12-24mm f/4G (at 12mm) vs 14-24mm f/2.8G (at 14mm) on the D3

[ellis_vener_photography]

As you would expect, with the the 12-24mm mounted and the camera in DX mode, at

12mm the angle of view is about what you'd get with a 18mm lens on a 24x36mm

(FX) format camera.

 

With the same lens but the D3 set to FX mode the entire format is not covered

but I've got the vertical coverage of a 12mm lens on the FX format

 

With the 14-24mm lens mounted on the D3 which is designed to cover the FX

format, at 14mm , I've got both the ultra-wide view and a bit more than than

double the resolution.<div></div>

[Matt Laur]

Thanks, Ellis. Great tangible example of what we've all been reading about, crop-wise.

[ellis_vener_photography]

You're more than welcome.

 

What is also a welcome find is how well the 14-24mm f/2.8G ED Nikkor is corrected for flare and barrel/pincushion distortion.

[tonybeach]

At 14mm on the 12-24, how much would you have to stop down the lens to eliminate or at least reasonably reduce vignetting on the uncropped D3?

[ellis_vener_photography]

Anthony, all of the photos were shot at f/8.

[tonybeach]

Thanks Ellis, it looks like the 12-24 would not be useful beyond around 18mm on a D3, about the same FOV as what is available using that lens on a DX camera.

[ellis_vener_photography]

12-24mm @ 15mm<div></div>

[ellis_vener_photography]

12-24mm @ 18mm f/8 on D3 in FX format<div></div>

[hannu]

Ellis,

 

have you carefully checked how the corners look with the 12-24/4? On a Kodak 14n, the corners are terribly mushy at all focal lengths (including 24mm), and the transition between good and not good is quite sharp. At least with my sample of the lens and the SLR.

 

Could you post a 100% sample from some corner with detail in it?

[norman_kj_rvik]

Ellis,

 

in another thread you, among all DSLR's, adviced me to buy the D3, to get the best possible jpeg's straight out. I may do so, but first I have to talk to my bank-manager. In the meantime, can you please post some of those jpeg's, also with the optimal in-camera adjustments?

[tonybeach]

Thanks again Ellis,

 

Now that I think about it and see the 15mm example, I realize that since most prints require some cropping that 15mm could be useful although still not quite as wide as the 14-24/2.8 and probably not nearly as sharp either.

[frank uhlig]

No barrel distortion you say? How bowed out are the door jambs in your house, Ellis?

 

I am used to the Hologon lens ... Sorry.

[les_barstow]

Frank, for a 35mm format camera at 14mm, that's pretty darned close to spectacular. Perspective alone will get you with that big, round lens.

[bmm]

Sensational post - as a relative "newbie" the first time I have actually seen - rather than imagined - the difference between DX and FX. Makes me want to get FX lenses 'just in case' even though I can't imagine ever owning an FX body...

[ellis_vener_photography]

Door jambs were about 6-8 inches in front of lens which means that the upper and lower edges of the jambs in the frame were about 12-15 inches or so inches from the axis. What you are seeing is the effect of simple single point perspective Frank: even a Hologon would show this.

[vivek iyer]

The distortions from both the zooms seem similar though the magnitude may be less with the bigger zoom. Not a simple barrel distortion but a 'wavy' distortion.

 

The lens Frank refers to is a 35mm full format rectilinear super wide, prime lens. It is a not a fast lens at f/8 and there are *severe* light fall off from the center. Practically no distortions though! :)

Besides that, it is a non retro-focus design. It is very useful to bring that up here for a comparison.

[vivek iyer]

Ha! I meant to type, "it is not very useful to bring that up here for a comparison"

[ellis_vener_photography]

rewrite!<P>

 

the <I>plane</I> of the Door jambs was about 6-8 inches in front of lens which means that the upper

and lower edges of the jambs in the frame were about 12-15 inches <I>further away

from the horizontal center line of the lens</I> <P> What you are seeing is the effect of simple single point

perspective Frank: even a Hologon would show this.

[ellis_vener_photography]

One more from the D3 with the 14-24mm f/2.8G ED Nikkor @ 14mm and f/8 (ISO 200).<div></div>

[harvey_edelstein1]

Ellis have you set the D3 in 4:5 mode and used the DX lens? Can you tell us at what focal length the 4:5 mode fully covers the image circle.

I understand that you can do this by disabling the automatic DX framing so that DX lens can be used on other framing formats.

[ellis_vener_photography]

here's one more from this afternoon. It was a gray skyed day here in Atlanta. This is an HDR composite that started life as two NEF files 3. & 2/3rds stop apart. The lens, once again was the 14-28mm f/2.8G ED Nikkor @ f/8. Camera set to ISO200 and aperture priority mode, using the 3D Color Matrix metering. What I'm posting her is quite large but only about 25% of the size of the original.<div></div>

[ellis_vener_photography]

Looking carefully at the extreme bottom edge you can see that there is actually a small amount of barrel distortion (look at the grid in the tile in the floor) at the edges of the frame . But for me it is far from being a deal killer, its acualy extremely wel lcorrected for a 14mm lens and could easily be corrected in post production if needed.

 

Also worth noting is the evenness of the exposure from edge to center: If there is falloff I'm not seeing it.

[ellis_vener_photography]

Looking carefully at the extreme bottom edge you can see that there is a very small amount of barrel distortion (look at the grid in the tile in the floor) at the edges of the frame . But for me it is far from being a deal killer, its acualy extremely well corrected for a 14mm lens and could easily be corrected in post production if needed.

 

Also worth noting is the evenness of the exposure from edge to center: If there is falloff I'm not seeing it.

[ellis_vener_photography]

Looking carefully at the extreme bottom edge you can see that there is a very small amount of barrel distortion (look at the grid in the tile in the floor) at the edges of the frame . But for me it is far from being a deal killer: the lens is extremely well corrected, especially for a 14mm lens, and could easily be corrected in post production if needed.

 

Also worth noting is the evenness of the exposure from edge to center: If there is falloff I'm not seeing it.

[tonybeach]

When you have time Ellis, it would be great to see corner and center crops from both lenses at 15mm on the D3.

 

My son and I were talking last night about selling the Tokina 12-24/4 and saving up for a 14-24/2.8. It appears to be an awesome lens.