Rojhan wrote:
I don't know if I really want to go down the path of adapter, manual aperture, etc., although there seems to be quite a bit of "wow" surrounding this lens. And, if I'm going to spend ~$1,800 for lens + adapter, and lose the use of the electronics on the lens, it seems like I'd be best served by something else.
That's why I haven't grabbed one just yet. I am waiting to see what the Zeiss Ze 21 f/2.8 is like, but the versatility of the 14-24 is hard to over look. I currently have 4 manual focus only lenses and have no troubles using them, but the nikon is more problematic in changing aperture, thought the adapters are getting better and making it less of a hassle. At the moment if I need super wide I stitch several shots at longer FL.
Have you alos considered a Canon 24 TS-E lens. The shift feature on that makes panoramas fairly easy and gives a FOV close to 15mm if I recall my calculations correctly. Not always possible if there's movement in the scene but very useful on many occasions.
Pixel Perfect wrote:
Have you alos considered a Canon 24 TS-E lens. The shift feature on that makes panoramas fairly easy and gives a FOV close to 15mm if I recall my calculations correctly. Not always possible if there's movement in the scene but very useful on many occasions.
I actually have the TS-E 24mm, but haven't really used it. I got it for something that didn't pan out, and have kind of forgotten about it. I hadn't really considered it for landscape but, in hindsight, using the shift to move the horizon line might give me something comparable to what I would otherwise crop.
Nikon 14-24mm 2.8 is an amazing lens. For years I've adapted regular AiS and Non AiS lenses to canon mounts: Eos & FD. I too didn't want to loose the electronics, metadata of this amazing lens by using an adapter that takes months to receive once its ordered.
After MUCH thought I bought a D700 to use the 14-24mm 2.8 I purchased together. No regrets. So instead of adapting my old nikon AiS lenses to 5D I now how the ultimate adapter:
D700.
Over the years I've owned numerous 14mm lenses and I found the best up till now was my sample of Tamron 14mm 2.8 eos mount.
Nikon's announced price increases on Feb 1st 2009 was the reason I acted and bought a D700 and 14-24mm 2.8 on January 14th. Surprisingly the D700 and 5D get along just fine, so no worries and no more adapters to fiddle with now.
If you decide this path is right for you be forwarned nikon instant rebate ends on Jan 31st and 14-24mm will rise way over $300 on the 1st. Some dealers have reset the price to issue: $3,000. Together on the 2 items I saved almost $800 using KEH prices when I bought from B&H a couple weeks ago. If everyone resets the D700 to issue then I saved almost $1,100 on the two items.
KEH raised their Nikon brand new prices a couple weeks early so you can see where the increases are headed for Nikon's first price increase of the year.
Pixel Perfect wrote:
That's why I haven't grabbed one just yet. I am waiting to see what the Zeiss Ze 21 f/2.8 is like, but the versatility of the 14-24 is hard to over look. I currently have 4 manual focus only lenses and have no troubles using them, but the nikon is more problematic in changing aperture, thought the adapters are getting better and making it less of a hassle. At the moment if I need super wide I stitch several shots at longer FL.
Have you alos considered a Canon 24 TS-E lens. The shift feature on that makes panoramas fairly easy and gives a FOV close to 15mm if I recall my calculations correctly. Not always possible if there's movement in the scene but very useful on many occasions....Show more →
Well, I quit waffling and just ordered the 14mm MkII. It was essentially "free" since I sold some lenses that I "never" used plus the 17-40 which I pretty much always used on the wide end.
I'm not going to have a chance to really put it through its paces until March, though.
All the good things about the Nikkor 14-24 are true-not the least of which is is (was?) cheaper than a 14 and you get all the other focal lengths for free.
Rojhan, I recently purchased a 14L mkII (primarily to try out indoor archetectual photography). Bryan Carnathan's review at The-Digital-Picture.com was a very positive review of this lens and I really had my hopes up. I purchased my copy used (though still under warranty) and my initial testing was somewhat disappointing. My copy was not sharp wide open and the vignetting on my 1DsII was somewhat more than I expected.
I realize that you are primarily interested in primes, but I should point out that my Sigma 12-24 is a stellar lens and VERY wide. However, it isn't as fast as the prime. I do hear good things about the Nikkor 12-24 but if you don't own a Nikon FF body it would become a significant investment (having to buy the body in addition to the lens). I also own the 16-35 mkII, but the 14 was noticeably wider. The 14 is currently at Canon getting recalibrated and I hope that I can give you a more positive update after I get it back.
I don't have any experience with the Sigma 14. Whichever lens you go with, make sure that it is still under warranty in the event that you are not happy with the lens's performance.
David Israel wrote:
I purchased my copy used (though still under warranty) and my initial testing was somewhat disappointing. My copy was not sharp wide open and the vignetting on my 1DsII was somewhat more than I expected.
Yep, wide open it vignetts quite a lot, but stopping down fixes that nicely. When you say not sharp, do you mean center or corners? The center should be very sharp even wide open, but corners leave room for improvement even stopped down.
Hi Shuko, center sharpness was not good wide open. However, I sent images (taken wide open) to Canon and they agreed to recalibrate the lens. Hopefully, when the lens returns from Canon Service it will be sharp again.
I understand that the OP is looking for a prime (I have been using my primes much more often than my zooms, lately). I'm not sure that right now I could recommend the 14L II, but I will withold judgement until the lens returns from being recalibrated.
David Israel wrote:
I purchased my copy used (though still under warranty) and my initial testing was somewhat disappointing. My copy was not sharp wide open and the vignetting on my 1DsII was somewhat more than I expected.
I realize that you are primarily interested in primes, but I should point out that my Sigma 12-24 is a stellar lens and VERY wide. However, it isn't as fast as the prime. I do hear good things about the Nikkor 12-24 but if you don't own a Nikon FF body it would become a significant investment
I decided to go with the 14MkII (new) for a couple of reasons:
- Nikon 14-24 seems to have the "wow!", but it not only loses AF (not a huge deal), it also requires manual manipulation of the aperture with an adapter for EOS. I have no interest in carrying two brands of bodies, especially just to get the use of a single lens.
- I can't find the Sigma 12-24 new. It looked like a strong contender, but I wanted new for the warranty.
- I went new with the 14mmMkII because a) it's prime, b) I have 24mm and longer covered, including a 35mm/1.4L and 200mm/2.8L, and c) if I decide it's not worth it, I can return it.
- And, finally, the MkII purchase was mostly self-funding ($0) because I sold the lenses that had almost literally no use.
Rojhan wrote:
I decided to go with the 14MkII (new) for a couple of reasons:
- Nikon 14-24 seems to have the "wow!", but it not only loses AF (not a huge deal), it also requires manual manipulation of the aperture with an adapter for EOS. I have no interest in carrying two brands of bodies, especially just to get the use of a single lens.
- I can't find the Sigma 12-24 new. It looked like a strong contender, but I wanted new for the warranty.
- I went new with the 14mmMkII because a) it's prime, b) I have 24mm and longer covered, including a 35mm/1.4L and 200mm/2.8L, and c) if I decide it's not worth it, I can return it.
- And, finally, the MkII purchase was mostly self-funding ($0) because I sold the lenses that had almost literally no use....Show more →
Congrats - we'll look forward to seeing some images from the new lens.
