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28mm F2 : first sample pictures

jfirneno

Member
I'm not sure, but maybe. Or handheld vs tripod (although the high shutter speed should negate that.) The A7R is very unforgiving.
Mike:
Whatever the source of the problem, I'm glad you published your test. Can't have too much info on these new lenses. Mine's coming this week and I'm glad for any data I can find.
 
The samples above are frankly terrible to access the lens. Give us an infinity view with distant details in the corners--like a long cityscape or landscape from high vantage, and then we can tell something. The BW pics are fun, but we can tell very little from them, or any image with heavy PP.
I'm going to call Bull right here. When I shoot a fast prime I generally shoot it wide open or close to it. I'm looking at how the lens renders the scene - specifically center sharpness, transition and bokeh. PP has little to do with any of those, btw.

Infinity view with details in corners? Ok, sure, I recognize some shoot that way but don't claim that a wide open shot has no merit in understanding the quality of a lens.
 
As scary as it was, I shot some interiors today with the new 28mm. Seeing the RAWs populate lightroom is an ugly sight but they cleaned up pretty well once the profile is applied.



 
After shooting this lens for over a month, I'm going to give kudos to DXO Mark, however unpopular that may be. Their measurements and review are spot on.

Sony compromised to provide a budget lens that hits the ball out of the park when it comes to resolution, color transmission and bokeh (for a 28mm) but struggles mightily in the distortion category and can also produce some noticeable CA.

All-in-all, I think these compromises are perfect for the demands of today's shooters who are obsessed with sharpness. Add to the biting resolution, the nice bokeh and great color and you have a super value lens that relies on software crutches to really shine.

It is what it is...
 

CharlesK

New member
I have now had the FE 28 for 2 days, and it is a really good lens. The bokeh transition for a 28mm is excellent, and yet it is sharp but yet still has character. As mentioned there is distortion, but this is very easily corrected. For street portraits and environmental shooting this lens is will be great. Of course, I feel this will be overshadowed by the Batis 25 when it arrives.
 
I have now had the FE 28 for 2 days, and it is a really good lens. The bokeh transition for a 28mm is excellent, and yet it is sharp but yet still has character. As mentioned there is distortion, but this is very easily corrected. For street portraits and environmental shooting this lens is will be great. Of course, I feel this will be overshadowed by the Batis 25 when it arrives.
Yes, we'll see what that little Batis can do. I like the 24/25 fov and it will likely be much much better for interiors and architecture.

But that FE 28/2 is just such a great value if you accentuate its strengths. I'm very fond of how it renders wide open.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Yes, we'll see what that little Batis can do. I like the 24/25 fov and it will likely be much much better for interiors and architecture.

But that FE 28/2 is just such a great value if you accentuate its strengths. I'm very fond of how it renders wide open.
Have you tried the UWC yet?
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Mike great test and glad you did it for peace of mind. My guess on your landscape shot is the Af went somewhere else before the shutter release. This happens sometimes. For the money and a pretty easy software correction this lens is a bargain. Even though I'll go for the Batis because of gapping for me it might be a good lens to rent when that need arises. Love having these options
 

ggibson

Well-known member
I kind of wonder whether some of the 28/2's distortion profile is intentional in order for it to work better with the UW and FE converters. I don't know much about lens design, but it was a thought.

In any case, I think the resolution you lose in software correction is minimal, so I see it as a very acceptable compromise (vs. higher price, weight, size, that sort of thing!).
 
I kind of wonder whether some of the 28/2's distortion profile is intentional in order for it to work better with the UW and FE converters. I don't know much about lens design, but it was a thought.

In any case, I think the resolution you lose in software correction is minimal, so I see it as a very acceptable compromise (vs. higher price, weight, size, that sort of thing!).
I've got the UWA arriving this week. Will report on distortion characteristics but that is an interesting theory. There certainly is a healthy amount of native distortion to the 28mm - more than I intially paid attention to but readily apparent when you see the LR profile applied. I was more concerned with the overall character of the lens and nothing has changed my mind there.
 
I had bad luck with mine, arrived a few days back, it is badly decentered and is going back home. No replacement is available at the moment so I decided to wait for the 25/2 Batis, not exaclty the same focal lenght....
 
I've got the UWA arriving this week. Will report on distortion characteristics but that is an interesting theory. There certainly is a healthy amount of native distortion to the 28mm - more than I intially paid attention to but readily apparent when you see the LR profile applied. I was more concerned with the overall character of the lens and nothing has changed my mind there.
I have found the in-built ditortion correction insufficient. With the Adobe profile applied is ok.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
With C1 Pro 8.x I find that the distortion of the 28/2 is automatically corrected for using the manufacturer's profile. I got mine last week along with the fisheye adapter.

I was very impressed actually overall although the fisheye adapter does appear to be built from depleted Uranium or Lead because it dwarfs the 28/2 in terms of size and weight.

I'm in the middle of a Balkan trip and thought that I'd bring the 28/2, UWA and fisheye adapters along with my 24-240 as a travel combo. In the end I left the 28mm at home and brought along the 16-35/4 and 24-240 lenses with my A7II. The 16-35 was actually lighter than the prime/adapter sets and it's a superb lens.
 

hcubell

Well-known member
With C1 Pro 8.x I find that the distortion of the 28/2 is automatically corrected for using the manufacturer's profile. I got mine last week along with the fisheye adapter.
The "Manufacturer's Profile" in C1 Pro 8. Anyone know where these profiles come from? Is Sony actually providing a custom lens profile for use in C1 Pro 8? I do notice that there are still a small number of custom profiles for certain Sony lenses that are created by Phase One.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I assumed that it was embedded by the camera/lens in the raw file since they already correct it for jpgs in camera.
 
It is embedded in the exif and it is recognized and used both by CO and by Lr even if not with the same resulting correction in my opinion. I found that while in CO the distortion correction is almost perfect, this is not the case with Lr. On the other end in Lr there is also an Adobe profile for the lens which works much better.
 

hcubell

Well-known member
It is embedded in the exif and it is recognized and used both by CO and by Lr even if not with the same resulting correction in my opinion. I found that while in CO the distortion correction is almost perfect, this is not the case with Lr. On the other end in Lr there is also an Adobe profile for the lens which works much better.
Thanks. Very interesting. It's really pathetic how slow Phase One is in developing custom lens profiles for the Sony FE lenses.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
To be fair, the 28/2 hasn't been around for very long. Also, the profile is embedded so why the "rush" anyways given how well it is corrected.

I'm tempted to believe that Sony know the lens characteristics better than Phase One ever will after the fact.
 
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