Nikon 28mm f/1.4E AF-S NIKKOR Lens

2023-08-07T22:28:18

It's rather surprising to me that there are no reviews of this absolute masterpiece of a lens on the Nikon website. The 28mm focal length is one of my favorite and most used focal lengths of all time! Don't forget, if you have an iPhone, the standard focal length equals 28mm? My first wide angle lens was the legendary Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-s back in the film days mounted on my Nikon FM3-a. This lens was introduced in 1981 and is still available to purchase brand new to this day! This should tell you something about Nikon/Nikkor's 28mm legacy. I still use my original Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-s quite a bit on my D850 and it is just pure perfection with this magical Nikkor lens! If you have never shot with the Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-s before, you have been missing out. Just buy one!!! It is my understanding, although I had never had the pleasure of using the almost mythical Nikkor 28mm f/1.4D AF, that the Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-s performs better at narrower apertures and has no distortion in comparison to the Nikkor 28mm f/1.4D AF!!! So, this brings us to one of the absolute greatest Nikon/Nikkor lenses ever, the 28mm f/1.4E. This lens is even better than my most cherished Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-s! This lens produces absolutely stunning images at every aperture. If you need f/1.4 for whatever you might be shooting, whether it is astronomy, low light sunset/sunrise landscape, concerts/performances, or anything else that requires a wide focal length in low light and you want absolute top performance, this lens might be what you are looking for. The auto focus in this lens, among with other E lenses (for example 24-70mm f/2.8E VR or 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR), is so accurate that it amazes me every time, even wide open! At f/1.4, the results almost look 3 dimensional, even more so than the 24mm f/1.4G and the 35mm f/1.4G, both of which are no slouches in terms of superior Nikon/Nikkor lenses! If you require manual focus, simply turn the focus ring to override the AF or switch the M/A-M switch to M and enjoy! If you want or require the best auto focus 28mm lens for your Nikon system, whether it is a DSLR or a mirrorless Z camera with the FTZ/FTZII adapter, I believe this lens deserves more than your attention. The only other lens that may perform a few percent better, which also own, is the Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4, however this is manual focus only and is two and a half times the price. This magnificent lens makes my top five favorite Nikon/Nikkor lenses list ever!

Henrik B.

Originally posted at

2023-02-16T07:33:11

I originally got this for my D850 and now use it with my Z9. It's one of just three E DSLR lenses I kept when moving to mirrorless (plus 105 1.4 & 500 5.6). I wanted a 1.4 prime and looked at the 24 and 35mm, but this one blows those away in terms of sharpness. One review at the time said it was the sharpest lens they had ever tested. 28mm may seem like an odd duck, but I've come to appreciate it. I can easily use it like a 50 or 35mm for general photography, but also with a variable neutral density filter for flowing water shots. It is a low-light king for sure, and with the built in VR on the Z9 I can take wonderful natural light photos where most lenses would fail.

Phil C.

Originally posted at

2022-01-27T09:47:00

I obtained this lens through the Adorama Trade-in Program. Their customer service was Outstanding! I own many prime lenses, but this one has instantly become my favorite! This lens is sharp at 1.4 and all apertures, absolutely amazing in low light and has a nice soft bokeh. AF is very quiet and accurate. Some may not be a fan of the 28mm focal length, but for me it just works! If you're interested perhaps rent this lens first, and if you do decide to purchase it get it from Adorama.

Derek J.

2021-08-25T10:54:00

Very well built lens.

MARLIN M.

2020-09-12T21:13:20

Impressive lens! Quality-wise, it I think it falls right in line with the 24/1.4G and 35/1.4G, but it’s clearly sharper at f1.4 and up. I bought the 28 thinking to make it a replacement for both, my 24 & 35 lenses, but even thought the 28 is sharper I still love and will keep the 24 and 35 for their character - especially the 24 for it’s field curvature. With about 10 deg of angle-of-view difference between them I think they all deserve a place in my lens bag. (I do not use/own any FX zoom lenses.) Anyway, having used Nikon cameras and lenses since the F2, I’d say the 28/1.4G is a keeper.

JOACHIM E.

2020-06-10T08:08:14

Beautiful, sharp lens. A huge upgrade from my Nikor 28 2.8

MEGHAN C.

2018-08-12T20:00:00

This is a great lens for landscapes and portraits. Very little distortion if any. It gives a beautiful perspective on things close up while leaving lots of room for things in the background. The build quality is what you would except for a lens at this price point (Very Good). It’s sharp at 1.4 through the middle and stopped down to 1.8 it’s sharp across the frame with very pleasing boken. I love this lens and recommend it to anyone looking for a wide angle lens with super image quality.

RB53

Originally posted at

2018-08-08T08:57:32

This is a great lens for landscapes and portraits. Very little distortion if any. It gives a beautiful perspective on things close up while leaving lots of room for things in the background. The build quality is super. I love this lens and recommend it to anyone looking for a wide angle lens.

RICHARD B.

2018-07-09T20:00:00

It's built like a tank compared to this plastic, fantastic piece of glass. Optically the E ED is better, but not that much. If you must buy new, it is capable of turning cloudy winter twilight into day at f/1.4 just like it's predecessor. On the flip side the old war horse is more expensive used now, if you can pry one away from us.

WebFootSTi

Originally posted at

2018-07-09T08:32:14

Let me preface my view on this lens by stating 28mm on a full-frame camera is my favorite focal length. Couple that with the fast aperture of 1.4 and you have my dream lens, Nikon. And this lens lives up to my expectations. It delivers ultra sharp images with the cinematic look that I love. Edges could be sharper, but I don't look at photos like that. excellent contrast, and virtually no flares. Weight is not an issue, but price would be for many. Overall, a premium full frame lens for Nikon users.

PRATYUSH P.

2018-06-14T13:14:45

I love this lens and will not be without it on any trip. It is sharp, gives me the wide field when I need it with out the insane distortion and it has fast focus. It is one of my treasured lenses. On top of all this it has the 1.4 low light capabilities. Primes are the way to go!

John D.

2018-05-15T12:26:39

This lens provides a great rendering of the scene as you see it. Very little distortion if at all, and great creamy bokeh! Excellent portrait lens. Paired with the D850 it is pure magic!

JOHNNY H.

2018-01-10T15:54:39

Excellent lens. A little heave but you can't get something for nothing.

Daniel N.

2017-12-12T19:00:00

I've owned several Nikon mount 28mm lenses over the years, from a good value 28mm/2.8 Series E in the 1980s, a great 28mm/2.8 AIS, to the inferior 28mm/2.8 AF Nikkor, a Zeiss 28mm/2 ZF.2, and the 28mm/2.8G AFS Nikkor, which is a very good lens for landscape photography with its mild forward field curvature that can actually work to a photographer's advantage by keeping close foregrounds in focus with a distant subject in the middle being the main focus area. These have all been useful, but none compares to the 28mm/1.4E AFS Nikkor. The newish lens is remarkable for a fairly flat field, and high resolution to almost the very corners wide open, easily outperforming all the other lenses. Stopping down, it gives very good depth of field, and flare is very well controlled for night photography. D850 owners can take advantage of focus stacking with the lens, shooting at f/4 or f/5.6 to produce processed images with super high resolution and complete control of depth of field from near to far, overcoming the limitations of diffraction and shallow depth of field, at least if you have a static subject. For conventional photography, I've used the lens on my D800E and D850, and it focuses fast on both cameras, though it works better with the newer body. On my D800E the lens needs very extreme -20 AF Fine tune to work properly with the optical viewfinder AF, but it mates better with my D850 needing +3. Auto AF fine tune is a great feature on the D850, and my tests indicated the 28mm/1.4E had the least variability in repetitive AF fine tune tests (I take the median of several tests to use as the manually applied value for my lenses), hence the lens seems to have the most consistent AF performance of any of my AF lenses. Lateral chromatic aberration is not bad, and easily corrected in software, and longitudinal chromatic aberration is much lower than the 28mm/1.8G shows (this is the one poor performance aspect of the older 28mm lens: severe secondary color in defocused areas), with the new lens having well controlled secondary color errors. The only physical disadvantage of the 28mm/1.4 E is its large size and moderately heavy weight. It's probably not a good choice for a person with a bad back to hike around with, but it's not as heavy as a Zeiss Otus 28mm/1.4 (not that I have used that one) or some of the new Zeiss Milvus lenses which are heavier due to their mostly metal construction (and the Zeiss lenses for Nikon F mount are all manual focus too, which may put many people off them).

SteveK

Originally posted at

2017-09-22T20:00:00

Lente tipo E =Um mecanismo de diafragma eletromagnético no corpo da lente fornece controle altamente preciso do diafragma ou lâmina de abertura ao usar a exposição automática durante o disparo contínuo 28mm é a maior abertura de uma lente aonde ocorre a menor distorção de imagens dentro das grande angulares. (por isso as lentes DX começam em 18mm. Exemplo lente DX 18-140mm, 18-55mm, 18-300mm;exemplo lentes fullframe 28-300 3.5-5.6 G ED VR) A 28mm é uma lente que já rendeu grandes prêmios a fotógrafos profissionais jornalísticos, pq com ela vc tem muita informação. Uma lente coringa! De foco muito preciso. Excelente para paisagem e jornalismo. Imagine se vc pudesse carregar uma só lente na sua bagagem. Esta é a lente 28mm f1.4E

Nikon f.

Originally posted at

2017-08-04T07:17:42

My buddy Wayne on f/m summed up the science stuff nicely. So I'll drop that here first.... The differences between the 1.8 and 1.4e are: 1) 1.8 has much weaker correction for SA and thus will have focus shift which will throw off the AF if you take pictures stopped down to say 5.6 and the subject is close enough to not have a large enough DOF to hide the focusing error. 2) The 1.4e is much sharper in the 1.8 to 2.8 aperture range, especially in the center. 3) The 1.4e has much better coma correction in the corners which will lead to better AF on objects towards the edges of the frame and better for astrophotography. 4) The 1.4e has more ED glass and thus has less LoCA than the 1.8, although it is far from APO itself. 5) The 1.4e has better flare/ghosting handling than 1.8. You obviously pay more for those extra ED elements and aspherical elements which give you the better performance mentioned above. Whether you see the difference is dependent on the type of shot and whether that extra performance is worth it to you. -- I don't think the 1.8 has ANY ED glass in it, though, so one correction for wayne on the above. And I have this to add, myself: The 1.8G is a tricky lens. It produces smooth images and is a relative steal. I do agree, the focus shift on the 1.8G was very hard for me to figure out, when I owned it. I owned it twice, too. Actually, I don't know that it can be tamed. On the other hand the 1.4E doesn't have any odd curve at all. In fact, it is easily the most enjoyable 1.2 or 1.4 lens I've ever used or owned, with regard to focus shift and shooting wide open. And I've had the following: 24 1.4L II, 35 1.4L, 35 1.4L II, 35 1.4 sigma art, 35 1.4G, 50 1.2L, 58 1.4G, 85 1.2L II, 85 1.4G, 105 1.4E. The 105 1.4E easily comes in second for easiest 1.2 or 1.4 lens to shoot wide open. So it must be in the new technology that Nikon is using. Anyone intrigued by the 28mm 1.4E should definitely start with the 1.8G for a few months. Just to make sure he/she likes the focal length. I've said that before, but it's worth repeating... people buy a lens, and soon say "I can't get used to this FL". And 28mm is one of those. 24/28/35/50/85, love it or hate it! But I'd say 24/28 are the toughest for folks. I think for me, I love the ability to shoot wide open, so comfortably. No curve to manage. Wide open & SHARP! But I also love the versatility. I have a 2 year old. So while I prefer to just use a backup lens, like my 50mm 1.8G when I'm shooting at home, there are times when I am indoors and want something wider. 35 is not wide enough for indoors, for me. The 28mm is nice here. For shooting groups, professionally, the 28mm is a better choice there. It came in handy at a wedding Friday night. We were stuck on a small dock, and the 35 wouldn't have worked, literally. We would have been forced to use a 24-70. Size/Weight wise, the 28E is just a tick longer and heavier than a 35 1.4G. And a little longer than the 28G, and a LOT heavier. Except when you're weighing the cost. Finally, the 28E is just flat out the best lens in it's class. It's ED and then some, it's FL. It's going to be better on a D800/810 body with all those megapixels. And so it's future proof and ready for the D850. If you're on a budget, the 35mm 1.4G at $ used is an amazing professional lens. The 28mm 1.8G is an amazing wide angle for the money. If I were a pro, I'd get the 35 1.4G if money were tight, and skip the 28mm 1.8G, but that's just my opinion. The E lenses are a HUGE success. The 105, the 28, the 70-200. I've had them all. They are without a doubt, superior to their peers. Nikon's new slogan should be, you gotta pay to play. Because, the new E glass is without a doubt pricey. If you feel that they are not "better" - you are just either not taking enough time to recognize and appreciate it. Or you're just thinking with your wallet, which is absolutely fine!! With all of that said, if you're asking if it's worth it, it's probably not. $ is crazy money, to spend on a wide angle prime.

Ryan M.

2017-08-03T11:31:07

This is stating the obvious but 28 gives you a just slightly wider PoV than a 35 which is what I was looking for. I had previously been shooting with a 24 when wanting something wider but found it to be a little bit too much. The 28 is fantastic with essentially no noticeable distortion. The fast 1.4 aperture and close MFD gives you interesting opportunities with getting beautifully rendered bokeh on your subjects.

Duy H.

2017-07-20T19:48:49

Wow! Everything it is supposed to be and more. I still shoot with a D700 and am proud of it. This lens will force you to approach your photos with a greater sense of what's really artistic and what's just an ordinary photo. It's fun. I shoot mostly f/1.4 night or day just to get such a dreamy background into the storyline. And I thought I wanted a 35mm. Despite what they say, adding this lens to your gear will definitely make you a better photographer.

PETER P.