-11  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Minolta AF 50 f1.7, Konica Minolta AF 28-75 f2.8 D, Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70 F2.8 ZA SSM

positive:

Sharp wide open (center sweet spot of lens), good build, fast focus, smooth focus ring, low distortion, no vignetting on APS-C cameras.

negative:

Built in lens hood isn't the best. If you use a filter the hood doesn't really do the job.

comment:

A useful Prime lens. At least if you want a lens that gives you more of a "normal" view on an APS-C DSLR that a standard Minolta/Sony 50 f1.7/1.4 can't give you.

The lens is sharp wide open and it doesn't tend to be like my old Minolta 28 f2.8 where the lens seemed to be hit or miss on the AF unless you are doing close up work. Too many soft images from the Minolta version. It has a good weight and a decent build. The multi-coatings on the glass seems to do a great job reducing flare. The lens shows very little CA under the worst conditions.

To be honest, I don't know why I bought this lens when I have the Zeiss 24-70 f2.8 and KM 28-75 f2.8. However, I wanted to get a good "Prime" lens collection going for indoor studio type work or outdoor shoots. So far I have the Sony 28 f2.8, Sony 50 f1.4 & Sigma 70 f2.8 EX DG Macro to fill this need. Other lenses like an 85 f1.4 or 135 f1.8 may come into the picture should I go FF in the future.

As mentioned above on a camera with an APS-C sensor it will give you a film equivalent field of view of 42mm. Slightly wider than "50mm," but just fine.

sharpness: 4.5 

color: 5 

build: 3 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 4 

user: filipescu1007   review date: April-08-11  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Minolta 35 f/2

price paid:

250 USD (new)

positive:

Small and light
Sharp
Price

negative:

Hunts in low light (or is it just me?)
Damn loud AF (idem?)
Small build-in hood, but at least it's there
49mm filter needed

comment:

There's nothing too wrong with this lens. It's sharp (especially once you reach 5-5.6), small, goes all the way to 2.8.

But the AF just bugs me. Maybe it's just the version I have but it hunts a lot in low light and it's freakishly loud! The focus ring is very nice though, smooth. The AF noise scares the crap out of me sometimes. Damn plastic!

sharpness: 3.5 

color: 3 

build: 5 

distortion: 4 

flare control: 4 

user: Photovisionz   review date: November-11-10  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Minolta 24mm
Minolta 28mm
Tamron adaptall 28mm
Minolta 24-50mm

price paid:

250nzd

positive:

Well built

negative:

Not that sharp
Colours not that nice

comment:

This lens failed to impress compared to its competition. It just lacked colour, lacked biting sharpness and lacked image contrast. For a new prime that is not acceptable.

sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 3 

user: johnboy   review date: August-25-10  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Minolta 24-85
Minolta 50mm 1.7

price paid:

£100

positive:

Compact
Well build
Very good value

negative:

Flare!

comment:

What a great lens... well built, compact & great image quality. I have to disagree with the previous reviewer, I find sharpness to be very good even at f2.8. Flare is a problem though, the built in hood is useless and you need to be careful on sunny days, this is the only negative I can think of for what is a budget lens. The equivalent focal length of 42mm on my A200 is very useful and the camera handles beautifully, I haven't used anything else since I bought it 2 months ago!
I picked this up brand new for the bargain price of £100 so Im very happy!

sharpness: 4 

color: 5 

build: 4 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

user: Karel   review date: August-22-10  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Minolta zoom lenses and other 28 mm primes

positive:

Weight
Small size
Fast AF

negative:

Not that sharp below 5.6
Hood

comment:

I bought this lens a few weeks ago, new, from a major Sony dealer.
They could not tell me if this lens would work on a 7xi Minolta. I was not shure about the electronics but this lens is OK on an older camera.

I took a few rols with this lens, in combination with a 28-85. The colours look better on the fixed 28 mm: sort of warmer, better colours, better definition, less over saturation of blue and green etc. Contrast is better than a zoom, especially in the corners.

The coating of the glass is better, Sony did a good job on that.

If you keep the lens at f>5.6 the results are "prime". Below 5,6, you do not get the prime result (but with a 28 mm, stopping down usually isn't the problem).

The hood of this lens could be improved.

sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 4 

distortion: 4 

flare control: 4 

user: touareg   review date: January-05-10  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Sigma 105 f2.8
Minolta 50 f1.7

price paid:

260$ C (new)

positive:

Sharp, compact and inexpensive.

negative:

Flare control needs more attention when shooting in daylight.

comment:

A very nice little portrait lens for APS-C. Prone to flare when shooting outside. All around pretty good lens for the price.

sharpness: 4.5 

color: 5 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 4 

user: eggnogg   review date: July-24-09  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

price paid:

269 USD (new from so

positive:

small size
fast auto focus
sturdy feel
sharp

negative:

pricey
built in lens hood

comment:

This lens is great for city photography. The whole feel of the lens is sturdy and the grip has a better feel than the kit lenses. I actually fell on this lens going top speed on my skateboard and there is not a crack nor visible break.It just doesn't focus all the way down; completely my fault though. The pictures are sharp and the auto focus is fast. The only down side is the unnecessary built in lens hood that really does not reduce flare at all since it protrudes less than half an inch.

sharpness: 3 

color: 4 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

user: AsuAmo   review date: March-24-09  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Sony 18-250, Minolta 50/1.4, Sigma 30/1.4

positive:

Size, price

negative:

Soft, should be 1.4

comment:

The copy I had was as sharp as my 18-250 zoom lens and at 2.8 it's not fast for the prime. Returned on the next day.

sharpness: 4.5 

color: 4 

build: 5 

distortion: 4 

flare control: 4 

user: jaytee   review date: December-06-08  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Sony 18-70 Kit
Sony SAL 18-250 f3.5-6.3 DT
Tamron 28-75 f2.8 asp di
min,50mm f1.7 (old version)
min,35-70 f4 (old version)
min,28-100 f3.5-5.6 (RS)
Beercan
min,75-300 f4.5-5.6
min,28-105 f3.5-4.5

price paid:

210 new at sony

positive:

Sharpness
Size
Internal focusing
AF speed
Bokeh

negative:

a little too much plastic for my liking

comment:

This little lens is pretty nice. The sharpness is pretty good, even at f/2.8. The colour rendering is pretty nice, and it gives a good level of details. At f6 to f10 sharpness is superb.

Grate for indoor shooting and group shots

Anyway, for the price I've paid, I'm very happy. It's a good lens for evreyday pic's

This lens is the same size as minolta 50mm-f1.7 in highth and width.The hood is kind of useless but it does help,

sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 4 

user: MartinM   review date: June-03-08  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

20/2.8
24/2.8
24/2.8 RS
50/1.7

price paid:

160 CHF

positive:

Sharpness
Weight
Handling
Build
focal lenght on APS-C

negative:

no circular Aperture
no D Lens

comment:

Very nice built lens. I would not buy it new. Too expensiv. But had luck on ebay.

Fits perfectly with my lineup
20/2.8 | 28/2.8 | 35/2.0 | 50/1.4

The sharpness is, like all primes, excellent. The APS-C adjusted value of 42mm makes it ideal or indoor foto shootings. I'ld whish Sony makes a D lens. A pitty it has not circular aperture.

I definitely can recommend it.

sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 4 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 4 

user: jmco   review date: February-01-08  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

KMinolta kit lens, KMinolta D lenses

price paid:

225 USD (new)

positive:

small
light
simple

negative:

none

comment:

Like all primes, this is such a nice lens. The images are sharper and just look better than zoom images. I like the smooth but very grippy rubber grip. I wish all lenses used the same grip rubber material.