canon 28mm f2.8 and other ravings of a lunatic mind

[jann1033]

i happened to see this at a camera store today..

(surprisingly both stores i went to had used lens, a few)

1)what would be the benefit of a fixed lens like this one ( it was $70 so the price was right( as in cheap). would it be comparable to the 50mm f1.8?

also had a long discussion of lens with one guy working there..

in his opinion, sigma is sharper across the board but he did say sometimes he likes the softer tamron as they are "nicer" to the people who are being photographed ie don't show as many flaws ( the store sold both so he wasn't trying to sway me like the other camera store people who only carried tamron so of course said sigma is terrrible won't work with canon etcetcetcetcetc pretty much every insulting thing their little brains could come up with)....

2)so figured i'd throw that out for opinions .any benefit to a less sharp lens

3) also got me wondering if it might not be beneficial to deal with local shops ...their lenses were about $50 more than the cheaper reputable on line people but i was thinking it might be good to deal with some one who could look out for a decent used lens...etc... that they might do for someone who was fairly regular...yes or no in your experience

4) this shop does in shop processing the benefit being???

5) I am really excited as i got my free video professor digital camera today... it has 3 n 1 features of a digital camera , pc camera and video camera with ( drum roll please) 100k resolution and a usb port WOW!!!!! I don't see anyplace for memory cards but do you think i'd notice the difference between this and my rebel?

 

[boBQuincy]

1 - a prime lens is generally sharper than a zoom. Most have no pincushion or barrel distortion and very little CA, for less money.
Not much is comparable to the "nifty fifty", a 28 is likely to have more distortion than the near perfect 50.

2 - I can't see any benefit to a less sharp lens now that we can adjust sharpness with a digital slider control.
To me, the sharper the better and I will turn it down later if need be.
"Steve's soft focus" and other PS actions do a GREAT job of taking years off your subjects.

3 - If a local shop will give me a price anywhere near mail order I will buy from them. Doesn't usually happen...

4 - Processing? What's that?

5 - If you don't notice the difference I will trade you my Kodak p&s for your Rebel! Kodak, I can hear Kelly screaming now!

All my opinion and worth twice what you paid for it!


boB

 

[jann1033]

5 - I can hear Kelly screaming now!

boB

& here i thought that was thunder

 

[Kelly Grannell]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

MUST... NOT... TURN... INTO... HULK !

Too late!

 

[0bli0]

the 28 1.8 was a much better lens than the 28 f2.8. sadly, i believe you can't get it anymore. the 28 f2.8 was one of the very first EF lenses made. similar to the 50 1.8, it only has 5 aperture blades so it's bokeh is often less than desireable. it suffers a bit from softness issues so you will definitely want to stop it down a few stops.

the 24 2.8 is not much more and it's a sharper lens with better bokeh. but it's still nowhere as sharp as the 85 1.8 or even the nifty fifty. if you are interested in a prime in this range, the Sigma 28 1.8 EX is very nice. it's not quite L glass, but it's also not L price.

in terms of the 'niceness' - i wouldn't recommend a 28 for portraits - it is not a very flattering focal length. in any event, sharpness and colour are most important. you can always soften, but you can't really make up for lost detail.