| |
 |
|
| Click image to see photos taken using this lens. |
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S The fastest and widest of Nikon's full-frame zooms, this pro lens ($1,800, street) scales up to 21-36mm on the Nikon D300. Introduced with the full-frame D3 and unofficially matched to Nikon's 24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, this superfast, constant-aperture, full-framer is almost in a class by itself.
HANDS ON: A large chunk of glass, with a fixed lenshood, this internal-focusing Nikon weighs a hefty 2.19 pounds. It incorporates expensive, high-tech aspheric and low-dispersion glass elements. Distinguished by a large black-on-gold "N" (for Nikon's flare-resistant Nano Crystal Coating), its matte-black finish, large ribbed and rubberized focus and zoom collars, and bright gold markings make for a very attractive package. Both collars turn well, although the zoom action is a little uneven and rough, and manual focusing a bit loose.
Autofocus is absolutely silent, fast, and accurate on our test camera, the D3. As you would expect from such a big lens, when mounted on the smaller D40x, it throws a shadow at all zoom settings when used with the camera's built-in flash. Due to its ultrawide angle of view and fisheye-like convex front element, this lens is that rarity that makes no provision for front- or rear-mounting filters.
IN THE LAB: Sharpness and contrast, as measured by the SQF system, were in the Excellent range at the three tested focal lengths. DxO Analyzer 2.0 distortion tests revealed its true forte: Visible barrel distortion at 14mm (0.51%); Slight barrel at 18mm (0.12%); and Imperceptible pincushioning at 24mm (0.02%) -- incredible distortion control by ultrawide, full-frame standards.
Light falloff was also well controlled, leaving the corners by f/4.8 at 14mm, f/5.6 at 18mm, and f/3.3 at 24mm. The lens focuses to about the same close-focus distance (10.5 inches) at all focal lengths, with maximum magnification ratios ranging from 1:9.5 at 14mm to 1:5.7 at 24mm, a very good showing.
|
