Lightweight zoom vs prime for A7CR

[Mike Fewster]

Sony’s 28-60/4.0-5.6 is compact and sharp across the frame at f5.6-f8. Great for scenic shots in decent light. As it’s a bundled kit lens, used ones in excellent shape are available for half the new retail price. I got mine for around $250.

Adam-T of this forum talked me into getting this lens, & I'm grateful he did. It's so portable, compact, & light, & I'm loving its IQ on my a7rV.

It does have 2 quirks: the lens cap isn't the most secure, at least mine isn't. I lost a cap two days after getting the lens, & have to be extra careful with the replacement. The other quirk is the lens rotation mechanism has a detent that you have to turn past before the lens operates. IOW, you twist the lens past a "bump" to turn it on. That bothers some people, though I haven't the slightest idea why. It's mindless to do & only takes a split second.

I got mine from MPB for $219. It was a "Good" condition lens, & I was pleasantly surprised with how nice their "Good" lenses can be. Very securely packed too.

The 28-60mm certainly would be a great option to have in your lens line up for times when you want lightness & portability without the limits of a fixed focal length.

Hi,

The lens cap issue - 40.5 mm caps, filters and accessories are a pain.... It's not a size shared by any other Sony lens, it's fiddly for big hands, stores don't stock them, and some filters aren't even made in that size.

I bought a 40.5 - 52mm step-up ring. They're very inexpensive from the wonderful Chinese accessory industry. I leave it on the lens all the time and use a 52mm cap and accessories. Its outer diameter is almost identical in size to the diameter of the telescoping barrel section and it doesn't interfere with retraction. You can get anything and everything in 52mm. It just works.

Cheers, Rod

Very neat.

Thanks Rod.

 

[contadorfan]

Hoya makes a 40.5mm CPL for the lens. Got one from B&H.

--
"Never let good clouds go to waste." -- Margaret Bourke-White

 

[richj20]

Hi - I just saw your gear list and you already have 35mm lenses, so I need not comment, and I removed my photographs.

 

[PJ Barata]

Some food for thought: with a high-resolution camera like the A7CR you don't really need a short zoom -- just use a prime and either crop in or take a step back. If you're looking for sharpness, lightweight and reasonable cost, seems like the tiny Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 might just become your new best friend! Reviewed here.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

Some food for thought: with a high-resolution camera like the A7CR you don't really need a short zoom -- just use a prime and either crop in or take a step back. If you're looking for sharpness, lightweight and reasonable cost, seems like the tiny Zeiss 35mm f/2.8

or Samyang's much cheaper AF 35/2.8, which is a tad sharper

might just become your new best friend! Reviewed here.

Sony's 28-60 seems like a pretty limited zoom range. But, 28-90 on a high-rez body doesn't seem so bad. Plus, it's small, light, affordable, and pretty darn sharp.

--
Event professional for 20+ years, travel & landscape enthusiast for 30+.
http://jacquescornell.photography
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