Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Sony Forum | Join Upload & Sell

2 end

Archive 2016 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

petermendelson
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

I have the 24-70mm GM f/2.8 and am looking for a 24mm or 28mm prime in the 1.4-1.8 range for the A7RII. I tried the Otus 28mm and while it was great optically it was gigantic and heavy. There is the Leica Summiluxes which I might be interested in if I could find one at a good used price - any thoughts on these or other fast, optically excellent (or interesting) lenses in this focal range would be appreciated. I had the Batis 25mm and it was excellent if slightly slower at f/2, so I felt I didn't really need it with the 24-70 f/2.8. There is also the Nikon 24mm f/1.4 which I used to use on my D800 which was excellent, but pretty big and I am not sure of the performance on the A7RII.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks!

Nov 11, 2016 at 06:00 PM

artmaseda
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Sigma 24 Art 1.4 could be a good choice and ready for this kind of high mp sensors, but I'm afraid is HUGE.

Nov 11, 2016 at 06:19 PM

Luvwine
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Leica 28 Summilux is likely best.

Nov 11, 2016 at 06:28 PM

DavidBM
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

F2 is trivially slower than 1.8. So I can see that for certain environmental portraits or similar you might want an f1.4; but if it's good it won't be small (or more strictly if it's good wide open in more than just a very small central area it won't be small)

But if f1.8 will do then so will f2; and that gets you back to Batis or the FE 28 which is excellent stopped down even after the necessary distortion correction, and has a sharp central area for wide aperture use.

Nov 11, 2016 at 06:55 PM

petermendelson
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Anyone have any experience with the 28mm Summilux on the A7RII?

Nov 11, 2016 at 07:18 PM

notherenow
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Don't know how well it would work on an A7Rii but on the lower res A7s and A7 (sold), I like my old Canon FD 24 1.4 L. They can be found cheaper than they used to be just in the last year or so and it is probably just about the lightest 24 1.4 FF lens going (lighter than the current Leica M).

Maybe not the lens if it was for landscape use but for close in, I like it a lot (is still ok for landscapes stopped down I think though hardly to Otus level).

Nov 11, 2016 at 07:38 PM

Jimi3
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

What about the Nikkor 24 or 28mm f/1.8? I've never shot either, but have heard often that they perform well at a lower cost and weight than the f/1.4 zooms.

Nov 11, 2016 at 09:18 PM

Steve Spencer
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

petermendelson wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the 28mm Summilux on the A7RII?

I have the lens and I like it a lot.I have a thread in the alt lens forum where I compare it to the Otus 28. It does quite will at infinity from f/4 and it is even better at f/5.6. So, it can work well for landscapes. It does have a bit of CA, but that cleans up well. The centre sharpness is very nice and is not confined to a small area even wide open. I like it bokeh a lot too. It is in my view a very very good performer, and it is small. It is not cheap, however. So you pay for the small size and the good performance dearly. I hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, then I would be glad to do my best to answer them.

Nov 11, 2016 at 09:39 PM

Luvwine
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

petermendelson wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the 28mm Summilux on the A7RII?

I do own this lens too. As Steve says, it ain't cheap but I have used it both for environmental portrait wide open and for landscape pics stooped down some. I like It a lot and have only shot it on A7r2.

Nov 12, 2016 at 12:22 AM

arduluth
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

DavidBM wrote:
F2 is trivially slower than 1.8. So I can see that for certain environmental portraits or similar you might want an f1.4; but if it's good it won't be small (or more strictly if it's good wide open in more than just a very small central area it won't be small)

But if f1.8 will do then so will f2; and that gets you back to Batis or the FE 28 which is excellent stopped down even after the necessary distortion correction, and has a sharp central area for wide aperture use.

Indeed, f/2 being too slow while f/1.8 is OK is silly.

The Sony FE 28mm f/2 and Batis 25mm f/2 are both excellent. I love the Sony for people photos, lovely bokeh for a wide angle. I'd probably prefer the Batis if I was interested more in landscapes.

Nov 12, 2016 at 12:29 AM

navmannz
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

The Lens Rentals blog might be worth checking as a guide for performance of the different Leica 28 mm options - https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/07/guide-to-leica-wide-angle-lenses-on-sony-a7-series-bodies/.

John

Nov 12, 2016 at 12:31 AM

petermendelson
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Thanks everyone for the replies. Arduluth, just to be clear, I wasn't saying there's a big difference between f/2 and f/1.8. What I said was I have the 24-70 f/2.8, so the Batis f/2 wasn't much faster compared to the f/2.8. While it's true that a f/1.8 isn't much faster than a f/2, I'm comparing a f/1.8 and the f/2.8 (if the f/1.8 is really usable wide open). Even more preferable for me is a f/1.4. Not many choices at that focal length compared to, say, 35mm choices. The Summilux checks many of the boxes (particularly since you can now also autofocus this lens with the Techart Pro), except the price.

Thanks again.

Peter

Nov 12, 2016 at 11:02 AM

rji2goleez
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Don't forget the Leica R Elmarit 28/2.8. Use it with the Techart Pro adapter and you have AF and close focusing on a wonderful Leica lens.

Nov 12, 2016 at 11:23 AM

bjornthun
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Batis 25/2 is an obvious choice, I think. The Sony 28/2 should be considered as well. Most lenses with adapters tend to get huge.

Nov 12, 2016 at 01:05 PM

joelRichards
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

I would add the caveat that get a good copy of the Sony 28 matters a lot in my experience if you'll be shooting it wide open. Of course every lens and lens maker has some degree of variation but I believe variation accounts for much of the mixed reviews that lens gets. My second, good copy is amazing and not just an amazing value. Very close to the performance of my Batis and Zony lenses in most situations.

Nov 12, 2016 at 11:36 PM

arduluth
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

petermendelson wrote:
Arduluth, just to be clear, I wasn't saying there's a big difference between f/2 and f/1.8. What I said was I have the 24-70 f/2.8, so the Batis f/2 wasn't much faster compared to the f/2.8.

Huh? F/2 is a full stop faster than f/2.8. That means you'll be able to make your shutter speed twice as fast for the same ISO, or keep ISO a stop lower for the same shutter speed. That most certainly is a significant difference.

On the other hand, the difference between f/1.8 and f/2 is less than a third of a stop. That might mean being able to use ISO 1600 instead of ISO 2000, or a shutter speed of 1/60 instead of 1/50 for the same ISO. This is minor enough of a difference that it's effectively irrelevant.

Nov 15, 2016 at 09:54 PM

petermendelson
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Just to clarify, I am comparing f/1.4-1.8 lenses (which I am interested in, preferably a good 1.4) versus a f/2.8 lens (which I have), not a f/1.8 versus a f/2, or a f/2 versus a f/2.8. Somehow the discussion veered off track a bit, but thanks everyone for their input. In the meantime I have been shooting a lot with the new Sony 50mm f/1.4 FE, which is extremely good, even at f/1.4. If I could find a 28mm lens like that I would be very happy. Maybe the Summilux 28mm plus Techart adapter, but the price is daunting.

Nov 20, 2016 at 08:35 AM

Steve Spencer
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

petermendelson wrote:
Just to clarify, I am comparing f/1.4-1.8 lenses (which I am interested in, preferably a good 1.4) versus a f/2.8 lens (which I have), not a f/1.8 versus a f/2, or a f/2 versus a f/2.8. Somehow the discussion veered off track a bit, but thanks everyone for their input. In the meantime I have been shooting a lot with the new Sony 50mm f/1.4 FE, which is extremely good, even at f/1.4. If I could find a 28mm lens like that I would be very happy. Maybe the Summilux 28mm plus Techart adapter, but the price is daunting.

We have absolutely crappy weather this weekend--sleet and hale all day yesterday, very gray today--or I would have done some more shooting comparing the Leica M 28 lux versus the Zeiss 28 Otus. I should have some more samples for you soon, but in the mean time here are some bokeh shots I took awhile back when I first got the lens. The first is a distance I would typically use for portraits of my son. The second is what I would typically use for a close up shot of flowers or such. The third at MFD using the full extension of the Hawk's adapter. You can focus ridiculously close with the adapter. In case it matters these are shot with the A7s, all are shot wide open and I adjusted exposure about half a stop brighter in post.

Nov 20, 2016 at 09:59 AM

petermendelson
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

Thanks Steve, greatly appreciated. I rented the Otus 28mm and it was quite a beast, although I was able to use it handheld. I think the combination of the size/weight/cost/manual focus makes the Otus not incredibly appealing to me for my style of shooting, which is often off a tripod. On the other hand, the results were pretty great so I won't say never...

The Summilux is even more expensive but in terms of size/weight I think it would be much more useable, plus there is the AF option using the Techart Pro adapter. Plus, thinking ahead, there's a higher likelihood there's a Leica camera in my future than a Nikon....hmm

On the other hand, for the price of the Summilux, one could get the Otus plus a used 28mm Elmarit, to have a fast (but large) 28mm and a slower but still great and really small 28mm...

Nov 20, 2016 at 01:10 PM

artur5
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Best fast (f/1.4-1.8) non-huge 24-28mm prime for A7RII?

I would be a bit cautious before getting a RF wide for Sony A7 cameras. In spite of modern Leica designs being more friendly towards digital sensors than the classic lenses of the film era, I expect that corner smearing still will play a negative role in the final result. IMHO, to get such a magnificent but expensive beast like a Lux 24/28 and having to cope with less than optimal edges/corners seems to be a waste, specially if you want it for landscape shooting.

Nov 20, 2016 at 01:35 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Sony Forum \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.