No matter the camera system, 28mm f/1.4 fullframe lenses are a rare breed. And when you are looking for one equipped with autofocus, things really start to look dire. In most cases your only option is this Sigma 28mm 1.4 Art, which is also one of Sigma’s last fast primes designed for DSLRs and one where we still did not see a smaller “DN” mirrorless version. Despite all this, is this still a lens you should consider today? Let’s have a closer look.
When Sony released the first affordable fullframe camera with the A7 in 2013 almost none of the enthusiast photographers were aware of issues related to filter stack differences. Filter stack describes what is in front of the sensor and different manufacturers decided to go for different thicknesses here that can influence how our lenses perform. If you stay within just one system this is usually not something to care about, but when adapting lenses it is very helpful to be aware of this topic.
In this article I try to tell you about these differences and for what lenses they matter, so you can find out if it is something that might affect you.
After the first fullframe E-mount cameras hit the market there was a lot of marketing fluff from the competitors that the E-mount was too narrow for fast high performance lenses. I cannot help but think this Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM had mainly been designed to prove them wrong and from everything I can see it more than succeeded at that, but let’s have a closer look.
It was the beginning of 2019 when I published my first review of a 7Artisans lens, the 28mm 1.4 FE+ – an M-mount lens optimized for Sony E-mount. Now, 5 years later, this 7Artisans 50mm 1.8 AF is their first autofocus lens. Let us find out what it is capable of.
To me, fast 28mm fullframe lenses are very useful. No matter where I go, I either carry a fast 28mm or a fast 35mm lens. When it comes to the 28mm focal length we are not exactly blessed with great options though. I gathered six of those ranging from f/1.2 to f/1.5 and will compare them, to give you an idea which might work best for your needs.
Last update: February 2025
Continue reading Comparison: Fast 28mm f/1.2 | f/1.4 | f/1.5 Fullframe Lenses