New 27mm f2.8 results

Hi, thanks for your review. For those who ask if the 27 Mk II is worth getting over the Mk I, here is my experience. I have just got the XE4 kit, with the 27 Mk II, and I'll write up my impressions of the XE4 in another post.

Regarding the upgraded 27, the build quality seems marginally better, but this could be because it is a new rather than an older lens. In my limited testing walking around the village, the IQ is excellent, but I can see no discernible difference between the Mk II and the Mk I in this respect. The AF seems to be the same, very accurate (the Mk I is very accurate too) , but compared to my f2 Crons, slower and noisier. The aperture ring is very nice to have and it has a good feel too. WR is nice to have, but the XE4, disappointingly, is not WR so of little added value for me.

So, if IQ and AF remain the same why did I upgrade? Simply because the XE4 kit with the lens was good value. When taking into account the trade-in values offered to me by the retailer for the the XE3 with and without the 27 Mk I versus the XE4 body or the kit with the 27 Mk II, the difference with the lens trade versus just a body trade was just £40 due to the better than expected trade-in value of the Mk I (the difference between my 27 Mk I purchase price in 2018 and trade-in was just £30!). So, I went with it.  Glad I did.

I'd suggest that unless the aperture ring is a must, the 27 Mk I is the better buy if buying solely the lens, particularly second hand.