I've resisted buying this lens for some time. My ability to fight off
lens lust on the FA28 can be attributed to the following thoughts:
* On 35mm Film: I prefer 24mm as a general purpose wide angle.
* On digital: 28 isn't wide, but it's not quite standard either.
What is it?
* f/2.8 isn't fast for a nearly standard (for digital) prime. It
should be f/2.
But then opportunity conspired with funds and weak resistance, and the
next thing I knew I bought one on eBay. It arrived yesterday, and I
have to admit I'm really pleased with the new enablement. I've already
put it through its paces.
I find that on my *ist-DS, 28mm IS a useful focal length. The more I
think about it, the more I realize that I always felt 50mm (on film) to
be a little too 'tight' for a standard lens. The 28mm focal length on
digital feels just a little less confined, and turns out to be quite a
comfortable focal length to 'set and forget'.
f/2.8 is fast enough under most conditions, especially on digital where
ISO800 is usable.
I once owned the 'F' version of this lens but didn't much care for it.
That was back in my film days, and as I mentioned earlier, I didn't find
the focal length all that useful to me, plus it didn't seem all that
sharp. Now with the FA, in my limited use, I find the FA to be sharper
and to offer smoother bokeh. I like that.
For someone looking for a fairly inexpensive but good quality standard
lens for their digital SLR, I think the FA28 should definitely be in the
running. Yes, the FA35 is faster, and offers a field of view (on
digital) closer to what people consider 'standard'. But the 28 offers a
little broader field of view which can be quite nice too. And it's
often available at just over half the cost of the 35 f/2.
