Sony FE 28mm f/2 lens review with samples (Full-frame and APS-C)

A nice little wide angle, fast aperture, reasonably-priced lens - my favourite kind! Let's see how it performs.

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All pictures taken by me on a Sony a7r ii and A6300 camera.

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Music:
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[MC-hrpy]

I travelled with this lens on the A7ii and I found the focal length a bit strange but i kinda liked it seeing as 28 is a bit niche compared to 35mm and 50mm so i rolled with it. I was overseas for about a year and had a 50mm and a 85mm as well. Even though it took me a bit of warming up, when i looked back at all my photos i found that the ones i took with the 28 were my favourite. I'll admit, my attention is usually peaked towards wider angle photography but i found this lens so useful in the street which is where most of my shots were taken. It's small, light and cheap. Yes the distortion is the worst feature of this lens but i even managed to add a profile for it on my pirated Lightroom which fixes it easily, some photos i even kept the distortion cause i like the effect in some occasions if i want to exaggerate whats close to the camera. Street photography is a lot easier when you have a smaller lens like this one and i didn't draw attention in dangerous places with it. Sharpness is more than adequate and if you want better bokeh than go with a 35mm or longer for better potraits (obviously).

Long winded thoughts on this lens but I can't understand the complaints when two faults are corrected with a click in LR and its great value. I find myself contemplating to sell it but there are no 35mm lenses that are small and around F2/F1.8 for sony which is baffling, so im keeping it for now. plus F2 at this price and size aren't that easy to find you know.

[GiovanniBausC]

One of my favourite walk-around lenses. And 28mm isn’t boring to me.

[endlessvideography]

Camera-Yoda: ”The barrel design force is strong in this one. Mmmh.“

Love your work man! Every lens I wonder about, I always check if you have any reviews on it before I do anything else. Much love from Norway!

[philipwalker]

Really liking your reviews. Short, focussed and very informative.

[jiujiu]

I have this lens with the Sony A7R II. Everyone's need is different. To me this 28, or any 28, is best suited for street photography. When I use the monitor instead of the viewfinder to frame my subjects, I must say I become fairly invisible. The quality of the lens is, shall I say, excellent. Bottom line is unless you're a professional charging people $500 an hour, this is the one to have since you don't need to impress anyone. The A7RII also allows you to shot in APSC mode. It's like having two lenses, 28 and 40.

[NaviRetlav]

Quick tip: This lens focuses closer in manual mode than in auto focus. Also, I would love to see the review of this lens with 21mm converter.

[eortizfoto]

28mm is great for street and documental photography. And you can have emphasis on your subject if you get really close.

[sekainiheiwa]

reviews progressing at 6 minutes long almost perfect never exude that limit:)

[mattcero]

"The Bokeh seems to carry an edge of nervousness about it." ?? This kid's gettin' flamboyant on us. I'm grabbing a used one, mint, for $160 today later.

[paultaylor]

28mm is no more boring than any other focal length.

[brunofalcone]

Great videos, as usual... Could I just suggest one thing to make these reviews even better? Could you provide a link to the original images? It'd make a really amazing database for comparison. Thanks! I actually checked and you do have a Flickr account and you upload the pictures you took with each lens. Could you also upload the Sharpness tests?

[charruaporelmundo]

I was just about to buy this lens ( again), but at this time my finger is on the “preorder “button” for the tamron 17-28 2.8!

[JeremyGalloway]

I get what you say about the bokeh. It is strange. But at the same time, I think it looks magical at 4:42 and 5:54. So I guess it depends on the shot. Less busy backgrounds often benefit from harsh bokeh imo.

[TehTechnoGuy]

Was waiting to hear your thoughts on this lens! I scored this on ebay used complete in box for $210 shipped. Probably the biggest deal in camera lens history for me, it lives on my sony body since its so small and light.

[MattTrevett]

Definitely time for a Sony 28mm video-focused lens. (28mm is one of the most used cinema focal lengths)

[ManjunathSharma]

I own this lens on my sony a7iii. Its really nice for travel and occasional portraits.. Quick autofoucs.. Images are not as sharp as zeiss 55mm 1.8 and contrast is definitely less. It could be jusy my copy..

[ggessex]

I have this lens and use it a lot for glidecaming, but i generally avoid using it wide open (f/2) because the corners get too dark and dull, but f/2.8 and on looks good.

[luisnassiff]

Would be a good idea to do a second review of this lens including the add on Sony 21mm and 16mm adapters for wide angle photography fans :)

[squirreldemon]

Been waiting for this review for a few months :)

[Renidrag]

'shwmae pawb'








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