Nasim, thank you for the review. I live in Canada and found a used lens on Kijiji (a website where people can buy and sell used stuff). I decided to see if it suits my requirement, and your review was the first on the results. After reading your review, I decided to wait for some other wide angle lens to pop up on Kijiji. Have a nice day!
Mike
August 25, 2021 3:43 am
This was an excellent test which I was pleased to find. I agree totally with your findings but want to say that there, I find, are many times when corner resolution is not really critical to the success of an image and that there are those for whom better lenses are not easily affordable, or who may not frequently shoot at this focal length.
I am one of these people, and I recently bought this lens because I found it extremely cheaply, initially for occasional use on my Canon 6D via a mount adapter. Poor as its corner performance is, it is clearly an improvement on my previous choice at this focal length, the (also very usable, and even smaller) Cosina-made 19-35, and I have acquired a little extra field of view.
I do have a question for anyone qualified to answer. One of the biggest potential annoyances of this lens for me is probably its irregular linear distortion. I know that Nikon bodies like the D600/610 have in-camera correction for linear distortion as well as CA. Does anyone know, or can they estimate from experience, how well would, say, a D610 correct out this lens’s linear distortion in its JPEGs? I usually shoot JPEG and could probably find one of these cameras for a lot less than the price of a better ultra-wide.
sam
August 4, 2013 3:14 pm
Great, you did a good job! I dont even think about the lens, but for the review! Many people just think to buy a older lens to save money and its so good, that you took some time, just to help the people! very noble!
Thank you Sam, I am planning to cover more lenses like this!
FrancoisR
August 4, 2013 6:32 am
Hello Nasim,
Thank you for great review as usual! I hadthe 18-35 D on a D300 many years ago and was quite satisfied then but I exchanged it for the 17-35 2.8 expecting to use it eventually on FF (D700) which I never did (got a 5D2 instead) and eventually bought the D800. I would sure appreciate some comparison between the 17-35 2.8, 18-35G, and 16-35 VR 4. I rarely use the 17-35 2.8 preferring the 16-35 L USMII instead.
Francois, the lens was good on film and on APS-C sensors, but it is clearly not the right fit for modern full-frame cameras. The 17-35mm f/2.8 is much better optically.
I am certainly planning to review the 17-35mm f/2.8. I have plenty of sample images with it, but I never had a chance to put it through Imatest. So it is definitely coming. Once I am done with what I have and the super telephotos, I will jump back on older lenses. The 17-35mm f/2.8D is a classic – it was a superb lens before the 16-35mm and its center resolution is outstanding. In fact, I believe if you stop it down to f/8, it might actually resolve better details than the 16-35mm. Again, I have to re-test the lens with Imatest to tell for sure…
Avishai
August 4, 2013 1:48 am
Great review!
I am thinking about buying a new wide-angle lens for my new Nikon D90. I had this lens in mind..
Do you think the Nikon 24mm f/2.8D is a better lens than this? Do you have any other suggeestions for wide-angle lenses in this budget range (200-400 dollars).
Avishal, this lens is not worth it. I haven’t fully tested the 24mm f/2.8D yet, but I can tell you for sure that it is superior optically. As for budget wide angle lenses, I would check out some used or refurbished lenses at B&H and other sites. Try craigslist as well. For under $400, there are very few options out there – you might be better off just shooting with your kit lens…
I also have the D90 camera and after much research bought the Tammaron SP17-50mm DI non VC version. This is the only semi pro lens in this class with a fixed 2.8 aperture to compare to the Nikkor 17-55. I am incredibly satisfied with this lens, it is even sharper than my 20mm F2.8D Prime!
hsrurs
August 4, 2013 1:35 am
Hi Nasim,
Thanks for wonderful review. 2 weeks back you had promised to do a review on the new 800mm lens. What happened to that?
Yes and the review is half way done, still trying to do some tests in my lab. You can imagine how hard the darn thing is to test, especially with TCs. I literally have to walk past my garage to get the test chart to fit in the frame!
Hopefully Imatest will be completed by the end of the week. I am also simultaneously reviewing the Nikon 500mm f/4G VR, Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 and updating MTF data for the 300mm f/2.8G VR lens.
A lot of exciting stuff coming up, so stay tuned!
Ting Tian
August 3, 2013 7:27 pm
Hi Nasim, awesome review as usual! Thank you for all your work. I found a typo on the first page. It is the last sentence in section 1, overview and specs. The original post says “Other technical information, including manufacturer-provided MTF chart can be found in the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D IF-ED page from our lens database.” You accidentally typed AF-S instead of AF as the name. It should be AF Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D IF-ED.
Nasim, thank you for the review. I live in Canada and found a used lens on Kijiji (a website where people can buy and sell used stuff). I decided to see if it suits my requirement, and your review was the first on the results. After reading your review, I decided to wait for some other wide angle lens to pop up on Kijiji. Have a nice day!
This was an excellent test which I was pleased to find. I agree totally with your findings but want to say that there, I find, are many times when corner resolution is not really critical to the success of an image and that there are those for whom better lenses are not easily affordable, or who may not frequently shoot at this focal length.
I am one of these people, and I recently bought this lens because I found it extremely cheaply, initially for occasional use on my Canon 6D via a mount adapter. Poor as its corner performance is, it is clearly an improvement on my previous choice at this focal length, the (also very usable, and even smaller) Cosina-made 19-35, and I have acquired a little extra field of view.
I do have a question for anyone qualified to answer. One of the biggest potential annoyances of this lens for me is probably its irregular linear distortion. I know that Nikon bodies like the D600/610 have in-camera correction for linear distortion as well as CA. Does anyone know, or can they estimate from experience, how well would, say, a D610 correct out this lens’s linear distortion in its JPEGs? I usually shoot JPEG and could probably find one of these cameras for a lot less than the price of a better ultra-wide.
Great, you did a good job!
I dont even think about the lens, but for the review!
Many people just think to buy a older lens to save money and its so good, that you took some time, just to help the people!
very noble!
Thank you Sam, I am planning to cover more lenses like this!
Hello Nasim,
Thank you for great review as usual! I hadthe 18-35 D on a D300 many years ago and was quite satisfied then but I exchanged it for the 17-35 2.8 expecting to use it eventually on FF (D700) which I never did (got a 5D2 instead) and eventually bought the D800. I would sure appreciate some comparison between the 17-35 2.8, 18-35G, and 16-35 VR 4. I rarely use the 17-35 2.8 preferring the 16-35 L USMII instead.
merci beaucoup!
Francois, the lens was good on film and on APS-C sensors, but it is clearly not the right fit for modern full-frame cameras. The 17-35mm f/2.8 is much better optically.
I am certainly planning to review the 17-35mm f/2.8. I have plenty of sample images with it, but I never had a chance to put it through Imatest. So it is definitely coming. Once I am done with what I have and the super telephotos, I will jump back on older lenses. The 17-35mm f/2.8D is a classic – it was a superb lens before the 16-35mm and its center resolution is outstanding. In fact, I believe if you stop it down to f/8, it might actually resolve better details than the 16-35mm. Again, I have to re-test the lens with Imatest to tell for sure…
Great review!
I am thinking about buying a new wide-angle lens for my new Nikon D90. I had this lens in mind..
Do you think the Nikon 24mm f/2.8D is a better lens than this? Do you have any other suggeestions for wide-angle lenses in this budget range (200-400 dollars).
Thanks!
Avishal, this lens is not worth it. I haven’t fully tested the 24mm f/2.8D yet, but I can tell you for sure that it is superior optically. As for budget wide angle lenses, I would check out some used or refurbished lenses at B&H and other sites. Try craigslist as well. For under $400, there are very few options out there – you might be better off just shooting with your kit lens…
I also have the D90 camera and after much research bought the Tammaron SP17-50mm DI non VC version. This is the only semi pro lens in this class with a fixed 2.8 aperture to compare to the Nikkor 17-55. I am incredibly satisfied with this lens, it is even sharper than my 20mm F2.8D Prime!
Hi Nasim,
Thanks for wonderful review. 2 weeks back you had promised to do a review on the new 800mm lens. What happened to that?
thanks
Yes and the review is half way done, still trying to do some tests in my lab. You can imagine how hard the darn thing is to test, especially with TCs. I literally have to walk past my garage to get the test chart to fit in the frame!
Hopefully Imatest will be completed by the end of the week. I am also simultaneously reviewing the Nikon 500mm f/4G VR, Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 and updating MTF data for the 300mm f/2.8G VR lens.
A lot of exciting stuff coming up, so stay tuned!
Hi Nasim, awesome review as usual! Thank you for all your work.
I found a typo on the first page. It is the last sentence in section 1, overview and specs. The original post says “Other technical information, including manufacturer-provided MTF chart can be found in the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D IF-ED page from our lens database.” You accidentally typed AF-S instead of AF as the name. It should be AF Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D IF-ED.
Thank you for letting me know, I fixed the typo :)
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