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Nikkor AF 14mm f/2.8 D ED - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Nikon / Nikkor (APS-C)
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published April 2007
Lens kindly provided for testing purposes by Christian Becker!
Introduction
The Nikkor AF 14mm f/2.8D ED is the most extreme, corrected wide-angle fix-focal in the
current Nikon lens line-up. Back in 2000 it replaced the manual focus Nikkor Ai-S 15mm f/3.5.
Typical for such lenses the price tag is on the steep side at around 1500€/US$.
However, as you may notice from the product shots below you're also getting quite a bit
of big glass for your bucks.
As usual we'll have a look how it performs on a modern APS-C DSLR (Nikon D200)
where the AF 14mm f/2.8 has a field-of-view equivalent to 21mm on classic full-format
cameras. Within this scope it is still an ultra-wide angle lens but obviously to a much
lesser degree.
The AF 14mm f/2.8D ED is a beautifully crafted lens with most parts made of metal
with a marginally textured finish. The rubberized focus ring operates very
smooth without being damped. The built-in lens hood cannot be removed - probably
a good idea anyway because the immense front element is extremely vulnerable.
Consequently the lens does not accept any filters.
The Nikkor has an RF (rear focusing) design so its length remains constant regardless
of the focus setting. The lens has an independent ring for switching
between AF and manual focusing. Typical for older Nikkors there's no internal AF motor
so the 14mm f/2.8ED does still rely on the slotted drive screw operated by the camera.
Consequently AF operations produce a moderate degree of noise. The AF speed is reasonably
fast but this is a rather meaningless topic for such a lens.
| Specifications |
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| Equiv. focal length | 21 mm (full format equivalent) |
| Equiv. aperture | f/4.2 (full format equivalent, in terms of depth-of-field) |
| Optical construction | 14 elements in 12 groups inc. 1 ED and 2 aspherical elements |
| Number of aperture blades | 7 |
| min. focus distance | 0.2 m (max. magnification ratio 1:6.7) |
| Dimensions | 87 x 87 mm |
| Weight | 670 g |
| Filter size | none |
| Hood | built-in |
| Other features | Lens provides distance (D) information to the camera. |
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