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Review: Nikon FX wide-angle lenses

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED

The Nikon 20mm f/1.8 FX is Nikon’s sharpest fixed ultrawide lens. It over a stop faster than any previous Nikon ultrawide lens or zoom, it is known to be ultrasharp (even wide-open) and has minimal distortion.

The lens has 13 elements in 11 groups, 2 of which are constructed of ED glass and 2 are aspherical. It features Nano-crystal coating on the rear element and multicoating (Nikon Super Integrated Coating).

It also has a minimum focus distance of 0.20m (0.66ft).

Tests

All tests of this lens were shot using a ZEN 230mm (9”) dome and a 30mm extension.

Crops are from the corners of the images at 100%.

f5.

f6.3.

f9.

f11.

Full high resolution downloads of the test files are available. Please use the password “wide-angle15”.

Conclusion

This lens test is tough as the lens also had to cope with the foreground of the pool being pretty close to the dome too. This gives general DOF issues at small apertures, regardless of the dome.

Subjectively, I think to get acceptable corners with this dome combination, the aperture needs to be f7.1 or higher. It is very capable of providing excellent corner sharpness at

The lens was lent for review by Ryan Canon of Reef Photo and Video. Many thanks!

  1. Introduction.
  2. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED.
  3. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR.
  4. Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX DG.
  5. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED.
  6. Tokina 17mm f/3.5 AT-X.
  7. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S Zoom.