Nikon 28mm f2.8 Ai-S lens test with Nikon D800 (Nikon F4 also featured)

Nikon 24mm f2.8 Ai-S lens test with Nikon D800 (Nikon F4 also featured)

So I got the Nikon 24mm f2.8 Ai-S lens today. She's a beaut as all Ai-S lenses are. First thing I did was put her on the F4, and then the D800 and I did some test shots with the "resolution Angel". It seems that the best aperture on this lens for sharpness is f11. Stopping down from 2.8 to 11 shows a progressive improvement. Then with f16 and f22 diffraction kicks in to soften the image slightly. The test images were shot with the SB-800 flash and no corrections made to the images in post. This was my first 24mm lens and it is a lot of fun to be able to see so much in the frame and the focus throw from infinity to a few feet ahead is very short so it is easy and quick to focus. The Nikon D800 was able to show the focus indicator green dot quite well and focusing was accurate using this method. I didn't test things like vignetting and distortion although both seemed well controlled for a wide angle lens. No film yet so no test shots with the F4. Well, on to the pics.

First, the lens by itself.



And mounted on the F4.





And mounted on the D800.



And the comparative test shots of the resolution Angel at the indicated f stop settings. These are 100% crops. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the image quality. Definitely going to keep this lens for a while.



And the f11 shot in its entirety.



And at 100% crop...

Looks good! I have been thinking about a couple wide primes for landscape. Glad to see your mini review and findings!

Does the D800 meter with this lense? My D3300 does not, while the D300 does.

Yes it metered perfectly well, as it has done so with every AI-S lens I have tested thus far (ie: 300 f2.8, 180 f2.8, 100-300 f5.6, 28 f2.8), even with the SB-800 flash (which is what I used for the angel photos).

Just noticed that the image is of the 24mm and not 28mm. Which lense did you get?

aroy said:

Just noticed that the image is of the 24mm and not 28mm. Which lense did you get?

Click to expand...

Agreed--it looks like a 24mm in the images. The Nikkor Ai-s 28mm f/2.8 is a great lens for close-focus, where it is optimized, although is is decent 2 infinity too. Here is one with the 28mm Ai-s on the D700.

Ahhh, I was thinking about 28mm lenses at the time when I was writing this and it was early in the morning, thanks for pointing it out. Yes, this is about the 24mm f2.8 Ai-S lens. Maybe a mod can correct the main title as I cannot seem to do so (just the first post title).