Product Description

20mm D-Series Wideangle lens for Nikon cameras

Product Details

• Brand: Nikon
• Model: B00005LEOC
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 10.00" w x 8.00" l, .50 pounds

Features

• Compact ultra-wide-angle lens construction
• Superb optical design for architecture, wedding, and landscape photography
• 94-degree (70-degree with Nikon DX format) picture coverage with edge-to-edge sharpness
• Close Range Correction for distortion-free pictures as close as 0.85 feet
• Nikon Super Integrated Coating for minimized flare and ghost, providing good color balance

Manufacturer Description
Lens-making is an art--Nikon artisans craft Nikkor optics from the finest materials, taking pride in adding their intellect and technique to bring the world's finest lenses to life. They push the leading edge of lens-making in their effort to provide the "glass" that makes the world's greatest pictures.

AF Nikkor lenses work with Nikon SLRs for optimal performance, even the very latest. The Nikon 20mm f2.8D AF Wide-Angle Nikkor is a compact ultra-wide-angle lens constructed with superb optical design for architecture, wedding and landscape photography. It features 94-degree (70-degree with Nikon DX format) picture coverage with edge-to-edge sharpness. The Close Range Correction (CRC) system provides high performance at both near and far focusing distances, for distortion-free pictures as close as 0.85 feet.

Nikon Super Integrated Coating ensures exceptional performance
To enhance the performance of its optical lens elements, Nikon employs an exclusive multilayer lens coating that helps reduce ghost and flare to a negligible level. Nikon Super Integrated Coating achieves a number of objectives, including minimized reflection in the wider wavelength range and superior color balance and reproduction. Nikon Super Integrated Coating is especially effective for lenses with a large number of elements, like our Zoom-Nikkors. Also, Nikon's multilayer coating process is tailored to the design of each particular lens. The number of coatings applied to each lens element is carefully calculated to match the lens type and glass used, and also to assure the uniform color balance that characterizes Nikkor lenses. This results in lenses that meet much higher standards than the rest of the industry.

Close-Range Correction system
The Close-Range Correction (CRC) system is one of Nikon's most important focusing innovations, for it provides superior picture quality at close focusing distances and increases the focusing range. With CRC, the lens elements are configured in a "floating element" design wherein each lens group moves independently to achieve focusing. This ensures superior lens performance even when shooting at close distances.

Distance information
D-type and G-type Nikkors relay subject-to-camera distance information to AF Nikon camera bodies. This then makes possible advances like 3D Matrix Metering and 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash. Note: D-type and G-type Nikkors provide distance information to the following cameras: Auto exposure; F6, F5, F100, F90X, F80, F75, F70, F65, F60, F55, F50, Pronea S, Pronea 600i, D2 series, D1 series, D100 and D70s/D70. Flash control; F6, F5, F100, F90X, F80, F75, F70, D2 series, D1 series, D100, and D70s/D70 cameras.

What's in the Box:
Lens, 62mm lens cap, rear lens cap.

Customer Reviews

Competent performer
The Nikon AF20mm f2.8 was designed as a "pro" wideangle lens back in the days when 20mm in autofocus was as wide as you could get. Originally introduced in 1989 it was the AF equivalent of the manual focus design of 1984 and uses the same optical formula as the MF. The subsequent addition of the D chip has changed nothing else. In it's day an AF 20mm was pretty radical and it was only superceeded in 1993 by wider primes as the pros sought wider and wider views. For most amateurs however 20mm on film will get you into the "superwide" range without breaking the bank. For digital shooters, dealing with the 1.5 magnification factor in Nikon D-SLRs, it becomes effectively 30mm, which is still wide enough for most situations.
Optically it delivers typical Nikon high color saturation and contrast, with distortions well controlled for it's focal length. While it is reasonably free from flare I strongly recommend the optional HB-4 lenshood designed for it and polarizing will be dificult for film shooters due to vignetting caused by the thick polarizing filter mounts of a "standard" polarizer. Digital shooters should not have this problem because the camera's sensor is only using the central portion of the projected circle - inside the area of vignetting.
Mechanically it is all metal and well constructed with an nice "solid" feel to it for an AF lens but those of us who still miss the old manual focus "tanks" will find the undamped focusing ring a little too "loose" when manually focused. As part of a planned outfit, it can form the wide angle anchor for a travel kit standardized on 62mm filters. Add Nikon's 28-105AF 3.5-4.5 and 70-210AF 4.5-5.6 and you have a lightweight kit for either film or digital SLR's

Sharp, clean, wide...
This is a fine Nikon lens made in Japan, very quality built, a trust-worthy kind of lens that will last for a life time. It is very sharp and fast, colors are warm and fine, and the frame is just ridiculously wide if you use it on a film or FX. This is a perfect choice for those who would like to have an extraordinary wide, fast and quality prime lens for less money.

When you look at what other possible options are on offer today - like 14mm prime or 14-24mm zoom - this lens might look little outdated. However, for less than 500 US$, you get all you really need - a possibility to shoot sharp and contrasty, very wide-angle images, in a very low light! Even using it on a DX, it is still very wide, and the quality is immediately apparent, especially if compared with any 18-xxx kit lens. The next step - having a possibility to shoot even wider images under the same light conditions, costs three times the price of this lens! An other advantage of the lens is that it is small enough to put in your pocket, so you can basically always have it with you, ready to combine with any other lens you keep on the camera!

The lens does have a visible geometric distortion, especially used on film or FX, but it is normal to expect in such a wide lens, and it can actually be fun. Anyway, it is easy to fix in post processing.

If you are a DX user, maybe you can consider some other lens specially built for DX, because there is no point of wasting valuable resources for something you do not use in full capacity (due to crop factor).

However, there is no way you will find such a quality and such wide lens for this price. Also, if you plan to upgrade to FX one day - which is probably everyone's logical step - I do recommend buying this 20mm lens, as it is probably going to also be used by your own grandchildren...

Great Lens
Well to start off I am a professional photographer and I use this len's a lot since I receiving it. I bought it to use on a dx camera because for wedding's and event's I like the angle of a true 28mm so the 20mm on a dx camera come's close at about 30mm. I use this for all of my wide angle shot's I also prefer prime lens because I feel when I use a prime len's instead of a zoom I am more carefull in my framing and I feel less lazy. I also like the perspective that a wide angle give's when you get close and your foreground subject's are large and the background get's smaller so I wouldnt want to be able to zoom. I haven't found any problem's with this len's other than I wish it was a bit faster 2.8 get's the job done most of the time but I wish it was 1.8 or 1.4 it would make this lens so much more valuable to me but other than that this is a fantactic len's. If you are looking for a great wide len's that's faster than your kit zoom you should definitly get this len's and if your coming from having the 18-55 len's you ussually get it is only 3mm less wide which is nothing and it is alot better than f3.5. If you have a wide fast 2.8 zoom then I would say pass this up because you already have it in your zoom range and it s no faster than your len's that is why I wish it was a bit faster. the image quality with this len's is great I havent had any problem's with flaring. Yes there is some vinetting but it's a wide angle and it is not very much so where it bother's me It is built strong feels like a tank a little heavy but not so much so that I mind when I have it hanging on my neck for hours much lighter and more descret than a large fast zoom.