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15mm f/3.5 AIS Nikkor on a D-whatever


joe_petrik

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I've long wanted to have an ultra-ultrawide angle lens, even more so now given that Nikon's D-SLRs have

16x24mm sensors that make wideangle photography somewhat elusive. I've contemplated getting a

15mm f/3.5 for years but have held off because the price has been too high.

 

I came across one in mint shape at an attractive price and I'm tempted to get it, but I thought I'd ask here

first to see how the lens performs on a Nikon D-SLR. I have a D2H, but I may get a D200 or Fuji S5 in a

while, so I'm particularly curious how the 15mm works on those bodies. For what it's worth, I tried

searching Bjørn's site but he reviews only the older 15mm f/5.6.

 

Thanks,

 

Joe

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Joe I once compared this lens to the 16mm and 18mm Nikkor lenses, all F3.5. These seemed substantially better than the 15mm version. It was no technically perfect test but the difference in image quality was obvious, especially in the corners.

 

As Peter mentioned already you should consider one of the new 12-24mm or 10-20mm zoom lenses. My 12-24mm Nikkor is so good that I get all the image quality I need (except an F2.8 is faster - yes). Primes in this range may not be better or only better by a small margin. Read for example:

 

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_zoom_01.html#AFS12-24DX

 

My own comparison is very similar except that my 24mm AIS F2.8 actually is slightly better than the zoom - (if I remember correctly in the quoted test its about equal) plus it has the extra speed. There may be slight sample variation and my 24mm is a selected sample. Anyway the difference is mainly for pixel peeping.

 

Of course you did not tell us the price for the 15mm lens that may put thing into a different perspective :-)

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The lens is an old design. I'd go for the sigma 14MM or even the Nikkor 14MM. Both are AF and will interfae better. The ED glass should yield better images as well. The Nikkor 14MM has fallen out of demand, but I still find it a good lens. Prices on the used market have come down.
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I've been quite happy with results from a 15mm/3.5 Nikkor (700 dollars on Ebay) that I've been using for a year on my D200. The 15/3.5 is almost as big and heavy as the 17-35/2.8, but I like the wider prime enough to take it on backpack trips. Digital white balance on the D200 does a nice with of color compensation, which would be difficult with this lens mounted on a film camera containing slide film. The 15/3.5 takes a narrow selection of rear-mount bayonet filters that are hard to find if they did not come with the lens. At 22.5mm full-frame equivalent on the D200, the 15/3.5 approximates the 24mm focal length that I loved on film cameras.<div>00KaKa-35806284.JPG.6dd0bb0b9a8c48e0a86904e0a35404b8.JPG</div>
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