Canon 28mm f/1.8 Sharpness

[Dave Throgmartin]

There's a lot of conversation on the internet about the sharpness from the 28mm f/1.8. I received mine yesterday and thought I'd take some sample pictures to review the sharpness at various apertures.

First, pictures of a building with a brick wall. The full scene picture is below:


2012_06_01_5578_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr

Now, 100% center crops, first at f/1.8



2012_06_01_5582_center by dthrog00, on Flickr

f/2


2012_06_01_5581_center by dthrog00, on Flickr

f/2.8


2012_06_01_5579_center by dthrog00, on Flickr

f/4


2012_06_01_5578_center by dthrog00, on Flickr

f/5.6


2012_06_01_5577_center by dthrog00, on Flickr

The f/1.8 shot is more soft than the others. The f/2 shot has sharpened up quite a bit with improved contrast. I would say the f/2 shots and beyond have acceptable sharpness even at 100%. But, if I post process the f/1.8 shot can I get to look as good as the f/2 (update levels and apply unsharpen mask amount 75%, radius 2, threshold 3)?


2012_06_01_5582_center_sharpened by dthrog00, on Flickr

In my opinion it is pretty close. But what about the mid-frame section of an APS-C camera with the lens wide open at f/1.8? The original shot is below:


2012_06_01_5564_resized by dthrog00, on Flickr

The 100% crop of the cat's face is below:


2012_06_01_5564_midframe by dthrog00, on Flickr

The shot as a whole looks ok, but there's no question the cats eye has a soft "haze" to it. I sharpened it (amount 75%, radius 2, threshold 3) below.


2012_06_01_5564_midframe_sharpened by dthrog00, on Flickr

Is it perfect? No. But, the haze from the cat's eye is gone. I think the picture as a whole looks ok. So far in real world conditions I see no reason why I should be reluctant to shoot at f/1.8 if I need the faster shutter speed, although f/2 would be preferred in most circumstances.

I think the new lens is great so far and am looking forward to shoot with it more.

Dave

[Joel Eade]

Looks great Dave....congrats on the new glass

[criza]

Good comparison! I've owned this lens and was happy with it, although I didn't like the sharpness at 1.8, nor 2.0. For my taste it was acceptable at 2.2 and quite sharp at 2.8! Now I am even happier with my 24mm 1.4, it's sharper wide open than the 28mm 1.8 :P And I love the colors and the contrast!

[Dave Throgmartin]

The 24mm f/1.4 is a very highly regarded lens. Are you shooting full frame?

Dave

[criza]

The 24mm f/1.4 is a very highly regarded lens. Are you shooting full frame?
Dave

No, unfortunately not! I've spent my money for lenses and equipment, and at this stage I've got no money left for a full frame camera. I like shooting with my 60D, in spite of the missing auto focus micro adjustment, the higher pixel density and the poor ISO performance.

__________________
60D | Elan 7N | A-1 | X100 | 15 2.8 Fisheye | nFD 28 2 | 24 1.4L II | FD 55 1.2 Aspherical | 100 2.8L Macro | 200 2.8L II | 1.4x II TC | 430EX II

[Dave Throgmartin]

The ISO quality depends on point of view! My 60D beats my XT handily

Dave

[criza]

The ISO quality depends on point of view! My 60D beats my XT handily
Dave

You are right! After a long time I raised my maximum ISO value in Auto ISO from 1600 to 6400 ;-). Well for night shooting there is no way around it, even if you are using 1.2 aperture. Have a look here, but beware, only boring pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1027206...7630107487224/

__________________
60D | Elan 7N | A-1 | X100 | 15 2.8 Fisheye | nFD 28 2 | 24 1.4L II | EF 55 1.2 Aspherical | 100 2.8L Macro | 200 2.8L II | 1.4x II TC | 430EX II

[Dave Throgmartin]

Lots of times loose ends don't get tied down with lens discussions. If anyone goes searching for 28mm information I figured I'd take a few minutes and at least close the conversation I had started here.

The 28 f/1.8 is middle of the road lens, but I'm not sure there are many better options for a "normal" lens for Canon APS-C that are in a similar price range.

Pros:

Good central sharpness at f/2.5 and beyond
Decent sharpness at rule of thirds focsus point on APS-C
Fast and near silent USM focusing
Low weight
Quality of bokeh seemed pretty good for a wide angle
Wide aperture of f/1.8 is available. f/2.2 and beyond is preferred, but in a pinch f/1.8 and f/2 can capture a moment

Cons:

Flares quite easily
High chromatic aberration in high contrast scenes
Corners are mediocre on either format (I suspect due to field curvature)
Full frame mid-frame sharpness isn't that great either (again, likely field curvature)
Colors seem a bit muted compare to 17-40 and seems to draw with less separation between light & dark colors in the scene

I sold mine last week. It received little use after buying a full frame camera. I actually preferred the diminutive and manual focus OM Zuiko 28 f/3.5 image quality for decent light use although it is much slower.

APS-C samples:


2012_07_01_7031_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr


2012_11_14_1494_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr


2012_07_08_7437_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr


2012_07_03_7355_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr

Full frame samples:


2013_09_21_3805_LR_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr


2013_10_06_9000_upd by jthrog, on Flickr


2013_10_06_9034_upd by jthrog, on Flickr


2013_10_06_8993_upd by jthrog, on Flickr


2013_04_06_2177_upd by jthrog, on Flickr

Dave

[ahab1372]

Thanks for the write up Dave!
I had been looking at this lens too at one point. Looks like that on FF the newer 28mm f/2.8 IS is a better option albeit a stop slower

Do you use the OM Zuiko 28 f/3.5 on you FF?

[Dave Throgmartin]

I haven't used the Canon 28mm f/2.8 IS, but would agree that would appear to be a good choice for most people unless they must have faster than f/2.8. IMO the f/1.8 version doesn't get sharp enough to use for more serious purposes until f/2.2 - f/2.5.

I do use the OM Zuiko on full frame. They have 3 variants of 28mm lenses:

f/3.5 this is the must budget oriented and is pretty sharp corner to corner (~ $40)
f/2.8 I haven't used it, many seem to prefer either the f/3.5 or f/2 version (~ $80)
f/2 this is the high end Zuiko and owners of it seem to like it (~ $300)

I haven't had it really long and the winter here has been brutal so I have limited snaps so far. What I have is in Flickr.

As you can see it is the size of a pancake lens.


2013_10_24_4442_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr

Image quality seems quite good in my opinion. I've used more for tiny size and the overall fun factor than for low light.

Low light example - I believe this is wide open, 1/30 second, ISO 3200


2013_10_29_4644_LR_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr

General use


2013_11_03_4859_LR_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr


2013_11_03_4852_LR_upd by dthrog00, on Flickr


2013_11_03_4802_LR by dthrog00, on Flickr

I use a $15 OM to EOS Fotodiox adapter. I have a trio of Zuiko primes: 28 f/3.5, 50 f/1.4, and 50 f/3.5 macro. All were under $100. Examples using the trio: http://www.flickr.com/photos/6825585...uikoolympusom/

Dave