Nikkor, Sigma, Tamron & Tokina in Super-Wide Shootout
Keywords: lens, comparison, nikon, lenses, nikkor, 14mm, dx, 12_24mm, 11_18mm, 10_20mm, tokina, tamron, sigma, d2x, d70
NIKON 12-24mm f/4G IF ED AF-S DX NIKKOR "Super Wide Angle" ZOOM LENS
The Nikkor is the original ultrawide DX zoom lens, having been introduced back in 2003. For a while, there was no choice on this front: if you wanted a zoom lens with the equivalent range of an 18-36mm, this was the only choice. How does it hold up to the new competition?
|
|
BUILD / PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The Nikkor 12-24mm lens is the second heaviest lens of the four we tested. It weighs in at over one pound (485g). Its finish is very similar to what you’d find on recent AF-S Nikkors – matte black with a slight roughness to the surface that most people like.
Unlike most Nikkors, the locations of the zoom and focusing rings are reversed, with the focusing ring at the rear of this lens, and the zoom ring at the front. If you’ve been using two-touch zooms for a while, expect to grab the wrong control on occasion. This lens is a “G” design, with no aperture ring.
This lens takes 77mm front filters, and has a pinch-front style lens cap that can easily be attached or removed with the bayonet-mount lens hood installed. As this is an AF-S Nikkor, focusing is quick and silent. Additionally, there is an instant manual focus override: simply turn the focusing ring to get a revised distance. While this is a nice feature, it isn’t quite as important on a wide angle lens as it is on a telephoto due to the large depth of field.
The distance scale does not have many markings. For example, the last distances marked prior to infinity are 1m and 2.5ft. In addition, the focusing scale is quite compressed. This makes setting a hyperfocal distance more of a challenge than on other lenses. As with most zooms, there are no hyperfocal markings on this lens; a laminated hyperfocal distance table is a good companion for this lens.
The lens hood is reversible and is actually the same model as is used with the 18-35mm 3.5/4.5 AF-D Nikkor and the 17-35mm 2.8 AF-S Nikkor. If you own one of those lenses, you now have a spare lens hood. Internally, the lens features an optical formula of 11 elements in 7 groups and a seven-bladed diaphragm with rounded edges. The lens has a constant maximum aperture of f/4.0 throughout the zoom range, and a close-focusing distance of just under one foot. Because this lens has a “DX” design, the image circle is too small to cover the frame on a 35mm body at all focal lengths, but you’ll get minimal vignetting at 18-24mm on a 35mm body.
PERFORMANCE
With both bodies, autofocus with the 12-24mm Nikkor is accurate and precise. The lens has a nice feel in the hand, and its construction quality is much better than lenses such as the 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D AF. It’s not quite as solid as a 17-35mm f/2.8D ED AF-S, but that’s also because it’s a much smaller lens.
Images with this lens have excellent contrast at all apertures and focal lengths and correspondingly fine color rendition. Center sharpness is very good at 12mm, and excellent at the longer focal lengths or when stopped down to f/8 or f/11. At the 18-24mm focal lengths, images were spectacularly sharp – about as good as it gets.
The edges of images taken at 12mm and wide-open are noticeably softer than the center when viewed at 100% in Photoshop, but this improves quickly upon stopping down. There is very little light fall-off with this lens, in fact it was the best of the bunch, and was virtually undetectable. As with the other lenses, there is a noticeable softening of images due to diffraction effects at f/22. At 18 and 24mm, this lens yields excellent sharpness in the edges, especially when stopped down.
Optical distortion is controlled very well in this lens. There is slight barrel distortion at 12mm, and no apparent distortion at longer focal lengths. At the wide end, chromatic aberration was apparent in images taken with the D2x, but it was minor. Users of Nikon Capture will find that if you turn on “Color Aberration Control”, chromatic aberration will be automatically removed from RAW files. We didn’t see any adverse impacts from this operation and would recommend turning it on and leaving it on.
CONCLUSIONS
Although the Nikkor is the "oldest" lens in the bunch, it’s a strong performer with the best overall optical performance. The only area where it was surpassed was in chromatic aberration where the Sigma was slightly better. Image quality at all focal lengths was very good to excellent; corner sharpness was a little soft at 12mm and maximum aperture, but this improved quickly at f/5.6 and smaller. The constant aperture design, rounded diaphragm blades and AF-S focusing motor are other nice touches on this lens.
This lens is a very good choice for Nikon shooters who:
• Want the best in overall optical performance and don’t need a 10mm lens
• Have a 28-70mm mid-range zoom, and need the 24mm focal length
• Want minimal vignetting at wider focal lengths without using Photoshop
• Desire a faster, constant maximum aperture
On the other hand, this lens may not be the best choice if:
• You’re on a tight budget
• You need an even wider focal length lens
• You want a lighter weight option
Despite being the first to appear in the market, the Nikkor has held up extremely well and it’s a great lens.
Its comparatively much higher price tag (US $940) is probably the only drawback.
Originally written on October 24, 2005
Last updated on January 20, 2021
More articles that might interest you
G
1 comment
Noel Gillam (NFG) on November 6, 2018
Hello Thanks for review, I have the Nikon 12-24 and very good it is too. The Tokina 11-16 ATX Pro f2.8 and 11-20 f2.8 also very nice super wide dx lenses N