[Kayaker-J]

@joelR... Well, thanks so much for the insights, so directly relevant to my situation! Hmm, that gives me some things to think about. It's interesting that you're finding the Heliar useful on the A7 -- I'd think that says a lot right there.

I guess if I summed it all up into one bottom line comparison, for me it would come down to this: Which do you think would yield the superior results on the A7, especially for nature, landscapes, old barns, and the like -- the Contax-G 28mm... or one of my two main retrofocus 28mm SLR primes... the SMC Pentax 28mm/3.5 "K", and the Nikkor 28mm/2.0 AI? ...Also, I guess you're saying that I could expect either of my SLR-era 24mm lenses -- the Pentax 24/2.8 A, or the Nikkor 24/2.8 AI -- to be fine. Thanks for the assist, Joel! -- Fred

[joelR]

Yes, the SLR lens will be more predictable but the results of the Zeiss lenses are quiet amazing when it comes together! Honestly I use the 28 a lot less than either the 45mm or the 90mm but that's just my shooting style. If I want wide I go ultra wide! I uses the 28mm a lot more on APS-C NEX which may be why the 45mm feels so natural to me.

[DSims]

When the X•Pro•1 came out, the typical set of incompatibility issues with the wider FL rangefinder lenses came up right away. I was interested, having Contax-G lenses. Is the current Mk-II version of the X-trans sensor said to be any better in that regard? As you say, fire sale prices on the older Fuji bodies are out there; and who knows how low they might go, if prices on the older Olympus m4/3 Pens is anything to go by. I have to say, I am very intrigued by their 14mm prime (DA 15 Ltd. fanatics eye me suspiciously... as they stop down their f.4 lenses ��; and now by the upcoming 10-24mm/f.4 -- the Strobist guy got his hands on one pre-release, and my, my, my...) I suspect you noticed the fast & compact 23mm/f.1.4, DSims!

BTW, Rockwell took his bashing here recently on a thread; but you are right -- some of his write-ups are quite a bit better than just O.K.: I think of his film era "donation" camera reviews, in particular. His take on the Nikon FE (my first SLR) vs. the FE-2 was right on the money -- uniquely so, so far as I've seen; same with his 2012 (!) review of the old Canon FTb[-n], which sure isn't getting much respect on eBay these days.

I looked at the Fuji system recently, as I was getting a bit frustrated with my results on landscapes with K-mount. In the end I figured out better ways to use (optimal apertures and such for) my particular lenses. But I figured out what I'd buy if I were to get Fuji. The 14 is better than the DA15, and the 23 is better than my FA*24 (which is still one of my favorites):

Zeiss Touit 12/2.8 (Fuji 14/2.8 is still awfully good though)
Fuji 23/1.4
Fuji 56/1.2
Future 50-140/2.8 OIS
Possibly 60/2.4 macro