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Technical Details
- Brand Name: Nikon
- Model: 2168
- Lens Type: normal
- Mounting Type: Nikon F-Bayonet
- Minimum focal length: 24 millimeters
Product Details
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Product Description
The Nikon PC-E 24mm f/3.5 D lens is an ideal lens for architectural and nature photography, providing an ultra-wide field of view and Perspective Control (PC) with tilt, shift and rotation capability.
The three Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass elements minimize chromatic aberration, resulting in superior sharpness and color-correction.
Features:
- Wide shifting range, plus or minus 11.5mm, with a tilting range of plus or minus 8.5 degrees.
- Revolving capability of plus or minus 90 degrees for versatile tilt/shift shooting effects.
- Nikon's Nano Crystal Coat virtually eliminates internal reflections across a wide range of wavelengths for even greater image clarity.
- High-performance Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) offers superior color performance and substantially reduced ghosting and flare.
- Rounded 9-blade diaphragm for more natural appearance of out-of-focus image elements.
- Nikon PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED lens
- HB-41 Bayonet Hood
- CL-1120 Flexible Lens Pouch
Available Warranties for This Item
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I previously reviewed this lens. I now have second one and it appears the first was either defective or they vary wildly. Lens #1 came from eBay, due to Nikon's "we're backordered, but don't buy gray" policy. Naturally I wanted a lens with US warranty but Nikon US had none. As usual, they were all over Hong Kong but not one in the USA. So I bought a USA one used/mint condition to get a lens that Nikon would service if necessary. Cosmetically, the lens was flawless but something was amiss so please disregard my previous review.
Lens #2 is quite good or great, depending on what you want it for. The photo I see most often is a field of flowers with the lens tilted. I don't have much interest in tilting a 24mm lens but from what I see, its great for this and image quality should be super.
For architecture, the shifting is a bit of a different story. In theory, its possible to shift this lens 11.5 mm when the camera is oriented vertically. In practice, you can do this if the top of your subject occupies only the top center of the frame. If you are a critical user and your subject fills the entire top of the frame you'll probably find the top corners disappointing. (As with the previous lens, f/13 seemed to be best when shifted although f/11 was very close).
The good news is that if you restrict your shift to about 8-8.5mm the corners clean up, the illumination falloff disappears and things are sharp everywhere. If this sounds bad, it really isn't because previous Nikon PC lenses have a similar limitation where you can physically shift them further than advisable. (When the camera is horizontal you can shift as much as you want).
Mechanically, the lens is sound. Its a little front heavy and movements have to be locked which irks me because this is all due to the tilting business which adds size, weight, cost and complexity. But Canon started this and its tit for tat.
If you have a use for one of these and take the time to test it out I think you'll be pleased. Its hands down better than the Canon 24 TS (version 1) and ridiculously better than the Nikon 28PC. I still have to see if it can beat the Olympus 24 shift but haven't gotten around to it yet.
By the way, with regard to the comments that this is a "very technical" lens that takes practice or tutorials to master, nothing could be further from the truth. You point it at the subject, tilt or shift as neeed, focus, lock the movements down, lock the mirror up and trip the shutter. If you want to make things complicated you can read about Scheimpflug but since you get both visual confirmation and auto exposure, its hard to see how you could make a mistake.
Lens #2 is quite good or great, depending on what you want it for. The photo I see most often is a field of flowers with the lens tilted. I don't have much interest in tilting a 24mm lens but from what I see, its great for this and image quality should be super.
For architecture, the shifting is a bit of a different story. In theory, its possible to shift this lens 11.5 mm when the camera is oriented vertically. In practice, you can do this if the top of your subject occupies only the top center of the frame. If you are a critical user and your subject fills the entire top of the frame you'll probably find the top corners disappointing. (As with the previous lens, f/13 seemed to be best when shifted although f/11 was very close).
The good news is that if you restrict your shift to about 8-8.5mm the corners clean up, the illumination falloff disappears and things are sharp everywhere. If this sounds bad, it really isn't because previous Nikon PC lenses have a similar limitation where you can physically shift them further than advisable. (When the camera is horizontal you can shift as much as you want).
Mechanically, the lens is sound. Its a little front heavy and movements have to be locked which irks me because this is all due to the tilting business which adds size, weight, cost and complexity. But Canon started this and its tit for tat.
If you have a use for one of these and take the time to test it out I think you'll be pleased. Its hands down better than the Canon 24 TS (version 1) and ridiculously better than the Nikon 28PC. I still have to see if it can beat the Olympus 24 shift but haven't gotten around to it yet.
By the way, with regard to the comments that this is a "very technical" lens that takes practice or tutorials to master, nothing could be further from the truth. You point it at the subject, tilt or shift as neeed, focus, lock the movements down, lock the mirror up and trip the shutter. If you want to make things complicated you can read about Scheimpflug but since you get both visual confirmation and auto exposure, its hard to see how you could make a mistake.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
This is my second tilt/shift lens from the current Nikon crop. I use the 85mm for macro and product photography, and it's been a terrific addition to my collection. When I wanted something more for nature and architecture, I decided to head to the other end of the scale and go with the 24mm, and I've been completely happy with it so far.
In terms of construction quality, the lens doesn't disappoint - it's smooth in operation and seems as rugged as anything in Nikon's pro line. Feels like it's built for the long haul, and I don't doubt that with proper care, most of these lenses will outlive their owners.
Ergonomically, it's also okay for a tilt/shift lens. I tend to leave it on the camera with the tilts locked at 0, and it makes a credible manual focus 24mm lens. Because of the great depth of field on short focal length lenses, the lack of autofocus is no big deal...if you put your camera on aperture-priority and set the lens to f/8 or so, you can just dial in the hyperfocal distance and do very little focusing indeed...at this combination, you get about 4 feet to infinity in acceptable sharpness. Of course, when you want to use the tilts, all that changes, and you find yourself making a purposeful set of adjustments to get just the shot you want.
On both DX and FX, the 24mm is sharp, contrasty and capable of great images. I'd say you loose a bit of the value on DX cameras though - to me, it's much more valuable on FX bodies, but to each his own.
I suppose I'd also agree with the other reviewer who suggested that you don't really need lots of special instruction on using this sort of lens - just get out and use it, and pretty quickly you'll find you get the knack. For example, I spent an hour with a local real-estate person, and she quickly saw the value in the shots she does for her listings. It's really more a question of how far you want to go to get a certain look...if you're willing to spend a bit of time mastering tilt/shift lenses, you can get some wonderful results pretty quickly.
Definitely recommended to those who have the need for perspective control in architecture or nature photography.
In terms of construction quality, the lens doesn't disappoint - it's smooth in operation and seems as rugged as anything in Nikon's pro line. Feels like it's built for the long haul, and I don't doubt that with proper care, most of these lenses will outlive their owners.
Ergonomically, it's also okay for a tilt/shift lens. I tend to leave it on the camera with the tilts locked at 0, and it makes a credible manual focus 24mm lens. Because of the great depth of field on short focal length lenses, the lack of autofocus is no big deal...if you put your camera on aperture-priority and set the lens to f/8 or so, you can just dial in the hyperfocal distance and do very little focusing indeed...at this combination, you get about 4 feet to infinity in acceptable sharpness. Of course, when you want to use the tilts, all that changes, and you find yourself making a purposeful set of adjustments to get just the shot you want.
On both DX and FX, the 24mm is sharp, contrasty and capable of great images. I'd say you loose a bit of the value on DX cameras though - to me, it's much more valuable on FX bodies, but to each his own.
I suppose I'd also agree with the other reviewer who suggested that you don't really need lots of special instruction on using this sort of lens - just get out and use it, and pretty quickly you'll find you get the knack. For example, I spent an hour with a local real-estate person, and she quickly saw the value in the shots she does for her listings. It's really more a question of how far you want to go to get a certain look...if you're willing to spend a bit of time mastering tilt/shift lenses, you can get some wonderful results pretty quickly.
Definitely recommended to those who have the need for perspective control in architecture or nature photography.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Shift lenses are headed in the right direction, getting better and better. The Hartblei/Zeiss offerings out out of the reach of many (price) but Nikon's current offerings include the 24 f/3.5, a 45mm f/2.8 and an 85mm f/2.8. Canon has a similar line. Discontinued are Nikon's 28/4, 28/3.5 and 35/2.8 PC-Nikkors (no tilt). Schneider's 28mm PC-Super-Angulon remains available for Nikon or Canon users. All of the latter lenses are "covered" in28mm Shift Lenses on DX frame.
The Nikon 24 T/S is a very nice handling lens and built to similar standards as the several-year old 85 f/2.8D PC-Micro-Nikkor. However, it now offers electonic aperture control, a boon for usability, but a disappointment for those of us who like to shoot Nikon lenses also on Canon via an adapter.
The good news is that optical performance is very high. Having used the Canon 24/3.5L T/S and the Olympus 24/3.5 shift (but not owning either at the moment) I can only hazard the following experience-based opinion: the Nikon offering appears to be the best yet available in the 24mm tilt/shift realm. Congratulations Nikon! A future in-depth report will have to speak to the details of this fine lens, but stitched images certainly are one good use of this lens, like this 19 megapixel example below.
The bottom line for me is that when the budget cooperates, the Nikon 24 T/S is a lens I want to own. I expect that the 45mm and 85mm offerings will afford even better performance.
The Nikon 24 T/S is a very nice handling lens and built to similar standards as the several-year old 85 f/2.8D PC-Micro-Nikkor. However, it now offers electonic aperture control, a boon for usability, but a disappointment for those of us who like to shoot Nikon lenses also on Canon via an adapter.
The good news is that optical performance is very high. Having used the Canon 24/3.5L T/S and the Olympus 24/3.5 shift (but not owning either at the moment) I can only hazard the following experience-based opinion: the Nikon offering appears to be the best yet available in the 24mm tilt/shift realm. Congratulations Nikon! A future in-depth report will have to speak to the details of this fine lens, but stitched images certainly are one good use of this lens, like this 19 megapixel example below.
The bottom line for me is that when the budget cooperates, the Nikon 24 T/S is a lens I want to own. I expect that the 45mm and 85mm offerings will afford even better performance.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Useful for specific purposes, but marred by distortion
I bought this lens specifically for architecture project shoots. The lens performs well in that it is fast to use compared to the old 4x5 setup--you simply rotate the knob and the... Read more
Published 20 days ago by John Grover
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential for landscape photographers
The first thing that came in my mind when I first tried this wide angle tilt and shift after buying it: "why didn't I buy this lens before??? Read more
Published 13 months ago by M. Billon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nikon 24mm f/3.5D ED PC
Takes a while to get the hang of using it, but you can do thing with it that no other type of lens can do.
Published on July 5, 2008 by Stephen J. Schange
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely incredible
Finally Nikon is doing it, making top quality TS lenses. I have the 85mm PC and now 24mm PC-e and my other lenses are just boring by comparison. Read more
Published on May 2, 2008 by Judson Abts
