Opinions on Nikon 24mm f/1.4G AF-S Lens

<p>There are some early reports of Nikon 24mm f/1.4G lens stating certain issues that early adopters have encountered. Among them, slow AF speed and CA at wide open are most common. I am thinking about placing an order for this lens; but, before I do that I really want to hear what other users say about their own experience with this lens. Thank you all.</p>

<p>I do not have the lens but have only read good reviews.....</p>

<p>Nikon would not aim for fast focus in a wide angle lens. And unfortunately f1.4 wide lenses are a recipe for CA.</p>

<p>My favorite lens so far...<br /> I think it is great, very resistant against CA and flare with the new Nano coating. Much better than my 35 f/2. AF is as fast as I expected. Distortion is minimum. Built like a tank (I dropped mine from a plane and nothing happened to it). <br /> Here are some samples I took the day I bought it.... No PP at all.<br /> Cheers<br /> http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=960336</p>

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<p>I dropped mine from a plane and nothing happened to it).</p>

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<p>That's what $2300 gets me. Man, I wish they all were built this way:)</p>

<p>To make it clear, it was on my brand new D700 and I dropped the set from the airplane door and tumbled it down on the stairs all the way down to the concrete. Both camera and lens work perfectly. Just the camera got a little scratch.</p>

<p>Hmmm...you mean you didn't drop it from like 30,000 feets. I got to think about it now:)</p>

<p>Rene, thanks for those sample images. Just curious whether you have used AF 28mm f/1.4D before. If so, can you compare their difference in AF speed under normal lighting condition?</p>

<p>It vignettes at f/1.4. There is some axial colour present. (reduced when stopping down) Sharpness is phenomenal and bokeh likewise as far as wide angle lenses go. It's big and heavy compared to the other 24 Nikkors. Very decent workmanship.</p>

<p>No complaints about AF speed from me. Fast enough, without setting any speed record. Usually I focus such a lens manually anyway.</p>

<p>It doesn't zoom.</p>

<p>On a dpreview thread, one user compares 24's AF speed to 28's on D3 and found 28 is at least 30-40% faster in AF-S mode, and needs much less contrast for AF lockon. Can anyone confirm this findings through your own experience?<br /> http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1030&message=35211505</p>

<p><em>"On a dpreview thread, one user compares 24's AF speed to 28's on D3 and found 28 is at least 30-40% faster in AF-S mode, and needs much less contrast for AF lockon."</em><br /><br /><br />I heard the Canon 24/1.4 also focuses faster, but speed is no good if the lens is not in focus when the picture is taken. Precise focusing is essential with fast aperture lenses since the depth of field is so narrow. Nikon designed this lens (and AFS 50/1.4) to focus accurately, not for outright speed. Once focus is locked on, I think you'll find this lens tracks more accurately than the older screw-driver driven AF lenses.</p>

<p>As for contrast required for AF to lock on, I suspect the difference is to do with the faster aperture. Compared to the AF 28/2.8 mentioned above, it is two stops faster, so background and foreground objects will appear much more out of focus - with less contrast for the AF system to lock onto.</p>

<p>Roland,<br>

The comparison was between AF 28 f/1.4D and AF-S 24mm f/1.4G on the dpreview thread. The poster said his copy of 24 has shown front-focusing on five different bodies.</p>

<p>Michael, I should have read the dpreview thread before I commented. I stand corrected!</p>

<p>Does anyone have any images of the lens + hood mounted on a body, and in comparison to other lenses like the 17-55 AFS, etc that they'd be willing to post? I haven't seen many images of the lens itself "in context," so to speak. Thanks.</p>

<p>Nikkor 24mm F/1.4 + Hood .</p><div></div>

<p>For whatever reasons, it seems Amazon has pulled Nikon 24mm f/1.4G from its web store and also stopped taking orders. There are more reports of its AF issues right now.</p>

<p>http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/index.html</p>

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<p>Just got this lens. I have read some mixed reviews about the AF-fast or slow, so I was prepared for a slow AF, but it is certainly not.</p>

<p>Of course it is not as Nikon 200mm f/2.0, or 70-200VR = lenses for sport, but it is fine fast, could not ask for more.</p>

<p>CA wide open, but gone stopped down.</p>

<p>But I still miss a lot to prove with the lens.</p>