Nikon G lenses - good, bad or meh?

[Horatio]

Title says it all. Mr. Rockwell does not like the missing aperture rings, but how do they compare optically to older AF Nikkors?

 

[ChristopherCoy]

Depends on what you like really. The bulk of my experience has been with G lenses on the D700 and D90. With that being said I've still never found a lens sharper than the 80-200 two ring D version. If you're comparing 50mm, the G is superior to the D. The 105 macro, I can't compare because I haven't used the G version, but there are strong arguments on both sides of the isle. I like my D version though. The 24-70 G was my most used lens ever, and the one that made me the most money. I liked it. I have a feeling you're going to get terribly mixed reviews.

 

[narsuitus]

... how do they compare optically to older AF Nikkors?

Don't know and don't care.

Even though I own two G Nikkor lenses (18-55mm and 14-24mm),
I avoid them because I cannot use them on my older Nikon film cameras.

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

Compared to the previous screw-driven AF/D lenses, the G lenses as a rule all have:

1. More optical elements (different optical formulas)
2. Closer focus distance
3. Higher price tags

The nifty 50mm f1.4G is great and I have some 'niche' lenses in G for the added VR (telephoto, super telephoto, macro) but most of my primes are AF-D or older for better compatibility with my Nikon film bodies. The optics in the G-series lenses are almost certainly objectively 'better' than previous generations, but many prefer the 'tougher' (and/or lighter and more compact) construction of the older models.

That said, the 200-500mm AF-S E has no aperture rings, but shoot wide open on film bodies which is fine by me.

PS: The VR (and electronic aperture) in G lenses will work on certain Nikon film bodies, namely the F5.

 

[Horatio]

Mr. Rockwell thinks very highly of the 28-300 G ED VR, despite what he says about the lack of manual aperture rings. One lens/ring to rule them all?

This beast would work well with my N80 as a travel lens. Price is the main concern, but it's still less expensive than Leitz! I'm also considering FF Nikon DSLR down the road, so there's that.

 

[ChristopherCoy]

I take what Rockwell says with about 1/10th of a grain of salt. Always have. Bout the only thing his site is good for is nice pictures, and specifications in a hurry.

 

[Horatio]

I take what Rockwell says with about 1/10th of a grain of salt. Always have. Bout the only thing his site is good for is nice pictures, and specifications in a hurry.

I've been searching Flickr for images from lenses of interest. That tells me a lot about IQ, but nothing regarding build quality, durability, etc. Some info on specs is useful. I think his opinion of the G series lack of aperture ring has merit, but if you're only shooting on DSLRs what difference does it make?

 

[ic-racer]

To me it makes no sense to complain about the lack of aperture ring any more than complaining about the lack of shutter speed ring. The first two cameras I owned had shutter speed rings.
If one can use a knob or wheel for the shutter speed, why not for the aperture?? I don't see the issue.

 

[ChristopherCoy]

I've been searching Flickr for images from lenses of interest. That tells me a lot about IQ, but nothing regarding build quality, durability, etc. Some info on specs is useful. I think his opinion of the G series lack of aperture ring has merit, but if you're only shooting on DSLRs what difference does it make?

That’s why I stick with D versions. They work from DSLR’s all the way back to the F2 as soon as I send them off to have ears added.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

I have a couple. Most are meh but the 18-55 f 3.5-5.6 kit lens is a real surprise. Tack sharp and versatile. Took this hand held with my D3100.

 

[Horatio]

I have a couple. Most are meh but the 18-55 f 3.5-5.6 kit lens is a real surprise. Tack sharp and versatile. Took this hand held with my D3100.

Thanks Martin. I’ll keep that in mind.

 

[Huss]

I have a couple. Most are meh but the 18-55 f 3.5-5.6 kit lens is a real surprise. Tack sharp and versatile. Took this hand held with my D3100.

View attachment 271444​

The 18-55 is a crop sensor lens for a digital camera, so it will not work well on a 35mm film camera.

 

[ChristopherCoy]

The 18-55 is a crop sensor lens for a digital camera, so it will not work well on a 35mm film camera.

Good point. Anything with DX is for crop sensor digitals and will give you heavy big netting in the corners. Avoid them.

 

[Horatio]

The 18-55 is a crop sensor lens for a digital camera, so it will not work well on a 35mm film camera.

Yeah. I just looked it up. Great for vignettes.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Actually it doesn't vignette unless you use 18MM. It works on my F5 well at other focal lengths.

 

[Jim Jones]

I've used the AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G (very slight barrel distortion), two AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G VR, Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 55-200mm 1:4.5-5.6 G ED VR II, and Nikon AF-P DX Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-6.3G ED for perhaps 100,000 shots. Image quality is certainly all I need and more than I expected for a 24mp camera. This is based on both the images and on critical lens testing. Despite some hard use, there has not been a single failure of these lenses. An earlier basic 70-300 Nikkor did fail after more than one hard fall onto concrete.

 

[Horatio]

Actually it doesn't vignette unless you use 18MM. It works on my F5 well at other focal lengths.

Thanks. Good to know. Are the DX focal lengths actually shorter on full frame? I know the opposite is true for FF lenses on APS-C sensors.

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

'Equivalent' focal lengths are synthetic applications of crop factor. All lenses of a given focal length produce the same result on a focal plane, only their coverage circle may differ. If you know what that thing in your avatar is, you should hopefully be aware of this fact.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

I have all kinds of fancy antique lenses and cameras, but the Nikkor 50mm 1.8G combined with the almost-all Plastic N75 SLR has perfect, fast and accurate autofocus, perfect matrix-metered autoexposure, and near perfect image quality at all apertures. The 50 1.8G is one of the best lenses I own, and on the N75 it is one of the lightest 35mm cameras. It's just about the only setup that challenges medium format for me because all the automation increases the keeper rate in situations where speed is of the essence. I don't find it as satisfying to shoot for slow and methodical conditions, or landscapes. That said, it has produced some of my favorite pictures because I just "have" the camera around when the opportunity strikes and the lens is superb in sharpness and the modern coatings really do have a leg-up on the vintage stuff as much as I hate to admit it. Here are two pictures I took with this combo that I am proud of:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132764966@N03/51095588601/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132764966@N03/51095684262/in/dateposted-public/

And one not so sharp picture that I really like nonetheless. I believe the film for all of these was Fuji C200, may it live forever! They were DSLR scanned and color converted in negative lab pro.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132764966@N03/51096139583/in/dateposted-public/

 

[Huss]

I have all kinds of fancy antique lenses and cameras, but the Nikkor 50mm 1.8G combined with the almost-all Plastic N75 SLR has perfect, fast and accurate autofocus, perfect matrix-metered autoexposure, and near perfect image quality at all apertures. The 50 1.8G is one of the best lenses I own, and on the N75 it is one of the lightest 35mm cameras. It's just about the only setup that challenges medium format for me because all the automation increases the keeper rate in situations where speed is of the essence. I don't find it as satisfying to shoot for slow and methodical conditions, or landscapes. That said, it has produced some of my favorite pictures because I just "have" the camera around when the opportunity strikes and the lens is superb in sharpness and the modern coatings really do have a leg-up on the vintage stuff as much as I hate to admit it. Here are two pictures I took with this combo that I am proud of:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132764966@N03/51095588601/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132764966@N03/51095684262/in/dateposted-public/

And one not so sharp picture that I really like nonetheless. I believe the film for all of these was Fuji C200, may it live forever! They were DSLR scanned and color converted in negative lab pro.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132764966@N03/51096139583/in/dateposted-public/

Very nice, love the last pic!

I also use the N75/50 G combo and it's about the highest quality/lightest weight combo you can find.

 

[StepheKoontz]

The lack of aperture rings isn't a big deal IMHO as I wouldn't be using them on a manual focus camera anyway. There are some real gems, the 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED and the 24-120 f4 VR are both really good IMHO. The 70-200 f2.8 VRII is another standout. All of the f1.4G primes are good, and while it's controversial, the 58mm f1.4G is an amazing lens! I do prefer the 85mm f1.4D over the G for portraits.

 

[film_man]

There are countless G lenses ranging from the consumer junk to professional lenses that are better than anything NIkon did 40 years back. Just like there are AF/AFD lenses with aperture rings ranging from junk to professional stuff that is better than anything else. Rockwell's website is very good for getting things like weights and sizes of lenses and release dates Anything else is..well..ahem...

Personally I find the aperture rings on the AF lenses quite notchy and nowhere near as nice as the manual focus ones, would rather have a G lens and use the control wheel on the body.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Title says it all. Mr. Rockwell does not like the missing aperture rings, but how do they compare optically to older AF Nikkors?

Nikkors rrarely disappoint.

 

[gone]

I've only owned one G lens, and it was pretty darned good. A 28-200 G ED; Highly recommend it. Very small and light, sharp as a tack.

 

[tom43]

The G lenses are in general optically better than the D lenses, as the new Z lenses are better than the G lenses. What else does anyone expect? Technology is advancing...