Good wide MF primes for nikon?

[olleorama]

I have a soligor 28/2.8 for my nikon cameras. It's quite a nice lens, build quality is good, sharpness okay and all that. But I need something wider. Somewhere 21-25 mm I guess. I don't need really huge aperture, and I don't care of the brand as long as it's a decent lens.

What should I look for?

 

[mikecnichols]

I have a soligor 28/2.8 for my nikon cameras. It's quite a nice lens, build quality is good, sharpness okay and all that. But I need something wider. Somewhere 21-25 mm I guess. I don't need really huge aperture, and I don't care of the brand as long as it's a decent lens.

What should I look for?

I highly recommend the 24mm. I have an older one AI converted (f16). I haven't used my 28 since I got it. Such an awesome lens.

The 24 has the CRC (Close range correctness) which is great because it produces amazingly clear and sharp images. They definitely are best at f5.6, though f2.8 is also good.

 

[olleorama]

24 mm Nikkor I presume?

 

[mikecnichols]

24 mm Nikkor I presume?

Yes.

 

[Rol_Lei Nut]

What I've used in Nikon mount;

Vivitar (Tokina) 17mm f/3.5: Surprisingly good, some distortion, lower contrast and higher flare than my absolute favourites (talking Leica and Zeiss).
Arsat 20mm: Not used much, but made a very good impression (hardly any visible distortion, corners sharp, etc.)
Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 AIS: a solid "good" lens. Great for it's time, today not the best anymore.

Longer wides;
Arsat 35mm PC lens: Decent PC lens, held up well in a comparison with an older PC-Nikkor. Shift mechanism slow to use.
Nikkor 35mm f/2.0: Another "good" lens. Once my standard, now 1 or 2 stops behind my favourites, but that still isn't too bad... ;-)
Nikkor 35mm f/1.4: While very sharp in the centre, I didn't like its overall look... Sold it.
Lanses I haven't used;
The Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 has a great reputation.
Other Nikkor 20mm lenses get very differing reviews, look around...

The anomaly;
The Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 which is currently being made in Nikon mount (among others), *might* be the same as the later versions made for Rolleiflex and Contax/Yashica.
While earlier versions of the lens could be very soft, later Ro and C/Y have a very nice Zeiss "3-D" look and, and, and... (much better than the Nikkor 24mm). A caveat is that the classic 25mm was actually a 26mm.

 

[ic-racer]

I'm going to be getting the Nikkor 20mm f2.8 for a Nikon body I recently acquired. My understanding is that the lens formula has remained constant on that one (auto vs manual focus). I don't have the lens, yet, so I can't comment. My closest Zeiss lens is the 18mm f4, so I'm looking forward to the comparison.

 

[Brian Legge]

I have a 24mm 2.8 AI/AIS (don't recall which) lens I've listed here for sale before. It takes beautiful shots but is a bit too wide for me. If you decide that is what you're looking for, send me a message.

 

[olleorama]

the arsat sound promising. In my budget too.

 

[olleorama]

I have a 24mm 2.8 AI/AIS (don't recall which) lens I've listed here for sale before. It takes beautiful shots but is a bit too wide for me. If you decide that is what you're looking for, send me a message.

Oo, pm sent

 

[Rol_Lei Nut]

the arsat sound promising. In my budget too.

A word of warning: like most Soviet and post-Soviet equipment, samples can vary greatly.

Buy from a good source, preferably one which will allow a return.

 

[rulnacco]

I purchased a 24/2.8 AIS a few weeks back, which the proprietor of the shop graciously let me test for a couple of days around & about beforehand. It is extremely good on my D300, and even better on film.

There will be some sample variation, and maybe I just got a very good copy of the lens. And of course, on the digital camera I'm not seeing out to the periphery of the lens's image circle. But I would certainly agree with several of the earlier posters and say that this lens is definitely good enough (and I'm pretty demanding). And they're not terribly expensive nowadays.

 

[F/1.4]

The 35mm f/1.4 and 24mm f/2 are both really nice wide MF lenses.

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

I have the Nikkor 24mm f2 ais, its a great lens that basically sits on my EM, makes a great little package. infinity focus is at 5ft which cool.

I have used the Nikkor 35mm 1.4 ais, its nice sharp and fast, but I would like to buy another just to have, but personally it doesn't feel wide enough.

Both have CRC focusing down to 1ft.

Ive heard good things about the 20mm and the 28mm nikkors if you dont mind 1 stop slower.

Also Sigma Mini-Wides are cheap buys on fleabay, and are decent.

Though its not manual focus prime, the Tokina 19-35mm I have in Canon mount is another great lens. (plastic fantastic)

 

[eSPhotos]

I would recommend 24mm f2.8 AI/AIS. If you want whisker wider, go for 20mm f2.8 AIS.
These 2 are top performing lenses.

 

[tessar]

I'm with the many others. The Nikkor 24/2.8 is my favorite wide-angle lens. Great results.

 

[dynachrome]

The 35/2.8 'K' and 35/2.8 early AI are very sharp. All of the 35/2 lenses are very good. The highly regarded 28/2.8 AIS sometimes sells for more than a 28/2.8 from the same period.