Wide angle lens, manual focus, for Nikon F-mount?

PhoBoKho · Mar 26, 2020

I've shot wide-angle in Fuji mirrorless and I like the dramatic look they can give. Is there something equivalent that people here might recommend for my Nikon FM10?

My Fuji bodies have an APS-C sensor (1.5 crop) and so the wide-angles I've been used to using are:

16mm f1/4 (24mm Full-frame equivalent)
10-24 f/4 constant aperture zoom (a 15-35mm full-frame equivalent)

I'm under the impression that back in the day, wide-angle lenses weren't that common and so maybe they are hard to come by now.

If you know of lenses that are fast and have good IQ, that'd be great.

By "fast and good", I mean that I currently have a 35mm f/2.8 Auto Tamron (AdaptAll with a Nikon F adapter) that I think is ok but not stellar. Not stellar in that I don't think its contrast is as great as some Nikkors I have. I've determined this from using a Nikon-F_to_Fuji-X adapter and looking at the digital results. Also, while I like the 35mm look, I would like an option for an even wider look, e.g. 24mm or less.

Let me know what you think I could search for.

Daire Quinlan · Mar 26, 2020

Can't go wrong with a 24mm AIS f/2.8. Had one for years, it's a great lens. That's the only WA Nikkor prime I've used so can't comment personally on the others.

foveon_m · Mar 26, 2020

Sigma super wide II
Good and cheap

narsuitus · Mar 26, 2020

Here are the wide-angle lenses I use with my Nikon SLR film bodies:

Back row from left to right

28mm f/4 PC (used primarily for architectural photos)

14mm f/2.8 D auto focus (this is my widest prime and my only auto focus wide-angle prime)

18mm f/3.5 AIS

Front row from left to right

28mm f/2.8 AIS (used primarily for landscapes, street shooting, and theatre)

28mm f/3.5 pre-AI (has BR-2 adapter on front of lens so lens can be attached in reverse position on bellows for close-ups and macro; has BR-3 adapter on rear of lens to allow filters or slide copy unit to be attached to reversed lens)

35mm f/1.4 AIS (performs like a wide angle on my film cameras; performs like a normal lens on my APS-c digital cameras)

16mm f/2.8 (rectangular fisheye)

24mm f/2 AIS

Nikon Wide-Angle Lenses by Narsuitus, on Flickr

BradS · Mar 26, 2020

Daire Quinlan said:
Can't go wrong with a 24mm AIS f/2.8.

Yup. What he said. The same goes for the 28mm f/2.8 AIS Nikkor. These two are about as good as it gets - some say they are the best in their respective focal lengths.

abruzzi · Mar 26, 2020

foveon_m said:
Sigma super wide II
Good and cheap

These can be pretty good, but mine (24mm f2.8 AF for pentax) looses contrast pretty drastically if the sun is just outside the frame. I don't know how different the manual focus variants were. I know that can affect a lot of lenses, but compared to similar penatx SMC coated lenses, it loses much more contrast.

Paul Howell · Mar 26, 2020

Did Vivitar make a Series 1 wide, I have a vague recollection of a 19 or 20 like F2?

Alan Gales · Mar 26, 2020

I used to shoot a Contax with a 25mm Zeiss. A Nikkor 24mm will be quite the same in focal length.

I also had a 35mm lens which is nice for groups of people or street shooting. Between those two lenses I never felt a need for a 28mm. I did lust after an 18mm Zeiss but couldn't afford it. Eventually, I got an equivalent focal length for a 645 medium format camera. I found it too wide for most subjects but nice for a few. My 25mm was a lot more useful!

I'd recommend that you get a 24mm Nikkor like Daire recommends. A 24mm or 25mm seems to hit a sweet spot in my opinion.

John Koehrer · Mar 26, 2020

24/2.8 is still one of my favorites and I've used the non-AI and AI over the years. Never used the AIs.

PhoBoKho · Mar 27, 2020

Thanks for all your expertise, everyone. Looks like the 24mm f/2.8 AI-S is the one.

Also, I rescind my remark about my Tamron 35mm f/2.8 being not that contrasty. It's sufficiently contrasty. The images I had remembered as having less contrast were ones where lights (streetlights) were shining into the lens and/or were just out of frame. ...also the lens might have been dirtier than I would have liked...

AgX · Mar 27, 2020

PhoBoKho said:
I'm under the impression that back in the day, wide-angle lenses weren't that common and so maybe they are hard to come by now.

Wide angle lenses become common in the 60s. Today here at rummage boxes 28mm lenses are most prominent, much more than 35mm.
However, the Nikon F mount is rather rather rare there.

Oldwino · Mar 27, 2020

I have a 28/2 AI that I like a lot, but it’s a little bigger than I would wish.
And I’m having fun with a nice 20/2.8 AI-S I recently pick up.

Ko.Fe. · Mar 27, 2020

I have Vivitar 20 3.8 and Tokina 24 2.8 in F mount. Paid well under 100$ for each and those are good lenses. Another under 100$ is Vivitar 28 f2. Also fine F mount lens.

Christiaan Phleger · Mar 28, 2020

IF you are so inclined, the Nikkor 24mm N or N.C should be considered. A slightly different optical formula than the Ai/Ai-s, the .C has the almost NIC Nikon Multi Coating which helps a bit for color and back/side flare. The Nikkor 24mm N is pretty sweet on black and white film if that is what you want to do, and cheap as chips. Look for an Ai'd model and don't overlook the Cut Ai ring that can mean a bargain.

cooltouch · Apr 2, 2020

I have a Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 -- either AI or AIs, don't recall now. It has a problem that is common to this lens -- not sharp on the corners, although it is very sharp in the center. I also own a Tamron 24mm f/2.5. In testing I've found that it actually slightly outperforms the Nikkor when stopped down a bit. Quite a bit cheaper than the Nikon also.

For wider wides, the old Nikkor 20mm f/3.5 UD is an exceptional lens. More modern 20s also do well, from what I understand. And for ultrawides, I prefer either the Tokina 17mm f/3.5 or the Tamron SP 17mm f/3.5. I own copies of both and they are very sharp when used on film cameras. My Tokina has some field curvature; the Tamron does not.

Billy Axeman · Apr 2, 2020

The Nikkor 24 mm f/2.8 Ai has a complex barrel distortion (moustache) which is impossible to correct in post. I returned it after one roll.

ColdEye · Apr 2, 2020

The 24/2.8AIS is really good, I bought mine a few years ago and never sold it, even tho I went thru a phase of selling all my gear. I like the 20/3.5 AIS too. And if you want off brand lenses, the Rokinon(and others) 14/2.8 and 24/1.4 are absolutely amazing. The only issue for me is the 14mm cant use filters, and the 24mm is huge.

Autonerd · Apr 13, 2020

PhoBoKho said:
I'm under the impression that back in the day, wide-angle lenses weren't that common and so maybe they are hard to come by now

As someone who was around Back In the Day (early 90s), I'd say quite the opposite... I got my Pentax with a 50mm and the first "second" lens I bought was a 28mm (Vivitar f/2.8, still have it and still use it). Most of my fellow students had one in their kit. I think it was a popular second lens.

NB23 · Apr 13, 2020

24 f2.0. Amazing lens, full of character. Espevially the boke wide open.

This has been my Nikkor discovery 18 years ago. Love it.

MattKing · Apr 13, 2020

Autonerd said:
As someone who was around Back In the Day (early 90s), I'd say quite the opposite...

The early 90s isn't far enough back to be back in the day .
Go back at least a couple of decades and wide angle lenses were a bit more rare, but still around.
Anything wider than 28mm was a very specialized lens though, and priced accordingly.

cooltouch · Apr 14, 2020

Yep, I can remember paying quite a premium for a new Canon FD 24mm f/2.8 back in about 1985.

TJer · Apr 17, 2020

You might want to try to find a Nikon “D” series lens in a AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED; Nikon AF-Zoom Nikkor, 20mm-35mm, f/2.8D IF-AF; Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-50mm f/3.3-4 D if you can. Many of them are inexpensive and high quality and can serve double duty on your digital SLR’s. I’ll always try to get a decent used ‘D’ series lens over an AI or AIS because of the extra utility and frequent higher quality optic formula.

cooltouch · Apr 18, 2020

The Nikon "D"'s are my favorite AF Nikkors because, as you indicate, they are generally excellent optics, but often they can be found for quite cheap. But most of all I like the D-series lenses because most of them have larger focusing ring rubber pads that are well damped and can be easily grabbed ahold of.

PhoBoKho · Apr 21, 2020

TJer said:
You might want to try to find a Nikon “D” series lens in a AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED; Nikon AF-Zoom Nikkor, 20mm-35mm, f/2.8D IF-AF; Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-50mm f/3.3-4 D if you can. Many of them are inexpensive and high quality and can serve double duty on your digital SLR’s. I’ll always try to get a decent used ‘D’ series lens over an AI or AIS because of the extra utility and frequent higher quality optic formula.

Interesting. These zooms hadn't crossed my mind. But I'll have to keep an eye out. Unfortunately, they aren't cheap.

PhoBoKho · Apr 21, 2020

cooltouch said:
The Nikon "D"'s are my favorite AF Nikkors because, as you indicate, they are generally excellent optics, but often they can be found for quite cheap. But most of all I like the D-series lenses because most of them have larger focusing ring rubber pads that are well damped and can be easily grabbed ahold of.

Yes, I have a couple of "D"s that I like (105 and 60).
I'm not as keen on my 50/1.8 though. I find the focus ring not super smooth. It doesn't have a great build. Pictures from it are good though. I bought it new many years ago for not much money and so I can't complain.

Wide angle lens, manual focus, for Nikon F-mount?

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