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Review by Markus Stamm, published April 2013
Introduction
The Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 is a wide prime that has been around for quite a while. The still current AF-D version of the lens was introduced in 1994, however the basic design goes back to the Ai-S version, which was brought to market in 1984 already. Just like the optical formula, other properties remained unchanged through the years: it is rather compact and light-weight, and also quite affordable for a relatively fast wide prime. At the time of this review the lens retails for around 550 EUR.
The AF-D 20/2.8 is designed for full frame cameras, but can of course be used on DX DSLRs, too. In this review we'll have a look at how the lens performs on our current DX test camera, the Nikon D7000, where it is the equivalent of roughly a 30mm f/4 lens.
The build quality of the lens is very good and in line with most moderately
priced Nikkors. The outer barrel is made of polycarbonate combined with a
metal mount. The small rubberized focus ring is very smooth and only marginally damped, but rotates during AF operation.
Typical for lenses with a linear extension system the whole
inner tube moves during focusing thus extending the lens a little when focusing towards
closer focus distances.
A hood is not included with the lens and needs to be purchased seperately.
The lens has no internal AF motor and relies on a slotted drive screw operated by the camera, so AF is not available on the motor-free entry level Nikon DSLRs. As a result of the screw drive, AF operation will generate a moderate degree of noise.
The front element does not rotate so using a polarizer is no problem.
| Specifications |
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| Equiv. focal length | 30 mm (full format equivalent) |
| Equiv. aperture | f/4.2 (full format equivalent, in terms of depth-of-field) |
| Optical construction | 12 elements in 9 groups |
| Number of aperture blades | 7 |
| min. focus distance | 0.25 m (max. magnification ratio 1:8.3) |
| Dimensions | 69 x 43 mm |
| Weight | 270 g |
| Filter size | 62 mm (non-rotating) |
| Hood | Nikon HB-4 (optional), barrel shaped, bayonet mount |
| Other features | Lens reports distance (D) information to camera |
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