arduluth Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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I agree, the FE 28/2 is underrated. The distortion has never been an issue for me - sometimes I correct it, other times I don't bother. I would have preferred an MF lens, but given the size/weight, cost, wide open sharpness, and stopped down performance the FE 28 is a no brainer for me. Very nice bokeh for a wide angle, some LoCA there but not too bad, and I quite enjoy the look. It doesn't have the microcontrast of the CY Zeiss 28/2.8, but it's quite sharp.
I looked into the CV 28/2 and CV 28/1.9 but skipped them based on the edge performance and field curvature. I live with a bit of FC on a few lenses I use, but it's (not surprisingly) a bit extreme in the CV 28s. The field curvature is a bigger issue than the easily correctable simple geometric distortion. I'd also take the FE 28's simple geometric distortion over a lens with less but more complicated mustache distortion.
If I wanted a MF alternative to FE 28 without getting too big, heavy, or expensive, I'd be thinking about the New FD 28mm f/2, CY Zeiss 28mm f/2.8 Distagon, or one of the many other nice SLR 28mm f/2.8 lenses out there. The huge Zeiss 28/2s are out of the question for me.
edit: One other big plus of the FE 28 for me is the B&W look. Love the way this lens looks in B&W, somehow it's very rich while still being high contrast in color.
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