28mm f2.8 AIS on a D810

[confindelmundo]

<p>I have more than 10 lenses AIS top of the line, but not the 28 mm. I made many pictures with those lenses with the D800 especially al sunrise and night shots. Absolutely no problems to make prints up to 24" x 50" or even more. Quality is maximum. See my photos, some of them were blown up at home to the size mentioned.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

I've used the 28mm f/2.8 Ai-s

lens on my D800 and it's

perfectly adequate stopped

down a little. Yes, wide open

the corners are a bit soft,

but no worse than many top

line modern zooms. 20" by 14"

prints would be no sweat for

this lens and a 36 Mp DSLR.

 

Even when I "only" had a D700

I was getting prints equal in

quality to those from 645

format film.

[sebastianmoran]

<p>My understanding and experience is that the 28mm f/2.8 AIS lens is really tops at close range but only ordinary at distance. That makes it great for 16x20 for some shots, but not for landscapes.</p>

<p>See Björn Rorslett's <a href="http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_wide.html">commentary on this lens</a>.</p>

<p>I have the same question as others: What's a really good wide angle lens for Nikon FX? 25-50mm f/4 zoom? 24mm f/2.8 AIS?</p>

[steve_kysar]

<p>The 24 f 2.0 ais paired with my D610 has given me great results at f8 as a casual spot to shoot from.</p>

[owen_omeara]

<p>I agree with KK Hui. It is a terrific lens with sharpness corner to corner and is a reasonable weight to cary around. I use it on a d810 and truly do love it.</p>

<p>-O</p>

[allan_jamieson2]

Can definitely recommend the 28mm f1.8g lens on a D800, pretty hard to beat really. I have tried some of the older Nikon AIS lenses and

some early AF lenses on a D90 and my D800 with mixed results, the 28mm f2.8 AF which is presumably the same optically as the AIS

was poor to say the least as was the AF 35mm f2, 20mm AIS again very poor but in that case I blame a local company who were meant

to clean the lens up but took two attempts which left it dirtier than before with internal cleaning marks! Don't use the Nikon authorised

repairers in Glasgow,they scratched a Nikon 24mm lens too which to this day I never got back as on principle I refused to pay them for

such shoddy workmanship, expensive lesson, always go direct to Nikon.

[luke_kaven]

<p>The Nikkor 28/2 and 28/2.8 are very good at distance, but they are improved close up because of Close Range Correction (CRC). The 28/2 has Nikon Integrated Coating (NIC), and is one of the most flare-free lenses I've ever used.</p>

<p><a href="http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/28mmnikkor/index.htm">http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/28mmnikkor/index.htm</a></p>

[rodeo_joe1]

Well! Opinions on the 28mm

f/2.8 lens appear to have

gone from "hero" to "zero" in

no time flat. Only a few

months ago it seemed to have

assumed mythological status

and any criticism of it was

met with strong rebuttal. So

what's happened to all the

staunch supporters of this

lens?

 

 

IMHO the 28mm f/2.8 never deserved the over-the-top rave reviews it got, but OTOH it really isn't bad. And would perform perfectly well on a high pixel count DSLR.

[bebu_lamar]

<blockquote>

<p>Only a few months ago it seemed to have assumed mythological status and any criticism of it was met with strong rebuttal. So what's happened to all the staunch supporters of this lens?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>It's called upgrading.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

Upgrading? How does that

affect the performance of an

existing lens, which not long

ago was rated as very good to

excellent by many users? That

was on the D800 and D800E.

The D810 is no more demanding

of lenses. So how does

"upgrading" explain anything?

Pixel peeping might explain a

lot though.

 

Let's remind ourselves of Tim's original question, which was basically - "is my Ai-s 28mm f/2.8 Nikkor good enough to use on a D810?" and not "are there any lenses that outperform the 28mm Nikkor?".

 

IMO the advice to hire or borrow a D810 and find out was very good advice.

[daniel_bliss]

<p>Note, the 28/2.8 AF is not the same as the AIS. The original five element AF version was based on the awful Series E one, and the revised, post-1993 six element version is a new design. The post-1981 AIS design is an eight element design that's very highly corrected for close focus.</p>

[User_4754088]

<p>I can't speak for anyone else, but something I've heard many times, here and elsewhere, is that the 28mm f2.8 AIS lens is "not sharp in the corners" unless it is stopped down pretty far (f8-ish). Was testing it last night on both the D4 and D700 and focusing at near infinity. Yes, the corners were soft until about f8, but in my case, it's not because there is an issue with the lens, it's that the corners on a wide angle image of a distant object are WAY OUT of the depth of field range. The corners of the image were the grass a few feet in front of me, a building ten feet away on one side, etc. The lens was focused at almost infinity. I would expect object that are out of the depth of field range to be soft. I wonder how much of "not sharp in the corners" comes from objects in the corners of a wide angle image not being within the depth of field range that the lens is set at.</p>

<p>Just an observation.</p>

[clive_murray_white]

<p>I'm late in on this thread, we have a lot of contact with a lot of fine art photographers making large high quality prints for exhibitions, many are quite content with the results they get from D800s but almost all use the most respected pro printing companies to print their exhibition work, not cheap but they've got the best gear and really know how to use it.</p>

<p>But that said, most would agree that nothing beats Large Format perfectly processed and printed on top quality photographic stock by experts, whilst some of these artists are using Hassies and Mamiya 7s, the majority go for Linhof Technicas and the like. </p>

<p>I'm not tempted to back to film - I find I've got far more flexibility with my D800 Lightroom etc, and think the real answer to your question lies in getting expert printers to print your project. </p>

 

[Ian Rance]

<p>Would it help if I took a few photos using the D810 and 28mm f/2.8 Ai-S at close range and distance and shared the full res files here?</p>

[Ian Rance]

<p>I tried it out and to summarise it behaves very well. Optimum is f5.6 to f11 as expected and close up it really is very sharp. Concerning the softness at distance I noted two things, a little curvature of field and a slight overshoot past infinity. When focused correctly it looks very good. Here are two examples. These are full JPEG files straight from the camera.</p>

<p>This one is at between f5.6 and 8 and is focused at just over 1 meter.<br>

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bj5uudp96mg7tz3/DSC_0504.JPG?dl=0<br>

This one is at infinity at f8<br>

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e96vv1yxmrpthih/DSC_0491.JPG?dl=0</p>

<p>Hope these helped.</p>

[henk]

<p>Actually this is a discussion i wish to take part in. I have read a comment somewhere on this forum that stated the old MF lenses have a specific 'signature' one has to live with when using on Dslr.<br>

This is the only true aspect in this thread, you either adore the lens on a certain body or you don't!<br>

This comment also means any review of a MF lens is a fluke in terms of quality. I must say i have a beater 28/2.8 Ais that has been used as much because it is THAT good!<br>

Ive also read a comment here somewhere clearly stating ART is a subject that has to be seen and not measured......<br>

Kindest regards, Henk</p>

[bruce_maddox]

<p>ART is a subject that has to be seen and not measured....best information contributed in this thread.</p>

[clive_murray_white]

<p>Sad though Bruce it doesn't happen, it's what you'd call an aspirational statement, indeed art should be seen but sadly there's an industry measuring it..... and has been ever since there was art. </p>