momentcorp.com
Portfolio Reviews Contact Blog    


Nikon PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED Review


Nikon PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED


July 24, 2009

The Nikon PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED is Nikon's first wide angle tilt and shift lens. Professionals have for decades been waiting for Nikon to release a tilt and shift wide angle lens. The only tilt and shift lens Nikon shooters have had is the 85mm PC lens, that was upgraded last year. The 24mm PC-E lens is now one of three tilt/shift lenses from Nikon, the other two are the 45mm PC-E and the upgraded 85mm PC-E Nikkor. The 24mm lens features no less then 3 ED glass elements and 3 aspherical lenses and the new Nano Crystal Coating. Tilt/Shift lenses are quite unique in their use that you can control both perspective and enhance Depth Of Field. Even when the lens is used wide open you can expand the DOF drastically. Nikon has packed this lens with quite a bit of Nikon technology: ED Glass, SIC Nikon Super Integrated Coating, N Nano Crystal Coat, ASP Aspherical lens elements, and D Distance information

Specifications


Lens Construction: 13 elements in 10 groups (3 ED, 3 Aspherical and 1 Nano Crystal Coat)
Picture Angle: 84° (35mm/FX)
61° (DX)
Minimum focus distance: 0.21m / 0.75ft
Aperture: f/3.5 to f/32 in half stop increments
Lens Movement: Maximum shift amount ±11.5mm, Maximum tilt amount ±8.5°
Filter Size: 77mm
Lens Hood: HB-41
Included accessories: 77mm snap-on front lens cap LC77
Rear lens cap LF-1
HB-41 Lens Hood
Flexible lens pouch CL-1120
Size: Approx.

82.5mm x 108mm
3.24in x 4.25in

weight: 730g / 25.7oz
Diaphragm: Electrically automatic / One-touch preset aperture. 9 rounded blades
Price from: $1,989.95 USD

Positives


  • Great manual focus feel.
  • Weather sealing
  • IR Performance.
  • Contrast / Sharpness. Wide open both contrast and sharpness is great.
  • DOF markings, lens is provided with Depth Of Field markings (about time that we are seeing this again) The lens does not have a Infrared compensating mark but is marked with "8" on the DOF scale (see picture)
    Infrared marking Nikon 24mm PC-E f/3.5D
    In my opinion they should have marked it, and it's beyond me why they didn't mark it like this (see picture below) Should not be necessary to read the manual for the lens to figure this out.
    IR marking my way

Drawbacks


  • Price, TS lenses are not cheap and the 24mm Nikkor is no exception. But as quite often, performance comes at a price, and the lens does deliver.
  • It has tendencies for small amounts of CA and some color fringing in really high contrast scenes.

Verdict


The PC-E Nikkor 24mm shows great sharpness from f/3.5 to f/16, after that the lens starts softening up due to diffraction. That said, the lens can be stopped down to f/22 without problems, at f/32 it's somewhat soft on screen, sharpened picture @ f/32 is usable on prints though. Tilt shift lenses are amazing tools, not just for landscape and architecture work, but for anything you want control over focus and depth of field. The Nikon 24mm have superb optics both for normal shooting as well as tilt and shift shooting. IR performance is awesome with this lens, and it shows no Hot-spot at any aperture. Do note that not all features of this lens will work on all cameras. On some cameras you can not do the full shift movement as it will hit the prism. The PC-E lenses are compatible with all Nikon Dslr's in Manual mode. Only with the D300, D700, D3 and with the D3X the auto-aperture control is possible directly from the camera.

Rating FullRating FullRating FullRating HalfRating Empty Features
Rating FullRating FullRating FullRating FullRating Full Performance
Rating FullRating FullRating FullRating FullRating Full IR Performance
Rating FullRating FullRating FullRating FullRating Full Build
Rating FullRating FullRating FullRating FullRating Full Value

Support this website and buy the PC-E Nikkor through this link

Alternatives


Purchasing items through these links helps me adding more content to this website. The links takes you to B&H's website, which is my recommended store to get equipment from. I've used B&H personally since 2005, and I get all my equipment from them these days(including the lenses used for these reviews). Thanks for your support, Fredrik.

Nikon AF Nikkor 24mm f/2.8D Price From: $349.95 USD

Nikon MF PC-E Micro Nikkor 45mm f/2.8D ED Price From: $1,799.95 USD

Nikon MF PC-E Micro Nikkor 85mm f/2.8D Price From: $1,699.95 USD

Schneider MF 28mm f/2.8 PC Super-Angulon. Price: $2,078.95 USD

*Prices and rebates are subject to change. Listed price is from March 9, 2010

Sample Pictures


Images have been imported to photoshop CS4 through Capture NX 2 thus leaving the original image settings as shot, I. E white balance, sharpening, etc .etc. Full resolution sample images are in RGB color mode. Check out my copyright page for information about usage of these images.

 
Support this website Shop at B&H Photo
B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio
Interested in Infrared?
Life Pixel Infrared Conversion
Popular links
Recommended Equipment
Nikon Wireless Flash Setup
Nikon mf Lens Versions
Lens Cleaning
Best of the best, lenses:
Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G
Nikon PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D
Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G
Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G
Nikon AF-S 70-300mm VR
Nikon AF 80-200mm f/2.8D ED
Best of the best, cameras

Nikon D3s
Nikon D3x
Nikon D700
Nikon D300s
Nikon D90

Best Value, lenses
Nikon AF-S 18-105mm VR
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8

Nikon AF 85mm f/1.8D
Nikon AF-S 70-300mm VR
Nikon AF 80-200mm f/2.8D ED
Accessories
Recommended memory cards

Bookmark and Share  

Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED @ f/3.5
ISO 200
Picture control Landscape
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 4sec f/3.5
Note Shift / Swing
   
   
Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED @ f/5.6
ISO 200
Picture control Landscape
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 1/125sec f/5.6
Note Shift + Tilt 8.5°
   
   
Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED @ f/5.6
ISO 200
Picture control Landscape
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 1/500sec f/5.6
Note +0.5 EV Tilt -1°
   
   
Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED @ f/8
ISO 200
Picture control Vivid
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 1/250sec f/8
Note Shift + 8mm
   
   
Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D @ f/8
ISO 200
Picture control Vivid
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 1/125sec f/8
Note Tilt -7°
   
   
Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED @ f/8
ISO 200
Picture control Landscape
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure

4sec f/8

Note Shift + 5mm
   
   
Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, Nikon PC-E Nikkor 24mm f&3.5 D ED  f/11
ISO 200
Picture control Landscape
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 4 sec f/11
Note Shift
   
   
Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED @ f/16
ISO 50
Picture control Landscape
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 1/15sec f/16
   
   
   
Camera Nikon D3 Nikon D3, PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED @ f/16
ISO 200
Picture control Neutral
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 8sec f/16
   
   
Home  
Camera Nikon D2H IR Nikkor 24mm f/3.5 PC-E Infrared
ISO 200
Picture control Landscape
Focal Length 24mm
Exposure 1/640sec f/32
Note -3.0 EV
   
   
Nikon PC-E 24mm f/3.5 D ED Review © 2009 Fredrik A. Rasmussen. All rights reserved.