sharp, build quality, light, color reproduction

not as fast as some might desire

I have owned this lens for about a year and am using it on my Canon 1DsMk1 with a cameraquest adapter. The lens is sharp from corner to corner and is my favorite wide angle prime lens. It's not as fast as its 'Hollywood' variation (also 28mm), but since I primarily use it for landscape, it does not bother me. The build quality of the lens is one of the best - I owned quite a few different lenses and Zeiss quality is top notch. The lens is quite small and light, probably hald the size of Canon's 20mm prime. Color reproduction is amazing - reds are red not smushy, pinkish magentas like with some other lenses. There are a couple of sites that have in-depth reviews that users might find useful: www.fredmiranda.com and www.slrlensreview.com

sharpness, color, build quality, and no distortion! And even it is affordable for Carl Zeiss lenses. One of the great bargains of the MM-line.

none

Prior to owning this lens, I have never liked wide angle lenses. Perhaps this is due to bad impressions from cheap consumer 28-300mm zoom lenses. In my (old) opinion, wide angle lenses make people's faces look funny, and they are not as fast as normal and short telephoto lenses. But the requirement of having to cramp more people into a group photo, and after having read the reviews here about this lens, I decided to give this Carl Zeiss Distagon 28/2.8 a try. The lens is solidly built. I put it on my Aria body and it is not much bigger than the 50/1.7 I have. Upon looking into the viewfinder, I am stunned. No distortion! People's faces don't look funny with a big nose at all! I shot a few rolls with this lens and anxiously wait for the prints to come back. The prints came back and I was stunned even more. It is every bit as sharp as my 50/1.7, color rendition is superb and it seems like you were just there, looking at the real thing. And no distortion! I am a new convert! I keep this lens on the camera all the time now! One bonus with the extra depth of field of the 28mm focal length is that when you set the aperture at f/8, keep the manual focus somewhere between 1m and 2m, and you can just shoot like a P&S camera without having to fine tune focus every time. Great for tracking 2 year old kids. Love this lens.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Carl Zeiss T* MM 50/1.7 Carl Zeiss T* MM 85/1.4

Sharp, well-made, no distortion - just a beautiful lens. And CHEAP!

Are you joking?

I've come late to the world of Contax. I always wanted one,, but could never afford it. At the moment, used Contax gear is the bargain of the century. Why? because you just can't get better SLR lenses. And this one is a peach. This is a six star lens.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Carl Zeiss Jena 28mm f2.8 (actually pretty good!) Canon EF 28mm f2.8 Pentax SMC-M 28mm f2.8

Outstanding performance. Excellent value for money. Compact and light weight.

This is an excellent lens for landscape, architectual and candid photography. It is very sharp with hardly noticetable vignetting at the edges. It has becomes my "standard lens"; almost permanently attached to my Aria and AX when I travel abroad. One has to be careful not to stack more than one filter at the same time, otherwise vignetting might occur. Also it is not a good idea to use the 55mm rubber hood with the UV filter (unless a step-up ring adapter is used with larger filters/hood or slim filters). The use of hood is essential as noticetable flare can be observed if it is pointed at strong backlight or the sun. Therefore I often only use the lens with the hood, without any UV filter.

Similar Products Used:

Zeiss 50/1.7, 85/1.4, 135/2.8, 180/2.8 and 500/8.

Sharp, great color saturation, nice out of focus rendition

some barrel distortion, slight vignetting when wide-open

This is a great lens, and very reasonably priced considering it is a Zeiss wide-angle. Very nice out of focus rendition.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 24-50 AF

Handling, cost, color/contrast rendidtion, sharp.

None, considering it isn''t wider

I love this lens. It balances great on my Aria for easy travel photography and quick handling. The speed is good, especially with modern high quality/high speed films like E200 or Supra 400, my two main films. I would like to get a lens shade, as I have seen on some shots with the sun in the frame that color can get washed out. When a strong light source doesn''t intrude, then color saturation and contrast are excellent. I sold my 35mm f 1.4 Distagon and kept the 28 because I liked the more dramatic presentation and better handling on the Aria. Considering how good the 35 is, that should give an indication of the 28''s performance! I felt the 35 was too close to the 50 1.4 Planar, and I didn''t want the big lens in my travel kit, which now consists of the 28, 50 and 100 f2 Planar. This lens is an astounding bargain. I just wish there were an equivalent lens at the 24mm range. The 25 measures at about 26mm, and the 21 is even bigger than the 35 was.

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

35mm f 1.4 Distagon, Cosina/Voigtlander 25mm Snapshot Skopar

According to Photodo.com, this lens is the best 28mm for 35SLR. Exceptional sharp for its price, weight and zeiss. If you are into medium-wide angle (e.g., 35mm or 28mm), this lens is a must. Great for street shooting

None

If you are street photographer, medium-wide angle will make your life easier and this lens will make your image much better. I preset hyperfocal from DOF scale and that's it. Just shoot and shoot...

Customer Service

No need.

Similar Products Used:

Almost all Contax Zeiss glass

Incredible build quality, superb colors, contrast and saturation. Remarkable low price.

None.

Could there be a better value than this lens? Luckily for us, Zeiss manufactures superb quality lenses at very reasonable prices in focal lengths like 28, 35, 50, 85 & 135. After switching over from Leica R due to the astronomical prices, ( Especially of the wide-angle lenses,) all I can say is that I could not be happier. If I could only afford a single lens, this would be the one. Shares a common 55MM filter thread with all of the above mentioned f2.8 lenses & 50 f1.4, plus the 80-200 f4.0 zoom.

Customer Service

Really excellent, the one time I used them to purchase small parts.

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Nikon & Leica R systems

1. quite remarkbly sharp and can make distinbuish with other brand lenses.
2. Incredibly crisp with excellent bokek that make this is one of the best lens in this range.
3. remarkble color rendation.

No

So far the best lens that i used in this range and absolutely outstanding lens. Clearly distinguished with other photos taken other brand in this range. tack sharp and cool crisp contrast.

Customer Service

Never contacted

Similar Products Used:

1. Rollei Prego 90
2. Minolta AF 28-135
3. Minolta AF 24-50
4. Sigma 20/1.8 EX DF

super sharp
rich color

heavy for a lenses of this type, but who cares!!

one of the best 28mm you can buy.

Customer Service

so,so,but way better than nikon's and not up canno's yet(they are good).

Similar Products Used:

nikon,olympus 28mm