multicoated wrote:
That was true for me. My least used lens. Every time I mounted it, it just seemed to not fit the situation. I found myself moving to the 24-70 much more. Now, 2.8 just doesn't cut it so I'm using primes.
and how many 14-24 primes do you have are faster than 2.8?
True for me, which is why I'm selling mine. Whether its true for you obviously has to do with what you shoot. I'm just not a big wide angle shooter to begin with.
This lens is one of the major reasons I went to the D700, but it's challenging to make the most out of it and I think you really have to love wide-angle photography to keep using it. Here are a couple recent shots from my first outing with it, which I think compliments its strength at getting up close and inside a subject. The results were processed with Color Efex filters in NX2 to play with some of the colors and make it glow a bit.
The piece is "anthropodino" by Ernesto Neto. It's being exhibited at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC until June 14th. The hanging sacks throughout the exhibit are filled with aromatic spices so it's a multi-sensory experience.
I owned one for about six months during the 2008 wedding season. It rare came out of my bag, especially once I went to FX and go the 24-70. I just never had the need to go wider. I loved the colors and sharpness of the lens, but the focal length range was pretty lame. I found myself doing a lot of cropping of the images. I was wasting pixels and money.
The lens is much more useful on an FX camera like the D300. The 21-36 range is good, but since getting the 24-70, I find that much more useful for weddings. If you are a landscape photographer, I could see where the lens would get more use.
One note about shooting weddings with this thing: Kids were constantly poking their dirty, oily fingers at that big old glass bulge. I was always worried about damaging the element, especially with the fast-pace of weddings, I prefer to leave the caps at home so I don't lose them. But that's not an option with this beast.
I purchased it for my week long wandering tour of NE Arizona and Southern Utah last week. I took it, a 24-70, and my 70-200. I used it the least simply because a lot of situations dicated a longer lens but when I did use it, the pictures to me were spectacular. I love that lens and don't regret the cost a single bit.
I love the lens and wouldn't part with it but use it even less than my Canon 15mm FE (both on 21 Mp Canon bodies). However, that says a lot more about me than the lens.
jolahern wrote:
Same for me, but it is because it can't take filters. Working on a filter system using Cokin X-Pro holder and Lee X-Pro sized filters, once that is working okay then I see this lens getting a lot more use.
Is this a DIY job or are the companies working on this? I L.O.V.E. this lens. I used it in Europe quite a bit but definitely could have used a polarizer.
I have it and the 24-70 and I use the 14-24 WAAAAAY more than the 24-70. Actually, the 24-70 is my least used lens. I often work with the 70-200 and the 14-24 and can usually make due without needing the area in between.
I already posted this shot in "Your Best Nikon Shots" (as well as the Landscape Forum), so my apologies for posting this yet again, but the 14-24 mm lens is definitely a keeper . . .
I've got to find more reasons to shoot this lens. The photo above is of Monument Valley, AZ as seen from Hunt's Mesa. I got this image the day before heading up to Moab, Utah to take part in the Mentor Series Photo workshop in Arches & Canyonlands National Park. Whenever I'm in this part of the country, the 14-24 mm lens almost always on my D700, while the Nikon 12-24 mm lens is almost always on my D300. The second combination is no slouch either . . . this was taken with a Singh-Ray RGND filter . . .
didn't use it much, and also ended up not using the 24-70 much either so i sold them both today and replaced them with a 17-35mm, 60mm macro and 80-200 2.8 AF-S i don't think i'll miss much.
I use my 14-24 at least 50% of the time on my D700. But then again, I absolutely love shooting wide angle, and I am shooting a lot of mills right now, so I would say that this lens is very well suited to the work I am doing right now in my photography. The other half of the time, I am shooting with the 28-70 on the camera, for general field of view. The D90 is often reserved for telephoto work, or for one of my other lenses - lensbaby or macro.
lxdesign wrote:
I use my 14-24 at least 50% of the time on my D700. But then again, I absolutely love shooting wide angle, and I am shooting a lot of mills right now, so I would say that this lens is very well suited to the work I am doing right now in my photography. The other half of the time, I am shooting with the 28-70 on the camera, for general field of view. The D90 is often reserved for telephoto work, or for one of my other lenses - lensbaby or macro.
When I am shooting real estate listings it is the only lens i use. It is the best for interior shots. When not shooting real estate, the 24-70 is my lens of choice on my D3
There will always be a lens in your bag that has "least used" status.
That's no reason to contemplate selling it, you obviously bought it for a reason.
Mine's quite happy sitting around until called upon, we both know there's nothing else like it.
BTW, chicks dig the bulbous protuberance (my coinage)
It's too big to be a frequently used lens for anyone that takes a sane amount of gear with them all the time. I only brought my 14-24 if I KNEW I was going to need it.
emreese wrote:
When I am shooting real estate listings it is the only lens i use. It is the best for interior shots. When not shooting real estate, the 24-70 is my lens of choice on my D3
Agree!! We just put our house on the market to sell and our agent had a "professional" photog come in to shoot our house photos. I figured what the heck and let them do it so I could see what they did and how I like the results.
Right after the realestate photog left I went thru the house and took my own photos very quickly (I've never taken realestate photos) and my photos were so much better and using the 14-24 made all my rooms look so much bigger and nicer. I love using the 14-24.
When needed, there is nothing better. I would never sell it because I don't use it "regularly". IQ is 10+++ I think Tom, and a few hundred other pro's have written about the 14-24's excellent quality. To find a use for it, is up to us. For me, someone who is still learning steadily, I can tell you this lens makes me a better shooter than I really am... and for me I can use all the help I can get!