( 5 reviews )
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( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 25 2008
This lens has some great features but I ended up selling it because it was just OK for what I wanted it for. Its very sharp, even wide open, if you don't shift. It focuses very close, which makes the tilt feature very handy. Its also free of barrel distortion--a miracle, these days. And the electronic diaphragm is really nice, too. However, for the use I had in mind, photographing tall buildings, requiring maximum shift, there was a noticeable loss of quality towards the top of the image. A little softness and a little blue fringe. To those who say "That's only if you photograph brick walls" that's exactly what I needed the lens for. Shot a lot of tests, and f/13 seemed to be optimum. I thought f/13 was too small a stop but it was always the best and perhaps not that odd since the lens goes to f/32. Two other items (with the D700; the D3 may be different). The little locking knobs for the movements can be difficult to reach, depending on how the lens is oriented. And something I did not expect; if you use the maximum shift with the camera in vertical orientation, the internal baffling of the lens cuts the corners of the image. This isn't visible in the D700 viewfinder but if you shoot a vertical with maximum shift you'll get an "Atget" effect in the top corners. Its almost like the 28PC and 35PC Nikkors, where its possible to shift further than advisable, on the long dimension (although with these lenses the corners aren't cut off, just soft). Maybe I'm splitting hairs. The 24 PC-e is much better than the Canon 24TS, Nikon 28PC or the Schneider 28. I've owned 'em all. But I still have the Olympus 24 shift and (used on a 5D) the Olympus is sharper, right to the image edge, at full shift, at f/8. The Olympus does not tilt and has huge amounts of chromatic aberration, whereas the Nikon 24 PC-e tilts and has almost no C.A. but as you know, its pretty easy to correct chromatic aberration. So, 4 stars. I wonder if this lens performs differently, or better, on a D3(?)
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( 3 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 25 2008
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.
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Posted: Jul 11 2008
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.
