Minolta AF 28mm F2.8 A-mount lens reviews
 madecov#7090 date: Mar-15-2010 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Tamron 17-50 Minolta 28-85 Minolta 24-85 Minolta 28-135 |
| price paid: | 100.00 usd used |
| positive: | Great build, fixed aperture, typical Minolta color and contrast. Fixed aperture |
| negative: | Not wide enough on APS-C frame. |
| comment: | I suppose I got a decent copy as I can't really see the complaints about soft images with this lens. It is sharper than most zooms that have the same focal length and of course is smaller and weighs less |
; 14MP| warriors.photo#7063 date: Mar-12-2010 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony DT 18-70, Minolta 50mm f/1.7. |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Small, built in hood. |
| negative: | My copy wasn't circular aperture. |
| comment: | I didn't really like this lens. My copy was smooth but, it didn't blur out the background as well as I wanted it to. After I got my 24mm I didn't really use this lens anymore and sold it. I gave it a sharpness rating of 4.5 as the lens really didn't give me great shoots until it was opened up to about f/4. Also, the lens didn't blur as I wanted. It was good in low light and I liked it for that. As it was my first low light lens ever. Just .02 on this lens. |
| hrstrat57#7012 date: Mar-6-2010 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 50 1.7, 35-105, 28-85, 100-200, 75-300 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Compact size, mostly crisp images and useful in low light. |
| negative: | 42mm on C....at times has a bit of a dreamy look opened all the way up to 2.8..... |
| comment: | Sweet handling built like a tank, owned since new. Focal length at 42mm on C likely a bit more useful on an A 900 but I find her useful still while shooting snaps indoors of family - tweaking the white balance and turning on a few lights I can walk the room without the flash and grab some sweet snaps. Moderately useful on the A 700 it will get some time on the camera primarily as described. Can still be found for under $100, nice lens - I plan to keep it but primarily as I plan to grab an A 900 or A 850 eventually. If I travel light to a family function indoors I can probably get the job done with my primes....this little one and my Minolta 50 1.7....another reason for hanging onto it. Family pics without the flash blazing produce the most keepers. |
| Wally79#6767 date: Jan-17-2010 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.1 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | minolta 50mm f1.7 Sony 18-70 (kit) Sony 75-300 (kit) |
| price paid: | 65.00 USD (used) |
| positive: | it's wider than my 50mm fast af |
| negative: | it's only f2.8 |
| comment: | This lens is wider than my 50mm which was the only lens I had for inside portraits and candids. The 28mm's aperture is a little smaller, but makes up for it with the angle. Quite pleased with the results. This lens is also good for landscape. |
| Shootist#6758 date: Jan-15-2010 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 3.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 20 RS Minolta 24 Pentax SMC 28/35 MF |
| price paid: | $90 |
| positive: | Nice and light Cheap and avaialble Good Minolta quality |
| negative: | Not the do/all beat/all lens you wanted |
| comment: | Well, this is the worst of these lenses on this list obviously. But that doesn't make it a BAD lens at all. In fact it's light, good for quick candid shots, does well across the board, and you can get one pretty cheaply! I owned 4 of these before settling on this one - they were very close in quality so I think the one you have is as good as mine (or almost) which is a nice level of consistency we don't see in all lenses. I end up using the 20 RS for WA mostly nowadays. It's big and dumb but its MFD is incredibly close, it's so wide I never miss a shot, and it's VERY sharp. Of course, that all cost MONEY...sigh -Shootist |
| mwildwood#6739 date: Jan-13-2010 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.1 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 50mm 1.7 28mm 3.5 SMC Takumar 35-105mm 3.5-4.5 |
| price paid: | 70 USD |
| positive: | Quick Focus, Pretty Sharp results when used with center focus |
| negative: | color seems a bit dull (unlike other minoltas of the era), hood |
| comment: | Good lens, inexpensive. I enjoy working on my attempts learning landscape and architectural photgraphy with this lens. But I seem to get more predictable results with my MF Takumar lens. This is a keeper - but maybe only until I find a 24mm as a steal. |
| Oleg_K.#6706 date: Jan-5-2010 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | M 50\1.7 S 50\1.8 T 17-50\2.8 M 28-85\ 3.5-4.5 |
| price paid: | $75 USD (used) |
| positive: | very small and light as sony 50\1.8 sharp minolta family colours built in hood 49mm filters 42mm on APS-C (almost as 50mm on full frame) |
| negative: | not very fast for a fixed lens - only f2.8 not as sharp as other minolta prime lenses |
| comment: | A very convenient lens on cropped sensor. You can take 2 prime lenses: 28/2.8 & 50/1.8 instead of your kit lens or even tamron 17-50 and have much more better pictures. This lens is good enough for indoor photography and for streen photography either. It's very lightweight. Not comparable with any of the zooms (maybe except M 35-70/3.5-4.5) in its size. Recommend it to everyone. BTW I recommend good used Minolta lens insted of the same new Sony one, because it's twice cheeper and none of them supports ADI (but work perfectlu with Sony flashes). |
| OiD#6442 date: Nov-24-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta AF 50 F1.7 |
| price paid: | 100€ Second Hand |
| positive: | Nice Small Light Fast Quick focus Focus scale |
| negative: | Lens hood is small |
| comment: | A nice decent lens. Wide on full frame, and pretty good normal lens on digital crop. No complaints |
| derekw#6422 date: Nov-20-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.7 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sigma 24-135 Sigma 28-70 |
| price paid: | Ł80 GBP (used) |
| positive: | Colour Build |
| negative: | Not the sharpest wide open, and at f8 some of my better zooms run itclose |
| comment: | My first pr4ime lens. Lovely colour and between f3.5-5.6 is a lot better than the zoom lenses. |
| alphatini#6355 date: Nov-10-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.2 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | SAL50F18 SAL35F14G |
| price paid: | 100 usd (used) |
| positive: | small and compact 42mm on APS-C Light Cheap |
| negative: | Bit slow in low light 42mm on APS-C |
| comment: | Great walkaround lens for nature |
| asaflp#6348 date: Nov-8-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | M 20 2,8 M 24 2,8 M 50 1,4 and 1,7 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Compact Cheap Great colors on aps is a 42mm! |
| negative: | It is not sharp as the f2 on aps is a 42mm! |
| comment: | A Normal... little wide! Great colors and good bokeh... i love this lens! Overall it is one o the cheaper lens in Minolta universe... What could i ask more? |
| Stevedb#6296 date: Oct-29-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.1 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | missing |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | This lens sat in my kit bag unused for a very long time but has found new use in the last few months. Fast and just on the wide side of normal it is great for both landscapes and photos of the young one at the park. |
| stan_pustylnik#5981 date: Sep-4-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 5 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 17-35mm f/2.8, Sigma 20mm f/1.8, Sigma 24mm f/2.8, Minolta 50mm f/1.7 |
| price paid: | used $60 |
| positive: | Sharp detail, nice color, very small distortion, compact |
| negative: | None sofar |
| comment: | I bought 2 used 28mm f/2.8 Af lenses from ebay from same seller. 1 was damaged, but second is worth of double buy. Lens produces very sharp detail, nice color, it's compact, relativly fast focus on 7D. It instantly got my "everyday lens" status. |
| zalman_7#5961 date: Sep-3-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 3 flare control: 3 overall: 3.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 50mm F1.4 Beercan 18-70 |
| price paid: | 100 |
| positive: | Great compact prime, nice walk around. Nice normal lens when used with the APC sensor. |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | missing |
| Churst#5861 date: Aug-16-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta AF 50 f1.7 Sony SAL 18-70 f3.5-5.6 Tamron 17-50 f2.8 |
| price paid: | 90 GBP |
| positive: | Fast Focus Great Colours Sharp as anything I've seen |
| negative: | Pretty rubbish pull out hood... |
| comment: | Sharp, accurate focus. Good lens for mid range landscapes. Little too wide for most portraits, even on APS-C. Ended up selling it as I prefer to take out the Tamron 17-50 for it's range. |
| AllAboutAlpha#5781 date: Jul-29-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.7 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Min. 20 /2.8 Min. 24 /2.8 |
| price paid: | 65 € (used) |
| positive: | nice colour |
| negative: | nothing till now |
| comment: | Fine lense for small money, works very fine on a full frame, good "normal" lense on APS- Cam |
| NIKO#5394 date: May-16-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta AF 50 f1.7 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Sharp wide open (reserved opinion under comments), 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. Has too many soft images compared to on target sharp images. |
| comment: | This lens was a pleasant surprise to me. I noticed it in a local camera shop that sells used equipment and does repairs when I passed by to check and see what they might have for A-mount. It was in such great condition; excellent if not mint. I couldn't pass it up for such a "fair" price for a used Minolta lens. The lens is sharp wide open. I was impressed. However, the lens seems to be hit or miss on the AF unless you are doing close up work. Too many soft images for my taste. It possesses 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. 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. |
| araujo.emanuel#5223 date: Apr-12-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta AF 35-70 F3.5-4.5 Sony AF DT 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 Sony AF 18-70 F3.5-5.6 Sony - AF 75-300 F4.5-5.6 Sigma 90mm F.28 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Size, build quality, Light weight, fast focus, super super sharp, great colors |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | missing |
| Happy Hour#5199 date: Apr-9-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 50 2.8 Minolta 100 2.8 |
| price paid: | $200 new |
| positive: | Color tack sharp light weight compact no distortion |
| negative: | The built in hood is useless. AF is a bit slow like all old Minolta glass |
| comment: | I've owned this lens for many years. one of my favorites. this was my only wide angle lens when I used Film. It doesn't see much action these days due to cropped sensor. but I won't sell it. I'm keeping it for a FF when I upgrade.This is a outstanding wide angle lens for a FF camera it is prone to flare with the useless built in hood, but I have found using a screw type rubber hood fixes this problem |
| zifoo#5165 date: Apr-4-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 4.2 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | CZ 16-80 50/2,8 |
| price paid: | 100€ like new |
| positive: | - cheap - colour |
| negative: | slow as all old minolta - flares |
| comment: | One of the best for that price |
| scary_perry#5140 date: Apr-2-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.3 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 50mm 1.7 100-200mm 4.5 SAL1870 |
| price paid: | cheap |
| positive: | Mine is ancient and it still works great. |
| negative: | The pull-out shade is kind of velveta (cheesy, not smooth). |
| comment: | Probably works better on full frame than cropped. |
| Raimios#5058 date: Mar-20-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 5 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Min 28-135 Sig. 20-40/2.8 |
| price paid: | can't remember |
| positive: | Sharp, good old Minolta colors, built |
| negative: | Shade is joke. |
| comment: | Nice wideangle, good colors, good built. Works well with A900 too... |
| flushot#5043 date: Mar-15-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 18-70 Kit lens |
| price paid: | $40 USD (used) |
| positive: | Sharp, fast AF, good colors, good resolution. No CA that I notice. |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | This is my first prime lens so I don't have a lot to compare it to but I am very happy with it. The sharpness is incredible compared to my kit lens. I'm definitely using only prime lenses from now on. |
| smoljan#4981 date: Mar-8-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Vivitar 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 Minolta 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 Minolta 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Minolta 50mm f/1.7 M42 wide prime lenses |
| price paid: | 75 USD (mint) |
| positive: | colour contrast sharp fast compact inexpensive |
| negative: | none |
| comment: | In my opinion, this lens is a very good autofocus wide prime lens, excellent for it's price range. It may not be wide enough on APS-C, but that is not a fault of the lens. It is wide on 35mm film cameras or full frame DSLRs. Nice colours, contrast, sharpness, maximum aperture f/2.8, small and light. With this lens you get more than you pay for. |
| cjlethal#4757 date: Jan-28-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 24mm 2.8 24-70mm 2.8 ZA |
| price paid: | 20 USD |
| positive: | Sharp well built lens |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | missing |
| zoidberg#4694 date: Jan-16-2009 | |
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sharpness: 3.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 3.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | 80 EUR (used) |
| positive: | Color rendition and microcontrast Super fast AF Compact |
| negative: | Sharpness Bokeh CA on full-frame |
| comment: | Note: I'm updating this review now that I've tried it on the A850. On full frame, this is a versatile, reasonably sharp, wide-angle lens that is super compact, and because of that (and the low price) I can definitely recommend it. I tend to use it as a compact and unobtrusive walkaround lens, stopped down to something between f/5.6 and f/8. Something I didn't notice when using it on APS-C is the chromatic aberration which is quite noticeable towards the corners, even when stopping down, but it is of the kind that is very easily removed in PP. This lens is not the sharpest you can own, it's more on a par with a good f/2.8 zoom. However, the color rendition is extremely pleasant and it has enough microcontrast to make the images feel sharp and punchy even though the actual resolution is comparably low. The image quality is definitely enough to use this lens wide open without hesitation. Bokeh-wise, this lens is a poor performer, which is obvious in certain conditions but not so in others. Generally, I'd describe the image quality of this lens as pleasant with many classical Minolta characteristics. I'm rating the build of this lens to 4, since it feels very solid with a metal barrel. It has a rather peculiar build in pull-out hood, which is practical but not especially efficient at preventing flare (however, flares are reasonably well-controlled in this lens). As with all MinO primes, the focus ring is nothing to write home about. This lens is particularly well-suited as a walkaround lens. It is compact and is one of the faster-focusing lenses available in the A mount, with roughly 4 1/3 screw turns between MFD and infinity. The MFD, by the way, is 30 cm, which isn't too shabby. |
| eugenephoto#4681 date: Jan-14-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta AF 50 1.7 |
| price paid: | 140.00 |
| positive: | Fast Auto Focus. Excellent Color. Sharp and Clean Images. |
| negative: | Lens Hood. Lens Flare. |
| comment: | This is a excellent lens for the price. On the APS-C type image sensor it makes an excellent portrait lens. The lens flare can be a bit difficult to control at times but otherwise it's a wonderful lens. I would recommend it to anyone. I prefer it over the Minolta AF 50mm 1.7. The 50mm is faster, but I prefer the focal length of the 28mm. |
| Ome_Joop#4629 date: Jan-4-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 3 overall: 4.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 50 1.7 Minolta 24-50 4 |
| price paid: | 60 Euro |
| positive: | Sharp Light Cheap Build |
| negative: | Lens hood? |
| comment: | Bought them (50 1.7 and 28 2.8) without knowing there was a built in lens hood (discovered it by accident) but i don't really use it....although be careful for flare! It's a simple good/fast/light/alround flare and very usable on my A100 indoor shooting my sons (without being afraid they'll damage it). |
| ilan#4458 date: Nov-30-2008 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 3 distortion: 3 flare control: 4 overall: 3.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | 24-50/4 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | - sharp - fast AF - light weight - price - becomes a normal lens on APS-C sized sensor - color |
| negative: | - distortion - hood is a joke |
| comment: | This is a fine wide to normal lens replacement on a cropped sensor. It can be used as a light single lens solution. My copy was reasonably sharp with good colors. The contrast can easily be corrected on the computer. Auto-focus is fast and accurate. I would expect much less distortion from a prime lens. The 24-50/4 is better in this regards. The built in hood is useless. I made the mistake of selling my copy. |
| ciupo35#4444 date: Nov-28-2008 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 3.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony 18-70 DT Minolta 17-35 D |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | sharp fast AF filter does not rotate focal range is useful in typical situations (APS -C) light not expensive |
| negative: | flare control build not perfect |
| comment: | Cheap alternative for most 'standard' or 'kit' lens. Good in most situations - in low light, indoor, also in landscape photos (not wide on APS-C). Compact size. Bokeh is not the best - but possible to obtain. |
rating summary
- total reviews: 142
- sharpness: 4.24
- color: 4.64
- build: 4.52
- distortion: 4.27
- flare control: 3.85
- overall: 4.31
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