I have a wide angle "addiction" and as anyone so afflicted knows, once you start down the slippery slope you just want lenses wider and wider.
I've had the 18mm 3.5 AI-s prime for a while, and have the DX 12-24mm f/4. Both are great lenses in their own right, but there again 18mm(the equivalent of the 12-24 on the wide end) just leaves me wanting more. The 18mm has served me well on my F4 and F100 with film.
After buying a D800, I started my search for a wide angle zoom. I tend to not like 3rd party lenses. The 16-35 gets good reviews, but it's not THAT much less expensive than the 14-24, and I thought if I hadn't bought the 14-24 I'd always second guess myself.
Aside from the fact that the lens is a beast and the bulbous front element can be intimidating, it's hard NOT to fall in love with this lens. I had it out for a while this afternoon-my first outing with it aside from chance snaps I've been able to grab. I put it through its paces with my D800, F100(Ektar 100) and F4(Velvia 50). Of course it will be a bit before I have the film back, but the lens doesn't leave me wanting for a whole lot. Yes, it has a fair bit of distortion at the edges, but Lightroom cleaned it up nicely albeit with a bit of edge softness(I kept it at 5.6 for most of the day).
When I trekked to a favorite spot, though, I was amazed at how much I DIDN'T want to use any other lenses. I left my big bag in the car and carried a shoulder bag with the F100, F4, the 45 2.8 AI-P, 24-85 3.5-4.5, and a 105mm Macro. I also had a an FM slung over my left shoulder with an AI-s 50mm 1.4 and loaded with Tri-X. I honestly was pulling film bodies out of the bag and just chucking the 14-24 on them without really even thinking about anything else. I found working with the 50mm on the FM difficult and a dramatic change after using this lens.
For anyone who may be considering this lens-just do it! If you're like me, you'll always wonder what you missed out on, and it really is that good. I've played with 14mm primes before, including Nikon's old 14mm 2.8D, and this absolutely blows that lens away at 14mm. The downsides are the size and weight, and of course the inability to use filters. I don't use polarizers with UWs when the sky is in the shot due to inconsistent color, but if you're using them for other reasons you're out of luck. I also like to use an 81A with Velvia and of course colors with B&W, but if you're strictly digital you're out of luck.
It's not often that I get this excited over a lens, but I think this one is worth getting excited over.
BTW, one of the below shots is at 24mm, but I spent most of the day with the lens at 16mm or less, and mostly pegged at 14mm.
I've had the 18mm 3.5 AI-s prime for a while, and have the DX 12-24mm f/4. Both are great lenses in their own right, but there again 18mm(the equivalent of the 12-24 on the wide end) just leaves me wanting more. The 18mm has served me well on my F4 and F100 with film.
After buying a D800, I started my search for a wide angle zoom. I tend to not like 3rd party lenses. The 16-35 gets good reviews, but it's not THAT much less expensive than the 14-24, and I thought if I hadn't bought the 14-24 I'd always second guess myself.
Aside from the fact that the lens is a beast and the bulbous front element can be intimidating, it's hard NOT to fall in love with this lens. I had it out for a while this afternoon-my first outing with it aside from chance snaps I've been able to grab. I put it through its paces with my D800, F100(Ektar 100) and F4(Velvia 50). Of course it will be a bit before I have the film back, but the lens doesn't leave me wanting for a whole lot. Yes, it has a fair bit of distortion at the edges, but Lightroom cleaned it up nicely albeit with a bit of edge softness(I kept it at 5.6 for most of the day).
When I trekked to a favorite spot, though, I was amazed at how much I DIDN'T want to use any other lenses. I left my big bag in the car and carried a shoulder bag with the F100, F4, the 45 2.8 AI-P, 24-85 3.5-4.5, and a 105mm Macro. I also had a an FM slung over my left shoulder with an AI-s 50mm 1.4 and loaded with Tri-X. I honestly was pulling film bodies out of the bag and just chucking the 14-24 on them without really even thinking about anything else. I found working with the 50mm on the FM difficult and a dramatic change after using this lens.
For anyone who may be considering this lens-just do it! If you're like me, you'll always wonder what you missed out on, and it really is that good. I've played with 14mm primes before, including Nikon's old 14mm 2.8D, and this absolutely blows that lens away at 14mm. The downsides are the size and weight, and of course the inability to use filters. I don't use polarizers with UWs when the sky is in the shot due to inconsistent color, but if you're using them for other reasons you're out of luck. I also like to use an 81A with Velvia and of course colors with B&W, but if you're strictly digital you're out of luck.
It's not often that I get this excited over a lens, but I think this one is worth getting excited over.
BTW, one of the below shots is at 24mm, but I spent most of the day with the lens at 16mm or less, and mostly pegged at 14mm.
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