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Home → Reviews → Cameras and Lenses → Nikon 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 DX VR Review

Nikon 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 DX VR Review

By Václav Bacovský 110 Comments
Last Updated On January 26, 2024

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Table of Contents

  • Overview
  • Optics, Focusing and VR
  • Sharpness and Lens Comparisons
  • Summary
  • More Image Samples
  • Reader Comments
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110 Comments
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Vital
Vital
October 2, 2023 2:26 am

I had the opportunity to shoot with this lens.
A very nice lens with low flares and a nice price !

3
Reply
Bill Sandifer
Bill Sandifer
October 21, 2022 1:39 pm

Apparently the lens update expands cameras it will work on. It works fine on my D800 and allows manual focus and manual focus override in the body autofocus mode. Marvelous, inexpensive lens.

3
Reply
S R Ravi
S R Ravi
June 15, 2021 10:42 am

I have a Tokina 11-16mm with all the markings on the lens barrel and a constant f/2.8 max. aperture and the very “useful sleeping eight”. If the sky is sexy I move to manual focus: to infinity, Spot metering, f/8 and Aperture priority meter for the sky and use it as a point and shoot. Looks like this can’t be done with this Nikon 10-20mm. Removing lens barrel markings in some recent lenses is making life difficult for us amateurs. :))

0
Reply
Fazil
Fazil
May 31, 2021 4:55 am

Has anyone tried it for astrophotography like Milkyway photography. If so pls share the results

1
Reply
Fred Mueller
Fred Mueller
February 19, 2021 6:22 pm

I got this lens and the FTZ adapter to use with a Z50 … works great! A little bulkier than it might be if it was native, but actually it gives you a nice lumpy “barrel” to hang onto. Optically there’s just nothing to complain about … a little slow for indoor natural light, but as they say, if you are not getting good results, it’s not the camera.

4
Reply
Colin Gift
Colin Gift
July 28, 2020 11:56 am

Right after I bought the new Nikon Z 50 and kit lens Iand I bought this lens (10-30 DX P VR) and 70-300 DX P VR used.. Both lenses work perfectly with the FTZ adapter, and round out that camera as a walkabout kit perfectly. Between all 3 lenses I have pretty much everything I need.
Coming from my Nikon Z7 and 14-30 Z mount and older 70-200 f:4, I find the 10-30 DX okay iin image quality in comparison, but the 70-300 DX has excellent image quality, not quite as good as the older F mount at f:4, but pretty much equal if I use the 1.4 Teleconverter with that lens.
Just my $.02

1
Reply
Václav Bacovský
Václav Bacovský
Author
Reply to  Colin Gift
August 1, 2020 2:10 pm

Thanks for your remarks, I pretty much agree. As for the 10-30mm AF-P you mention: I guess you mean 10-20mm AF-P DX lens, right?

2
Reply
S R Ravi
S R Ravi
Reply to  Colin Gift
June 15, 2021 10:48 am

Never compare Full frame with the APSC with a wide angle, Full frame wins hands down and in the ease of getting great results and dynamic range. One can’t escape all that shadow noise and loss of detail in an APSC even at base ISO. Compared to my Tokina 11-16mm on Z50, I find Nikon D610 with my Tamron 15-30mm gives stellar results. I literally am relearning to use the Tokina 11-16mm with Z50. Also the processing in LR is totally opposite of what you do for a full frame wide angle, personally. I’m an amateur and shoot only RAW.

0
Reply
Dr:Basavaraj
Dr:Basavaraj
April 11, 2020 7:26 am

Hi Va’clav.which lenses is better optically?
Nikon 10-20 Vs Afp 18-55.

0
Reply
Václav Bacovský
Václav Bacovský
Author
Reply to  Dr:Basavaraj
April 12, 2020 3:02 pm

Hi, I would say they are on par, the 10-20mm has a bit weak spot at 18-20mm (with 20mm in particular). I do not remember 18-55mm AF-P version of having a really much softer focal lenghts (compared to other focal lenghts of the same lens). I hope this helps. Vaclav

3
Reply
Joop
Joop
November 17, 2019 9:06 am

Dear Vaclav,

One of your conclusions is that the Tokina 11-16mm is overall a better performer.
Looking to the examples, I cannot see this or confirm it.
At 14mm the edge sharpness of Tokina lens is really bad, look at
the f/ 5.6 example. At 18mm, with the 3 lenses next to each other, I think you enlarged it somewhat to match it,
it is almost a double exposure at f/5.6 for the Tokina. (You mentioned it outer edge but it is a center crop).

Examples mixed up?
Hope to hear from you.
Tnx

2
Reply
klaus
klaus
October 27, 2019 8:30 am

good review!
for info it works very well on d800 in 1.2x crop mode from 12-20mm – and distorsion correction works too😊

3
Reply
Bo Petersen
Bo Petersen
September 4, 2019 2:15 am

Very good review. I also just purchased this lens and are experimenting with
some timelaps clips. So far it looks promising.

1
Reply

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