Got my 28mm 1.8G & it is a MUST HAVE!

[tashley]

Still loving mine..

I agree with the comments above - as I originally noted there are strong field effects but they can be ameliorated (for which read pretty much negated) by careful placement of the POF and they offer the possibility of great shots where the edges contain foreground and the centre contains distance.

I shot an aperture series, linked above, that shows what mine does and gives pretty clear indications of how therefore to use it for differing purposes but I do think that it is important to be aware of what lens corrections can do to the mid-field sharpness, and to accept that sample variations mean that every owner will need to asses their own copies.

I am about to take this lens away on a longish trip and will shoot with it quite a bit so I am sure it will now bite me in the a*s!

 

[tashley]

Dave, out of interest, did you focus on the same point in both of these? If so, whereabouts? I agree that the 28 1.8 has odd field effects but I'd love to know where your focus was here, especially in the f5.6 shots: on my copy, had I focussed on stick-like shrub between the the trees first and second from left, at F5.6 or preferably 8, I'd have more or got everything in sharp focus at 50% on screen...

Hmmm, well after a few test shoots it is looking very disappointing for non shallow-focus use... just too bloody hard to get consistent sharpness.

I posted this on DPReview.

I have only had the chance to shoot tests twice outdoors and it is a very disappointing landscape lens if you are going for a nearly-everything-in-focus look. It is spectacular and sharp, lightweight, super close focus - about 1 to 4.5, but the field curvature is so wacky it is very hard to get anything resembling consistent "all in focus" without resorting to f11 to f13.

My 24-70 at 28mm gives marginally softer results all over, but far more predictable, consistent, and overall sharper, which was a surprise. I focus bracketed 4 or 5 distances on the one test scene at 5.6 though f11, and none were as good all over as the 24-70 was at f5.6 to f8. I needed to stop down about 1-2 stops more on the 28mm to get equivalent consistency of DOF across the frame, which of course negates any sharpnesss advantage.

Having small areas of the frame super sharp is a bit moot if large parts just adjacent are way blurry. You can see the Photozone results with the corners being sharper than the borders until f8.

Build quality seems fine - it is so lightweight it is hard to give the impression of robustness like say holding an 85 1.4D.

I can't see any evidence of decentering using on a homemade Zeiss Siemens Star Chart.

I love the shallow focus stuff, but I have the 50 1.8G and the 85 1.4G which do it even better. I can see myself sticking to either wide open, or f8 to f13, and skipping f4 to 5.6 altogether. I am not sure if I will keep it. It will take a lot of learning to master it.

I have put up full res test samples here vs the 24-70 at f5.6, f8, and f11.
28mm f1.8G field curvature - a set on Flickr

 

[Steen]

me too, still loving mine as well ...

(...) as I originally noted there are strong field effects but they can be ameliorated (for which read pretty much negated) by careful placement of the POF and they offer the possibility of great shots where the edges contain foreground and the centre contains distance (...)

:lecture: "what Tim says", once again ... here's an illustration at f/8


If you'd like to do the RAW conversion to your own taste you can download the RAW file here,
only please keep any conversion result here on the GetDPI forum 801_1606_AFS_28mm_G_at_f8.NEF

click for native size (8.3 Mb)


Nikon D800E • AF-S Nikkor 1.8/28mm G • 1/15 sec. at f/8 ISO 100 • Capture NX2 ​

 

[Fredrick]

Re: me too, still loving mine as well ...

:lecture: "what Tim says", once again ... here's an illustration at f/8


If you'd like to do the RAW conversion to your own taste you can download the RAW file here,
only please keep any conversion result here on the GetDPI forum 801_1606_AFS_28mm_G_at_f8.NEF

click for native size (8.3 Mb)


Nikon D800E • AF-S Nikkor 1.8/28mm G • 1/15 sec. at f/8 ISO 100 • Capture NX2 ​

My take on your image. Hope you don't mind

 

[Steen]

looks good, Fredrick :thumbup:

works well with the black & white conversion, as a special bonus the 'noisy' flags become less dominating

my only complaint is that the picture ended up a bit small (just kidding of course)

 

[davexl]

Dave, out of interest, did you focus on the same point in both of these? If so, whereabouts? I agree that the 28 1.8 has odd field effects but I'd love to know where your focus was here, especially in the f5.6 shots: on my copy, had I focussed on stick-like shrub between the the trees first and second from left, at F5.6 or preferably 8, I'd have more or got everything in sharp focus at 50% on screen...

Hmmm, I can't find my notes for what I focused on, and that is kinda vital data, so I reshot (just the 28mm lens) with more focus points, closer to what I knew would be peak from the first test.

All full sized samples at 28mmf1.8DOFtest2 - a set on Flickr

This time I put my red tipped rocket blower in the scene as showing where I focused - Play Where's Blowy? and look for this:

I focused using Live view at f1.8, then stopped down for a sequence of f1.8, f5.6, f8, f11, f13. I shot 6 sequences, with I think series C the best (focus on footpath just to right of sign)

Notes:

• You were pretty much spot on for the optimal focus point.
• f5.6 is enough for the closest property, but not kerb/road/tree on the right or the adjoining property(number 16)
• It never really hit me before, but f1.8 is just fine for web resolution!
• live view AF is not great for tiny objects on an inclined plane.
• It seems my frequent lens testing has induced my neighbours to sell up and leave. oke:

 

[DDudenbostel]

As I posted elsewhere, I too after examining full Rez Raw files from this lens (controlled tests at various apertures and additional random test shots), found some optical anomalies. The look reminded me of images I obtained in testing certain lenses in earlier times whereby these lenses used resin coated/molded aspherical elements that were employed to keep costs down vs. hand ground polished glass ones. The Tamron 35-105 f2.8 zoom among some others (both zooms and single focal length lenses) was a prime example. I'd often find unexpected zones of softness at f-stops in parts of the image where sharpness should have been easily achieved and no two lenses were alike. Where there was sharpness (even when the lens was shot wide open), it was quite striking.

I've sometimes have observed this optical phenomenon on certain resin coated/molded aspherical lenses where price point was a consideration, but not always was this the criteria. Shooting some of these lenses wide open minimized finding some of these OOF zones since there was limited depth of field due to open aperture used, to begin with. Conversely, stopping down to f11 with these lenses minimized the amount of glass used, thereby giving relative edge to edge sharpness. It was the apertures inbetween that were the most problematic and where these anomolies showed up.

Late Addition---->*** What I forgot to add was that not long after testing some of these early lenses with resin type aspherical elements, I spoke with an optical engineer from one of the manufacturers of such a lens and he mentioned that the mass produced aspherical of this particular type is hard to pour and get precisely "right" and that often no two were alike...but neither are they in hand ground asphericals. Difference being is the thickness varied in the resin asphericals and this often led to varied optical performance and the anomolies as described. Whether this is what is going on with the Nikon 28mm 1.8G, I honestly don't know.


Dave (D&A)

Agree. I received my copy yesterday and returned it today. No question it's a sharp lens but found inconsistent focus as mentioned above. Also I was very disappointed in the construction. My copy had a good deal of play in the focus ring and overall felt like something out of a cracker jack box. At $700 the lens is way overpriced for the mechanical quality IMO. I would question whether it would last six months under professional use. When the E series came out I thought Nikon had hit a new low in quality but they just out did themselves.

The 85 1.8 G is a but on the cheaply constructed side too but not as bad as the 28. I hate that because it seemed to be the answer to a light weight kit with high quality optics. I'm keeping the 85 and just completed an order for a 16-35 f4 which should be here next week. I assume it's better built, hopefully.

My wish list, a series of slower (f2 and 2.8) SMALL high performance lenses suitable for the D800 that are built to the old standard of AIS lenses not made of cheap plastic. AF is good but quality optics, small size and high quality construction is key.

 

[drb]

I purchased the 28 1.8G and have been doing some initial testing with my D800E. I did some tests shooting a ruler where the focus point was about 3 ft. I am not seeing much focus shift (there was a little going from f2.8 to f4), but I am having a couple of other issues and would welcome feedback. First, shooting at f1.8 with this lens the camera overexposes the scene by at least 1/2 stop. Switching to f2.8 and beyond the exposure is correct and consistent at all other apertures. Second, this lens frequently doesn't want to focus using CD focusing with Live View. It seemed to work for one series, then shooting the same test scene the next day it just refused to lock on no matter what I tried (the lens just hunts). I had a similar problem shooting some random outdoor shots as well. It will focus using PD in the viewfinder, but that's not accurate enough for this type of testing. Anybody else seen this? Any thoughts?

 

[Steen]

Hi drb, welcome aboard

I cannot replicate the overexposure at f/1.8 with my D800E and the 28mm.
On the contrary at f/1.8 I see some vignetting in the corners that go away as I stop down.

Were you in Aperture Mode when firing the test shots ?
And what were the according shutter speeds at f/1.8 and f/2.8 respectively ?

- - - - -

I have experienced the Contrast Detect focus mechanism hunting.
It seems to happen either in poor light or with a subject detail without much contrast.
In such situations I have managed to make it focus just by recomposing a slight bit so that the focus point can detect the detail and lock on it.

Worth a try, maybe it works for you too.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I purchased the 28 1.8G and have been doing some initial testing with my D800E. I did some tests shooting a ruler where the focus point was about 3 ft. I am not seeing much focus shift (there was a little going from f2.8 to f4), but I am having a couple of other issues and would welcome feedback. First, shooting at f1.8 with this lens the camera overexposes the scene by at least 1/2 stop. Switching to f2.8 and beyond the exposure is correct and consistent at all other apertures. Second, this lens frequently doesn't want to focus using CD focusing with Live View. It seemed to work for one series, then shooting the same test scene the next day it just refused to lock on no matter what I tried (the lens just hunts). I had a similar problem shooting some random outdoor shots as well. It will focus using PD in the viewfinder, but that's not accurate enough for this type of testing. Anybody else seen this? Any thoughts?

Wide open i have seen overexposure in about every lens on the planet I have tested. Its pretty normal

 

[Steen]

Tim Ashley's blog has an excellent field review (per August 10, 2012) of the AF-S Nikkor 1.8/28mm G.

Lots of full size illustrations !

 

[drb]

Hi drb, welcome aboard

I cannot replicate the overexposure at f/1.8 with my D800E and the 28mm.
On the contrary at f/1.8 I see some vignetting in the corners that go away as I stop down.

Were you in Aperture Mode when firing the test shots ?
And what were the according shutter speeds at f/1.8 and f/2.8 respectively ?

- - - - -

I have experienced the Contrast Detect focus mechanism hunting.
It seems to happen either in poor light or with a subject detail without much contrast.
In such situations I have managed to make it focus just by recomposing a slight bit so that the focus point can detect the detail and lock on it.

Worth a try, maybe it works for you too.

Yes, it was in aperture mode. I'm on the road so I don't have the exposure info with me, but definitely was overexposed. Per others maybe this is expected; I don't frequently shoot wide open. My test scene had reasonable contrast and detail. I had played around with recomposing quite a bit trying to get Live View to CD focus but it just kept hunting which is what surprised me. I'll do some more experiments when I get back, but if it won't reliably auto focus in Live View I'll probably send it back...