In-Depth Review: Nikon's Nikkor 28 f1.4 AF-D Aspherical Lens

Tech Specs
Focal Length: 28mm
Dimensions: 3.1 x 3.0 in.
Weight: 18.3oz.
Maximum Aperture: f1.4
Minimum Aperture: f16
Diaphragm Blades: 9
Front Element: non-rotating, non-extending
Optical arrangement: 11 elements in 8 groups
Autofocus Mechanism: Mechanical Drive
Closest Focus: 1.15 feet
Maximum magnification: 1:8.3
Filter Size: 72mm

Shout-Out: First of all, a big thank you goes out to Tyler Beckman of Lensrentals.com for making this review possible.

Background
For indoor and/or available light shooters in the film era (when anything above ISO 1600 was unheard of), fast aperture lenses, typically those of f1.4 were the golden standard of optics for the simple reason that only their light-gathering ability can provide enough aperture to get shots in any photographic condition. Unfortunately, the standard, cheap to make 50s are often simply not wide enough for indoors, which was the impetus for opticians to try and take the f1.4 aperture into the wide-angle range. In the 1969, Nikon came up with the 35 f1.4, which would be updated to AI and AI-S in the coming decades. With the advent of autofocus in the mid 1980s, Nikon was suddenly without an AF, ultra-wide, ultra-fast optic. In 1994, many photographers' demand was finally satisfied with the release of the 28 f1.4D Aspherical, which set records for aperture at such a wide focal length at that time. So, is Nikon's record breaker's bite as strong as it's bark? Read on to find out!

Build Quality 5/5
The Nikkor 28 f1.4D Aspherical is built like the proverbial tank. By picking up the lens, one immediately recognizes that this is a serious photographic tool, not a toy. The first thing one notices is the cool temperature of the lens, which quickly indicates that it is virtually all metal in construction. From lens mount to filter threads, the only plastic to be found on this Nikkor is the aperture and AF/MF ring. Honestly, if this lens were flatter, it could probably double as a hockey puck (just remember to keep the caps on!) Moving up the barrel, one comes to the focus ring, which is highly textured, rubberized, and extremely smooth in action. Continuing on, one ends at the filter rings, which use the 72mm variety and are solid metal, too.

See also: Weather Resistant Nikon Lenses

AF Performance 4/5

Being a 'D' lens, the Nikkor 28 f1.4D Asphericql does not feature the latest AF-S drive, but the old-style mechanical slotted screw AF drive. On the D700, which sports Nikon's most powerful AF motor, focus is fast, accurate, and very quiet for this older design, creating only a soft buzzing noise that is far quieter than the actual slap of the SLR's mirror. On other cameras with different AF motors, speed may differ but, being a wide angle lens with a short focus path, AF speed should be on the quick side, too. Now, if your camera doesn't feature a built-in motor (D5200 and lower), there will be no AF with your camera, but the lens still can be focused manually.

Of special note here is the AF/MF switch mechanism, which takes the form of a small ring on the lens barrel. Used only for a short time in the early to mid 1990s on high-end lenses, the AF/MF switch on this lens in pure genius in design. Unlike most Nikkors of similar vintage, the focus ring does not spin during AF thank s to the floating focus ring design, so feel free to grab the lens anywhere when shooting with it. To go to MF mode, press the small silver button on the ring and rotate it so that the arrow moves away from the 'A' and points to the 'M' on the barrel. By doing this, one engages the focus ring so that the lens can be focused manually. The great thing about this design is that there is no need to fumble around with the camera's unseen (from the back) focus mode switch, which makes switching modes a whole lot simpler and faster. An even better thing is that there is no chance of accidentally messing up your focus by bumping the focus ring like on current AF-S lenses. Really, it's too bad that Nikon didn't decide to implement such a design on more lenses.  

Optics: 5/5
A lot goes into determining the optical quality of a lens, so let's look at them individually.

 Center sharpness

 Mid-frame sharpness.

Corner sharpness

Sharpness
Designing a 28mm lens that starts at f1.4 and is usable at the same time is no small undertaking. Most lenses of such a fast aperture are rather soft wide open, not so with the Nikkor 28 f1.4D Aspherical, which has contributed to the legend of this one of a kind lens. Wide open, this lens is sharp across virtually the entire frame, the exception being the extreme corners, where there is some falloff. The good news is that, unless one is printing poster-sized images, no one is going to notice an optical shortcoming impacting such a tiny area of the picture. By f2.8, the central and mid regions are as good as they're going to get. At f5.6, the lens is tack-sharp right across the entire frame.

Vignetting across the f-range. 

Vignetting
If there is one weakness (although not an unexpected one) in the optical design of this lens, it is the vignetting. Shooting wide open at f1.4, there is obvious darkening caused by light falloff. Stopping down to f2 greatly alleviates, but does not eliminate thus problem as the shading is now moved out to the periphery of the image. By f2.8, vignetting is gone. On DX cameras, vignetting should be a non-issue.

For real life examples, see below.

Night shots at f1.4 (top), f2 (middle), and f2.8 (bottom).

Day shots at f1.4 (top) and f2 (bottom). Note how much stopping down just one click reduces the vignetting.

Distortion
There isn't any.


Chromatic Aberration

This lens does show a very minimal amount of CAs, but nothing to worry about in non pixel-peeping terms. 

Flare/Ghosting
Shooting into the Sun, there isn't any flare/ghosting visible.

Macro
This lens is not a dedicated macro by far.

Value: 4/5
Well, an out of production lens that commonly sells for over $3,000 is not cheap by any means, so how does this lens score a so high on value? Simple: it's just that good. The build is top-notch, the AF is fast and accurate, the optics are good right from the get-go at f1.4 (how many lenses can you say that about?), and it is usable with any Nikon SLR ever produced, too. Needless to say, the lens has earned its reputation as one of the finest Nikkors ever produced. The only reason I'm not giving it a 5 is that there is a current, cheaper 24 f1.4 available right now.


Odds and Ends:
Competition
Nikkor 28 f1.4D vs. Nikkor 24 f1.4G 
Obviously, the most clear-cut competition for the Nikkor 28 f1.4D Aspherical comes in the form of the new 24 f1.4G, released in 2010. NOTE: I have never played around in-depth with the 24 like I have the 28, but have only had a brief hands-on with one (still, that's enough to make a lot of useful comparisons). In fact, it's hard to believe that Nikon allowed for a 4-year gap in between phasing out the 28 and introducing the 24. So, when comparing the 28 to the 24 (which costs less), let's look at the pros and cons and keep a running score.

Build quality: Both lenses are well built, but there is no denying that the 28 has better construction quality, with the only plastic coming on the aperture and AF/MF ring. On the other hand, the 24 uses plastic for parts of the barrel as well as filter threads. One point for the 28.

Autofocus: Neither lens is a slouch in regards to AF, but the 24 comes with AF-S, which means quieter focus and the ability to be used on any current Nikon dSLR. The 28? It can only focus on D7100/D90 (plus ancestors) and up models. One point for the 24. 

Durability: When it comes to mechanics, there's no doubt that the 28 will outlast a 24 because of one simple reason: the 28 is a mechanical drive AF while the 24 uses a built-in motor. End result: your camera will die before the 28 while the opposite could be true for the 24. One point for the 28. 

Comfort factor: despite being a solid metal construction, the 28 is actually lighter than the plastic and metal 24. The 28 is quite a bit smaller, too. While no lightweight (it weighs just over 18 ounces), the 28 won't be as taxing on one's wrist as the 24. One point for the 28. 

Compatibility: The 24 will work on all current Nikon cameras just perfectly but will have problems when getting back to first generation AF cameras and, thanks to its lack of aperture ring, will be just about useless on a manual focus film camera. The 28 will work to a degree on all Nikon SLRs ever produced, with the only restriction being that it won't AF on current, cheap cameras. It's a draw here. 

Environment-resistance: Neither lens changes length when focusing (thus minimizing the chances of any crud getting inside), but the 24 has the added advantage of a rubber gasket at the mount, which is more crucial than ever for today's delicate digital cameras. One point for the 24.

Optics: Unfortunately, not having done any in-depth playing around with a 24, I can't comment on this. No points here. 


So . . . which one to buy?
If you like to shoot both film as well as digital, the 28, thanks to its complete reverse-compatibility, is a no-brainer as it will work on any Nikon camera ever made. For anyone who knows that photography is not a passing interest, I recommend the 28 as well thanks to its durability (those modern AF-S motors may be fancier, but they're much more prone to breaking). For anyone who has no intention of shooting film and/or who lists cost as a top concern, the 24 is your lens as it was designed for digital and costs, on average, about $1,000 less than the 28. DX shooters? Skip both, save a ton of cash, and buy the 35 f1.8 instead.


Other Competition:
The closest non-Nikon lens out there to the 28 f1.4D Aspherical are the 'bargain buckets' from Sigma, namely the 20, 24, and 28 f1.8 models. Honestly, despite having never played with any of these, I can feel safe to assume that the only advantage these Sigmas offer over the Nikkor is in terms of price. In camp Nikon, the closest thing is the new 28 f1.8G, which has the same compatibilities and rubber gasket as the 24 f1.4, but costs around $700 thanks to slower aperture and cheaper construction. Again, not having played with one, I can't offer any optical comparisons except for the obvious notion that the Nikkor will probably kick the pants off the Sigmas.

Yes, this picture is hand-held and those are stars!

Astrophotography
Infinity is not infinity on the Nikkor 28 1.4D (at least on digital), which means that you'll have to play around a bit for perfect focus on stars. To save you the trouble, just manually focus to a distance of 15 feet and you'll be good to go all night. 

That rear aperture ring means that the 28 f1.4D can be used on any F-mount film camera dating back to 1959, sweet!

Reverse-Compatibility:
The Nikkor 28 f1.4D Aspherical will work on any Nikon SLR ever made, going back to the original Nikon F of 1959. The only incompatibility comes with recent cameras that lack the built-in motor that powers the AF slotted screw drive.

See all that glass? People are willing to pay big bucks for it, why is why the value of this lens has appreciated so much since it went out of production.

Shadow by Moonlight: why all that glass matters!

Should I sit on one?
When it comes to high-tech toys, age is usually bad news. Key word: usually. When it last sold new, the 28 f1.4D Aspherical was going for around $1,700, the most expensive lens in Nikon's lineup until you got to the 300 f2.8. After production ceased, many people still wanted the lens and, there being a very limited supply, prices skyrocketed to over $4,000 for ones in like-new condition, which begs the question: should I buy one now in order to sell it in the future at a higher price? My answer: no. No one knows what the future market asking price will be 1, 3, or 10 years down the road. My bet, with the 24 f1.4 and 28 f1.8 out now, prices on the 28 f1.4D will start to drop as there are now cheaper, virtual replacements of this lens on the market.

The Nikkor 28 f1.4D Aspherical: a lens you'll love to have on your camera!

Conclusion: 4.5/5
The Nikkor 28 f1.4D Aspherical is quite a lens, and its reputation as one of the finest ever produced by Nikon is well-deserved. Honestly, everything about the lens is of the highest grade with the only minor nitpick being the vignetting, which is very noticeable when shot wide open on FX/film, even in darker settings. The good news: stopping down to f2 or shooting JPEG while employing the vignette correction will cure this problem. Bottom line: if you are an indoor FX/film shooter who hates to use flash, this could be the only lens you ever need thanks to its whopping maximum aperture which, surprisingly, not only produces usable images, but downright good ones. Recommendation? Commonly selling for over $3,000 used, this lens is no cheap piece of glass but, for people who are either working pros and/or have the money to burn, you won't regret purchasing a 28 f1.4D, that is if you can find one. This is an outstanding lens and people hold onto them, which is why they're so rare on the used market (and expensive when they do show up).


Nikkor Fan? Check Out These Reviews
Nikon 50 f1.4 AF-D
Nikon 200f4 AI Micro


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In-Depth Review: Nikkor 50 f1.4D

The Nikkor 50mm f1.4D

Tech Specs
Focal Length: 50mm
Dimensions: 1.7 x 2.5 in.
Weight: 9 ozs.
Maximum Aperture: f1.4
Minimum Aperture: f16
Diaphragm Blades: 7
Front Element: non-rotating, extending
Optical arrangement: 7 elements in 6 groups
Autofocus Mechanism: Mechanical drive
Closest Focus: 18 inches
Maximum magnification: 1:6.8
Filter Size: 52mm

Background
Traditionally, 50mm prime lenses have been the most popular optics in the world, at least until the advent of crop-frame digital. Still, with all the film cameras still around (and with the advent of FF digital), the manufacturers are still cranking out such lenses. Want proof of how popular 50s are? Look at any manufacturer's lineup and you're all but guaranteed to see at least 1 fast 50 (Nikon makes 4). The lens we're dealing with today is the Nikkor 50 f1.4D mechanical drive AF lens, which can trace its optical design all the way back to 1977, a total of 18 years before this model commenced production in 1995. So, how does this decades old design fare in today's world of digital cameras? Read on to find out!

The lens grows slightly when focused at macro distance.
Build Quality 3/5
The Nikkor 50 1.4 D is a plastic lens built on a metal mount. Picking up the lens, one can't help but notice how tiny and lightweight it is. That said, the lens isn't poorly built. Yes, it's plastic, but the construction is of good quality and there is no wobbling whatsoever among the moving parts. Being a mechanical drive lens, there is no AF/MF switch as you control this on the camera. When focusing, the inner barrel extends about 5mm but the front element doesn't rotate. Speaking of focus, the well textured, rubberized manual focus ring spins during AF, so watch where you put your hands! In MF, the ring is silky smooth in movement. As an added luxury over the f1.8D version, the f1.4 has a distance window while the 1.8 only has painted markings on its barrel.

Survivability
This lens contains no electronics and is focused by a mechanical drive system powered by a motor in the camera, which means that it could theoretically last forever.


See Also: Weather Resistant Nikon Lenses

AF Performance 4/5
No, the old 50 1.4D is not a sonically-driven lens, but it's still extremely fast as in faster than its new AF-S cousin. Why the speed? Simple, the lens only contains 7 elements. With so little glass to move around, the camera's focus motor doesn't have to work all that hard with this little lens. Result: lightning fast focus. In terms of noise, this lens is very quiet for a mechanically driven design, far quieter than any camera save perhaps the D7000. Note: because this lens doesn't have a built in motor, it won't work on the cheapest Nikons as you'll need a D90/D7000 (or ancestors) or higher to have AF.

Optics: 3/5
A lot goes into determining the optical quality of a lens, so let's look at them separately.

 Center of the frame

 Mid frame (corner DX)

Corner of the frame

Sharpness
For a f1.4 lens, the Nikkor 50 1.4D is not all that bad wide open. Sure, it's a little soft at widest aperture in the center of the frame but, with a little sharpening, can produce perfectly usable results. In regards to the center, it improves dramatically by f2 and is as sharp as it will get by f2.8. In mid frame, the story is pretty much ditto that for the center. The corners? Well, they're mush wide open and things really don't get acceptably sharp until f4. By f5.6 the lens is quite good, but peak performance isn't reached until f8. The good news: if you're shooting landscapes in bright light, stopping down will be no problem. DX shooters, consider the mid frame the corner, which means that sharpness will be uniform across the frame for you.

.

Corner shading disappears by f2.8. For DX shooters, it shouldn't be a problem even wide open.

A blue morning shot at f1.4, note the corner darkening?

Vignetting
This lens vignettes noticeably when shot wide open, and this just isn't shooting a gray wall, either. Shoot at f1.4 in daylight and you will notice corner shading, no way around it. Stopping down to f2 improves matters quite a bit but to get rid of the shading, stop down to f2.8. The good news is that when used in its specialty, low light conditions, the vignetting probably won't even be noticeable as everything will be rather dark anyway. For DX shooters, there should be virtually no vignetting even wide open..

.

Distortion:
There isn't any in practical terms.

Note: the CA is nowhere near as obnoxious as the 100% crop leads one to believe, but it's there.


Chromatic Aberration
A somewhat disturbing finding with this lens is the fact that there is CA wide open in conditions that one would not think would be all that prone to color fringing (namely bright sunlight). Below, the cat photos were shot in a room lit only by light entering through a bay window. In short, the room was rather poorly lit. Unfortunately, the lens fringed big time where black and white fur meet. Stopping down to f2 dramatically cuts the problem and f2.8 kills it, but beware that this is a CA-prone lens!

A complete range of CA shots ranging from wide open to f4

Bright light, no ghosts, just beautiful diffraction spikes.

Flare/Ghosting
The Nikkor 50 f1.4D is remarkably resistant to flare/ghosts. In the below night scenes, bright lights abounded, yet there is no flare, a very pleasant surprise considering that the front element is not recessed one bit into the barrel like it is on the cheaper 50 f1.8D. No hood was used for these photos, either. Note the beautiful stars around the bright lights, too.

Yep, that's the Big Dipper-hand held!

Astrophotography
Infinity focus is actually infinity on this lens, so turn the focus ring until it stops and you'll have perfectly-focused stars! On top of that, with the insanely good high ISO capabilities of today's cameras, it's possible to crank up the ISOs and shoot brighter constellations hand-held!

This lens offers a lot of glass for only a little cash!

Value: 5/5
Simply put, this is a lens that anyone with a FX format Nikon camera should take a serious look at. Priced at around $375 new, this lens can do just about anything under any lighting condition, especially when combined with the stunning low-light capability of the D3/D700. In short, with its f1.4 aperture, this lens will smoke any (far more expensive) zoom, hands down, in low light conditions.

Competition
In camp Nikon, the 50 f1.4D is one of four 50mm primes, the 50 f1.8D and the new 50 f1.4 and f1.8 AF-S lenses that will work with all current Nikons. So, which one to buy? With the 1.8D, you pay only about a third as much but lose nearly a stop of aperture and the distance window. Moving up to the new AF-S version, you pay about $100 more, gain full time manual focus, a dust seal at the mount, and reputedly better corner performance. As for the 1.8 AF-S, you have a slower version of the f1.4, this one sells for around $250. Unfortunately, thanks to the in-lens focus motor, the AF-S versions are a lot larger than either of the 'D' lenses. Surprisingly, the AF-S lenses are reported to have slower focus speed, and, being a 'G' lens, it cannot be used on old Nikon film cameras. As for the 50 f1.4D, it's a Plain Jane lens that, though being over 30 years old in terms of optical design, can still deliver the goods shot after shot and is thus a very good investment.

Conclusion: 3.75/5
The Nikkor 50 f1.4D is an oldie, but a goodie. The fact that Nikon has kept producing this lens (with a 30+ year old optical design) despite the introduction of the AF-S model a few years ago should tell you right there how highly regarded it is. Build quality is plenty adequate and focus is top-notch, The optics are a mixed bag, but the wide-open shortcomings (CA, corner softness, vignetting) can all be remedied by stopping down. Value? For FX/film shooters, this lens is a steal, especially if you can pick one up used, as it can do probably 90% of all your photography while still being able to fit in a pocket. Recommendation? A whole-hearted “yes” unless you absolutely need a dust deal, which would require the new version.

For more:
f1.4 + D700 high ISOs = amazing hand-held results

Nikkor Fan? Check Out These Reviews!
Nikkor 28 f1.4 AF-D Aspherical
Nikkor 200 f4 AI Micro

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Taking A Walk On The Dark Side: Canon vs. Nikon Ergonomics

The Nikon D200, originally a $1,800 camera from 2005 that can be had for around $600 used today.

Recently, I got the opportunity to shot with a Nikon, specifically, a D200, the father of the current D300s. Never having shot with a Nikon dSLR before, I was very eager to give it a try and see exactly what it was like on the other side of the fence, having been a Canon shooter since the day I got into dSLR photography.

Granted, it was a bit of an adjustment, but my, my, was I ever impressed . . .

Nikon Positives

Very comfortable in-hand.
The grip on this thing is absolutely amazing in that it is a very soft, almost sticky rubber that should afford a firm grip even with sweaty hands in the middle of summer.

Great for manual focus.
Until Canon incorporated interchangeable focus screens in its mid-level dSLRs, we could just about forget thinking of manually focusing our lenses. On the other hand, the D200 is just as good as my 45-year old Canon FTQL film camera that was made for such focusing.

Setting lock buttons.
Granted, this isn't a problem for me but it must be for some people as Nikon incorporated setting lock features on the camera to prevent accidental switches during shooting.

Better AF point spread.
The Canon's 9 vs. the Nikon's 11 AF points doesn't seem like much of a difference until you see how they're laid out in the viewfinder. Canon's diamond pattern can make portrait shooting interesting (in a bad way) while the more conventional Nikon grid makes it a snap, or, in this case, a click.

AF assist lamp/built-in intervalometer
All the Nikons have one of these (heck, even my $100 Olympus P&S does) while not a single Canon SLR has since 2002. Instead, Canons with a pop-up flash pop the flash and emit bursts of strobe to act as the AF assist. Besides being ineffective, this will annoy subjects and potentially get you thrown out of a public venue for being a PITA. AS for the intervalometer, Dxx Nikons and up have them while no Canon does.

Quiet
This is undoubtedly the quietest dSLR I've ever used.

Metering mode button
On Canon, you have to change the metering on the LCD. On Nikon, just turn a button.

External file format control.
On a Canon, if you want to change your file quality settings (RAW, JPEG, RAW+JPEG), you'll have to dive into menus. On the D200, hit a button and then adjust in the topside LCD screen.

Dedicated ISO, white balance, and drive controls
On mid-level Canons, if you want to adjust these things, you'll have to use the dual function buttons. On Nikon, you have single function buttons for ISO and WB. For drive, it's even better as all you have to do is spin a wheel, which eliminates the need to look at a LCD display altogether.

External image protect button
Again, if you want to protect your image on a Canon, menu-diving is required. On the Nikon, just press a button on the back of the camera.

Better located depth of field preview button
The Nikon's DOF preview is on the right side of the lens mount, which means that you can just move a finger to touch it as you are free to play with the lens using your left hand. On the Canons, this button is on the left side, which means that you have to take your hand off the lens while previewing your DOF.

Weather-sealing
Yes, the D200 isn't sealed as well as its successor, but it's better than any Canon until you get to the 7D, which costs around $1,500.

Better on-off-light switch
People with a need for speed will appreciate the under the shutter finger location of the D200's on-off switch. In addition, the control for the light on the top LCD is here, too. On the Canon, it's not as conveniently-placed being located nearest the viewfinder chamber.

Nikon Negatives

Aperture rings on old lenses
On the old non-G Nikon mount lenses, the aperture ring has to be stopped down to minimum aperture for the camera to work. Unfortunately when shooting, it's really easy to bump the aperture ring and thus stop the camera from working.

Thread-on port covers
Yes, it's a sturdier design than the Canon flaps, but, since these covers come off the camera, they could be very easy to lose, too.

No quick control dial
Canons have the wonderful, intuitive quick control dial that allows users to blast through menus at near warp speed. Nikon only has a 4-way joystick (Canons have one, too). True, this is a lot better than the set of 4 buttons on lesser cameras, but still not as good as the rear wheel on the Canons.

Focus mode control on front of camera
Maybe Nikon just ran out of space on the back of the camera or maybe the designer came to work with a hangover that day, who knows. Either way, placing a 3-way control in a place where the photographer can't even see it wasn't a good idea.

Well, there it is in a nutshell. Yes, I didn't get all that much time to play with the D200 when it came to diving through menus but I did manage to get a good feel for the external part of the camera which does, needless to say, have a lot of great things about it.

Again, this reiterates the wise advice that, when buying the camera, in-hand feel and ergonomics, not just the spec sheet, should play a large part in making the decision. Besides this, when shot in RAW, all cameras are pretty much equal, anyway.

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