Sony FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 Review
SEL2860 - Kit lens for the new A7C
Sony FE 28-60m F4-5.6 (SEL2860)
Announced- Sept 2020
Pro
Compact size and light weight
Good performance
Dust and Moisture resistance
Con
Limited focal length
Collapsible design, have to extend before use
Cannot mount lens hood
What’s included:
I got this lens from the A7C (reviewed here) kit, not sure what it will come with in a retail box. There was nothing included other than the lens cap and the end cap.
Body
The lens body is 45mm long x 66mm in diameter, weight at 167g. It takes a 40.5mm filter at the front, and is not compatible with Sony’s 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverter.
This small lens only have basic control. There is a focus ring at the front, then a zoom ring at the back. There are focal lengths printed on the zoom ring. Interestingly, it has 40mm marked between 35 and 50mm.
This lens is a collapsible design, so will have to zoom out from park position to 28mm before it can be used. The body will give you a warning message when the lens is still collapsed. The length of the lens is 45mm collapsed, and about 70mm when extended to 28mm focal length.
The lens is nicely built with plastic body and metal lens mount with thin rubber gasket. Interestingly, the rear element goes quite far out to the mount when collapsed.
The front element is quite tiny, and can only use a 40.5mm filter. There is no way to mount a lens hood.
Image Quality
This is a variable aperture lens, with aperture starting at f/4 at 28mm and quickly narrows to f/4.5 as soon as you turn it. It drops to f/5 right after 35mm, then finally to f/5.6 after 40mm.
Below is a comparison on different focal lengths shot with the A7RIV. First with 28mm comparison, the center is sharp wide open at f/4, then not seeing much difference as I stepped down the aperture. The corner is soft at f/4, and gets better but still soft at f/8. The wide end seems to have weak corner.
35mm comparison, starting at largest aperture @ f/4.5. The center is sharp already, and not much change stepping down the aperture. The corner is a little soft at f/4.5, and improves a little at f/8.
50mm comparison, starting at f/5.6. Just like before, good center and soft corner wide open. The corner gets better at f/11.
60mm comparison, starting at f/5.6. Center is good and soft corner wide open. Corner gets better at f/11.
VS 24-70GM
It is quite difficult to tell how good this lens is unless compared against another lens. I have used the 2470GM as baseline for comparison on 28mm and 50mm shooting at f/4 and f/5.6. At the wide end, the center is pretty similar and the GM has better corner. On the telephoto side, GM has better center and corner.
Please look at the sample photos (you can click on the pic to see a larger view) and draw your own conclusion. I find it hard to find significant fault on the SEL2860. The performance is pretty consistent, and only weaker on the corner. Given that this is only a kit lens and its compact size, I am impressed with the performance.
Focus Breathing and Parafocal Test
I have tested these in manual focus with the A7C. I am not a video shooter, but I don’t find any significant focus breathing at 28mm and 60mm. It also seems to be parafocal as well, but it is hard to tell with f/5.6. Please see below sample video:
Conclusion
The FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6, SEL2860, is an interesting lens. I really enjoy its light weight and compact size. It is quite nice that Sony has included dust and moisture resistance on this collapsible lens, which otherwise would worry me with it sucking in dusts. The lens has much better performance expected. The center is nice across the range, and only has slightly weaker corner.
This lens has a practical focal range from 28mm to 60mm, but I would prefer to have 24mm to 50mm like the Nikon Z-mount kit lens. 24mm on the wide end would make it more suitable for vlogging and landscape/indoor shot. 60mm vs 50mm is a not significant difference on the tele side anyway.
Overall, this lens is a great option for people looking for a compact zoom lens to travel with. It is worth picking this kit lens up with the body. I hope to see Sony make a compact line of lens like this one.
Sample Gallery (mostly shot with the A7C)
