very sharp center performance; very well built; very quick AF; very compact; great angle of view; great PJ lens; able to use regular filters in popular (77mm) without vignetting.

flares easily without shade; very expensive; light focus ring when used manually; could even be a little smaller.

i bought this lens with low expectations because of its poor reputation. however, i needed the focal length for a particular assignment, and the test shots that i made in the store were quite promising, so i took the plunge. i have been VERY pleasantly surprised!! the lens is very sharp, sharper than the 20mm f2.8 in the center, with about equivalent performace at the edges (although it seems to improve a little more when stopped down than the 20mm). this is quite good, because the 18mm really does have a noticably wider angle of view than the 20mm. flaring is about average for a wideangle, and tamed well by the nicely designed and well-flocked shade. the build quality is really excellent, a true professional product. the 20mm was always a flimsy piece of crap; this is a major step up. the lens really shines as an effective 28mm on nikon's digital cameras. the amazing center sharpness really shows, and the edge performance becomes irrelevant because the sensor crops the edges. as an effective 28mm on my d2, my results looks almost as sharp as the 28mm f2.8 ais on film -- and that is very high praise. this is a wonderful, well-built and versatile lens. truly a case where mr rockwell et al have gottne it clearly wrong. try it for yourself and make up your own mind.

Customer Service

n/a (so far) but nikon is never very good in that regard.

Similar Products Used:

nikon 20mm; nikon 24mm; nikon 28mm; russar 20mm; 47mm super angulon on 6x9 horseman; hasselblad swc/m.

Fairly light weight combined with solid build

Prone to flare

I use this on my D100 for QTVR panoramas and also close-range motorcross shots (inside of bends etc). Solid build, good image quality though I don't think it's quite as sharp as my Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 Use of hood is pretty much mandatory due to flare but what can you expect when you go this wide?

Similar Products Used:

24-85mm f3.5-4.5Nikkor AF-S 80-200mm f/2.8 IF ED Nikkor AF-D

Looks nice !!! The outlook for lens case, surface finish and lens hood really good designed. The lens constriction is very solid too, give higher quality feeling than other nikon plastic case prime wide lenses. Colour saturation is the best. Distortion is good controlled, but still visible since it is almost a super wide lens.

Expensive compared with 20/2.8 and 18-35mm zoom, its sharpness nearby edges falls more significantly than 18-35mm zoom at the same aperature. It is quite unacceptable for a prime lenses.

Actually I already have 18-35mm zoom, but I still buy this lens coz I expect a better optical quality. Yes, it is in terms of colour saturation, really good. However, their sharpness is almost the same or 18mm prime is a little bit less sharper than the zoom lens.

Superb build and a well corrected formula. Sharpness and contrast is very high.

Lens hood for this lens is not as convenient as my 18-35 but this is nit-picking.

It is very expensive and a 20mmf2.8 is a better buy, but this lens is hugh on picture quality under all conditions.

Customer Service

None

Similar Products Used:

20mmAFD
18-35AFD

Great looking (nikons pro textured look) lens, edge to edge sharpness is real good (not excellent like 20mm Nikkor) but for Ultrawide lens is as good as it gets. Fast lens, focuses fast also.
You are able to put a filter in front which is great (77mm) no vignetting. Very good flare control.

Front element is big, hard to fit into camera bag lens compartment but you can. expensive.
I would have liked a little more sharper like my 20mm but its fine.

It is a good choice, but if you want ultimate sharpness and dont mind narrower field of view,go for the 20mm. nikkor.

Customer Service

not used.

Similar Products Used:

16mm fish eye,20mm, 24mm all nikkors. Also used 14mm sigma (piece of crap), don't bother buying ultrawide lenses other than nikon's you will regret it !