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Home โ†’ Reviews โ†’ Cameras and Lenses โ†’ Nikon 24mm f/1.8G ED Review

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G ED Review

By Nasim Mansurov 65 Comments
Last Updated On August 11, 2020

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Nikon 24mm f/1.8G vs Nikon 24mm f/1.4G

Here is how the Nikon 24mm f/1.8G compares to the professional-level Nikon 24mm f/1.4G:

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G MTF Performance

Nikon 24mm f/1.4G MTF Performance

As you can see, the 24mm f/1.8G starts out sharper than the 24mm f/1.4G at the same aperture of f/1.8, showing slightly better center and noticeably better mid-frame sharpness performance. Both lenses peak out at f/4-f/5.6, with the 24mm f/1.8G showing better overall sharpness in the center. Both lenses more or less even out at f/5.6, although the 24mm f/1.8G still produces sharper corners.

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G Image Sample (26)
NIKON D750 + 24mm f/1.8 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 6/10, f/11.0
Nikon 24mm f/1.8G Image Sample (20)
NIKON D750 + 24mm f/1.8 @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/40, f/16.0

In short, the Nikon 24mm f/1.8G overall delivers better value when compared to its bigger brother, particularly when stopped down to f/5.6 and smaller apertures.

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G vs Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art

Let’s now take a look at how the Nikon 24mm f/1.8G compares to the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art:

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G MTF Performance

Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art MTF Performance

If you score a good copy of the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art, boy, it is a sharpness monster. As can be seen above, the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art significantly out-resolves the Nikon 24mm f/1.8G at maximum aperture in the center, delivering stunning sharpness. However, it does have a rather serious drawback – it has a very noticeable field curvature, which seriously impacts everything outside the focused area.

As a result, the lens starts out with pretty weak corners at large apertures and requires the lens to be stopped down to around f/4 to start yielding sharp corners. By f/5.6, both lenses have similar sharpness in the center, with the 24mm f/1.8G doing better in the extreme corners. Another disadvantage of the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art, when compared to the Nikon 24mm f/1.8G, is its larger size and heavier construction. At 665 grams, it is even heavier than the Nikon 24mm f/1.4G!

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G Image Sample (29)
NIKON D750 + 24mm f/1.8 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 1/30, f/11.0

Note: It is important to point out that the two lens samples of the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art produced drastically different resolution numbers, which indicates potential issues with consistency and QA. The second lens sample had a decentered element and scored much lower than the above numbers.

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G vs Samyang 24mm f/1.4

The Samyang 24mm f/1.4 is the only manual focus lens in the group. Made by a South Korean optical company, the Samyang 24mm f/1.4 is the cheapest option among fast aperture 24mm primes. Let’s take a look at how it compares to the Nikon 24mm f/1.8G:

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G MTF Performance

Samyang 24mm f/1.4 MTF Performance

The two copies of the Samyang 24mm f/1.4 that I tested behaved somewhat similarly, showing rather poor wide-open performance. At f/1.8, the Nikon 24mm f/1.8G showed better overall performance in the center and the mid-frame, but the corners looked about the same as on the Samyang 24mm f/1.4. The Nikon 24mm f/1.8G showed better center-frame performance at all apertures, but once stopped down to f/5.6, both lenses were yielding pretty even sharpness all the way into the corners, which makes the Samyang 24mm f/1.4 another good value lens for architecture and landscape photography.

Nikon 24mm f/1.8G Image Sample (18)
NIKON D750 + 24mm f/1.8 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 1/60, f/8.0
Nikon 24mm f/1.8G Image Sample (14)
NIKON D750 + 24mm f/1.8 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 1/80, f/11.0

Table of Contents

  • Overview and Specifications
  • Optical Features
  • Lens Comparisons
  • Summary
  • More Image Samples
  • Reader Comments
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