28mm sharp in corners that doesn't break the bank?

[daniel buck]

Kind of OT (since the OP wants to know about performance specifically at f/8 and infinity): I've read and re-read that thread several times, and the funny thing is, it seems to me that it says two things at the same time. The Ultron is pretty good (sample-dependent), good enough to possibly not need/want anything else. But the cron isn't just added sharpness in the corners. It is 'better' OOF, better microcontrast, better color, etc etc, that adds up to a subjective look: "skin looks like it's glowing from inside".

On the other hand, there are people like Tom A. and Sean Reid who have found a certain subjective magic in the Ultron, particularly wide open and close in.

And this review is on an M8, not an M9. An M9 sees more of the outsides of the lens coverage, the worst area of the lens. on an M8, the Ultron and summicron may be a lot less distinguishable between each other. But on my M9 in the corners and sides the summicron is quite alot better.

 

[jaapv]

I had a Biogon 21 which fell apart spontaneously and had to be rebuilt by Will van Manen.
It was fine afterwards, though, and optically excellent. However, as the OP asks about 28 mm lenses, I would recommend the Elmarit 28-2.8 third or fouth version. Tack-sharp,high resolution, yet not as harsh as the asph. I got a version 3 for 700 Euro not so very long ago.

 

[Bruin]

Well, jyr said that he tested the three 28s at f8 and infinity and found them indistinguishable (post #35). Presumably that means there was also no difference in categories other than sharpness.

IMHO ANY modern 28mm at f8 and infinity should be sharp in the corners, regardless of film/M8/M9. If it's not, blame sample variation, not the lens design.

 

[daniel buck]

I find that difficult to believe, that "ANY modern 28mm at f8" will be sharp in the corners.

I know alot of people with wide angles at or around 28mm (on SLR setups) that do not get tack sharp in the corners. Maybe it is sample variation, but I've not yet seen any 100% crops of the very corner of an Ultron 28/2.0 on an M9 that show sharp corners. The few examples that I have seen, have had soft corners. So that is the basis for my my decision 🙂

Maybe I'm wrong, and I just had a bad sample and the examples that I've seen elsewhere have been bad samples as well. Or maybe my tolerance for "sharp" is not what yours is. But until I see a few sharp corner examples, I'm sticking to my experience that the ultron 28/2.8 is not sharp in the corners of a "full" chip camera. 🙂 I wish the corners *were* sharp, because other than that I was perfectly happy with the lens.