Nikon 24mm F/1.4G ED AF-S

The Nikon 24mm f/1.4G ED AF-S is Nikon’s premier autofocus wide-angle prime lens. Key features include:

• Excellent center sharpness

• Smooth, nearly silent autofocus

• Great bokeh, color, and contrast

• Durable build quality

High-Quality Optics. The Nikon 24mm f/1.4G ED AF-S’s optical system combines Nikon’s anti-reflection Nano Crystal coat, ED glass elements, and aspherical lens elements to deliver brilliant, high-contrast images with minimized distortion and aberration. The f/1.4 aperture and nine-blade rounded diaphragm contribute to render images with beautiful, smooth bokeh.

Smooth, Quiet Autofocus. The lens features a dedicated Silent Wave Motor for smooth, nearly silent autofocus. Its construction is durable, with weather and dust sealing throughout the lens and around the mount.

I’ll admit, first, that my expectations for this lens may have been unreasonable. I was expecting perfection. This is a very good, very wide aperture prime. But not perfect.
I’m not calling this l…

I’ll admit, first, that my expectations for this lens may have been unreasonable. I was expecting perfection. This is a very good, very wide aperture prime. But not perfect.

I’m not calling this lens bad: it’s excellent. It’s as sharp in the center as anything you can shoot with. Nearly sharp, which is the gold standard. It’s a bit soft in the corners wide open, but still excellent compared to most 24mm lenses and even the corners are sharp by f3.5. It’s got gorgeous bokeh, great color and contrast, and even the corners have very little astigmatism.

But the autofocus speed, while not a critical feature of a lens this wide, is best described as leisurely. More importantly, it’s got some very detectible barrel distortion and interestingly the closer you focus, the more severe the barrel effect. It’s pretty noticeable and not at all what I’d hoped for. I wouldn’t shoot architecture with it unless I was planning to shoot raw and post-process out the distortion. It’s still a very, very good lens but I’m less excited about it than most.