Sony has recently introduced several new FE lenses for the full frame E-mount cameras. I’ve had the chance to briefly test the new FE 28mm F2 at a photo show (Professional Imaging in Nijkerk) and I wanted to share a some thoughts and quick photos I’ve taken with this lens. This is by no measure a full review, just a quick and dirty test.
The FE 28 mm F2 is the most affordable FE lens Sony can offer you right now. The introduction price of the lens is about 450 euros in the Netherlands. The lens doesn’t have a Zeiss- or G-badge, so you don’t have to worry about paying extra for the name tag.
The lens is quite small and very light. In size the lens falls in between the very small Sony Zeiss FE 35 F2.8 and the bigger Sony Zeiss FE 55 f1.8. The lens weighs only 200 grams. Mounted on the A7 the complete set weighs less than 700 grams, that is a full frame camera with a bright prime!
I’ve done a quick test at a photo show, so this is far from a real world test or a full review. But I did want to share some information about the lens with you. First off is sharpness. Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to really test corner sharpness, but center sharpness was very good even at f2. Closing down the aperture to F4 or F5.6 improved sharpness a little, but since it was very sharp at F2, the difference isn’t enormous.
Colours are very nice, with good contrast. The look reminds me of the APS-C Sony Zeiss 24mm F1.8, which is very good at this price point (the Zeiss is about twice the price). Focusing is very fast and accurate, definitely faster than the kit 28-70mm F3.5-5.6.
I was very impressed with the Bokeh. Since it is a wide lens I didn’t expect the Bokeh to look good, but it is quite nice. Out of focus areas are very smooth, and highlights are rendered round without clear outlines at F2.
Wide open the lens does show a little purple fringing in the high contrast edges. Closed down to F4 or F5.6 the fringing does get better.
In the following gallery I’ve posted a few images made with my A7 at F2, F2.8, F4 and F5.6 to check for yourself. The images in the gallery are resized to 3000*2000 pixels and have quite some compression. All images converted to JPEG without any (lens-) correction applied.
I hope a can write an extensive review about this lens soon (Sony, if you are reading this…). This looks like it can be the perfect walk around lens, that will work for landscapes, low light and everyday shooting. And, the price seems reasonable for once!
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