Viramati wrote:
If wanting AF basically sadly true. I have had 2 copies over the years and both gave very mediocre performance and am hoping that someone makes something good one of the days.
Unfortunately, yours is not a unique experience with an older Sony lens. The first couple FE 2/28's I tried had issues too, but I tried another copy which was a good one. It is the best 28mm I've tried so far. I feel a little bad for only trying one example each of the two 35mm ZAs and the 4/24-70.
QuietOC wrote:
Unfortunately, yours is not a unique experience with an older Sony lens. The first couple FE 2/28's I tried had issues too, but I tried another copy which was a good one. It is the best 28mm I've tried so far.
Interesting I might try out a new one and see how it is. Both the ones I had only really sharpened up across the frame at f8. they were noticeably soft wide open even without pixel peeping
Thank you for your help!
The Sony is on the "big side", I'm searching for a setup I can put in a pocket and go out for a shoot. Something like an Elmarit m 2.8 or a color scopar would be the perfect size for me.
As a 28mm lover, I'm planning to buy the 28mm f1.5 for sure
LeBogs wrote:
The Sony is on the "big side", I'm searching for a setup I can put in a pocket and go out for a shoot. Something like an Elmarit m 2.8 or a color scopar would be the perfect size for me.
Sony E 20mm F2.8 -- can do a square crop on full-frame. fast, silent AF. 69g
Samyang AF 24mm F2.8 -- a bit soft wide-open but pleasant, very little breathing. 93g
7Artisans 35mm F5.6 -- Just a modified fixed aperture drone lens. A solid, little chunk of metal. 145g
Samyang AF 35mm F2.8 -- plastic fantastic. 85g
It is too bad the Viltrox 28mm F4.5 VCM isn't more like that 7Artisans. The native C/V 21mm F3.5 Color-Skopar is fairly compact and 230g.
Viramati wrote:
The lack of a good 28mm lens for Sony mirrorless cameras is really amazing and I always live in hope of one being released!! 28mm is my favourite focal length for street photography and reason why I keep coming back to the Leica Q system (I had the original Q then the Q2 and now the Q2 monchrom). after a lot of research quite a few years ago the only lens I could find the performed well on the A7 way the Minolta 28mm 2.8 M- Rokkor. Very small and light and can be found cheap used if you can find a good copy as it is a very old lens by todays standards
All this said the new Voigtlander 28mm/1.5 looks interesting in the E mount edition ...Show more →
I've had a Minolta M-Rokkor 28/2.8 as well from 2014 or so. I agree that it's one of those old rangefinder lenses that works relatively well on Sony, but I wouldn't go after one these days anymore as I think CV 28/2.8 VM beats it in most ways and the M-Rokkor suffers from longevity issues. My copy was super clean when I got it but it has developed some haze under the front element over the years (although it is still free of the infamous white spots). I think it's very common for these to develop either white spots or some other haze issues over the years and super clean copies are usually more expensive (but might turn bad over time).
The other old rangefinder lens that works relatively well on Sony is Avenon (Kobalux in the U.S.) 28/3.5. I have silver and black (10 aperture blades) versions of that one and both are really nice for stopped down infinity shots, although they too require f8 for best results, and both of my copies benefit from slightly thinner-than-spec adapter. I don't like them for close range bokeh shots quite as much though.
I think CV 28/2.8 Type II handily beats both of the oldies nowadays when adapted to Sony and is in very similar size category. It also focuses much closer (0.5m vs. 0.8m on Minolta and 1m on Avenon).
sonofjesse2010 wrote:
Sony 28mm F2 looks like a very good lens for the money.
So many conflicting opinions of that 28mm. I suggest trying with a second happy copy, reduces the economic loss in case you do not like it. Personally, even though I like 28mm focal length, I was not happy with Sony 28/2. Eventually changed to Zony 35/2.8 which served me well for many years - I still regret selling that lens.
I just bought 24/2.8 and 40/2.5 G lenses for street and family photography to be used with A7CII. Very nice small lenses... ...and more expensive than the 28mm! I jalso feel a little sorry that Sony does not want to make the 28mm I initially wanted. But hey things change. Maybe 24mm is the new 28mm
