Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 AI-S review

For the opportunity Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 Lens Review AI-S special thanks to Alexander. By the way, you can find many interesting manual lenses in Alexander, his contacts can be found in the manual optics section.

Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 AI-S review

Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 AI-S review

Nikon Nikkor 20mm F / 2.8 AI-S - a great tiny wide-angle fixed lens manual focus for full-frame cameras. The lens has been produced since 1984, in 1989 it was supplemented with an autofocus version Nikon 20mm 1: 2.8 AF Nikkor MKI (without the letter 'D'). It is usually said that 20mm is super wide angle lens (ultra-wideangle len). Its full potential can only be felt when used on full-format cameras, such as Nikon D3s, D800 etc., when used on Nikon DX cropped cameras, EGF lens will be 30mm. For owners of cropped cameras it will be much more convenient to use a whale Nikon 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6G VR AF-S DX Nikkor

Side view of Nikon Nikkor 20mm F / 2.8 AI-S lens

Lens view Nikon Nikkor 20mm F / 2.8 AI-S on the side

How to use Nikon's native old manual lenses on modern cameras You will find in my article about AI-S. I used this Nikon Nikkor 20mm F / 2.8 without any problems AI-S on Nikon D700 и Nikon D80.

View on a modern Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 AI-S camera

View on a modern Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 AI-S camera

The lens has only manual focus. When focusing, the trunk of the lens lengthens by about half a centimeter. When focusing front lens does not rotate. Lens uses CRC (Close Range Correction) - focusing system with correction at close focusing distances (floating focusing system). The focus ring is rubberized and rotates 90 degrees from infinity to 25sm. The aperture control ring has fixed values ​​of F / 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22. For DOF, the lens has special multi-colored strips, the color of which corresponds to a certain color of the aperture value. The lens uses filters with a diameter of 62mm. The aperture of the lens is 7-petal.

Image quality

The lens showed a very sharp picture at all aperture values, even at F / 22 when used on my Nikon D700 a drop in sharpness from diffraction is hardly felt. At F / 2.8-F / 4, a drop in sharpness is observed at the edges and corners of the image. The lens gives a fairly strong barrel-shaped distortion of a complex type. Holds back light well. There is a vignette on F / 2.8, which disappears on F / 5.6-F / 8.0. There are tangible chromatic aberration.

Sample Photos

All photos were shot with Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 AI-S and camera Nikon D700 JPEG L, FINE, VI. Photos without processing, size reduced to 3 MP (2048 * 1536) and data from EXIF.

Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 Application AI-S

The lens is suitable for shooting architecture, landscapes, creative shooting... Since the lens has a very small MDF and captures a very wide angle, perspective distortion is great for creative shooting. Due to the fact that the lens distortion is practically incorrigible in graphic editors, you need to frame the picture very carefully, since mostly 'humps' appear at the edges of the frame. This lens very weakly blurs the distant and foreground, poorly suited for portrait photography. Due to manual focusing, it will also be difficult to photograph a reportage.

Personal experience

The Nikon Nikkor 20mm F / 2.8 AI-S turned out to be a pretty tiny lens. It is very easy to use, almost always the lens is focused at infinity. This kid can even compete with such a giant as Nikon 14-24, by the way, the focal length of 20mm is just the middle of 14-24. I do not recommend using the Nikon Nikkor 20mm f / 2.8 AI-S on cropped Nikon DX cameras, but on a full frame the lens can do a good job. For those who find it difficult to focus manually, there is an autofocus analog - Nikon 20mm f / 2.8 NIKKOR AF or AF-D with the exact same optical design of 12 elements in 9 groups.

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Conclusions

Nikon Nikkor 20mm F / 2.8 AI-S is a good wide-angle manual AI-S type prime lens for Nikon FX cameras, suitable for wide angle lovers.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 57, on the topic: Review Nikon Nikkor 20mm 1: 2.8 AI-S

  • Larry

    NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS LENS.

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