Sharetime: Nikon 14-24 f/2.8G

[jamesbjenkins]

So, I've been drooling over the Nikon 14-24mm for about 3 years, but never had the right excuse to get my hands on one. I recently decided to take my growing photography business in the real estate photography direction, so finally it made sense to acquire this monster.

I won't waste your time in repeating what 1000 other reviews have shared already. All, I'd like to add to our collection knowledge here is that 1) this lens is an absolute beast in your hands (it weighs a lot more than you'd think for its size), and 2) it's undoubtedly the best UWA lens on the market.



I never fully appreciated the different that 10mm increase in focal length on the wide end would provide. For your comparison, here are two images shot with my feet in exactly the same place. The first is at 24mm, which is as wide as I've ever shot before (with the very capable Nikon 24-70 f/2.8G)...



...and the second at 14mm with the new heavy hitter in my lineup, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G



And, if you needed more of a reason to be impressed, there's a noticeable improvement in sharpness and vignetting over the 24-70mm. WOW.

I probably should clarify that I know the first image has motion blur, and both are blown out in the highlights. These are both SOOC.

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Anyways, hope someone gets something out of this post. I just wanted to share my take on my new toy.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

[j_mejia17]

Thanks for sharing. I've been wanting to get a UWL for some time now (mostly for landscape though). Would this lens work for me? What's the best alternative or around $500.

 

[Trever1t]

Yeah, I really want one but will have to live with the 17-35 for the time being as other lenses are a priority to aquire. Congrats on the big daddy of UWAs.

 

[TheBiles]

Everyone is rubbing this lens in my face lately...

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201

 

[jamesbjenkins]

Thanks for sharing. I've been wanting to get a UWL for some time now (mostly for landscape though). Would this lens work for me? What's the best alternative or around $500?

What mount are you looking for? I'm going to assume you're shooting a crop sensor body for these recommendations.

*Disclaimer* I'm a die-hard Nikon man. While I appreciate that Canon bodies and lenses are perfectly capable of creating great images, I know exactly jack crap about Canon, therefore I shall not pretend to advise you on Canon lens choices.

Given that disclaimer, here's my recommendations for a Nikon mount on a crop sensor body:

1) Tokina 11-16 f/2.8
2) Nikon 10-24 f/3.5-4.5
3) Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 or newer f/3.5

All of these can be found for around the $500 range new, and certainly used. If you shoot stopped down, these are all excellent decisions.

When you upgrade to full frame, it's pretty much a choice between the 14-24mm f/2.8G, the 16-35mm f/4 and the older (but still great) 17-35mm f/2.8. What made the choice for me was the extra focal length and minimal distortion of the 14-24. The 16-35mm f/4 is a lot lighter and can accept filters (my biggest worry about the 14-24), but it also has some WICKED distortion at the wide end, and correcting that in post means cropping down some of that all-important focal length. The 17-35mm f/2.8 was on the camera of every Nikon pro news shooter for more than a decade, so there's no denying it's capabilities, but it's a lot older and is missing the AF-S autofocus tech and the nano coating of the 14-24mm.

Everyone is rubbing this lens in my face lately...

If it makes you feel any better... I spent a full 3 years lusting after this lens before my current venture gave me a reason to spend $1600 on a LNIB copy. And kudos to Fred Miranda for being such a legit place to buy gear (so is TPF ). Seeing as how they sell for right at $2k at full retail, I was pretty happy with that... :lmao:

Cheers to all!

 

[vipgraphx]

Congradts on your lens!! They are awesome!! When I got mine a while back I wanted it sooo bad that I had to upgrade to full frame just so I could buy this lens. In the end I think I made a really good move and yes the wide end is wicked awesome. Its crazy though how far back you feel when you are looking in the view finder.

Anyways congradts and have fun shooting!

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Wow CONGRATS!