Nikon 24mm f1.4 G AF-S ED Lens

Comments about Nikon 24mm f1.4 G AF-S ED Lens:

Every time I treat myself to some top quality Nikon glass, I am astonished at how expensive it is - and every time I look through it, I am really happy that I spent the money. This lens lets you do things you thought were impossible and, amazingly, actually seems like good value!

I bought this lens to take on a trip to see the Northern Lights, mounting it on a D700. It performed superbly. There is no colour fringing and the focus ring is smooth and nicely 'geared' - so getting precise focus on a bright star with zoomed live view was easy - and the lens held focus all night without creeping. Wide open, there is vignetting and some coma distortion in the corners (bright stars look a bit like small seagulls flying towards the centre). This is pretty much gone by f/2, but I was willing to put up with it, staying wide to get sharp and colourful images with shutter speeds of only a few seconds - useful when the subject isn't static.

Of course, I bought the lens expecting it to do a good job in very low light landscape situations. What I didn't expect was how it can perform as a portrait lens - particularly in 3/4 or full length shots where the environment and context play an important role. Being able to include so much of the surroundings, and yet still have the aperture to blow it elegantly out of focus, is a great trick.

Comments about Nikon 24mm f1.4 G AF-S ED Lens:

This lens is very expensive and really a speciality lens, but if you need it or have a use for it its the best 24mm lens on the market.

Ultra sharp right from wide open at f1.4, at f2.8 its sharper than Nikon's 14-24 and Nikon's 24-70.

Very well made, optically unmatched at its focal length, great colour and contrast, superb bokeh, highly recommended