Soligor 28mm 2.5

This was a flea-market find. The f2.5 aperture and wide angle caught my eye. How did you decide to go for f2.5 and not f2.8? Is there that much of a difference? The front element was very dusty, but before buying it I checked and cleaned a small bit, so I was sure there wasn't any damage. I ended up giving it a good clean, taking out the front and rear elements.

It's now as good as new, apart from a loose rubber focus ring, which is, again, an easy fix.

It's a small lens that feels well balanced on the Sony A7. The minimum focus distance of 0.3m, combined with the f2.5 aperture, is a nice treat.

The 52mm filter thread is a bit of a downside for me. I'm used to 49mm ones, and have most of my hoods and filters in that size.

In field use, it's an okay lens to use, with nothing too annoying or too pleasant to mention.

This is a weird lens. You go around snapping away: close, far, details, landscapes. And while you're taking your pictures and checking them on your camera, you think, "That's pretty good!" Then you see your photos in Lightroom, and you're faced with a different story. Even stopped down, this lens isn't that sharp. While the centre does look decent, the corners don't ever improve enough for my taste. This isn't a lens for pixel-peepers or full-size images. An occasional Instagram post? Sure, it works wonders.

I found I liked the close-up photos a lot more when editing, with good detail and okay sharpness. The bokeh, albeit busy, is pleasing to my eyes.

Chromatic aberrations are a problem, and that's something you'll rarely see me complain about. Vignetting is well controlled, as is distortion. I can live with both, and think they actually add up to a cool look. If you decide to correct distortion, keep in mind my copy had something similar to moustache distortion.

This lens flares easily, and you can see ghosting quite often when shooting without a hood.

This lens was a fun try. I wouldn't use it for landscapes or anything requiring too much detail. I would use it to snap away at details, making use of the 0.3m minimum focus distance and f2.5 aperture. If you're looking for a good wide-angle lens, I would skip this one, as there are other, often better, budget options.