Howy again everyone and today I'm doing Something a little different I'll be Testing out a 28 mm lens that costs Around $6,000 but hey you also get a free Camera with it so that's not so bad the 28 mm f1.7 lens that comes attached to The Leica Q3 is fixed onto the camera so There's really no other way to get a Hold of it but it's quickly gained a Great reputation for itself so I thought Why not make a special review of the Lens itself to go alongside my review of The camera I thought that maybe you'd All be as curious as I am to know how it Tested out if you are going to have any Lens permanently fixed to your fullframe Camera then 28 mm is hardly a bad choice It's moderately wide angle might not be Very exciting but it is undeniably Useful and popular for street Photography and a maximum apture of f1.7 Is lovely and bright combined with image Stabilization that makes this a Fantastic lens for shooting it in Darker Conditions or even getting a somewhat Outof focused background I'd like to Thank Leica very much for learning me a Q3 camera with of course this lens for a Few weeks for testing although as usual This is a totally independent review the Lens's build quality is absolutely Gorgeous as you'd expect at this price Point small solid and with a gorgeous
Thoughtful tactile design the first Thing I like about it is its macro Control dial right at the rear turning This will set the lens into macro Focusing mode extending the bottom of The hyperfocal scale in an action that Feels smooth and looks totally awesome Then comes to focus ring this turns very Smoothly and precisely there's a handy Finger rest at the bottom which also has A switch to let you lock the lens in or Out of autofocus mode another neat Design although the switch itself is a Little fiddly to use when it comes to Manual focus the lens exhibits a Moderate amount of focus breathing Nothing that would cause you any kind of Serious problem while video making Though autofocus on this lens is silent Very accurate but only averagely fast And not always totally sure of itself it Has to hunt just a little to move the Right way for you in front of the focus Ring comes aperture control which turns Evenly with perfect gentle clicks at Every third of an F stop I have some Criticism M here though it's far too Easy to accidentally turn the lens from F1.7 into automatic mode which can Easily catch you out when casually Shooting leaving you feeling a bit out Of control of your camera I'd like to See Leica add a little lock switch to This mechanism like Sigma do with their
Lenses the lens's front filter size is a Small 49 mm and the Leica Q3 is an image Stabilized camera I found its Stabilization really helped me to get Very sharp images in the dark here The Lens comes with a metallic Coke can Style Hood which is not to everyone's Taste and a slip-on cap to go on top of That which does at least fit quite Nicely I never bothered with the hood And the slip-on cap though preferring Just to use an old Sony 49 mm lens cap That I had lying around the place so Overall the lenses design and build Quality is absolutely gorgeous with some Thoughtful and unique design ideas the Only real niggle for me was how often I Found it slipping out of f1.7 and enter Automatic aperture mode by mistake which Could get annoying sometimes anyway Image quality and this is the first lens I've ever properly tested at 61 Megapixels thankfully my test chart Turned out to be up for the challenge I'm glad I had it printed so big and at Such a high quality bear in mind that The lier Q3 camera is making automatic Image Corrections here at f1.7 we are Seeing some real nice image quality in The middle good sharpness and contrast Although the eagley will spot just a Touch of ghosting on contrasting edges I Can tell you now that goes away at f2 Leaving perfect contrast well let's take
A look in the corners as you can see Image quality has clearly softened Although it should be noted that a 61 Megapixel full-frame camera sensor is Always going to be a serious challenge To even the sharpest of lenses stop down To F2 and the image gets just a little Brighter at f2.8 there's more contrast And sharpness at F4 sharpness is looking Very good in the corners although still Not perfect the lens stays dis sharp Down to f8 where defraction is beginning To cause some softness f11 and F-16 just Look softer although of course Defraction is not the lens's fault okay So the lens is putting in a good Performance here especially considering What a ridiculously crazy sensor it is That we're working on but I was Expecting a bit more out of its Corner Image quality especially considering the Huge price of the whole Q3 system okay Let's bypass in camera Corrections Now By shooting in Roar and see about Distortion and vignetting well it's no Wonder the corner image quality looked a Little ropey the cameras having to Stretch them in order to deal with the Lens's very strong Barrel Distortion and Vignetting at f1.7 is also looking a bit Ugly Stop down to f2.8 or particularly F4 and Those Corners brighten but never Completely so of course if you're
Shooting in raw be sure to correct those Issues as I've mentioned this lens has Great macro functionality focusing down To 17 cm which is a brilliant bonus Especially as this is the only lens You'll be able to use on a camera might As well keep things flexible the good News is that sharpness continues to be Excellent at f1.7 even closeup although A touch of blue color finging is Noticeable but only on contrasting edges And stop down to f2.8 for it to be Slightly reduced now let's see how this Lens works against Bright Lights it's a Better than average performance here Some flaring artifacts can clearly be Seen But the lens maintains its very Good contrast and while we're working in The dark let's take a look at coma Levels at f1.7 bright points of light in The image Corners see just a little Smearing at f2 it's slightly reduced at F2.8 mostly gone well let's zoom out and Take a look for sunstars you have to Stop all the way down to about f11 to See those emerging although they look Pretty fabulous when you do at F16 they Get nice and strong next up bcka I very Much liked the quality of this lens's Out of focus backgrounds specular Highlights have minimal substructure or Outlining and also a surprisingly low Cats high bcka shap shape towards the Corners that's normally quite a serious
Problem but it's much more subtle on This lens nice job Leica and finally Related to Baka comes longitudinal Chromatic aberration on this lens it's Certainly notable at f1.7 but not very Strong stop down to f2.8 and its Tubb KN Scking around but at F4 it's mostly gone Overall well it was a bit indulgent of Me to test this lens fully because well The only people who can experience ins It are those who blow six grand on a Like a camera I was expecting more Corner sharpness out of the optic but Sharpness in the center and in the midf Frame is absolutely spectacular its Build quality is intuitive and beautiful To handle and its images look absolutely Gorgeous so really it's the perfect Companion for the Leica Q3 really really Interesting I had a whale of a Time Testing this lens Out And I hope you found that video as Interesting as I found the lens I know It's not going to get loads of views or Earn me lots of money but what the heck It's a really fascinating little optic If you find yourself watching a lot of My reviews then check out my patreon Page down in the description there you Can support the channel while finding All kinds of exclusive bonus content Ciao for now Everyone
