Your best 28..and how you got there :)

fish4570 · Expire: 2012-03-21

i once had a spiratone 28/2.8 in m42 that was a very good lens, especially with black and white. i am thinking of getting a nikon f-mount lens in 24 or 28. this is a fine thread on the 28s.

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

bonc · Joined: 19 Jan 2012 Posts: 17 Location: The Netherlands

@Attila: thanks
@hoanpham: it surely is a lovey lens Smile

Chayelle · Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Posts: 55 Location: Arkansas

@hoanpham: hope you really enjoy your new lens!!
I have been looking for this copy, hope I find one soon, too! Smile

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

jjphoto · Joined: 17 Mar 2009 Posts: 406

Not my best 28, as discussed previously, but probably my most used one.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

That just reminds me why I would love a FF digicam - wides look wide again...

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

full:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6844679645_515e56287e_o.jpg

leica 28/2 on nex 5n

Hood · Expire: 2013-09-16

I have many 28's collected over the years. Some good, some crap, some I still have never tested. Haha.
I just read this thread start to finish, it has inspired me to pull them out again and test them all even just to share here so more people can see how different inexpensive lenses render in this focal.

....then we just need a thread like this for 35's, 50's, best ultra wide, best portrait focal and best tele. Haha. Very Happy

monkjason · Joined: 02 Dec 2013 Posts: 301 Location: Beijing, China

Mine is Konica UC-Hexanon 28/1.8, the lens shows amazing color and bokah at wide open, plus the 18-cm focus distance, though it spent me USD 499...... Crying or Very sad

bruzzo · Joined: 05 Jul 2012 Posts: 153

I've only had three 28mm primes so far, so by no means I'm claiming them one of the best out of all 28mms.

I think best out of the three:

1. Minolta MC W-Rokkor-SI 28mm F2.5
Just great performance overall from close up to portraits to sceneries and landscapes. Down side is Minolta SR mount so only usable on mirrorless or you have to modify / use adapter with optics to achieve infinity focus for DSLRs.

2. Vivitar 28mm F2 Close Focus
It's tough to choose between this and the Minolta cause lens is so much fun with it's close focus capability and small size! It's also come with different mounts from Nikon to Pentax, not sure if it has M42, if so you can basically use it on most DSLRs on the market nowadays given you find one. Close Focus is superb, landscape and scenery however is imo not in the level of the Minolta but still very usable.

3. Makinon 28mm F2.8
I think I saw somewhere saying this is one of the worst 28mms. QC is quite abysmal I think and flare control is not very good either. But I mostly use it for reverse macro and I find it not bad at all given it's cheap price. In the end, I don't think there's actually a bad 28mm given you've given them all a purpose Smile

.

Excalibur · Expire: 2014-04-21

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

The best 28 among the ones I have/have had is quite easily my Contax Distagon 2.8/28.
It is simply the best I tried under every aspect: great sharpness, incredible contrast and flare resistance. I hear corners of my AEG version aren't as good as in the later MM, but I can't see any degradation on aps-c.
Second place is for the Minolta MC 2.5/28, which, apart from coatings not up to recent lenses standards, is simply great.

sceptic · Joined: 01 Jun 2013 Posts: 255

My best 28 is/was as above; the C/Y Zeiss 28/2.8. I was dumb enough to sell it a few years ago, and now they�re hard to find at reasonable prices. My current favourite is the Konica Hexanon 28/3.5, 7-element version. Good sharpness and contrast, although I rarely shoot 28 mm anymore. My favourite in terms of "character" is my Tamron Adaptamatic 28/2.8. Found it dirty and in poor condition at a thrift shop and paid about 7 USD for it. Big and heavy (takes 62 mm filters) and focuses down to about 0.2 meters. The coatings aren�t exactly up to current standards, but sharpness is quite satisfactory. Here it is next to my Konica:

Auto Tamron 28/2.8 by scepticswe, on Flickr

rafa1981 · Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 142

Nikkor 28 f2 Ai or Ai-S for portability and bang for the buck. Sharp to the corners at f8 on FF at 24MP. Flare resistant. Can work either as a landscape lens or as a close-up one. At wide apertures performs better at close distances than near infinity (as it should).

Zuiko OM 28 f3.5. More bang for the buck than the lens above. Outstanding resolution at f8 but flares more easily than the Nikkor. Amazing form factor. The lens to have for closed down work at a budget.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/815364/0?keyword=zuiko

SMC-M 28 f2.8. So so optics, not as sharp in the corners but the form factor, color rendition and contrast is very appealing.

I�m not so picky with WA lenses at first apertures, I don't tend to use them either, so I can't comment so much about it.

A lens with the form factor and resolution of the Zuiko (or Nikkor), the contrast and colors of the Pentax and the flare resistance of the Nikkor would be the perfect 28. I guess that this is what Leica is about (excluding the form factor).

bychance · Joined: 24 Apr 2013 Posts: 345 Location: Kent, England

I have read most of this thread and it occurs to me that there is no discussion as to how a particular lens functions on any given system, let alone which specific camera the thing was assessed on. Surely, each lens/camera combination will give differing results and distort any generalisaton of the lenses merits.

Excalibur · Expire: 2014-04-21

zelda_n64 · Joined: 26 Aug 2011 Posts: 163 Location: UK

Hi all,

I have posted about my Welmy 2.8 28mm lens before, but I will again.

This is one of the best lenses I own, albeit from an unknown manufacturer. It was acquired at a carboot sale here in the UK for �5.

I really like the softness, bokeh and sharpness of this lens. Wide open maybe not to everyone's taste - but it is a gem.

wide open 1/1250s

The Welmy on the left - comparison in size to the M42 Cosinon auto MC 28mm f2.8 (right)

Welmy at ISO 200, 1/320 sec, f8

Crop of the above

The Welmy 28mm 2.5 using a lens reversing ring at ISO 200, 1/80 sec

F8, ISO 400, 1/200 sec

And I do really like the dreamy effect it creates wide open

I may be biased but this 28mm lens knocks the socks off of the others that I have and apart from the Cosinon, I forget which ones I have.

tromboads · Expire: 2015-10-01

yeah that's a bit much for my delicate young eyes. But hey, different strokes for different folks Wink

bernhardas · Expire: 2017-05-23

edited

zelda_n64 · Joined: 26 Aug 2011 Posts: 163 Location: UK

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4060 Location: Charleston

Much earlier in this thread I reported on my Vivitar 2.8/28 Close Focus. More recently I had the opportunity to acquire a near mint copy of the f/2 version. I find the f/2 superior at wide open and superior at close distances, but maybe not quite as good at distance. I will have to test more before being certain about the distance comment.

At wide open f/2:

f/5.6 or 8

Pancolart · Expire: 2013-11-18

Beautiful samples Woodrim!

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

That Welmy 28 is probably made by Sun. I had it as a Soligor, didn't rate it, soft and glowy until f5.6.

TijmenDal · Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Posts: 206

One of my favorite 28mm's is the Olympus 28mm f/3.5, though I don't use the focal length a whole lot. I like the flaring and the colors are nice and warm. And it's tiny, which I really, really like. Size is a huge factor for me.