Nikon Ultrawide FX Zooms Compared

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Nikon Ultrawide FX Zooms Compared
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20mm f/2.8, 20-35mm f/2.8 AF-D, 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S, 18-35mm AF-D , 14-24mm f/2.8 and 16-35mm VR. enlarge. It helps me keep adding to this site when you use these links to Adorama, Amazon, B&H, and eBay to get your goodies. Thanks! Ken.

March 2013 Nikon Reviews Nikon Lenses All Reviews

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Listed in order of introduction:

	20/2.8	20-35/2.8	17-35/2.8	18-35 AF-D	14-24/2.8	16-35 VR	24/1.4	18-35 G
images (to scale)
Anno	1989-	1993-2001	1999-	2000-	2006-	2010-	2010-	2013-
Build quality	Solid amateur	Pro	Pro	Amateur	Pro	Solid amateur	Semi-pro	Solid amateur
Max. aperture	f/2.8	f/2.8	f/2.8	f/3.5-4.5	f/2.8	f/4	f/1.4	f/3.5-4.5
Filter	62mm	77mm	77mm	77mm	None	77mm	77mm	77mm
Filter	plastic	Metal	Metal	plastic	None	plastic	plastic	plastic
Length	2.1"	3.7"	4.2"	3.3"	5.2"	4.9"	3.5"	3.7"
Length	54mm	95mm	107mm	83mm	132mm	125mm	88.5mm	95mm
AF-MF switching	Switch on camera	Switch on camera or on lens	Just grab focus ring	Switch on camera	Just grab focus ring	Just grab focus ring	Just grab focus ring	Just grab focus ring
Focus ring moves during AF?	Yes	no	no	Yes	no	no	no	no
Sharpness	Very good	Very good	Very good	Very good	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Distortion	Low	Low	Moderate	High	Moderate	Low to heinous	Low	Low to high
Distortion character	Wavy	Wavy	Wavy	Wavy	Simple	Simple	Simple	Slightly wavy
*Distortion, widest setting, 3m**	0.0**	+2.0**	+2.5**	+2.0**	+4.0	+8.0**	+1.5	+4.25*
*Distortion, 20mm setting, 3m**	0.0**	+2.0**	-0.2**	+2.2**	0.0	+3.0	-
*Distortion, 24mm setting, 3m**	-	+0.2*	-2.0	+2.5**	-0.1	0.0	+1.5	+2.5
*Distortion, 35mm setting, 3m**	-	+1.0*	-3.0	+1.2	n/a	-2.0	-	+0.95
Works on newest cameras 1990s-on***	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Works on 1980s AF cameras***	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Usually	Usually	Usually	Usually
Works on manual-focus cameras***	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Quality	Japan	Japan	Japan	Japan	Japan	Thailand	Japan	China
Weight	257g	588g	730g	370g	1,000g	680g	618g	381g
Price (4/2010)	$565	$600****	$1,760	$600	$1,800	$1,260	$2,200	n/a
Price (1-1/2013)	$557	$600****	$1,769	$600	$2,000	$1,257	$2,000	$750

* As set in Photoshop's distortion correction tool to correct.

** Some waviness remains.

*** See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details.

**** Used.

Recommendations top

Practical

I'd suggest either the fixed 20mm f/2.8 AF-D, 18-35mm AF-D or 18-35 G for their light weight and low cost.

They do exactly the same thing as the other big, ugly lenses, but do it for less money, while taking up less space in your bag and less weight around your neck.

You'll get farther, feel better, and thus see better and take better pictures with these lenses than with the other pigs.

The advantage of the 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 AF-D zoom over the 20mm f/2.8 AF-D is that it zooms, but I prefer the extra speed, lighter weight, lower cost and tougher build quality of the 20mm f/2.8 AF-D.

The 20mm f/2.8 AF-D is my favorite on this page.

The biggest disadvantage to either of these is that the focus ring spins as the camera autofocuses, so you have to keep your hands clear. You also have to stop and move a switch to go between auto and manual focus, another pain, but much less of a pain than carrying around a two-pound lens.

The AF switching can drive you crazy, if you need fast access to manual focus.

While twice as big and expensive as the 20mm f/2.8 AF-D or 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 AF-D, the newest 16-35mm f/4 VR is a superb all-around lens and allows instant manual-focus override simply by grabbing the focus ring. If you don't mind carrying it, it is a pleasure to shoot. Just be sure to watch the front so you don't bang it on anything; it is very long.

Pro on a Budget top

The 20mm f/2.8 AF-D is still my favorite, however, the fully professional 20-35mm f/2.8 AF-D is also a great lens, if you want a zoom.

The 20mm f/2.8 is also a reasonably tough pro lens, while the 20-35mm f/2.8 AF-D is built to take a beating and still come up shooting great images time and time again.

The 20-35mm f/2.8 still requires moving a switch to go between auto and manual focus, but you have your choice of either the one on your camera, or one on the lens that's easy to use as you shoot. Its focus ring doesn't move during autofocus.

Practical Pro top

The 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S is still the winner.

It's tough, focuses great, takes filters, and is a lot smaller than the ridiculous 14-24mm that can't take any prophylactic filters With the 14-24mm, you'll need to use an easily lost and flimsy lens cap, instead of just throwing it in your bag like the others.

The 17-35mm has instant manual focus override; just grab the focus ring.

Ultrawide Addict

The 16-35mm f/4 VR and 14-24mm /2.8 AF-S are significantly wider than the others, and also have superior AF ergonomics and sharpness if you're looking too close.

They both have instant manual focus override; just grab the focus ring.

Low Light Hand-Held top

Digital

Still Subjects

The hyper ISOs of FX digital make fast lenses largely obsolete for the great majority of hand-held low-light shots of things that hold still.

For hand-held low-light shots of still subjects on FX digital, the 16-35mm VR is the clear winner because its VR more than compensates for its slower speed compared to the f/2.8 non-VR lenses. An additional benefit of the slower lens with VR is that the f/4 aperture, versus f/2.8 or faster, gives even deeper depth-of-field for sharper pictures.

The effective maximum aperture of the 16-35mm VR is about f/2, yet we get the depth-of-field of f/4. Nice!

The reason I don't use the f/1.4 lenses for still subjects in dim light on FX is because at f/1.4, very little is in focus due to the small depth-of-field, and with the excellent high ISOs of FX, nothing except moonlight is dark enough to need f/1.4.

Moving Subjects

For subjects that move, VR does nothing. Faster apertures let us stop motion, in which case, the 24mm f/1.4 is the best lens.

If you need a zoom, then the 14-24mm f/2.8 is best optically.

Moonlight

In moonlight, we need every possible photon. In this case, the 24mm f/1.4 AF-S and 28mm f/1.4 D let me shoot hand-held under moonlight, on FX digital.

Film

On film, we don't get ISO 3,200 without witchcraft, while FX digital gives us ISO 6,400 for free.

Therefore, I prefer the 24mm f/1.4 AF-S and 28mm f/1.4 D for their ultra-fast f/1.4 speed. With ISO 50 film, I need to capture every photon I can for shooting hand-held in dim light.

Computer Nerd top

If you're a pixel-counter who spends more time on your computer or peering through 22x loupes than you do shooting, you'll prefer either of the 16-35mm f/4 VR or 14-24mm /2.8 AF-S because they offer slightly more sharpness in the far corners when shot at larger apertures and looked at at 100% on your screen.

Both of these have instant manual focus override; just grab the focus ring.

If you split pixels, of the two 16-35mm f/4 VR and 14-24mm /2.8 AF-S that I shot-off against each other at the range, the smaller, less expensive and more practical 16-35mm f/4 VR was actually a bit sharper than the old 14-24mm /2.8 AF-S!

Nikon never ceases to amaze me with its unending ability to make better lenses cheaper every year.

Masochist top

If you don't mind hauling them, the 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S, 16-35mm f/4 VR and 14-24mm /2.8 AF-S really do offer excellent optical, mechanical and autofocus ergonomic performance. They're also the three heaviest lenses here.

Among these three, the 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S has the weakest optics, and the 16-35mm f/4 VR has the flimsiest mechanics.

The 16-35mm f/4 VR is the lightest of these three, but gets you back by being so long that it bangs itself on things as you walk around.

The 14-24mm /2.8 AF-S is the biggest, heaviest, and optically best lens on this page, or possibly in the the world. It is the Masochist's favorite.

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Mr. & Mrs. Ken Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.

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July 2010