Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 G AF-S ED NIKKOR

First published on: Thursday, 13 September 2007

This is the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor ultra-wide angle zoom lens:

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S ED NIKKOR

The first ever professional, ultra-wide, constant f/2.8 aperture zoom angle FX (full-frame) lens from Nikon, the 14-24 is poised to become another legend among Nikkor lenses, and was announced on 23-August-2007.

Here’s the direct link to the online PDF product user manual for the 14-24 (right-click to save to your hard disk).

Reviews

The Nikon 14-24mm on Canon camera bodies

Extensive test and review by David Clapp

This is one of the best reviews on the Nikon 14-24mm lens, regardless of the camera body it’s mounted on. David tested the lens for use on the Canon 1Ds Mark III and used the combination to photograph some stunning landscapes. David is obviously impressed by the lens, as it outperforms the Canon 17-40mm f/4L and Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II lenses by a wide margin.

Nikon 14-24mm vs Carl Zeiss 21mm f/2.8

David Clapp updates his experience with the 14-24 on February 13th, 2009, and this time, he pits the Nikon 14-24mm against the Carl Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 (more information on the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/21).

The Nikon lens was set to 21mm focal length, and the Canon 1Ds Mark III camera was used to take the photographs.

At f/2.8, the Carl Zeiss performs much better, exhibiting greater sharpness and contrast across the frame compared to the Nikkor 14-24. However, the Nikon catches up at f/4, while showing virtually no vignetting in the corners, unlike with the CZ lens. At smaller apertures, it’s almost a tie as far as sharpness is concerned, but the Nikon shows slightly better contrast and much less vignetting in the corners. The Carl Zeiss lens produced images with cooler tones.

Additionally, David Clapp recommends the use of the Nikon 14-24mm, Carl Zeiss 28mm f/2 and Carl Zeiss 35-70mm lenses, stating that the Canon EF 24-105mm and 17-40mm lenses gave lackluster performance when used on the 1Ds3.

Other reviews

A quick comment on the 14-24mm by Thom HoganThom has yet do a full review of the Nikkor 14-24 as I write this, but this comment that he posted on DPReview is truly indicative of his impressions of the lens:

Since I know someone will ask (;~), the two lenses at 5 optically right now are the 14-24mm, which is clearly a 5…

In other words, the 14-24mm and the Nikon 200mm f/2G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor are the only lenses Thom will award a full 5-star rating to.

3 Nikon Ultra-Wide Angle Lenses ComparedKakaku.com tested the Nikon 14-24mm f2.8G lens vs two other Nikkor lenses, the Nikon 16-35mm f4 VR and the Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D. The camera used was a Nikon D700, and tests were conducted at focal lengths of 16mm / 17mm, 24mm and 35mm. Apertures tested were f/4, f/5.6 and f/8. Here’s Google’s English translation of the article.

Gear gotchas, by Seb Rogers — In this article Mr. Rogers describes the difficulty he faces in keeping the front element of the lens free of water and dirt, as the design of the 14-24mm precludes you from attaching any protective filter on the front. No solution seems to be in sight as of now, and this is something you’ll have to consider if you intend to shoot action photos up close in unforgiving environments with this optic.

Review and test of the Nikkor 14-24mm and 24-70mm lenses

Pictchallenge-archives.net’s piece is written in French, and you’d probably want to read this related forum thread that discusses the article.

Of particular interest is the section (middle portion of the review where a 100% crop, and two photos at 14mm and 24 focal lengths are presented) where they test the edge sharpness of the 14-24mm lens at 14mm and f/2.8, wide open. The lens was mounted on the Nikon F4 film SLR camera, with Fuji Provia 100F loaded. Using Google to translate that bit of French paragraph gives this:

In the absence of provisional D3 “testable” I’m just stayed on my hunger with this 14-24 planned for the new cabinet full format. Indeed, it will provide for the first time ever such a range in which there is no equivalent to this opening reserved for the digital zoom (the excellent zoom Olympus 7-14 mm, is equivalent to 14-28 a 24 x 36, opens at f / 4). But I mounted the latest addition to my ancient and solemn F4 (the first aircraft pro Nikon autofocus, already almost 20 years!) With a 100% viewfinder showed me exactly the framing and I was surprised to discover a real but controlled vigneting and low distortion apparent straight lines. I fed the F4 (see note) with reference to slide, a Fuji Provia 100F, and I made a few views. As it is not a test pitching — we await the D3! — Images that follow are taken at full opening of f/2.8, because they were monitoring the obscursissement edges, and also check whether the definition declined steadily on the edges, or if it “spun” with aberrations and fringes, which is quite unpleasant! The silver crops would have little significance in view comparative techniques, but it is certain that the sharpness does not deteriorate so bad on the edges … look at the excerpt below the lower right corner 14 MM!

I take it that the photographer was pretty excited by the results, and wished he could test it on a Nikon D3 instead.

A quick test by Maza.ch — In this forum thread, Maza shows crops from the left corner of photos comparing the sharpness from the Nikon 14mm f/2.8D ED AF Nikkor lens vs the new Nikkor 14-24mm — Nikon wasn’t kidding around when they claimed that the 14-24mm is as sharp, if not sharper, than prime lenses. Maza also claims that the 14-24mm is sharper in the corners than the legendary Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S Nikkor lens.

Remark on the Nikon 14-24mm in the January 2008 issue of Kamera & Bild — If you understand Swedish, then it’s best to read this issue for a glowing report by this magazine on the Nikon D3 camera and the Nikkor 14-24mm lens. If not, then a brief summary in English by PerL should help — in short, the Nikon 14-24mm lens would go straight to optical history. Jorgen E adds that the Nikon Nikon 14-24mm lens outperforms the Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L prime lens. The use of the Nikon 14-24mm lens on the D3 yielded photos that are more detailed than the Canon 1Ds Mark III plus EF 14mm f/2.8L combination.

Sample photos and videos

Two official, full-resolution sample photos taken with the Nikon D600.

Nikon 14-24mm plus Nikon D600 -- Full-resolution sample photos

This stunning video of earth was created from a series of time-lapse photos taken from the NASA International Space Station. Equipment used was the Nikon D3S, Nikon 14-24mm and Nikon 17-35mm. More details at Vimeo, DPReview, NASA and Mail Online.

Official Nikon D3S plus Nikkor 14-24mm ISO12800 photo – This image was snapped in a club, and is an excellent example of the high-ISO performance of Nikon’s new professional DSLR. View the full-resolution image. The image EXIF can be seen here.

Official Nikon D3S plus Nikkor 14-24mm ISO12800 full-resolution photo

Stunning landscape photos by John ChristopherJohn used two lenses on the Nikon D700 to shoot these images, the Nikon 14-24mm and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor. View more of John’s photos at J. Christopher Galleries: Nature Photography From The Pacific Northwest.

Stunning landscape photos by John Christopher, with the Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-70mm and Nikkor 14-24mm

M.Soria took this spectacular high-ISO photo of the Milky Way with the Nikon D700 plus Nikkor 14-24mm combination. Settings were 60 seconds, ISO 3200, f/2.8, 14mm.

Eight Nikon D700 / Nikkor 14-24 sample images at pixelmania.nl — Here’s Google’s English translation of the article, which announced the granting of the Pixelmania Award to the Nikkor 14-24mm.

Embedded in the review are eight thumbnails that when clicked on, take you to the original, full-resolution versions.

The photos were shot at focal lengths of 14mm and 24mm on a Nikon D700.

Random images from user galleries on PBase.com — Don’t forget to hit the refresh button on your browser to serve up another set of random pictures. You’ll also find user reviews there.

Most of the “Pride of Midtown” (the most popular and photographed firehouse in New Your City) photos in this excellent article by Joe McNally was shot with the 14-24 mounted on a Nikon D700.

Nikon USA Press Release, 28th September 2007Six full-sized Nikon D3 photos were released to the public in this announcement. The impressive ISO 6400 ice hockey shot was the photo taken with the Nikkor 14-24mm lens by Dave Black, and is one of the most effective demonstrations of how to use an ultra-wide angle lens for action and sports photography that I’ve seen. The image quality of this high ISO JPEG file which came straight out of the D3 is also unprecedented.

Ice hockey, a Nikon D3 ISO 6400 sample photographed by Dave Black

Extreme weather photography — Jim Reed puts the Nikon D700 through its paces, and used the Nikkor 14-24mm to great effect.

High-ISO night city shots taken by Photo-Cafe.jp with a Nikon D3 plus 14-24 — I guarantee that this set of full-sized ISO 1600 to ISO 6400 samples will be the most amazing images of this sort you’ll find anywhere. Not only is the corner-to-corner sharpness of the lens very good at f/8 and 14mm, the D3 also shows off how excellent its high ISO performance is — very nice noise characteristics, highly pleasing colors and no trace of harshly-blown highlights.

Photo samples taken by Photo-cafe.jp with the Nikon D3 plus Nikkor 14-24mm lens

Funny picture of a squirrel.

Nikon D3X review samples at PhotographyBlog — Unfortunately, the full-resolution test images (JPEG and RAW / NEF) at PhotographyBlog’s review of the Nikon D3X aren’t labeled with the lens used, but you can make an educated guess by looking at the focal length.

For instance, the image of the Tower Bridge in London was taken with the 14-24.

Click on the thumbnail below to open up the full-resolution image in a new browser window, or just right-click to save to your hard drive.

Tower Bridge at London, photographed with a Nikon 14-24mm lens mounted on a Nikon D3X
  1. File size: 11 MB
  2. Shutter speed: 1/250 sec
  3. Aperture: f/8
  4. ISO: ISO 100
  5. Focal length: 14mm
  6. Lens: Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S
  7. Picture control: Standard
  8. White balance: AWB (Automatic White Balance)
  9. Exposure mode: Aperture-Priority Auto
  10. Exposure metering: 3D Color Matrix Metering II

Todd shoots rock concerts with the 14-24mm — For this image, he also employed the help of a remote Nikon SB-600 Speedlight in CLS mode for a little fill flash.

His main cameras are the Nikon D3 and Nikon D700 — head over to his concert photography equipment guide for more tips on gear selection for this genre of photography.

Family Force 5! is a stunning 14-24mm, ultrawide photo taken by Todd of ishootshows.com.

Resources

NikonUSA.com — has information on key features, technical specifications, related accessories and you can download the product manual.

imaging.nikon.com — has MTF charts and a lens construction diagram.

Related

Nikon lenses – Main page.

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