arduluth
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 p.1 #1 · Meike 28mm f/2.8 (Neewer, etc) | |
Has anyone tried out the Meike 28mm f/2.8? It's a tiny, light, and cheap (~$60-80 USD) manual focus pancake lens for APS-C, MFT, and Nikon CX mirrorless cameras.
I've been trying to find a good pocket camera for those times when I really don't need to bring my usual camera, a Sony A7. I miss being able to stash my camera in my pocket and wanted for skiing, running, etc.
Toward this end, I've tried a Fuji X100S and a few lenses for my old NEX-5R. I tried a Zonlai 25mm f/1.8 and was impressed with the wide open performance in the center, but disappointed every other aspect of IQ when stopping down. I never figured out if my issues were unique to my copy or not. After trying the Zonlai, I've stuck with the Fuji X100S when I needed a pocketable camera. It's a fun little camera with good ergonomics, but the slow AF, poor EVF, difficult MF, and lukewarm IQ has kept me open to alternatives.
After seeing some positive comments about the Meike 28/2.8, I decided to give it a try. I got my copy yesterday.
First, this thing is tiny! My NEX-5R is definitely pocketable with this lens. A little bigger than the Sony E 16/2.8 pancake, but not much.
The most surprising aspect is the performance across the field. As far as I can tell, it's sharp corner to corner right from f/2.8. Pretty shocking. I haven't noticed a mid-zone dip, but I'd need to perform more rigorous testing to say. Little to no field curvature, but I believe the increased DOF caused by vignetting toward the corners could be masking this.
Ergonomically it's a mixed bag.
The good news: the focus ring is quite smooth and well dampened. It even focuses the "correct" (Canon FD/Leica/CY) way. Pretty enjoyable. Focuses a bit past infinity, but this isn't a surprise. I haven't take it apart to see if it can be shimmed yet.
The bad news is that the aperture ring is a total mess - it's smooth and well dampened, but clickless (boo). Even worse, the markings on the aperture ring have no connection to reality. Based on spot metering, as far as I can tell you hit f/4 right after f/5.6 on the ring, f/5.6 is right after f/8, and f/8 is right at f/16. Not sure if this is just my copy or not - I may send it back to see if I can get a copy with a good aperture ring. If I keep the copy I have, I'll engrave my own aperture markings.
I tried it on the A7 in FF mode. It's definitely a crop lens, hard vignette and all. You might be able to get by at 1:1, though. The lens seems to perform pretty well at f/2.8 all the way out to the edge of the image circle.
One potential issue might be strong point light sources. I took a few photos in the parking lot of the grocery store and wasn't impressed with the performance around the lights. I haven't noticed any particular vulnerability to veiling flare around the house, but it wasn't happy about the street lights illuminating the parking lot. I need to perform a comparison with a few other 24-28mm lenses.
Given the surprising IQ, I had to see if anyone else has been using this lens, especially on Sony or Fuji.
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