{"id":5110,"date":"2015-06-16T20:21:22","date_gmt":"2015-06-17T01:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=5110"},"modified":"2015-11-10T23:14:54","modified_gmt":"2015-11-11T04:14:54","slug":"review-sony-fe-28mm-f2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-sony-fe-28mm-f2\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Sony FE 28mm f\/2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sony’s full frame FE lens lineup is somewhat small, but expanding quite rapidly. While Sony has done a nice job of filling in the gaps of the lineup, one of the downsides to the FE lens lineup has been the relatively high cost of almost all the lenses.  That changes with the addition of the new FE 28mm f\/2.  The FE 28mm is a fast wide-angle prime that is compact and offers some versatility with the addition of two conversion lenses.   Let’s dive into the details.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Sony FE 28mm f\/2 on the Sony A7 II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Construction and Handling<\/h3>\n

The Sony FE 28mm f\/2 is a compact lens constructed predominantly of lightweight metals.  The lens is tightly assembled and has no flex anywhere on the body.  While the metal used is thinner and less substantial than that used in the Sony Zeiss lenses for E-Mount, the FE 28mm still feels like a quality piece.<\/p>\n

The front of the lens beyond the focus ring is constructed of high-grade plastics, including the hood\/conversion lens bayonet and the front filter threads.  This is the only point I wish was more strongly constructed.  The front bayonet seems small and thin considering it needs to support the weight of the rather weighty 21mm ultra-wide conversion lens and the 16mm fisheye conversion lens.  While I didn’t have any failures using the 21mm conversion lens, I do wonder at the robustness of this connection with long-term use of one of these add-on lenses.<\/p>\n

\"Sony<\/a>
Sony FE 28mm f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>The FE 28mm is lightweight and handles very well on any of the E-mount cameras.  The focus ring is finely ribbed metal and moves very smoothly with a very nice lightly damped feel. The lens includes a bayonet mount lens hood that locks securely into place.  The hood is a more simple all-plastic hood that lacks the metal accent of the Zeiss branded FE lenses.  Still, for the price, it’s hard to complain.<\/p>\n

Autofocus<\/h3>\n

The FE 28mm f\/2 features a generally quick and quiet autofocus motor.  In good light, the lens locks fairly swiftly and silently, with good accuracy.  However, I found AF to falter a bit in lower light, especially on subjects that are in a bit of shadow.  Here, I frequently experienced hunting through the focus range and often found the lens to misfocus when it did ‘lock’ in these situations.  These situations happen with most lenses with the A7 series autofocus system, but the 28mm seemed to fare worse than other FE lenses I’ve used on my A7 II.  It would have been nice to see a better performance in this department.<\/p>\n

\"Sony<\/a>
Sony FE 28mm f\/2 on Sony A7 II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conversion Lenses<\/h3>\n

The FE 28mm f\/2 adds some versatility by the ability to add two specialized conversion lenses to the front, changing the combination into a 21mm ultra-wide angle or a 16mm fisheye lens.  My full review of the 21mm ultra-wide conversion lens can be found here.  The ability to add a 21mm lens or fisheye lens to your bag with minimal cost does add considerable value to the FE 28mm, especially considering the current minimal choice at the wide-angle end of things in the lens lineup. With the exception of the rather large and expensive Zeiss FE 16-35mm f\/4 OSS, these conversion lenses are the only other way to get an ultra-wide field of view, and they do so without breaking the bank.<\/p>\n

I will say that it can be somewhat unwieldy to switch between these converters, but overall it’s a very nice and affordable way to add ultra-wide or fisheye capability to your kit.  This is especially useful for the casual ultra-wide shooter.  Be sure to check out my 21mm review <\/a>for a much more in-depth discussion of using the converter with image samples.<\/p>\n

Continue: Image Quality<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Image Quality<\/h3>\n

The FE 28mm f\/2 is the first inexpensive prime lens for the FE system, and some may take that to mean reduced optical performance.  Luckily, the FE 28mm largely exceeds expectations with regards to overall image quality.<\/p>\n

Sharpness<\/h4>\n

The 28mm f\/2 produces detailed and sharp images in the vast majority of situations.  Images at f\/2 are already quite sharp across the central part of the frame, especially at closer focus distances, while the edges and corners show a bit of softening.  Stopping down to f\/5.6 brings the corners and edges up to good levels of sharpness while the center becomes blisteringly sharp.  The lens shows a bit of edge softness after distortion correction, which I’ll get into shortly, but overall, the lens is sharp enough to handle these corrections without too much trouble.  Especially when considering the reasonable price, the FE 28mm f\/2 is a strong performer.<\/p>\n

\"North<\/a>
North Bank Steps – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 28mm f\/2 @ f\/11 (click for full size)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n

The fast f\/2 aperture allows for some subject separation and background blur at closer focusing distances, and for the most part the bokeh of the 28mm f\/2 is fairly nice.  There are no major aberrations in the bokeh, though it can get a bit chunky at times, depending on the background.  At very close focus distances, things blur quite nicely and specular highlights are predominantly round and evenly illuminated.  Overall, it’s a solid performance in this area.<\/p>\n

I think one thing that surprised me is that the amount of subject separation seems slightly less than I’d expect for a lens of this focal length and speed.  Part of it may be the more gradual falloff than is present on some of the higher end lenses I’ve used, but in any case, things are good enough here to not be a worry.<\/p>\n

\"Flowers<\/a>
Flowers – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 28mm f\/2 @ f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Color, Contrast and Chromatic Aberration<\/h4>\n

The Sony 28mm f\/2 yields images with a nice, even contrast and color palette that is consistent throughout the aperture range.  There’s nothing particularly special about the color and contrast produced by the lens, but it provides a good base file with plenty of punch that sets up for consistent post-processing.<\/p>\n

The 28mm f\/2 also puts in a very nice showing with regards to chromatic aberration.  Lateral CA is very well controlled, while longitudinal CA also doesn’t pose much of a problem.  There can be some mild green bokeh fringing in certain circumstances, but on the whole, it doesn’t crop up very much.<\/p>\n

Distortion, Flare and Vignetting<\/h4>\n

The FE 28mm’s primary weakness is with distortion control.  While the lens has a built-in profile for JPEG files that will correct for the distortion, RAW files show the true nature of the optics, which show heavy barrel distortion. Lightroom has a lens profile that will correct for the distortion and vignetting, and it generally will eliminate most of it.  However, the barrel distortion is exaggerated further at close focus distances, and the profile here requires extra correction if lines are to remain straight.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The uncorrected barrel distortion is quite heavy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>Correcting the barrel distortion will cause some loss of sharpness at the edges of the frame, as these parts will be stretched a bit.  It also will reduce the field of view somewhat from the native RAW file.  Luckily, this doesn’t cause a problem in shooting, as the camera view will show the corrected image in the viewfinder during composition.  For landscape work, sometimes you may want to leave the distortion uncorrected to gain that extra bit of corner resolution, but for architecture or any other shot with straight lines, you’ll want to use the profile correction.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned, the Lightroom profile also fixes vignetting, which is also rather heavy at wide apertures, and takes closing the aperture several stops before it becomes negligible.  As one who enjoys a bit of vignetting (I often add some light darkening at the edges in post), this doesn’t really bother me, but it’s definitely worth noting.<\/p>\n

\"Morning<\/a>
Morning Roses – Sony A7 II with Sony FE 28mm f\/2 @ f\/4<\/figcaption><\/figure>The FE 28mm does perform very well against bright light, however.  The lens is extremely flare resistant, and there is only minimal loss of contrast and very small ghosts that can be induced with a bright light in the frame.<\/p>\n

Overall, the FE 28mm is a high-quality optic that performs well in most imaging characteristics.  Only some edge softness at wider apertures, strong distortion and some vignetting are there to detract from the image quality.<\/p>\n

Continue: Conclusion and Image Samples<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Pros<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Compact, well-constructed lens<\/li>\n
  • Nicely damped focus ring<\/li>\n
  • Adequately sharp over most of the frame from f\/2 while edges sharpen up when stopped down<\/li>\n
  • Generally pleasing bokeh<\/li>\n
  • Good control of chromatic aberration<\/li>\n
  • Excellent flare control<\/li>\n
  • Good color and contrast<\/li>\n
  • Fast, quiet and accurate autofocus in good light<\/li>\n
  • Utility can be expanded with add-on conversion lenses<\/li>\n
  • Affordable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Cons<\/h4>\n
      \n
    • Autofocus can hunt and miss focus in low light situations<\/li>\n
    • Heavy barrel distortion requires digital correction for most shots<\/li>\n
    • Vignetting at wide apertures<\/li>\n
    • Some edge softness wide open<\/li>\n
    • Conversion lens bayonet is small and plastic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The Sony FE 28mm f\/2 is the first Sony-branded prime lens to come out for the full-frame e-mount system (with the 90mm macro following closely on its heels), and it’s an excellent effort.  The lens is relatively small, reasonably priced and delivers very good performance.  I don’t think I’m alone in hoping that Sony adds more lenses like the 28mm to the lineup.  One of the biggest barriers to entry to the A7 series cameras is the relatively high cost of the lenses.  There really needs to be a solid set of affordable lenses that are generally small and don’t break the bank, while still providing quality optics.  The FE 28mm fits that description quite well.<\/p>\n

      The 28mm f\/2 is a nicely built lens that provides good image sharpness, a reasonably fast aperture, decent bokeh and only a few lens aberrations; none of which are dealbreakers.  The only real issue I encountered was some inconsistency in focusing in low light situations, especially when backlit.   If the 28mm focal length fits your shooting needs, then it’s a lens that is easy to recommend.  It’s not the best FE lens, but it’s probably the best value in the system as of this writing.<\/p>\n

      Buying this lens or any gear through the B&H link below helps support Admiring Light at no additional cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n