The AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 ED Wide Angle
You may be wondering why I’m not posting more about fishing adventures. Well its the crazy weather. It has been whacko to say the least. Heat waves followed by sudden drops in temperature. Recently it rained 13 out of 14 days, with more rain coming. Believe me the rivers and streams are swollen, out of their banks and near flood stage. A sorry state of affairs, and summer is half gone! Damn.
So hey, lets discuss photography instead. And in particular lets turn our attention to wide angles, the most important lens an angler can own. Back in my film days, I replied heavily on a Nikkor 20mm F2.8. Not bad glass, but nowhere near the finest wide lens I have ever owned. That crown goes to the mighty AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 ED. A legendary optic.
This Nikkor is the widest zoom Nikon makes. The focal length range is near perfect for both close in work and landscapes. In top of that, it is FX, full frame 35mm. (Mates perfectly with my old Nikon D700) Yes you can use it on DX format too, but screw that. DX has never equaled FX. The AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 ED holds a constant F2.8 maximum aperture through its entire focal range. A useful feature. The glass has a superb Nano-crystal coating to reduce flare. Voila! The images are juicy – stunning, sharp, and saturated, with far less spherical aberration and distortion than you would expect. Get you some of that!
Is the AF-S Nikkor 14-24 mm F2.8 all strawberries and cream? No. The curved front element will not accept a screw-in filter. And this baby is a behemoth. It weights a hair over 2 pounds. You heard right, a full kilogram. (my Nikkor 20mm F2.8 weighted 9.8 ounces) And its not cheap; around $1800 new. Get scared off? Cowboy up dude. What you’re getting is a killer image maker. Killer, killer, killer.
Wide angle lens are my favorite.
Back in predigital days, my favorite lens for my Olympus was a 28 mm. Also had a macro zoom that went 20 to 50 mm.
For people I loved the 85 mm.
But my phone 11 has a built in zoom and a separate fixed portrait lens. It’s always in my pocket.
Yeah the latest cell phones are fantastic. I need to upgrade at some point. As much as I love that monster Nikkor – and I do love it – I now have a pocket camera backup. Its an Olympus Tough. Shock proof, waterproof, GPS, macro mode, video, and fits in may wader pocket. Very convenient and takes a decent picture. But when I want a killer digital file I’ll reach for the 14-24mm Nikkor.