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.


This is F5.6. Difficult to tell on this res but the bokeh is smooooth and nice


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 )


Finally, indoors at F2.8. Look at the fur detail


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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[RichardtheSane]

Originally Posted by schmoelzel

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]

Originally Posted by fetching

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

Most certainly is.

No I have to ask, how do you know?

[tommykjensen]

Originally Posted by RichardtheSane

Most certainly is.

No I have to ask, how do you know?

Hehe, maybe from Yourself

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...ighlight=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]

Originally Posted by RichardtheSane

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

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