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Archive 2014 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports

  
 
williamkazak
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


I read most all of the lens reviews and test reports that I can find. There seems to be a common thread amongst all the wide angles; field curvature and vignetting. I think I read somewhere that the SLR / DSLR / mirror box is not as kind to wide angle lenses as would be a Leica rangefinder. I think they call that a retro focus wide lens issue. Nikon is not giving away their wide angle lenses. They cost real money, but the quality does not seem to excel. (Maybe the Nikon 14-24 comes closest but then there is flare to consider). We are not even into bokeh wide lens issues yet. Any thoughts on this subject or about finding wide lenses that keep straight lines straight without post processing? It seems that would be a value and something to know about and to consider when making wide angle lens choices.


Apr 28, 2014 at 12:21 PM
Steve Perry
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the 14-24 and think it's worth every dime. If the only problem you have is flare, try this when you shoot:



If perfectly straight lines are necessary, I'd suggest the 24 PC-E lens. If that's not wide enough I think there's Rokinon or someone is coming out with a wider PC lens that might fix the issue.

The biggest problem is that even the very best non-pc wide lenses and zooms are going to show some field curvature to a greater or lesser extent.



Apr 28, 2014 at 12:38 PM
Mohun
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


I suspect we're up against the physics of wide-angle lenses, the more wide-angle the more appaent distortion. Because of the mirror box/SLR,DSLR design, wide-angle lenses generally have to be of retroficus design; however, I don't believe that the traditional wide-angle design for lenses for rangefinder camera bodies, e.g., Leica is significantly less distorting than retrofocus designed lenses for SLR/DSLRs. The wider the angle, the more distortion is likely, especially if the focus, so to speak, is on images that contain vertical elements, i.e., architecture. These distortion issues may be mitigated to greater or lesser extents by use of a good PC lens or in post if RAW shooting is involved. Of course, landscape work, which may include few relatively close vertical elements may not need much if any distortion control.

It seems to me that sufficient depth of field will often be far more important in most architectural and/or landscape images than bokeh. Most images will be made stopped down in the range of f/8 to f/16 (or the point where diffraction noticable "unsharpness" softens the image, so very fast (say f/1.2 to f/2) lenses won't bring much to the table; however, there are some whose needs include more than a few after-dark images and I understand faster lenses will have their uses there, particularly where tripod use is precluded.

While I recognize that the 14-24 is the very expensive flagship of the Nikkors, and I don't own one and have never shot with one, I suspect that the laws of physics and optics may require a bit of distortion correction for all but landscape shots with that excellent, but very special lens.



Apr 28, 2014 at 01:21 PM
ckcarr
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


Actually, the 14-24mm at $1,995 although moderately expensive, is hardly the flagship of Nikkor lenses.

Their king is the 800mm for $17,896

Fortunately, there is a price range of Nikon gear for everyone. But a man's got to know his limitations!




Apr 28, 2014 at 01:24 PM
MalbikEndar
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


Engineering is about compromises, and there are a lot of compromises involved in UWA lens design. As a practical matter, read the discussions and make your choice based on what is most important to you.

By the way, some confuse keystoning with linear distortion. Keystoning happens when the image plane is not parallel to the edge being imaged. Linear distortion means that the edges that were supposed to be lines have curvature. Keystoning is eliminated by using a tilt-shift lens, or by orienting an ordinary lens properly, and then discarding the bottom half of the image.



Apr 28, 2014 at 04:32 PM
williamkazak
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


I am wondering what wide angle has no curvature and keeps straight lines straight.


Apr 28, 2014 at 07:55 PM
Chris Court
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


ckcarr wrote:
But a man's got to know his limitations!


Clint Eastwood?

C



Apr 28, 2014 at 09:38 PM
Hardcore
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


williamkazak wrote:
I am wondering what wide angle has no curvature and keeps straight lines straight.


Tilt shifts are pretty good for this. Canon has nikon beat in this department. Don't know much about the Samyang 24mm tse. The Canon 17mm tse is amazing.



Apr 28, 2014 at 09:42 PM
Mohun
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Nikon Wide Angle Lenses and Test Reports


Well, perhaps not the flagship, but, as one of the "holy trinity", it's probably a Graf Spee among heavy cruisers and pocket battleships.


Apr 28, 2014 at 11:32 PM





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