Buy Nikon 20mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR CamerasNikon 20mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Product Description:
- Compact ultra-wide-angle lens construction
- Superb optical design for architecture, wedding, and landscape photography
- 94-degree (70-degree with Nikon DX format) picture coverage with edge-to-edge sharpness
- Close Range Correction for distortion-free pictures as close as 0.85 feet
- Nikon Super Integrated Coating for minimized flare and ghost, providing good color balance
Product Description
20mm D-Series Wideangle lens for Nikon cameras
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
107 of 114 people found the following review helpful.
Competent performer
By John
The Nikon AF20mm f2.8 was designed as a "pro" wideangle lens back in the days when 20mm in autofocus was as wide as you could get. Originally introduced in 1989 it was the AF equivalent of the manual focus design of 1984 and uses the same optical formula as the MF. The subsequent addition of the D chip has changed nothing else. In it's day an AF 20mm was pretty radical and it was only superceeded in 1993 by wider primes as the pros sought wider and wider views. For most amateurs however 20mm on film will get you into the "superwide" range without breaking the bank. For digital shooters, dealing with the 1.5 magnification factor in Nikon D-SLRs, it becomes effectively 30mm, which is still wide enough for most situations.Optically it delivers typical Nikon high color saturation and contrast, with distortions well controlled for it's focal length. While it is reasonably free from flare I strongly recommend the optional HB-4 lenshood designed for it and polarizing will be dificult for film shooters due to vignetting caused by the thick polarizing filter mounts of a "standard" polarizer. Digital shooters should not have this problem because the camera's sensor is only using the central portion of the projected circle - inside the area of vignetting.Mechanically it is all metal and well constructed with an nice "solid" feel to it for an AF lens but those of us who still miss the old manual focus "tanks" will find the undamped focusing ring a little too "loose" when manually focused. As part of a planned outfit, it can form the wide angle anchor for a travel kit standardized on 62mm filters. Add Nikon's 28-105AF 3.5-4.5 and 70-210AF 4.5-5.6 and you have a lightweight kit for either film or digital SLR's
52 of 54 people found the following review helpful.
Sharp, clean, wide...
By Hazim Sabanovic
This is a fine Nikon lens made in Japan, very quality built, a trust-worthy kind of lens that will last for a life time. It is very sharp and fast, colors are warm and fine, and the frame is just ridiculously wide if you use it on a film or FX. This is a perfect choice for those who would like to have an extraordinary wide, fast and quality prime lens for less money.When you look at what other possible options are on offer today - like 14mm prime or 14-24mm zoom - this lens might look little outdated. However, for less than 500 US$, you get all you really need - a possibility to shoot sharp and contrasty, very wide-angle images, in a very low light! Even using it on a DX, it is still very wide, and the quality is immediately apparent, especially if compared with any 18-xxx kit lens. The next step - having a possibility to shoot even wider images under the same light conditions, costs three times the price of this lens! An other advantage of the lens is that it is small enough to put in your pocket, so you can basically always have it with you, ready to combine with any other lens you keep on the camera!The lens does have a visible geometric distortion, especially used on film or FX, but it is normal to expect in such a wide lens, and it can actually be fun. Anyway, it is easy to fix in post processing.If you are a DX user, maybe you can consider some other lens specially built for DX, because there is no point of wasting valuable resources for something you do not use in full capacity (due to crop factor).However, there is no way you will find such a quality and such wide lens for this price. Also, if you plan to upgrade to FX one day - which is probably everyone's logical step - I do recommend buying this 20mm lens, as it is probably going to also be used by your own grandchildren...
34 of 37 people found the following review helpful.An Amazing Wide-Angle Lens at a Reasonable Price
By Justin Call
When I originally purchased this lens I was using a DX camera body and was looking for something sharp, fast, and wide to replace my old kit zoom lens. While it was a competent performer, it didn't really set my world on fire. On a DX body it's just not wide enough to create wide-angle distorted close up photos where the wide aperture would come in handy. When shooting landscapes the wide aperture didn't present much use and even though it was very sharp, I didn't notice much difference from my kit lens as I was typically stopping down enough that both lenses produced sharp photos.All this changed when I upgraded to a FX camera. With the full-frame sensor this lens comes alive producing amazingly wide-angled views with sharpness all the way to the corners. This is now my go-to lens for landscapes, architecture, panoramas, astrophotography, and abstract street photography. I really can't stress enough how great this lens is. I'm sure a lot of people looking at this lens are debating between this and the renowned 14-24 f/2.8 Nikkor. While that lens is undoubtedly better in most ways, I wouldn't discount getting the 20mm Nikkor if it's wide enough for your needs (which for most people I would say it is), especially at a third of the price. If you're a DX shooter and plan on staying that way, I would recommend getting one of Nikon's wider zooms (i.e. 12-24mm) instead as this probably won't be wide enough for your needs.A big warning for FX shooters, you can pretty much forget about using a filter with this lens as even the thinnest filters will produce visible vignetting in almost any situation.In summary here are the pros and cons:Pros:Amazingly sharpFast autofocusFast apertureVery reasonable price for wide angle lensVery wide angle on FX camerasBuilt like a tankCons:Not wide enough on DX cameraCan't use filters when shooting with FX cameraWon't autofocus on entry-level DSLRs (i.e. D3000, D5000, D40, D60, etc.)
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