Small, solid, well made
Sharp, perfect color, no visible distortion (it's a Zeiss for Pete's sake!)
Outstanding stopped down AND wide open
Sold very cheaply now on the used market-beyond a bargain!

No longer supported
That's it!

A 28 is fairly easy to make: most are very good and rarely get poor reviews. I have owed 28's by the following manufacturers: Canon, Vivitar, Soligor, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus Leitz and Zeiss. Without question the best results I have seen has been with the Leitz Elmarit and the Zeiss (Biogon for the G, Distagon for the RX SLR). Given I no longer use an M and the Elmarit was so expensive, I have to say hands down the Zeiss Biogon is the best 28 I have ever used and a bargan to boot! Sharp across the board (as are many 28's), good correction, little distortion (again, as are many 28's), what makes this stand out is the great color, the crisp clarity of what is in focus and the soft okeh of what is out. I am sure many will argue that their 28 made by (fill in the blank) is as good or better. Fine and good, but for me NO ONE makes a better 28 and only Leitz can match it.

Customer Service

no longer available-but never needed

Similar Products Used:

28's by the following manufacturers: Canon, Vivitar, Soligor, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus Leitz and Zeiss.

sharp, small, light, pleasing rendition, cheap!

none noted

Easily the sharpest 28mm lens I've used, the Biogon also has a pleasing, three-dimensional image rendition that can't be measured by LPPM resolution tests. Obviously it's an incredible value, particularly when you figure how cheaply you can pick up a G1 body. It's a wonderful lens.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Elmarit 28/2.8, Takumar 28/2.8, Canon FD 28/2.8, many others...

Quality in every respect

None

This must be the world's premier 28mm f2.8 lens. The results are dazzling, vibrant color rendition, almost non-existent distortion even wide open, wonderful build quality and hardly any weight. It is amazing that you can pick these CZ gems up on eBay for under $300 (often brand new in the box)whereas the optically inferior Elmarit Leica offering will set you back $1500+ (see Swedish test site www.photodo.com). That is 5 times as much folks!

Customer Service

Not tried

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 28mm f2, various CZ N series and G2 lenses

excellent sharpness, contrast, color rendition relatively affordable

"in lens" bajonet handles a bit tricky poor viewfinder coverage as compared to the real image fast but loud autofocus shade (GG-1) is vignetting the viewfinder image

This is a real gem! Although I don´t like the small viewfinder of the Contax G2, this lens makes me sticking to the Contax equipment. Even wide open, this lens delivers exceptional sharpness over more than 60% of the image area. This quality further increases gradually at f4; and maximal sharpness is seen at f5.6. Both contrast and flare resistance are amazing. Conventional prints from the "around the corner" lab look simply overcontrasted since they have adapted to customers having cheaper optics (personal interpretation). Even on chromes the color saturation and the contrast are breathtaking. What a difference to the keyhole-like finder of the G2. No ghost images even in critically lit situations. Flare simply doesn´t not exist with this lens. A true highlight - may be due to a very simple lens design (Gauss type) which is only possible with the rangefinder camera system allowing an indruding back element.

Customer Service

not needed (yet)

Similar Products Used:

Planar 45/2.0 Sonnar 90/2.8 Canon EF 28/2.8 Canon EF 28-80/2.8-4.0 L USM Sigma 21/2.8 (Canon FD mount) Leica 19/2.8 1st version

Tack sharp, incredible build quality, takes fantastic pictures!!

NONE!!

When you buy Zeiss you know what you are going to get and this lens doesn''t let you down. It is my favourite "walking around" lens and is as good or better than my Zeiss 28/f2.8 for my SLR

Customer Service

efficient, professional helpful

Similar Products Used:

Zeiss 28/f2.8 SLR

Good optics, good color, light weight

none noticed.

This lens is highly portable, the optics is good, if you are a beginner in G, it is a highly recommended lens. But the bad thing happened after I bought the G mount 21mm since the 28 is not as impressing. Since I found myself no longer using this 28mm after having the 21. Now I just use it when I need to shoot indoor when flash is a must. Anyway, it''''s a good and light lens, but it will be rather difficult to co-exist with the 21mm. (or 35? since I don''''t have a 35)

Customer Service

None yet

Similar Products Used:

Ricoh GR1, Contax T3 (can it be said to be similar?)

This is a superb wide angle lense. I think its greatest strength is the fact that it reproduces *almost* all scenes without introducing the distortion that many 28's introduce. Very sharp lines, high contrast, and superb shadow detail.

None.

Although I prefere 35mm/f2 for most "everyday" type snapshots, the 28mm is a great lense. It provides a great amount of verstility while not being too wide or too narrow. Excellent value for the money.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 24's and 28's

A great wide-angle lens. Incredible sharpness, contrast, & color rendition (although I shoot mostly black & white). Almost complete lack of distortion. Good bokeh. Also very well-constructed.

None.

One of the best wide-angle lenses available in the 35mm format. Another optical jewel in the Carl Zeiss crown.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Other G-series (21, 45, & 90). Old Contax RF lenses. Various Contax SLR, Nikon, & Leica.

Sharpness of the images
Build quality

none

This is one of the sharpest lenses on the market. Good color saturation, no distortion. This lens, along with the other G lenses, are among the best ones available for 35 mm photography.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon, Sigma, Tamron

Amazing sharpness and contrast with almost total absence of distortion and flare

None

The images from this gem are so crisp and three dimensional that they seem to pop off the paper. I never thought that a 28mm lens would become the one that I use the most, but this one has. To top it off, the price for such quality is very reasonable indeed.

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

Other G lenses, Nikkor, Sigma and Tokina lenses