NOTE: A full review of this lens can be found in my Nikon 24-120mm VR Review article.
Another lens that has been released today is the Nikon 24-120mm f/4.G ED VR – an update to the Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VR lens that has been out since 2003. The lens has been completely redesigned with a constant aperture of f/4, now coming with a gold ring around the front of the lens barrel, which is an indication of Nikon’s professional line of lenses.
NOTE: A full review of this lens can be found in my Nikon 85mm f/1.4G Review article.
Along with the Nikon D3100 DSLR camera, Nikon also released the long-expected and overdue Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S – an update to the legendary Nikon 85mm f/1.4D that has been our top choice for portraiture and wedding photography. The Nikon 85mm f/1.4D has always been the “king” of bokeh and because of this, has been considered to be one of the best lenses for portraiture and low-light photography.
This is an in-depth review of the Nikon 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II lens that was released in December of 2009, along with the TC-20E III teleconverter. When it comes to telephoto lenses, the Nikon 300mm f/2.8 line of lenses has always been a metric of sharpness, contrast and acuity. The Nikon 300mm f/2.8G VR II is no exception – it sports top of the line optical design and technology that are capable of resolving tons of details, delivering outstanding results for any kind of long-range photography. The Nikon 300mm f/2.8G VR II was released as a minor update to the existing Nikon 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED – the optical design stayed the same, with the exception of Vibration Reduction II (VR II) technology and a new A/M focus mode. In this review, I will not only provide general information about the Nikon 300mm f/2.8G VR II and its performance, but also how it works with all current Nikon teleconverters (TC-14E II, TC-17E II and TC-20E III) and how it compares to other telephoto lenses of similar and lower classes.
What are the best Nikon lenses for wedding photography? This question comes up so often via comments and emails from our readers, that I was first going to include it in our Photography FAQ section, but then decided to write a separate article and elaborate on the subject a little more. Specifically, I want to not only write about what lenses I think are the best for weddings, but also why and in which cases we use a particular lens. Please keep in mind that the information I present below is a personal opinion based on my experience so far. If you have a favorite lens of yours for wedding photography that is not listed below, please feel free to add a comment on the bottom of the page with some information and pictures (if you have any that you would like to share).
The first on the list is my (and Lola’s) most favorite lens for wedding photography – Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-S. We like it for four main reasons: it is sharp, colorful, lightweight and the bokeh it produces is outstanding.
Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-S
This is an in-depth, long overdue review of the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens that was released back in August of 2007 together with the 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens. I have owned the Nikon 24-70mm ever since it came out and I have written a lot about it in my articles, but never got the chance to sit down and provide some detailed feedback about what I like or don’t like about this lens. After I got my hands on other FX wide-angle lenses such as Nikon 16-35mm f/4 VR, Nikon 24mm f/1.4G and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G, I knew it was time to put them all up to a real test and compare each one with the 24-70mm.
The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens is a truly versatile lens that can be used for many different kinds of photography needs – from wide-angle landscapes and panoramas, to portraits and events. With its constant aperture of f/2.8 (meaning the aperture does not change while zooming) and state of the art optics, the lens is targeted towards enthusiasts and professionals, who work in various lighting and weather conditions and need exceptional sharpness, color and contrast in their images – something the Nikon 24-70mm was designed to deliver. It replaced the older Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8D lens and its optics were completely redesigned for superior performance and extra coverage on the wide-end. Featuring 15 lens elements in 11 groups, 3 out of which are ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements that reduce chromatic aberration and increase sharpness, the lens is a heavyweight monster weighing a whopping 31.7 oz. (900 grams), which is heavier than the Nikon D300 DSLR! In addition to the Silent Wave Motor (SWM/AF-S) that provides fast and quiet auto focus, the Nikon 24-70mm also features the Nano Crystal Coating technology, which reduces ghosting and flare. When it comes to weather sealing, the Nikon 24-70mm is designed to be well-protected against dust, moisture and tough weather conditions (read more under Lens Handling below).
Do you know that Lightroom 3 can now easily fix geometric distortion, chromatic aberration and vignetting issues in your images without having to open Photoshop? In this article, I will show you how to fix lens issues in your photographs, in addition to adding a lens profile to Lightroom 3 if your lens is not supported by Lightroom’s Camera RAW.
Lens Correction, also known as “Distortion Correction”, is a brand new feature that was introduced in Lightroom 3 to allow photographers to fix such lens problems as distortion, chromatic aberration and vignetting “non-destructively”, without leaving Lightroom. This is a great addition to Lightroom, since all of the above had to be manually performed in Photoshop using a Lens Correction filter, which was a rather tedious task (especially for a large number of images). The beauty of the lens correction feature in Lightroom 3, is that just like any other setting, lens correction settings can be copied from one image to another, or applied to hundreds of images at once without having to open each image individually. Take a look at the following image that was taken with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G lens:
Move your mouse over and out of the image to see what it looks like before and after Lens Correction is applied to the image. The curves around the edges are straightened and the building looks more natural. This is not an extreme case with distortion, but you get the idea. The corner darkness (vignetting) is also taken care of.
This is an in-depth review of the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens that was released back in August of 2007 together with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens. I have been planning to write a review of this lens for quite some time now and I wanted to make the review as thorough as possible, comparing it to other Nikon FX wide angle lenses that are out in the market today. My plan finally came to reality, when I got a hold of Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G, Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 VR, Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G and finally Nikon 24mm f/1.4G lenses all at the same time!
Let me start by saying that the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G is a work of art. Marketed as Nikon’s flagship ultra wide-angle lens, the Nikon 14-24mm is a beautiful craftsmanship that one can only appreciate after holding it in hands and trying it out. When Nikon introduced it to the world of photography back in 2007 as a full-frame lens to be used with the back-then newly released, Nikon’s first-ever full-frame DSLR D3, the lens set a new standard in zoom lens performance in terms of sharpness and contrast. It was the world’s first 14mm ultra wide-angle zoom lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture and Nikon was proud to state that it rivals prime lenses when it comes to optical design and performance. As you will see from image samples that I posted in this review, the lens is truly very sharp, easily outperforming any other Nikon ultra wide-angle zoom lenses at all focal lengths, coming very close to the exceptional performance of the Nikon 24mm f/1.4G lens.
So you got yourself a brand new DSLR and after using it for a little while got the dreaded “Err” error on your camera LCD? Fear not, your camera might not damaged and there might be no need to return it back to Nikon, as they suggest in most camera manuals.
The reason why this error comes up, is because your camera is not properly communicating with your lens due to some dirt and grease both on camera and lens contacts. The solution is pretty simple – all you have to do is dismount your lens and clean the lens contacts, then clean camera contacts and mount the lens back on the camera and see what happens. Sounds too complicated? Are you afraid to damage your camera and/or lens? Then keep reading, because I will show you exactly what needs to be done.
Despite bad weather and very limited amount of time, I somehow managed to capture over 1000 images in Puerto Rico. It took me a while to go over everything and pick the images I like the most, so I now need to extract a few images and post them here :)
I took three lenses with me to Puerto Rico:
1) Nikon 24mm f/1.4G
2) Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G
3) Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II + 1.7x TC
I tried to use the 24mm f/1.4 the most in different lighting conditions and apertures. Despite what others are reporting about this lens, specifically its focusing issues, I have not seen a single image where the focus was incorrect. Whether I shot something up close or a distant object, all images came out tack sharp from center to corner, as reported in my Nikon 24mm f/1.4 Review. Not sure if there is a batch of bad 24mm lenses out there, but mine is working flawlessly and I did not notice any problems at all.
Here is the first picture I took at the El Conquistador resort in Puerto Rico:
And the last image of the resort on the day of departure:
The above image is a panoramic image stitched with 4 vertical images. I did not have to correct any distortion issues before stitching the panorama and Photoshop did a pretty good job in aligning everything together. More to come!
This is an in-depth review of the professional Nikon 24mm f/1.4G ED lens that was announced in February of 2010 together with the Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0G VR lens. The lens was kindly provided by B&H – the largest photo reseller in the world that I use more than any other to buy my photography gear.
The Nikon 24mm f/1.4G lens is a professional-grade lens for enthusiasts and professionals that need the highest quality optics of a fixed wide-angle lens with a large aperture of f/1.4 for low-light situations and shallow depth of field to isolate subjects from the background. The lens incorporates the latest optical technology destined for both FX and DX sensors (equivalent of 36mm on DX), yielding amazing clarity and contrast in most challenging lighting conditions. The Nikon 24mm f/1.4G follows the footsteps of the legendary Nikon 28mm f/1.4D lens, which was known for its exceptional quality and sharp optics, even at large apertures. The new Nikon 24mm f/1.4 is no exception – it performs almost flawlessly at all apertures, most notably at f/1.4 with maximum sharpness from center to corner, as seen in the examples of this review. Nikon has incorporated the latest technology and optical formulas to this lens, including AF-S silent-wave focus motor and Nano crystal coating. The lens is also sealed against dust and tough weather conditions. Just like most Nikon professional lenses, the lens has a 77mm filter thread, which is great news for landscape and architectural photographers.
Where the Nikon 24mm f/1.4 shines, is its subject isolation capability with exceptionally good-looking bokeh at a wide perspective of 24mm, which is an extremely useful focal length for both FX and DX sensors. The maximum aperture of f/1.4 makes this lens a superb portrait lens for both images and video, making it a great candidate for low-light photography.
