130 g featherweight cheap acceptable distorsion

some vignetting at f2.8 disappears at f5.6 poor sharpness wide open stopped down to f8 sharpness is OK but not excellent visible flare and ghost images at contrasty nightshots

Well this lens leaves me with mixed feelings. Shure, it is cheap, lightweight, relatively fast and features an aspherical front lens. But in the neighbourhood of two other 28mm focals of my eqipment this lens has to fight for its place: First the good news: this bargain is on par or better than the 28-80/2.8-4.0 L USM at 28mm! The professional L glass is a bit more contrasty but the 28/2.8 plastic barrel lens diplays markedly less distorsion and vignetting. Still, at f2.8, there is a very noticable light falloff towards the corners. Taking photos of test charts, I can honestly say that sharpness is exactly the same than in my 28-80 L zoom: fair at f2.8, gaining somewhat at f4.0 and good but not excellent at f8.0. The bad news: once compared with an unequal rival: the Carl Zeiss Biogon 28/2.8 (Contax G system), the Canon EF 28/2.8 is a clear looser. The Zeiss/Contax lens outperforms the Canon lens in resolution test charts not only marginally but substantially!! Also, contrast and flare suppression is much better in the Zeiss lens. In nightshots the Canon glass displayed ghost images, stars tended to blur. May be I should again stress the fact that comparing the EF28/2.8 with the Biogon is not fair considereing the steep price tag of the latter. But I am still happy with my decision to go into the Canon system for telephoto lenses and to use the Contax G rangefinder system for wide-angle photography. The possibility to construct more "intruding" lenses for rangefinder cameras makes the lens design more easy for Gauss-type wide-angles. The SLR objectives have to "torture" the light path more agressively since the back element is too distant from the film plane making the lens design more complicated. Since the EF 16-35/2.8 L USM and its predecessors are no alternatives for high-quality primes, there is still a need for affordable high-quality primes in the canon system. Both 28mm lenses, the f2.8 and the f1.8 only partially fill this gap. The 24/1.4 and the 35/1.4 L primes are expensive and feature an eye-catching aperture - but they do not represent the best quality at more conventional imaging situations. Thus, the lack of clearly better lenses still justify the position of the 28/2.8 in the EF lens lineup.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

EF 28-80/2.8-4.0 L USM Contax/Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 28/2.8 Sigma 21/2.8 for Canon FD EF 50/1.4 Contax/Carl Zeiss Planar T* 45/2.0

- High quality/low price - Versatile focal length - Common 52mm filter size - light/compact

While I think 24mm is the most versatile wide-angle focal length, 28mm is a very close second. In the Canon lineup, the EF 28mm/2.8 is by far the best wide-angle lens value, at under $200 new. For me, that makes this lens the overall winner. This was my only wide-angle for many years, and I carried it around as part of a 28/50/100 travel kit. Very versatile, outstanding optical quality, and totally light/compact. Recommended!

Similar Products Used:

24mm/2.8 17-35mm/2.8

Sharpness (even at wide open). Great color redition.

Not USM

I am amazed by the superb optical performance of this lens. The large front glass molded aspherical lens element must be the major contributing factor to the edge-to-edge sharpness. With an 8X12" enlargment from an ISO 100 film, it is a close match to my medium format Mamiya RB67 65mm KL f4 lens. I am very impressed.

Customer Service

First class

Similar Products Used:

Canon MF: 28 f2.8 FD + many FD lenses. Canon AF: 50 f1.4 EF, 85 f1.8 EF. Mamiya RB67 various lenses.

Build quality. Very sharp. Good contrast and color. Lightweight. No flare, when sun is included.

Lenshood not included. Noisy AFD-Motor.

Purcased this lens at ebay to staff my wideangel-section. Very fine lens.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AF-D 28-105mm. Voigländer Scopar 28-80mm.

Compact and lightweight Good sharpnesss and contrast Very little distortion Great second-hand value as most people prefer zoom lens nowaday

Fast but noisy autofocus No FTM autofocus

This lens has been available since the 80s and its longevity stands testimony to its popularity. Optically far superior to any consumer zoom lenses.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

FD 24mm (great lens)

sharp compact good value

lacks USM

An exceptionally sharp lens. Excellent image quality. It is light and compact. This lens does not have USM/FTM, still the manual focus action is very smooth. This lens has an aspherical element which helps to significantly reduce distortion. A great value.

Customer Service

None needed for this lens. Otherwise fair, honest and timely.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 50/1.8 (original version)

great value and quality

no USM

It's very good lens in good price. 28mm is a very useful focal length. It brings me many outstanding portraits and landscapes. Contrast is not very strong, but still very sharp with flying color. Build quality and focus speed reach the level of ring-USM lens. highly recommended

Similar Products Used:

nikon,sigma 28mm lens, many canon lens

As I've said, almost everything.

AFD, would be better if it was USM with FMT

One of my favorite lenses! Small, lightweight, excellent optics, non rotating front element, 52 mm filters... take it allways with you!

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon 50mm f/1.4

* PRICE * SHARPNESS * CONTRAST * SMALL

* Non USM

Great lens. Cheap and small. Non-rotating front element and common 52mm. Would You like to know more? Buy one and You will see in your photos: High-contrast image quality and sharpness comparable with my 28-70L f/2.8 USM. Excellent value... An optical superb standard wide angle lens.

Similar Products Used:

28-70L f/2.8 USM

EF 28 2.8 • This ultra sharp lens is so small you won''t know its in your bag

So cheap people don''t believe it can be any good

This stubby is really small (42.5 mm L), light (185 g), focuses close (30 cm) and is well corrected for distortion, making it great for architecture. The front element does not rotate, but the lens changes slightly in length when focusing. Although it uses AFD, it focuses fast due to the small extension needed to focus (slightly slower than the EF 24 2.8). This lens has 52 mm filter threads and uses the clip-on EW-65 II (or EW-65) lens hood, two features it shares with the EF 35 2.0. The manual focusing ring doesn''t turn as smooth as the EF 24 2.8 and has a slightly gritty feel. This lens has one of Canon''s best DOF scales: F5.6, 11 and 16 are marked on the distance window. Some people think the 28 mm focal length is a yawn since it''s common on point ''n shoots. Nevertheless, this petite lens is easy to handle and take pictures with. Its moderate 75 degree coverage makes it especially suited for group portraits and scenics. Moreover, the EF 28 2.8 is an extremely sharp lens (Photodo 3.8 MTF), sharper than the 28 mm end of Canon''s best zooms. Finally, with only 5 elements, there is virtually no flare, ghosting or loss of light. A modest price of $175 distinguishes the EF 28 2.8, along with the EF 50 1.8 II, as one of two ultra sharp budget lenses in Canon''s lens line. I often see used ones going for $100 to $125.

Customer Service

Never breaks so I don''t know

Similar Products Used:

EF 35 2.0, EF 24 2.8