Sony FE 28mm F2 E-mount lens review by QuietOC
 QuietOC#44249 date: Mar-21-2019 | |
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| sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 3 flare control: 4 overall: 3.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sigma 24 F1.8 EX DG Sony 24 F2 SSM Distagon Tamron 24 F2.8 OSD Rokinon AF 24 F2.8 Minolta AF 24 F2.8 Sigma AF 24 F2.8 II Discover/Neewer 25 F1.8 Canon EF 28 F1.8 USM Sigma 28 F1.8 HS & EX DG Minolta MD & AF 28 F2 Minolta MC 28 F2.5 Canon EF 28 F2.8 IS USM Minolta/Sony AF 28 F2.8 Neewer 28 F2.8 Konica Hexar 28 F3.5 Sigma 30 F1.4 DC DN C & EX DC Sigma 30 F2.8 DN Art Sony DT 30 F2.8 Macro SAM Neewer 32 F1.6 Zeiss 32 F1.8 Touit Rokinon 35 F1.2 Neewer 35 F1.2 Sony FE 35 F1.4 Distagon Fotasy 35 F1.6 APS-C & Mini Kaxinda 35 F1.7 Samyang AF 35 F1.8 Tamron SP 35 F1.8 USD Minolta MD 35 F1.8 Sony E 35 F1.8 OSS Sony DT 35 F1.8 SAM Yongnuo EF 35 F2 7Artisans 35 F2 Minolta AF 35 F2 & RS Tamron 35 F2.8 OSD Rokinon AF 35 F2.8 Sony FE 35 F2.8 Sonnar Minolta MC 35 F2.8 Vivitar 35 F2.8 |
| price paid: | 355 USD (used) |
| positive: | Center sharpness Minimal purple fringing Wider than other 28's Dust and moisture-resistant |
| negative: | Barrel distortion Misalignment/variation Metal exterior Does not support 20 FPS tracking Plastic filter threads Length |
| comment: | I bid more than necessary on this like-new copy with all the original packaging. The retail price has been $450 since introduction with frequent $25 discounts and a couple of $50 discounts. A second "refurbished" copy had worse alignment. "Made in Thailand" The first copy of the Sony has some misalignment that causes some issues toward the bottom right corner, but the center is quite sharp wide-open. That corner is sharper than the best corner on the Minolta/Sony 28 F2.8 primes. The second copy was not as sharp in the center and had a much worse top left corner. Image quality stopped down is comparable to the Sony FE 28-70 and 24-105 zooms. Outside of alignment, the obvious optical flaw is distortion. It has more barrel distortion than the other 28mm primes. Distortion compensation is applied to the live-view and cannot be disabled on the A7II, A7RII, and A7III. The distortion compensation can be disabled on the A6000. It is as bright wide-open as the older Sigma and Canon 28 F1.8 primes despite those lenses being larger and heavier. The Sony also has less purple fringing. It is decent as an APS-C lens, but there are sharper, smaller APS-C primes. It also lacks optical stabilization which would be useful for this normal angle-of-view on APS-C. Canon has a nice 28mm F2.8 with image stabilization. It uses the same alloy veneer style as the older APS-C lenses but is only available in black. It does look fancier than the plastic bodied FE 50 F1.8, but it may not wear as well. It is not as pleasant to touch. It shares the plastic petal ALC-SH112 hood with the 18-55 OSS kit lens. The filter threads and front of the lens are plastic. The dedicated Ultra Wide Converter attaches via the hood bayonet. The optical flaws of the base lens remain issues using the converter. The Tamron 20mm F2.8 has much better image quality and is also lighter the converter by itself. Overall a nice prime if you find a well-aligned example. |
; 20MPrating summary
- total reviews: 12
- sharpness: 4.71
- color: 4.75
- build: 4.08
- distortion: 3.33
- flare control: 4.25
- overall: 4.23