Help me: Want a 28mm lens.

Hey guys,

New to the world of Nikon, I know nothing about what lenses are good or not, I read quite a lot about all the 50mm offerings for Nikon F mount since this is the equivalent focal length of what I use 80% of the time for all my work. Normally I shoot a medium format camera where a 70-80mm sort of has the same angle of view as a 50mm on fullframe/smallformat.

Now what I use most is the following Duo: 35mm and 70mm which is 28mm or 50mm on fullframe.

So since I have a Nikon Df with the following two 50mm lenses I also want a 28mm lens:

AF-S Nikkor 1:1.8 50mm G SE
Nikkor 1:1.2 50mm Ai-S

I've been thinking of the following lenses:

AF-S Nikkor 1:1.8 28mm G
Nikkor 1:2.0 28mm Ai-S
Zeiss Distagon T* 28mm 1:2.0 ZF.2 or ZF (don't care much about it having a CPU or not, and can always add a Dandelion CPU to the ZF mount.)

Now I know the Zeiss and Nikkor AF-S both have quite some curvature of field, which I really dislike... not for it's rendering, but practically... since it makes focussing more difficult.

On the other hand I can't find much valuable information about the Nikkor 28mm Ai-S.

If the lens has AF or not doesn't botter me much, but since the Nikon Df autofocus points are fairly concentrated in the middle it'll be difficult using an autofocus lens with curvature in the field since I'll always have to focus and recompose. (I do have a K3 matte screen for my Df...)

Anyway let me know your guys thoughts on the matter.

Thanks!

Jip

The 28mm doesn't seem to be as popular a focal length, for whatever reason.

The 24mm and 20mm primes tend to be more popular on Nikon full frame cameras. I opted for the 20mm prime since I have an f/2.8 zoom that gets me to 24mm and my 16-35 zoom is an f/4 lens.

If you already have the 35mm, I hear the 85mm is also a nice practical length on the Df, but obviously is going to the wrong direction from what you asked about.


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I’m a real 28 and 50 person. Have been shooting that for years now on my Leica M, and also the equivalents: 35 and 70 on my medium format camera.

It might sounds closed minded, but really not looking to change to 24 .

A 85 is on the list for after the 28.

It’s my holy trinity; a 28 a 50 and a 80-85-90

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I’d like help with choosing which 28mm!

Nikon has a few possibilities for its F mount.

The 28 2.8 AI-S had rave reviews for years...
The middle speed lens was introduces around 1975. For many, it represented the best value in the line up. In its AIS form, the optical design was formidable, featuring CRC and a minimum focus distance of 0.2m. It is reputed to be one of the sharpest wide angle Nikkors, and remains in production as of 2008, along with its less impressive AF successor. The lens also excels in macro photography when reversed, providing for up to 9x magnification. It works well on my Df

Slightly off, but still on-topic - the 18 I have on my Fuji comes out to 27(28) and while much, MUCH better than ~45mm, I always find it awkward for what I'm totally used to a 24 doing.

I'd say go Ai-S and save yourself some $ at least. Also, perhaps look into Sigma Mini-Wide II that was 28/2.8 I believe. I have the super-wide II 24mm and love that manual thing to death.

Interested in where you got your matt K3 screen from? Is it the same as a D4?
Easy to install?

Yo can get the focussing screens here: https://www.focusingscreen.com

Screen installation isn’t as easy as on a D4 since officially it’s not user replaceable on a Df. But it’s quite easy non the less. Instructions can be found here: NIKON D800 D750 D600 D610 Df Focusing Screen Installation Instruction

(I know it says D800 in the url buts it’s the same on the Df.)

By the way, I bought myself a brand new Nikkor 1:2,8 28mm Ai-S

P.S. not affiliated with that website in any way!

Thanks for that information Jip.
I don't think you'll be disappointed with the lens.....

Hey guys, as I told earlier I've bought a Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 Ai-S

Tried it out yesterday and this morning, here are a few initial 'test shots' (I don't believe in test shots, I just take photos... and since they are the very first let's call them test shots! haha)

My initial thoughts:
The lens has low contrast especially at close focussing range, where sharpness is amazing but contrast quite low wide open, not a problem digitally, actually nice since details in the highlights and shadows are more easily captures without having muddy shadows or blown out highlights. On film however this can proof problematic, you'd need to compensate considerably during your enlargement process. Something totally different compared to my Leica Elmarit-M 28mm 1:2.8 ASPH. in a real nice way actually! I like low contrast lenses on digital cameras, as long as the micro contrast is there, and sharpness is good low contrast lenses actually help increase the quality a lot, lowering contrast in post processing is difficult, increasing it is not.

All with Nikon Df, and Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 Ai-S

In order of appearance:
1 1/125 ISO 200 F2.8
2 1/125 ISO 200 F2.8
3 1/125 ISO 3200 F2.8
4 1/500 ISO 100 F5.6

Another one now cropped to 16:9 for a cinematic feel.

Nikon Df with Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8 Ai-S

See full version here.

dont worry, i understand you perfectly. my kit is a 28 and a 50 on my Nikon RF or SLR
check out richardhaw.com blog. I have plenty of samples there despite being a repair oriented blog

Saw your repair blog, really interesting and helpful!

Feel free to check out my website: Stories - Jip van Kuijk