The title says it all!!
A favourite with street photographers (Gary Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, Bruce Gilden, etc) often the smart phone focal length and the lens on the highly successful (though expensive) Leica Q series and more. I am continually amazed that Sony and all the other E mount lens makers have yet to make a quality compact copy that would equal the one on my Leica Q2 monochrom. So many weird and wonderful focal lengths out there but as yet nothing of real consequence in the 28mm focal length. I wonder why?
Mar 12, 2025 at 03:57 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
Viramati wrote:
The title says it all!!
A favourite with street photographers (Gary Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, Bruce Gilden, etc) often the smart phone focal length and the lens on the highly successful (though expensive) Leica Q series and more. I am continually amazed that Sony and all the other E mount lens makers have yet to make a quality compact copy that would equal the one on my Leica Q2 monochrom. So many weird and wonderful focal lengths out there but as yet nothing of real consequence in the 28mm focal length. I wonder why?
Have you seen the Voigtlander 28 f/1.5? It comes in Sony E mount and is quite small. It is a manual focus lens, but a nice entry to the market.
Haha, I bought that 28mm f/2 early on and used it quite a bit in the beginning. Definitely, it is more than just a decent performer. Somehow, maybe partly influenced by on-line information, and more by the availability of the GM 24mm f/1.4, I stopped using it. It was easily a few years since the last time I used it on a trip. It is small and lightweight and indeed great for travel.
QuietOC wrote:
The Sony FE 28mm F2 is the best 28mm I've used. It is definitely more than decent.
Over the years from when I had the original A7 I have tried 3 copies of this lens but was never happy with its performance as it was only on getting to around f8 that they sharpened up across the field. Yes it's small and light but desperately needs updating
chez wrote:
My understanding the Q really is not a 28mm…more like a 26mm.
I would say my Q2M is nearer to 28 as the lens I use on my Sony's that is nearest to that focal length is the the Batis 25 which is noticeably wider in a side to side comparison
Steve Spencer wrote:
Have you seen the Voigtlander 28 f/1.5? It comes in Sony E mount and is quite small. It is a manual focus lens, but a nice entry to the market.
AGeoJO wrote:
Haha, I bought that 28mm f/2 early on and used it quite a bit in the beginning. Definitely, it is more than just a decent performer. Somehow, maybe partly influenced by on-line information, and more by the availability of the GM 24mm f/1.4, I stopped using it. It was easily a few years since the last time I used it on a trip. It is small and lightweight and indeed great for travel.
Sony has come a long way lens design wise since. Just image if Sony were to create a GM 28 today ! I personally, think it would sell well.
Viramati wrote:
Over the years from when I had the original A7 I have tried 3 copies of this lens but was never happy with its performance as it was only on getting to around f8 that they sharpened up across the field. Yes it's small and light but desperately needs updating
I‘m not convinced that your description really catches the merits of the Sony 28mm or that it describes all aspects of this rather small gem correctly.
Viramati wrote:
I would say my Q2M is nearer to 28 as the lens I use on my Sony's that is nearest to that focal length is the the Batis 25 which is noticeably wider in a side to side comparison
The Batis is more like a 24 if not wider…so if you are comparing the fov of the Q2 to the Batis…then you are skewing to the wide side. Definitely the Q 28 is not a true 28.
I recently was very much wanting a 28mm myself. Initially I thought a lot about the new Voigtlander 28mm 1.5, but just wasn't all that wowed by the images for some reason. Looks like a nice lens though.
Instead I checked out the Viltrox 28mm 1.8. The Philip Reeve site review was quite positive - it seems to be an improvement on the Sony. It's a bit bigger though. Still, for the price/performance, it's a ridiculously great value and so far I'm pleased with it.
Also, for some additional silliness I picked up the teeny tiny Viltrox 28mm 4.5 - It's a tiny pancake lens that only does 4.5, but it seems decent and turns my a7C II into a minimal stealthy point and shoot camera.
LBJ2 wrote:
Sony has come a long way lens design wise since. Just image if Sony were to create a GM 28 today ! I personally, think it would sell well.
Even a FE 28 G that matched the excellence of the FE 20 G would be fantastic - instant buy for me. I would actually prefer the smaller size afforded by a 1.8 lens than the added weight of a 1.4 GM, but either would be amazing. Sony has indeed come a long long way since FE 28mm F2.
28mm has always been more popular for cinema. If you want high-end 28mm, that's where you need to look. Have fun with your PL-mount adapter. Angenieux makes some really nice 28mm's. You just need to hire a grip and dolly to move it around.
