AF Nikkor 14mm f/2.8D ED

If the world of ultra-wide is your liking, this lens is my go-to recommendation due to its managable size and weight. I previously owned the 15mm F/5.6 and 15mm F/3.5 manual focus predecessors to this lens. While they were certainly exciting lenses to own, they had significant issues with ghosting and flare. This problem often limited their utility except under carefully controlled conditions. Fortunately, the 14mm lens is much less susceptible to these problems and can be used in a variety of situations without constant worry about ghosting or flare. As a result it has become a permanent member of my go anywhere lens kit. Gotta love that.

The Nikkor 14mm f/2.8D ED was my first plunder into the world of high-end professional Nikkor lens, and it didn´t disappoint in the slightest! I have always been an advocate for purchasing previous generation versions of popular Nikkor lens like the older 28-70mm f/2.8D ED, 80-200mm f/2.8D ED and so on; due to their budget friendliness and absolutely stunning shooting capabilities.

However with the 14mm f/2.8D I found myself wanting to finally make the switch to the current generation versions of these popular lens! Although I purchased my 14mm f/2.8D second hand for an absolute steal, I wouldn´t mind paying premium due to the amazing quality that you receive from these pro level lens!

The Nikkor 14mm f/2.8D paired with my Nikon D600 makes for one impressive low light capable combination, it handles low light situations with ease although you do get the distortion that is to be expected with this ultra wide angle. My only negative for this camera would be the integrated hood design that helps with lens flare, doesn´t do that well of a job of protecting the front element from scratches; be extra cautious with this lens as it requires extra awareness to keep it safe for many many years to come.

Beautiful all around lens for that interior and scenic photographers who love ultra wide angle, great bokeh also!

First of all, it cracks me up that one of the few reviews I read that was on target and really put this lens in it´s proper place was one by a review site that is constantly derided for reviewing things he´s never owned. Well, he was right on target for this one, and obviously owned and used it. If you´re cruising the web for reviews, then you know who I mean. There are not a ton of reviews out there on this lens because it´s pricey for a prime lens, and doesn´t have the versatility or cache of the 14-24.

It´s not a lens for everyone, and to get the best image quality you really need to use CaptureNX2 or a later gen body that can correct vignetting and distortion. The distortion is not bad, but it´s not simple barrel, and you need NX2 to make it right - plus you only lose a tiny amount of image, I would say it´s effectively a 15-16mm after correction.

The main reason I bought this lens is to take very wide large group people shots, at night, in close quarters. Yes, the corners are really soft at 2.8, and don´t really get tack sharp ever, even at f11 - they´re pretty much ´acceptable´ there. But I don´t care about the corners - I´m cropping the image anyway, and this lens is perfect for me.

Another good comment I saw (from someone who also actually owned and had used the lens as well as the 14-24) was ´horses for courses´, and the fact that it has significantly less distortion as the 14-24 at 14. It does not have the reportage versatility of the 14-24, but honestly I do reportage, and it´s just not my cup of tea.

Do your research carefully, and if you fit the profile for this lens, there´s really nothing better. Low, controllable distortion (if you use the right software), very sharp in the center, sharp edges at 5.6 or above, useable corners at f8 and above, manageable vignetting.

This is one beautifully crafted lens and so solidly put together with none of that plastic fantastic stuff that have on more modern designs, which worries me. It is not particularly sharp out the corners at f2.8 with fairly significant vignetting, but that does not concern me one little bit because the much heralded 13mm only opened out to f5.6 and was a far more expensive and much heavier lens than this one. From f5.8 to f11 it is razor sharp all over all over the picture as one could expect from a professional calibre lens.

I have actually tried to deliberately get ´´creative flare´´ effects by deliberately pointing it into the sun but is highly resistant to it because understandably the manufacturers look on that as a bad thing.

I´ve always favored the wide-angle end of the photographic spectrum. The 14mm f/2.8 lens has great utility for grabbing ultra-wide angle shots, however, it´s not as sharp as it could be. (I prefer my Nikkor AIS 13mm f/5.6 for its significantly sharper optics--but you pay a higher price in that that lens is significantly larger).

The 14mm has excellent coatings which reduce the propensity for flaring that one expects with such a wide angle.

I purchased this lens as a refurbished Nikon USA product. I use it on a Nikon D7000 (APC-C size sensor), so it gives me an effective 21 mm focal length. This is perfect for my usage, as I am not interested in grossly exaggerated wide angle images. It is sharp corner-to-corner, even at f/2.8 with one caveat: It back focuses. I tried another sample and it also back focused. To assure maximum sharpness, you will need to use the lens on a nikon camera with the ´´AF fine tune´´ option available, e.g. D7000, et. al. The settings are ´´AF fine tune - on´´ and ´´saved values´´ - minus fifteen (-15). This will produce quite noticeably sharper images than at ´´default 0´´ setting, (no AF fine tuning). Thus, the lens remains sharp from closest focusing distance to infinity. You can test the need for AF fine tuning on your lens by auto focusing on an object with lettering at about 10 feet distance and taking a photograph. Then take a second photograph by auto focusing the same as before, but before taking the photograph, change the ´´M/A´´ ring on the lens to ´´M´´ (manual focusing) and turn the focus ring counter-clockwise a little to a closer focusing distance and then take the photograph. Compare the two. If the second photograph is sharper than the first, your lens back focuses and you need to make the ´´AF fine tune´´ adjustment on your camera. See attached photos: #1 is default (0) #2 is (-15 AF fine tuning). These are cropped more than 200%.

After using/owning Nikons since 1975 (I still have my F2 and lenses), the 14mm is my all-time favorite!! It takes a little getting used to so that you avoid including your toes in the frame, but the results for so many types of photography (travel, interiors, close-ups, etc) are great and it actually promotes creativity. For some unusual angles, put this lens on and shoot from the ground up. After owning the 14mm for 10 years, I´m still amazed at what it can do.

This is a fantastic lens -- there´s no doubt about it... Just be sure that you need it, first, and second, that you know how to use it. If you do those two things, you´ll love it. Otherwise, not having the SWM and having to switch modes manually, and having to deal with the funky ´´lens cap´´ design (it´s necessary, but can get annoying if you need to take out and store this lens often...)...all those little things will really bother you....

Autofocus is fast, which makes sense for an ultrawide...and you can´t beat the solid f/2.8.

Overall, as a pro lens (and a Nikon, at that), it does what you´d expect, and then some at the cost of some slight inconveniences (unavoidable, however, as they may be).

I bought this lens to take full advantage of my D700. It´s my go-to lens for dramatic wide shots. I love this lens because it´s relatively compact, and built to the HIGHEST quality standards. I use a range of Nikon camera bodies from an FM3A and F100 to a D200 and D700. This lens with the trusty aperture ring works great on every camera.

I considered the legendary Nikon 14-24 ultra-wide but chose this lens because of its much-smaller size AND the assumption that I´d mostly use the 14-24 at 14mm.

This lens is sharp even at f/2.8, has controlled distortion and I love the way it handles.

With this lens in my arsenal I´ve been considering selling my fisheye lens because the ultra-wide shots I get with this lens on FX and 35mm cameras are just as dramatic and way more believable.

I love mine.