In this second installment of Sony 28mm f/2 samples we have decided to declare this a “must have lens” for Sony users. This lens is likely to replace the Sony Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 as our walk-around lens because of the incredible sharpness and detail, the slightly wider field-of-view (which gives it a bit more versatility) and the phenomenal color rendition.
We’ve had this lens on our test Sony a7II for 24 hours now and it’s not likely to come off the camera until the Zeiss Batis samples arrive. While our Sony Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA lens gives a bit of a wider aperture, the difference between f/2 and f/1.4 isn’t enough in-and-of-itself to justify the difference in price. Certainly the 35mm f/1.4 is one of the sharpest, clearest and most impressive lenses we’ve ever seen, but the length and weight of the lens makes it a bit impractical for an everyday walk-around lens.
Normally I use theSony 35mm f/2.8 lens when carrying the lens in my bag, but the 28mm f/2 feels like it produces a better image to me than the 35mm f/2.8. (We will be doing image quality tests shortly.) The lens is about a half inch longer than the Sony Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 and about half an inch wider, but that gives us a faster aperture and a wider field of view. The 28mm is also several hundred dollars cheaper than the 35mm f/2.8, which makes it an attractive lens for a shooter that’s starting to assemble a kit and looking for a perfect starter prime lines.
One issue we’ve noticed with this lens is that the startup times are not optimized. Sony will likely need to release a firmware update to speed the power-on time with this lens as there’s often a full second or two lag between turning the camera to the “on” position and having the camera fully start up. Because this isn’t the case wit the lenses optimized with the previous firmware updates, this is likely a software issue, and so we’re looking forward to seeing this resolved shortly.
For a lens that’s priced under $500 there’s little to complain about. The lens is sharp, produces incredible images and is small enough to go anywhere. The distortion that’s been reported with this lens is on the edges and so is easily corrected in software. After just a day of shooting we can already declare this a must have lens for the Sony shooter.
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My daily shooter is Sony A1 with a vertical grip and various Sony lenses attached like the FE 20mm F1.8. Find more gear recommendations in our shop. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
