Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Wide-Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
by Nikon
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: NikonModel: 2181
Color: black
Product features:
- Compact, 2.4x ultra wide-angle zoom
- Optical design optimized for use with Nikon DX-format digital cameras
- Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor
- Two ED-(Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements; three aspherical lens elements
- Close focusing to 0.8 feet
- Tiffen 77mm UV Protection Filter
- B+W 77MM Circular Polarizer Slim Mount Multi Coated Filter
- Zeikos ZE-UV77 77mm Multi-Coated UV Filter
- Tiffen 77mm Digital Ultra Clear Water White Protection Filter
- B+W 77mm Clear UV Haze with Single Coating (010)
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Wide-Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Customer Review: SUPERB! Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S DX
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first opened the box, I inspected the lens and came to the conclusion that build and fit & finish are on par with Nikon's own 18-200, 16-85, etc. It's a decent build, solid plastic, and has smooth operating zoom and focus rings. This lens has a metal mount and a weather seal (ass gasket), and a focus distance window.
Why I bought this lens:
1. I bought it for it's best attribute. Versatility. The 10-24mm is versatile due to ultra wide views for landscapes, yet can zoom to a more natural focal length for a quick snapshot or portrait at your home gathering or outing.
2. Landscape photography. For me, it comes down to real-world applications and benefits of having a wide angle. I love landscape shots and though you can make decent landscapes at 18mm, having an ultra wide in your bag allows you to capture expansive vistas, whether at the beach or the mountains.
3. Perspective. The perspective you're able to get with this lens is tremendous. Though there is fair distortion on the 10mm side, it's easily correctable with DxO or Photoshop, among other graphics programs. To be creative with wide angle, read Ken Rockwell's page on using a wide angle lens. He and others will explain that a wide angle is for drawing people into the picture. Use your wide angle to emphasize the main subject. As Ken says, Ultrawide lenses are for getting close and bringing the viewer into the photo, not for fitting a subject into a photo.
4. Versus the Tokina 11-16mm. I'm sorry, but the 11-16 at f/2.8, though a fine lens, is not necessarily a landscape lens. Do we shoot landscapes at f/2.8, f/4, or even f/8 for that matter? If you want captivating ultra-wide shots with foreground/background in clear focus, you'd set f/11 or maybe f/16. This is not to say that we can't take the Tokina to the Grand Caynon and shoot at f/11 to capture an expansive view at 11mm. You can surely do that with the Tokina, but you can see where I'm going with this. The Tokina's maximum aperture of f/2.8 is wasted outdoors in a landscape setting. The Tokina makes for a superb low light interior ultra-wide, whereas it's hard to use a flash and light the entire room properly. I believe that lens serves a different purpose all together and you may find the zoom range too limited.
5. Opting for the Nikon 10-24mm gives more range than both the Tokina 11-16mm and Sigma 10-20mm. However, the Sigma 10-20mm is worth looking at due to fair reviews, better range than the Tokina 11-16mm and it's low price point compared to Nikon. The Nikon however, offers greater focal range and can easily be left on the camera all day, allowing landscape shooting and a decent portrait lens from 18-24mm without the need to switch lenses. The 10-24mm will never replace a 50mm or 85mm prime for lush portraits, given it's lack of shallow depth of field.
So how's the lens? It's outstanding, given the nature of ultra-wides. You'll notice distortion in the far corners/sides of your images below 15mm or so. Those corners will be a little soft at times, depending on your aperture setting. Wide open at f/3.5, you'll get softness away from the center of the image. Depending on your shooting habits, the large aperture will not detract from your images if you place your main subject in the center. Even wide open the main subject or center of the image will be very sharp. Stopping down to f/5.6, f/8, and smaller apertures sharpens entire image. For landscapes, I routinely shoot at f/11-f/16 for optimal sharpness across the entire image.
Alternatives to Nikon: Tokina 12-24mm. It's definitely a contender at half the price. Superb build - better than Nikon. However, wouldn't you rather have Nikon for the ultimate in quality, dependability, and resale value? Tamron 10-24mm. Forget it. Look at the poor user reviews and Ken's review as well.
The filter for this lens is a large 77mm. I opted for a B&W multi-coated UV filter. B+W 77mm UVA (Ultra Violet) Haze MRC Filter #010 Filters in this size can be pricey, especially a 77mm circular polarizer, which isn't recommended for this lens due to uneven darkening of skys. You'd be better off grabbing a Cokin Z or for UWA lenses, the X-Pro series filter. The Lee foundation kit utilizing 4x6 filters or Hitech's 4x5's would be a good option.
Neutral Density (ND) Filters. Many of you may wish to make cool wide angle shots of a waterfalls, creeks, rivers, or oceans with the silky smooth water movement you see so often in these pictures. To do that you need a neutral density filter if shooting in daylight conditions. I would recommend an inexpensive Hoya 77mm ND8X. Hoya HMC NDx8 - Filter - neutral density 8x - 77 mm If you're worried about vignetting with the Hoya, please don't. I use it on the Nikon 10-24mm and see absolutely no vignetting at 10mm. The ND8x is a 3 stop filter and will allow you to get between 1-2 second shutter speeds during broad daylight. With those speeds and by using a tripod, you're able to to get the silky water movement in your waterfalls and such. Better still would be to wait until later in the evening or find a shaded cove or dense foliage location with a waterfall or creek. Your shutter speeds in those conditions may be upwards to 5-6 sec or more.
Circular Polarizer's (CPL): Not recommended for UWA lenses. Why? Uneven darkening of skies. However, I carefully and strategically use a 77mm Marumi Super CPL with no issues with uneven darkening and no vignetting. The Marumi is fantastic with a solid 5mm thin build, superb polarization quality, and smooth operation. It's almost equivalent to B&W's top end CPL and less than half the price. What I mean by strategic use of a CPL is to use clouds, trees, buildings, etc, to "mask" any uneven darkening of sky's. Moreover, you don't have to use your CPL with its maximum effect. It works very well at giving you a touch more blue in your skys, while helping to bring out details is clouds and brighten & saturate your foregrounds. On cloudy days, the CPL can help you with your reflections, so it's not only good for those sunny days. I would avoid using it for landscapes with clear blue skys that fill the frame. If you are to do that, you'll clearly see a dark striation down the center of your image. The CPL effect can't cover the field of view at 10mm and there's no getting around it, less "masking" your shot with clouds, trees or buildings as mentioned earlier. Marumi CPL is here: Marumi DHG Super Circular Polarizer CPL PL.D 77 77mm Filter Japan By the way, I can stack the Marumi and the Hoya ND8x down to 11mm with no vignetting.
Bottom line: The Nikon 10-24mm is a superb ultra wide lens for DX cameras. It's build quality is typical Nikon with a solid plastic feel, smooth zoom & focus, weather sealed gasket, metal mount, and quick/quiet auto focus. It's capable of sharp landscape pictures and offers any photographer the ability to take creative pictures with tremendous perspective and depth.
More Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Wide-Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras reviews:
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Description of Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Wide-Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Offering a dramatic, ultra-wide 110-degree picture angle, the 2.4x AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED lens is ideal for landscapes, interiors, architecture and more. With two ED glass and three hybrid aspherical lens elements, Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) and the exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor, the AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED lens delivers the exceptional image quality and fast handling that defines NIKKOR optics.Lenses
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