Nikon AF NIKKOR 14mm F 2 8D ED Review | 54 Data compared

The Nikkor AF 14mm f/2.8D ED is a beautifully crafted, extreme ultra-wide-angle prime lens featuring mostly metal construction with a smooth, rubberized focus ring. Its optical design consists of 14 elements in 12 groups, including one ED and two aspherical elements. Built with a rear-focusing design, its length remains constant during operation. It features an independent ring to switch between autofocus and manual focus modes. Tested on an APS-C Nikon D200, it delivers a 21mm full-format equivalent field of view and an equivalent depth-of-field aperture of f/4.2. The lens offers several notable pros and cons. On the positive side, it delivers robust mechanical quality and a fixed lens barrel length during focusing. It also features a built-in lens hood to safeguard its optics. On the negative side, it is expensive at around 1500€/US$ and lacks an internal AF motor. Instead, it relies on a noisy camera-driven screw system. Additionally, its large, vulnerable front element prevents the use of filters. At 670 grams, it is a relatively heavy piece of glass.

The Nikkor AF 14mm f/2.8 D ED is an ultra-wide angle lens that delivers superb resolution performance in the center of the frame, though its borders range from just okay at f/2.8 to very good at f/8. Mechanically, the lens boasts superb build quality and demonstrates a strong resistance against contra light despite featuring an immense front element. Additionally, its barrel distortions are less wavy than those found on zoom lenses, making them relatively easy to correct, while chromatic aberrations remain moderate for an ultra-wide lens. However, the lens suffers from notable drawbacks, including rather heavy vignetting at f/2.8 and a very harsh out-of-focus bokeh blur in close-up shooting situations. Its massive front element is extremely vulnerable to damage, and users cannot mount protection filters onto the lens. Ultimately, due to its very high price tag, the review concludes that it is not a "killer offer" and recommends the cheaper Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED as a better overall alternative unless full-format extreme wide-angle performance is strictly necessary.

The AF 14 mm f/2.8 Nikkor ED-RF is a heavy, spectacular ultra-wide-angle lens featuring 14 elements in 12 groups, a rear-focusing system, and a remarkable 0.2 m close-up limit. Tested on both digital (D1) and film (F5) cameras, its performance varies significantly because the D1’s smaller sensor utilises only the sharpest, central part of the image circle. On-axis, the lens delivers exceptional sharpness, vivid colour saturation, and high contrast even wide open, outperforming the AFS 17-35 Nikkor at f/2.8–f/4. Additionally, it features swift, quiet autofocusing, and handles flare and ghosting significantly better than its 15 mm predecessors,. However, the lens suffers from clear optical drawbacks, most notably complex "moustache" barrel distortion that poses challenges for architectural photography. On full-frame film cameras, it exhibits visible corner vignetting (-1.3 EV) and softness at f/2.8 due to field curvature, alongside an unexpected sharpness dip in the intermediate zone at f/5.6,. Furthermore, its bulbous front element prevents the attachment of front filters, and it shows more colour fringing than the 17-35 mm lens. Later testing on the higher-resolution D1X also revealed a loss of...