My new 28mm F1.8 - thanks drisley!

[RichardtheSane]

My 28mm F1.8 that I purchased from Drisley arrived at work on friday.

This is the first prime other than the 50mm F1.8mk1 that I have used. First thing i notice is the build and feel of the lens. Truly great! And thanks to drisley in great condition when I got it too :)

NOw I always found my 50mm 1.8 was either too long or too short for what I wanted to do. Rarely was it 'just right' wheras the 28mm feels 'just right' on a lot more occasions. It has only been off the camera once since friday and that is because I needed 400mm! I just found my new 'walkabout lens'

OK, I'll shut up and let the pictures do a bit of talking. I can't wait to do some serious work with it! I am thinking sharpness and contrast are easily rivalling my 17-40L at similar apertures - maybe even exceeding!

The prime makes quick landscape snaps difficult. This is a good thing because I need to think about composition more anyway. I also used hyperfocal distance to focus this and trusted it rather than AF.
http://www.pbase.com/richardthesane/image/44345006.jpg

This is F5.6. Difficult to tell on this res but the bokeh is smooooth and nice
http://www.pbase.com/richardthesane/image/44345001.jpg

And an indoor shot at F1.8 1/50th second ISO 1600 hand held.
btw. This was a dimly lit room and I love the F1.8 on this field of view.
(and yes, folowing on from your shot in the bar drisley, the obligatory beer shot. Off to find a barmaid now :) )
http://www.pbase.com/image/44345468.jpg

Finally, indoors at F2.8. Look at the fur detail
http://www.pbase.com/richardthesane/image/44345002.jpg

OK, you guessed it, I love this lens. Best money I have spent in a very long time. Thanks drisley for giving me this opportunity. And should you sell any more kit gimme a shout, I've never actually enjoyed the process of buying from someone so much either :)

[tommykjensen]

Great shots. I like the 2 of Your dog best.

I too got this lens the past week but have not yet had a real chance to use it.

[schmoelzel]

Nice shots Richard and enjoy the new lens!! Is that a whippet I see in the shots? Which camera body do you use?

[fetching]

that's tippy the whippet, isn't it? :)

[RichardtheSane]

Great shots. I like the 2 of Your dog best.

I too got this lens the past week but have not yet had a real chance to use it.

Thanks Tommy :)
I'm sure you will love this lens, I can see myself having a lot of fun with it.

[RichardtheSane]

Nice shots Richard and enjoy the new lens!! Is that a whippet I see in the shots? Which camera body do you use?
Thanks schmoelzel, I am enjoying the new lens.
It truly is makin me think more about the shots.
Tippy is a Whippet x bedlington terrier, hence the wiry look - even though his fur is very soft! I use the lens on my 20D. I was looking for a lens that about equaled the FOV of a 50mm and this is perfect!

[RichardtheSane]

that's tippy the whippet, isn't it? :)

Most certainly is.

No I have to ask, how do you know? :)

[tommykjensen]

Most certainly is.

No I have to ask, how do you know? :)

Hehe, maybe from Yourself :lol:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26738&highlight=tippy

[blue_max]

Hey Richard, I think we may be seeing a new avatar pic soon!

Finding a good prime wide angle is a real challenge, but I think you have cracked it!

Hope you have a good time together.

Graham

[crc_408]

Nice shots! I just ordered mine. Looks like a good choice.

[fetching]

Most certainly is.

No I have to ask, how do you know? :)

i saw Tippy at your PBASE gallery...what a gorgeous dog and great shots. :)

[drisley]

Excellent! I LOVE #2!
I swear this lens got sharper with a trip across the pond.
Cute dog too!
Btw, that had better be a Guinness! And yes, you have to post at least one barmaid shot ;)

[wintoid]

What a great lens. I've been looking into this one myself, and I find 80% of the comments on the net are negative, but 80% of the shots taken with this lens look awesome. I suppose sometimes people do recycle what other people have said, without first hand experience. Your shots, and drisley's look SO good that I'm thinking about this lens very seriously now. I was going to wait for the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 but the Canon has the advantage of sharing filters with my 85mm f/1.8. I just hope I get a copy that's as good as yours!

[drisley]

Wintoid,

When I was looking for a normal angle prime, I too read LOTS of negative reviews of this lens.
I THINK that the reason may be the price of the lens, because it costs so much more than the 28/2.8 and 35/2 lenses. I think that in addition to the better build and autofocus, people expect the optics to be much better too.
Perhaps since RichardTheSane got such an amazing price buying it used (;)), he can give a more objective opinion.
I found the optics to be similar to the 50/1.8II in the sharpness department, but it definately has better colour and bokeh than the 50/1.8II. That's nothing to complain about. But, then again, the 50/1.8II costs $120cdn, and the 28/1.8 costs $620cdn.
From what I've heard, the quality control of the 28/1.8 is quite consistent. Moreso than many other lenses (like the 16-35L).
The Sigma 30/1.4 looks promising, but they are taking a LONG time getting this thing to market.

[wintoid]

Well I found a reasonable deal on a second hand one in good condition, and my copy seems to be pretty good. In my opinion, it's like the 85mm f/1.8's little brother or something. Of course the 85mm can't focus very close at all, whereas this 28 f/1.8 can focus down to about 25 cm, which is very liberating when you have a small baby heading towards you and you don't have to shuffle backwards :D

Anyway, here's the obligatory test with one of my baby girl's toys...

[wintoid]

And a 100% crop from the eye where I focused...

[drisley]

Yup, that is what I thought. It's exactly like the 85's little brother.
And that copy looks nice and sharp.

[drisley]

Richard,
I forgot to add that it was a pleasure dealing with you too.
Oh, and since the 28mm is basically a 50mm lens on the 20D, I found this article (http://194.100.88.243/petteri/pont/Photography_lessons/j_Lesson_9/a_The_Faithful_50.html)very inspiring.

[RichardtheSane]

That is a good article!
And thanks again Drisley :)

Wintoid, I too read a great many negative reviews on the net about this lens but bought it anyway. The reason being the psoitive reviews I read and of course the shots Drisley showed us proving it is a fine lens!

Now at risk of getting a verbal slap from some people for this...
There are a great many mediocre photographers out there who buy a lens such as this after using their 28-90 f4.5-5.6 kit zoom and can't get good results with it. The first thing they go and do is look on the net, see another negative review (from a similar photographer) and give it a good slating.

But the only problem the lens has is the users technique. This lens has an incredibly shallow depth of field, and a very wide field of view, so it requires a little bit of practise to learn how this shallow depth of field responds to the wider angle. Get it wrong, the image is slightly mis-focused and looks soft.

Plus how many people buy a great lens and decided to go onto a review site and say, I just bought this lens and it is great?

I found POTN because I bought a lens and was not getting the expected results. I was helped along nicely :)

[drisley]

EXCELLENT points Richard.
The 4th paragraph about the technique is especially spot on.
While most users, like myself, are used to telephoto lenses with narrow DOF, and tight spaces, where background blur will mask most optical problems, when we try a lens like this we have to learn to shoot in a very different manner.

[wintoid]

I'm definitely on a learning curve here. I'm used to shallow depth of field with my 85mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.4, but I am still having a few issues.

In good light or using flash, this 28mm is producing absolutely stellar results. Contrast is great, and especially the colours are better than any lense I've used, even the 17-40L (in my opinion). Sharpness is very similar in nature to the 85mm.

In poor light, or in tricky light conditions such as shooting in to the light, I'm finding the results aren't great. I'm struggling a bit to work out whether this is camera shake at slow shutter speeds, or some sort of flare issue, or just a tendency to inaccurate focus in low light.

I think one reason for the bad reviews is the poor MTF scores on www.photodo.com for this lens. In good lighting, I can definitely say my lens has bags of resolution, so there's something not quite right with those MTF scores, whether it be that they had a bad copy, or that my 1.6x crop camera doesn't show up the weaker areas of the lens, or something like that.

[RichardtheSane]

Simon, do you have the hood for the lens?
I would strongly recommend using it, definitly if you are shooting into the light.
The front element is not small and not set back at all, so I would imagine it may be more prone to flare than other lenses...

[wintoid]

It's on order from an establishment in Hong Kong :D Are you using a hood on it Richard?

[RichardtheSane]

Indeed I am, all the time outdoors, and I only take it off indoors if I am using the built in flash on the camera.

I did go for a walk one bright sunny day, soon after I received the lens but decided I wouldn't need the hood. I certainly felt more limited im my shots as I could se a visible reduction in contrast when shooting more into the light. Testing this again a few days later with the hood I didn't get the same contrast reduction. Can't say I've seen any flare but then again I havn't looked too hard either!

Here is my last attempt at shooting into the light.

[drisley]

I did some flare tests with that lens, directly into the sun.
It actually performed quite well, probably the same as the 85/1.8.
Another nice pic btw. It's been solid cloud and rain here for 2 weeks, so it's actually nice to see the sun breaking thru the clouds for a change.

[wintoid]

I looked back through Drisley's original shots to check apertures, and there is no way I can get anywhere near close to that sharpness at those apertures. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I've got a bad copy which cannot be sharp below about f/4.0, and that I should return it. As I said, I'm used to narrow apertures from other lenses so I don't *think* this is user error, although I don't rule anything out at this point.

I've got a hood and filter coming from Hong Kong, so if I do return the lens, I am going to have to go out and try to find a good copy. I'm going to give it one more day of shooting to see if I can work out what's going on.

[RichardtheSane]

Wintoid, maybe you could post a few examples?

[wintoid]

Have a look at http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/IMG_1175.jpg which is a 100% crop from the centre of an image taken at ISO400 1/250 f/1.8. She was stationary, I was focusing on her right eye (left of the image), and she was illuminated by natural light coming in to our flat through a huge window with net curtain, which was behind me. With the 85mm at 1.8, this shot would have been sharp.

The crazy thing is that I can still see lots to like about this lens. The colour is really wonderful, and a few shots taken from f/4.0 up are quite nice.

I feel as frustrated as my avatar!

[drisley]

That is an awesome picture, but yes, I think Richard's lens may be sharper at that aperture.
I don't have any 100% crops at F1.8 to show, I dont think.
I found my (Richard's) lens came into it's own at F2.8 or so.
This (http://www.mts.net/~lftbrain/20d/28mm.jpg)is a 50% cropped image taken at F2.8.

[wintoid]

I would be weeping for joy if I could get a shot as sharp as yours out of my lens.

[drisley]

I would be weeping for joy if I could get a shot as sharp as yours out of my lens.
:lol:
Sorry, but that sounds hillarious.
"My...sniff...snifff.... precioussss"

Yours was a used copy, right? I wonder if you just have a bad copy.
Btw, this was taken (http://www.mts.net/~lftbrain/20d/IMG_7422.jpg)at F3.5, 1/80s.
.

[RichardtheSane]

OK, I did some tests at F1.8 for you to check against.

The original image, slightly cropped for composition purposes. For testing sharpenss I chose a subject that is naturally sharp...

No USM applied at this point

http://www.pbase.com/richardthesane/image/44695555.jpg

The 100% crop showing the point where I focused

http://www.pbase.com/richardthesane/image/44695554.jpg

I have to admit I hated doing that because if telt like pixel peeping, which doesn't interest me one bit. Print would look fine I am certain, even if the 100% is a little (but not too) soft

FInally, the sharpened version

http://www.pbase.com/richardthesane/image/44695688.jpg

[RichardtheSane]

:lol:
Sorry, but that sounds hillarious.
"My...sniff...snifff.... precioussss"
.

I thionk I should be afraid now... :lol: :lol:

[wintoid]

Thanks very much Richard. I'm now certain that your lens is performing much better than mine. I'm going to try to return it, which hopefully will be no hassle as I think UK distance selling regulations give you at least a week to return something for a full refund.

Although I have a hood coming from Hong Kong, I'm uncertain whether I'll try to get another 28mm at this point. I like the size, quick focus, colour and so on, but I want to be taking photos, not worrying about sharpness. I may hold on for the Sigma 30mm after all, and eBay the hood.

Oh and thanks to you too Drisley, for all your help. From your threads I always think of you as the most enthusiastic person I know about lenses, so if I've out-enthused you I have really achieved something :D

[ryan_kalani]

I just got one too. Lovin it so far. Here is my thread on access photo:

http://www.accessphoto.com/zerothread?id=330

[drisley]

Richard, those are awesome pictures.Super sharp! And it shows just how small the DOF is.
Wintoid, I'm not sure if you should pursue another one. As you can see from Richard's posts, and Ryan's, the lens is capabable of good results. I do think you have a bad copy. If you could easily purchase one from a retailer that allows returns, that would of course be best.
Or, perhaps you could see if you could get yours fixed.

[wintoid]

Thanks Ryan, those pictures are great and further reinforce the fact that my copy isn't acceptable. I set up some tripod+timer shots of a hairspray bottle to test, and at F/1.8 the sharpness was appalling, whereas yours seems pretty nice.

Drisley my problem is that the retailer is too far away to visit, so I could ask them to send me a new 28mm but I'm nervous now that this could be a QC issue with that lens, which might explain the poor reputation it has on the net. If I do buy another 28mm, it will be by taking my camera into a shop, and trying it out there and then.

I think the problem is one of statistics. We don't often hear back from people who buy this lens (so double-thanks to Richard and Ryan). When the Sigma 30mm hits the shop floor, I believe we will hear about a million reports of how it went. Of course many of those will be from people not used to shooting at wide apertures. If we get a good idea that the Sigma is consistently sharp from copy to copy, then it may be fine to buy it by mail order.

I'm really frustrated actually. I started out "just taking photos" with the lens, but have ended up getting too caught up in the mechanics of photography. I made a decision not to bother with the 28mm yesterday, so instead I took about 200 photos with the 85mm yesterday evening to make myself feel better. Most of those came out great :D

[drisley]

Drisley my problem is that the retailer is too far away to visit, so I could ask them to send me a new 28mm but I'm nervous now that this could be a QC issue .
I know how it feels. Unless I want to pay sky high prices, I have to order all my lenses online.
The local retailer charges ridiculous prices, and usually has to order items anyway, so it takes just as long. This makes it impossible to "test" lenses before buying.

[Wavy C]

Has anyone tried the 28mm 2.8? I'd love a lens with this focal length to use as a 'standard lens' and the f 2.8 seems as though it might be wide enough for general use (should still be possible to hand-hold with lower shutter speeds in low light). Oh, and it's a lot cheaper too.

But do you get comparable image quality to the f1.8 version?

All I've got in this range at the moment is the kit lens, but hesitating a little about switching to the 17-40mm f4 as quite a lot of reviewers don't appear to give it much advantage over the kit lens. Besides, I think I prefer the idea of a prime 28mm as a general use lens (with the kit lens then probably being ok for the odd times I need focal lengths in that range).

[drisley]

Wavy C, the 28/2.8 is supposed to be slightly sharper than the 28/1.8.
However it uses a 5 blade aperture instead of 7 like the 28/1.8, so bokeh won't be quite as nice.
The 28/2.8 is built like good ol' 50/1.8 MKI lens, which is decent. The only drawback is that it doesn't have USM autofocus like the 28/1.8, so it's louder, and doesn't have full time manual focus.
The 35/2.0 is another option. It's built exactly like the 28/2.8 with the same number of blades and same autofocus system. People rave about it's optics.
Here is a great review (http://194.100.88.243/petteri/pont/Reviews/da_Canon_35_mm_2/a_Canon_35_mm_f2.html)of the 35/2.0, which should mostly also apply to the 28/2.8

[wintoid]

To be honest, if I didn't want the low light capabilities, I would say that my Tamron 28-75mm at f/2.8 was plenty good enough. It's gorgeous in fact. Of course it's larger than a prime, and slower focusing too. If you don't mind those issues, then perhaps you should consider it WavyC.

[Wavy C]

Tnx for that Drisley. That 35mm f2.8 certainly looks an interesting lens and I'll have to check it out in more detail. Pidy it doesn't have usm or full-time manual focus, but maybe these are not so critical on this focal length. Like the small size though.

When I first started using a film slr, the only lens I had for a long time was a manual focus 50mm 'standard' (Canon FD mount). Even later, after I bought a 28mm and a 135mm, I still used the 50mm probably 80 per cent of the time. A 28mm or 35mm (similar to a 50mm on a film slr) is something I really miss now I have a 1.6 crop digital slr. That 35mm f2.8 looks a great buy as I often like to go out and about without wanting to carry a bag of gear around.

[wintoid]

I've returned the 28mm f/1.8 so I took my 20d in to town today, and tried to find low light lenses in stores to try out.

Amazingly, the huge Jessops off Oxford street had 1x 28mm f/1.8 but no 50mm f/1.4. I tried it on my camera and can say it was slightly better than the copy I had at 1.8 and 2.2, but didn't really impress me. It also looked like the box had been opened and closed quite a few times :D

The Jacobs off Oxford street had neither in stock. Camera World, just up the road on Wells street, had a 50mm f/1.4 which was noticeably better than the 28mm, and almost as good as my 85mm. Pretty sharp even at f/1.4.

I also found a small dealer near Goodge street who tried to sell me a second hand 28mm f/2.8 for £150! Not likely, when it's less than that new.

I'm amazed at how little stock there is in Central London.

[Wavy C]

Hi Wintoid - yes, I've thought about the Tamron and it's another lens on my wish list. I would still like a 28mm or 35mm for the ease and speed of use though, and of course I imagine the small size would make these a pleasure to carry around if you are out for a day and want to travel light.

[wintoid]

Happiness at last. After being unable to find a 28 1.8 that was sharp in Central London, I took the plunge and ordered one online. It's sharp at 1.8, as shown by this shot and a crop from where I focused. This is the 4th one I've tried, so I think the quality of this lens is very variable. I'm very relieved it's not my camera, and it's also not me :D Now I can get back to photography.

[drisley]

Excellent!
Wintoid, I bet that is the reason why this lens gets such bad press.
Curious, were the first 3 you tried used? If so, I wonder if there was some problem with older models?

[wintoid]

One was used, two were "new" but the boxes looked like they'd been opened several times.

[drisley]

I can't wait to see some more pictures.

[CyberDyneSystems]

With all do respect to Drisley...

I have no Idea why he'd want to dump that lens!!!!!!

I love mine too.. I consider it to be the 85mm f/1.8 "pocket Rocket's" younger brother...

[drisley]

CDS, I actually had a hard time parting with it.
But, I wanted to consolidate my wide angle lens, the 17mm and 28mm, in to one "walkaround lens".
I normally am a prime guy who zooms with his feet, but I find this focal range suits zoom best, atleast for me.
I gained almost a stop at the wide end, compared to my good ol' Tokina, and lost a stop at the long end. So I gained a little, lost a little.

[RichardtheSane]

With all do respect to Drisley...

I have no Idea why he'd want to dump that lens!!!!!!

I love mine too.. I consider it to be the 85mm f/1.8 "pocket Rocket's" younger brother...

Don't do that to me!

I've been considering an 85mm 1.8 for as long as I have the 28mm 1.8. I could afford one of them, and the 28mm hit at the right time. So don't tell me that I need the 85mm to compliment it. Please dont

That was a plea from a penniless photographer.

[RichardtheSane]

Wintoid, glad you got a good one at last.
Respect for sticking with it! You agree it is worth while?

[Miika]

Richard, of course you need the 85/1.8 :)

I have the whole set: 28/1.8 - 50/1.4 - 85/1.8
All very useful.

BTW: Some 28/1.8 shots here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=78709)

Miika

[wintoid]

Wintoid, glad you got a good one at last.
Respect for sticking with it! You agree it is worth while?

Well I was only able to stick with it because I had such unshakeable proof that people like yourself had good copies, so again, thank you so much for your help.

In terms of agreeing it's worth while, that will take longer. I certainly agree it works very well, but this is new focal length for me to learn (that's one reason I like primes, you really get to learn a focal length). I live in a small flat, too small for the amount of stuff we have, so the 50 and 85 get used a lot for indoor portraits, throwing the background out of focus. I'm less likely to use the 28 indoors, but more for my lunchbreak and evening wanderings around London. In those circumstances, I've always felt a bit conspicuous wafting the Tamron around, so I'm much more likely to use the 28. Lots to learn, I'm looking forward to it.

[wintoid]

I can't wait to see some more pictures.

I have put a few fairly unremarkable shots up here http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=606731 That's the sort of dull photograph I take on my lunchbreak :D

[scr7b]

Don't do that to me!

I've been considering an 85mm 1.8 for as long as I have the 28mm 1.8. I could afford one of them, and the 28mm hit at the right time. So don't tell me that I need the 85mm to compliment it. Please dont

That was a plea from a penniless photographer.

Sorry to bring you the news like this... you really DO need the 85 1.8 to complement it. Really you do... Just like I'm looking at a 24mm 1.4L to complement my 85mm...

[drisley]

Oh, wintoid, was your new icon taken with the 28?

[wintoid]

Yeah it was. It's not great, but I'd grown to hate the angry icon.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Richard.. you NEED the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM .......

[Miika]

A couple of new 28/1.8 shots (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=79957)

[RichardtheSane]

Richard.. you NEED the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM .......
Thankyou master

I'm going to look for something to sell now so I can buy it.

[tommykjensen]

Thankyou master

I'm going to look for something to sell now so I can buy it.

Of course You need this lens :D

I was just looking to see if I had some sample photos taken with this lens but so far I only have photos shot at night which display some motion blurr but here they are.

http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photohtml.php?n=2005carnival_day1_01.jpg
http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photohtml.php?n=2005carnival_day1_02.jpg

[drisley]

I took this with the 85 :)

http://210.245.164.161/albums2/sharpnsmart/streetfest2005/IMG_9295.jpg

[schmoelzel]

Nice shot Drisley.........it's a great lens but I can't wait to see what the 1.2 version can do!!

[drisley]

Thanks schmoelzel. Yes that 1.2 is a beast!
Are you getting one?

[Bob_A]

Great shot Drisley!

[drisley]

Thanks Bob :)

[wintoid]

In the end, I decided not to keep the 28mm, so I've returned it. Something didn't feel quite right, although I'm certain that there was no defect in the final copy I had. This is a personal thing I suppose. At the moment I've also shelved my plans to investigate the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 as a result.

I'm having too much fun with my 50 right now anyway :D

[uumode]

In the end, I decided not to keep the 28mm, so I've returned it. Something didn't feel quite right, although I'm certain that there was no defect in the final copy I had. This is a personal thing I suppose. At the moment I've also shelved my plans to investigate the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 as a result.

I'm having too much fun with my 50 right now anyway :D


Hi Simon

Arghh... you returned your sharp copy of the 28mm f1.8 *wishes I had it*

Where online did you buy it? I'd like to try and get hold of it :)
They might not dispatch the same one, but at least I'll be 'warm'

many thanks

Kwen

[drisley]

UUmode, just find a reliable store with a good exchange policy.
Although that can be a pain when shipping is involved.

[wintoid]

It was warehouseexpress.com

[RichardtheSane]

Just a little follow up to my original impressions.

I don't love this lens any more. For me it is better than that.
I really love how versitile it is, and the quick AF had helped me grab two of my favourite shots from a dog show I was photographer for yesterday (might be published - wooohoooo!).

My Tippy
http://www.lindleypetphotography.co.uk/whitelodge/meltonshow/img_4997_std.jpg
Just realised the white balance of that one is off

And Amber, a friends lurcher
http://www.lindleypetphotography.co.uk/whitelodge/meltonshow/img_5001_std.jpg

It is amazingly sharp, but in the right hands and with practise :)

[schmoelzel]

Nice shots Richard!! I wouldn't go posting too many of these because Drisley will want it back........!!:D

[blue_max]

It is amazingly sharp, but in the right hands and with practise :)

I think it's found the right hands, Richard. I liked your shots before, but now you have the class glass!

Graham

[wintoid]

Very very nice, and far better in your hands than mine. I'll have to resign myself to enjoying your shots with that lens.

P.S. Tippy is lovely

[drisley]

Great work! Those are priceless pictures. Let me know if you get them published.
You really know how to work that lens.

[RichardtheSane]

Thanks everyone for your compliments. I can't belive one lens has pulled so much fun back into photography for me :)

Drisley, unfortunatly none of these pictures will be published, I did the newsworthy stuff too - show winners, best in show etc. That is what will be published. Ambers mum has ordered a print of that second shot shot though.

(and I'm sorry, you can't have the lens back ;) )

Today the 28mm strikes again (scuse the pun)
I know any lens could have got this, but it is testament to the usefullness of a walkabout lens... I knew I didn't have to go hunting for lenses when the storm struck, the trusty 28mm was ready and waiting.

http://www.pbase.com/richardthesane/image/45444621.jpg

[drisley]

Holy cow! How did you time that?
I'm so glad you and the 28mm are such a great fit.

[Bosphorousman]

Happiness at last. After being unable to find a 28 1.8 that was sharp in Central London, I took the plunge and ordered one online. It's sharp at 1.8, as shown by this shot and a crop from where I focused. This is the 4th one I've tried, so I think the quality of this lens is very variable. I'm very relieved it's not my camera, and it's also not me :D Now I can get back to photography.
Wintoid,
Yesterday I returned a 28mm 1.8 that was about the same quality as your first. I bought mine from B&H in New York and I'm guessing I will get the new one next week. I certainly hope it is of the quality of your last one (or Richard's). I was never sure if it was me or the lens until I saw the post of your little girl. That pic sealed it for me for my lens behaved the same as yours at f1.8.
Thanks,
Bos

[pehabe]

hi richard... congrat for the new lens...
anyway your dog is really cute ;) what breed?