I got my 20mm f1.8 today ;-))))

[dave_wilson1]

Hello everybody, I recieved my new Nikkor 20mm f1.8 from B&H today that I had on pre-order. I only use DX, so for me it's just fast wide,

not an ultra wide like on the FX. I decided to test it out on one of my D5100 to see how it felt balance wise and responded to the auto

focus. The lens has a nice hood and balances very well on the smaller body. From the preliminary dozen or so test shots I made, it seems

super sharp, the cat's whiskers were amazing, if you like cat whiskers. I was particularly interested in the vertical edge distortion right out

of the camera, even though it can be fixed in PS of course, and the close up point of view dimensional type foreground-background

separation at wider apertures which is part of my shooting style.

 

My first impression is that the lens is right in line with what I wanted and indeed very impressive. As with any of the wide aperture lenses

the critical nature of the closer focus is very touchy. For a close up of the face with the focus point dead on the eyeball, one shot was

nails, the other a little off. Same with the concept of putting a face in an environment. At f5 and close in it's critical to decide which part of

the face for example you want the focus point on. I need to mention it's very bright to see in the camera and I love that for working clubs etc.

 

As far as mechanics, it has a nice metal front, I decided to put a nano Hoya UV on it because I'm not always as careful and the front glass

sits out. It comes with a decent four corner hat hood, but I'm not too into hoods for my work so it will get little use. I hope to process and

add a few pics later.

[owen_omeara]

<p>Thanks for the report Dave.</p>

<p>-O</p>

[dave_wilson1]

Thanks Owen, I want to clarify that now that it's been sitting a bit here where it's cool, the metal filter ring is quite cooler

than the front, so it must be a poly material, but it's good and thick, not thin and flimsy like some of the lenses are.

[dave_wilson1]

<p>I'm going to try and post two shots I made of my son on the porch. They were both RAW at f4 and 1/60 with minimal post except for slight crop, some sharpening and a smidge of color boost.</p><div></div>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>Here's a head shot.</p><div></div>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>Here's one that shows the focus point off and so the depth of field is back on the ear more.<br>

No crop here this is straight conversion slight sharpen and color boost.</p>

<div></div>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>One more full shot conversion, on the original RAW whiskers peeped are extremely good.</p>

<div></div>

[cc_chang1]

<p>How is the bokeh?</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>Well, I`m just thinking out loud about something that has been largely debated:<br /> I see the new 20/1.8 is a gold ringed lens, like the 24, 35 and 85 f1.4 G lenses, as well as the 28/1.8G and 58/1.4G. For such a wide lens the aperture is really wide; my 18 and 20mm Nikkors are f2.8. It`d be hard to have a faster version.<br /> The 24, 35, 50 and 85 f1.8 G lenses aren`t gifted with the gold ring.<br /> So maybe I`m late to the party, or you may find it too obvious, but it helps me to clarify that,</p>

<ul>

<li>Gold ringed lenses are just the top line/fastest/flag ship versions in a given focal length or range (it explains why some "cheap" lenses&zooms are "gold ringed" ones). It has nothing to do with the coating.</li>

<li>Obviously Nikon plan their development and releases in the long run (neither of the 50/1.4G versions is gold ringed, but -the five years later- 58/1.4G is... well, only if we consider the 58/1.4 to be of the same focal length family, or maybe, they already have a 50/1.2 project over the desk).</li>

</ul>

<p>If this is true, it`s very likely that there won`t be another 20 and 28mm lenses in the current designing or production stage.<br /> So Dave, you`ll be the proud owner of the best 20mm prime ever for a very loooong time... congrats! :D</p>

[mike_halliwell]

<p>Dave, can you post a 100% whisker crop for the centre and to check the corners/edges, the blue toes as-well?</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>It looks very nice. Can you try shooting against a point light source so that the light source is just outside of the image area recorded by the DX sensor? Doesn't have to be the sun, just e.g. a household lamp creating rim lighting for a subject would do.</p>

[CvhKaar]

<p>mmm Adding to the whish list... :-)<br>

Dave can you do a "close-up" shot at F8 of F11 , checking out the max " sharp"DOF at shortest focussing range ? </p>

[dave_wilson1]

Good morning all. I will mess around some more later and post a few up. You have to understand that I am completely

techno fail. I give other people my files and they work with them, these I do myself and have no idea what I'm doing. So, I

will make crops off of the RAW cat of the toes and whiskers. Just remember I only shoot DX and this is the 5100, I would

assume that the 7100 would be better yet and then a full frame again some. Thank you for being patient with me, I'll post

some more in a while.

[dave_wilson1]

I worked on everyone's requests ;-)))))

It will just take a little time for me to upload and convert to size.

[eric_arnold]

<p>i wouldnt expect stellar bokeh from a w/a lens, but this looks plenty sharp. would like to see some low-light examples at 1.8-2.2 if possible. thanks for sharing.</p>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>OK, here it goes, bear with me. First shot is some chair fabric at minimum focus f11 about 3 inches? This is the full frame and some sharpening light color boost</p><div></div>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>Here is a shot of some rose brush hopefully showing some bokeh at f2</p>

<div></div>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>Here's a back lit porch curtain with sun as point light. This is with the Hoya nano UV on</p><div></div>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>I'll be back to finish up with the cat and toe crops.</p>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>These may not be so great, here's the toe crop, I went from RAW cropped in RAW sharpened some, converted and added a slight sharpen and color boost.</p>

<div></div>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>Here goes a crop of the cat from the full converted JPEG. Slight added sharpening and color boost.<br>

I will try again....</p><div></div>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>OK, so here goes hopefully a good crop of the cat from the RAW</p>

<div></div>

[JDMvW]

<p>Very impressive. How much for the cat? ;)</p>

<p>I was always a big fan of the Nikkor 20mm lenses. Mine was the early non-AI f/4 version (52mm filter Ø !). I still use it, but it won't fit on my FX (Canon) camera because of a rear flange, and I'm reluctant to modify these old lenses. Of course, it still works beautifully on my Nikon film cameras and DX cameras.</p>

[polizonte]

<p>With more landscape photography in mind, I ask users of the 20mm f1.8 G an opinion on distance performance vs this lens' close-up ability. I have seen a Zeiss 25mm lens that shines in the close range more than for distance shots.</p>

[dave_wilson1]

JDM, we always have a Cat Special going on here ;-)))))