The AF-S Nikon 24mm f/1.4G ED (Price: 1,999.95) is a wide-angle fast lens designed for Nikon SLRs. This prime is the longest f/1.4 in the Nikkor family. It can focus very close, allowing you to capture images with shallow depth of field. It's an excellent choice if you are looking for fast, wide-angle lenses, however, this lens comes at a high price.
The AF-S Nikkor 24-mm f/1.8G ED is a great alternative, but it comes at a higher price. The Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG HSMA Art is a great alternative to the f/1.4 aperture. It costs $848.00 on Amazon and earns Editors' Choice points for its combination of price and performance.
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Design
Nikkor 24mm (Amazon: $1,996.95). It measures approximately 3.5x3.3inches (HD), weights around 1.4lbs and can support 77mm front filters. Black polycarbonate barrel with gold accents is used. It has a rubberized manual ring that controls the focus and one toggle switch to turn off or on the autofocus system. An included lens hood with reversible design is available. A rubber gasket surrounds the metal mount, making it possible to use the lens even in adverse weather conditions.
The top of the barrel has a cutout window that shows you the distance to focus in meters and feet. It's accompanied by a depth of field scale that shows you how large your area of focus is when shooting at f/11 to f/16—it's a pretty narrow scale, but it's useful when focusing at longer distances. The lens isn't stabilized, but that's not a surprise—stabilization isn't common or expected in this type of lens.
For close focus, the distance scale doesn't work well. The 24mm can lock onto subjects as close as 9.8 inches—measured from the camera sensor—so you can get up close and personal. This allows you to photograph both the subject and background, which can be blurred if shooting at large apertures.
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Image quality
Imatest was used to verify the sharpness when the lens is paired with the 36-megapixel Nikon D810 ($1,889.00 Amazon). The lens barely reaches the 2,200 line per picture height that we expect from high-resolution cameras like the D810 at f/1.4. This is only by 16 lines. The edges are soft, with a drop of around 1,900 lines.
Image quality at f/2 improves dramatically, reaching 2,723 lines. While edges still trail the center in quality, they appear crisp at 2,267 lines. The average score and the edge scores increase at f/2.8 (3.227 lines), and f/4 (3.514 lines, respectively).
At narrower apertures the periphery is within about 100 lines of the average score. Average scores at f/5.6 (3.680 lines), F/8 (3.920 lines) and F/11 (3.799 lines) are strong. Clearance drops at f/16 (31,178 lines), so avoid using f-stops lower than f/11.
Also tested with the D810 was the 24mm f/1.8. It is sharper at both f/2 (2.930 lines) as well as f/2.8 (3.371 lines). However, there are very few differences in sharpness when using narrower apertures. The Sigma lens was tested on the Canon 6D (20-megapixel) at Amazon.
This camera has a lower resolution so it is not possible to compare the results. The Sigma lens scores at f/1.4 on a 20-megapixel sensor (2,360 lines) better than the Nikkor 24-mm f/1.4G on a 36-megapixel.
About 2.5 percent barrel distortion is visible on the Nikkor 24-mm f/1.4G. When the lens is used, lines that appear straight actually have an outward curve. You can easily correct this by using Lightroom's built-in profile ($9.99/Month Adobe). If you shoot Raw or with in-camera distortion correction (if you choose to shoot JPG).
Wide apertures make the corners appear darker than the centers. I used ExpoDisc for a gray flat image. Then, I ran test images through Imatest’s Uniformity program. The corners are 3 stops behind the center at f/1.4 (-3EV). At f/2 the deficit drops to about -1.7EV and at f/4 it is around -0.9EV. The difference in field conditions is negligible beyond that.
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Conclusions
Although the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-mm f/1.4G ED is a more expensive lens, it's still a great choice for f/1.4 wide angle prime lenses. Although it isn't sharp at f/1.4, the lens improves noticeably when you slow down a little. This lens delivers close focus capabilities that are essential for wide-angle lenses. Although it's an excellent performer, there are better options.
Although it doesn't capture as much light as the Nikkor 24-mm F/1.8G EED, it is sharper with wider apertures. It also costs significantly less. The Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG HG HSM Art is our Editor's Choice and a superior overall performer. Although some people may be hesitant to use third-party lenses on their cameras, Sigma's latest offerings are excellent.