Nikon 20mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

by Nikon

• 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

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 4.3 x 3.9 inches ; 8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005LEOC
• Item model number: 1913
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 22, 2002

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

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.

Product Description

20mm D-Series Wideangle lens for Nikon cameras

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 114 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Competent performer March 27, 2005

By John

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

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharp, clean, wide... January 17, 2009

By Hazim Sabanovic

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...

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Wide-Angle Lens at a Reasonable Price January 8, 2010

By Justin Call

When I originally purchased this lens I was using a DX camera body and was looking for something sharp, fast, and wide to replace my old kit zoom lens. While it was a competent performer, it didn't really set my world on fire. On a DX body it's just not wide enough to create wide-angle distorted close up photos where the wide aperture would come in handy. When shooting landscapes the wide aperture didn't present much use and even though it was very sharp, I didn't notice much difference from my kit lens as I was typically stopping down enough that both lenses produced sharp photos.
All this changed when I upgraded to a FX camera. With the full-frame sensor this lens comes alive producing amazingly wide-angled views with sharpness all the way to the corners. This is now my go-to lens for landscapes, architecture, panoramas, astrophotography, and abstract street photography. I really can't stress enough how great this lens is. I'm sure a lot of people looking at this lens are debating between this and the renowned 14-24 f/2.8 Nikkor. While that lens is undoubtedly better in most ways, I wouldn't discount getting the 20mm Nikkor if it's wide enough for your needs (which for most people I would say it is), especially at a third of the price. If you're a DX shooter and plan on staying that way, I would recommend getting one of Nikon's wider zooms (i.e. 12-24mm) instead as this probably won't be wide enough for your needs.
A big warning for FX shooters, you can pretty much forget about using a filter with this lens as even the thinnest filters will produce visible vignetting in almost any situation.
In summary here are the pros and cons:

Pros:
Amazingly sharp
Fast autofocus
Fast aperture
Very reasonable price for wide angle lens
Very wide angle on FX cameras
Built like a tank

Cons:
Not wide enough on DX camera
Can't use filters when shooting with FX camera
Won't autofocus on entry-level DSLRs (i.e. D3000, D5000, D40, D60, etc.)