Nikon 28mm f/1.8G lens now shipping

By [NR] admin | Published: May 23, 2012

The new Nikkor 28mm f/1.8G lens is now shipping in several European countries and the US.

Amazon has already some in stock from third party resellers with a $100 premium.

This entry was posted in Nikon Lenses and tagged Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.8G lens. Bookmark the permalink. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

Hom Thogan

First! Seriously though, if I didn’t already have a 24G, I would jump on this little guy!
28 f/1.8g

From some of the reviews I have read, it seems that the f/1.8g’s are working better with the D800 than the more expensive f/1.4’s.
- inginerul
  
  Working better as in what ? There is no 28 1.4, so this makes me think that this 28 might be better than the 24 1.4, which would be no surprise, since the 28 mm isn’t as hard to make (28 and 1.8).
  
  If you mean that it’s better that the old 28 1.4, it’s no wonder, the old one has 2/3 if a stop more light and is a pretty old design already.
  - inginerul
    
    I need a new 35 f/2 for Full-Frame !!! The D version is good only from 2.5-2.8 onwards.
    - Jim
      
      Then what will a new f2 improve for you? Get the 1.4 and use at f2.
      - MikeV
        
        Not everyone can justify the 1500+ price tag that comes along with the 35 1.4.
        
        chance
        
        True, but if nikon makes a lens that is sharper at a wider range of apertures, you can bet that it’s going to be more expensive.
        
        Matt_XVI
        
        FYI, I just bought the 35mm f/1.4 a couple of weeks ago and it is definitely worth the price. I can’t believe the images I’ve gotten out of it.
        
        Stefan
        
        If you are cheap .. the 35mm F1.8G is a DX lens but works in FX mode too 😉
        
        It obviously does have a bigger corner falloff used like this – but if you only use it for shooting at nights then it’s practically a non-issue and not visible.
        
        Saves me from having to buy this 28mm prime.
    - Micah
      
      Maybe you got a bad copy? At least on my D700 and D7000, it’s stunning wide open.
      - Sean
        
        Hmmm, the wide open shots from my 35mm f/2 look great on the camera LCD but when I get them into the computer I’m always disappointed. Stunning is definitely not a word I’d use. I notice a major lack of contrast, saturation, & sharpness, plus a displeasing bokeh (compared to some of my other lenses). It’s to bad because I love shallow DOF shots in this focal length and am not ready to drop the bucks for the 1.4
        
        Micah
        
        Raw or jpeg? There’s field curvature, but when you nail focus, it’s actually pretty sharp into the corners. I found that in the light where you need it, f2 always looks good. In daylight, there can be some LoCA. But that seems to be cleared up by the latest ACR/LR.
        
        Hmm. Maybe it’s time to do reviews of all my primes.
        
        RussB
        
        I’m with Sean. The 35 f/2 is a doggy. Sold mine lonnnnnnnnng ago.
        
        Micah
        
        Sorry, I couldn’t help myself from posting…
        
        http://blog.micahmedia.com/?p=289
        
        What makes it a “dog” exactly? Maybe you did get a dog. If so, you missed out on good lens, lonnnnnnnnng ago.
    - Sam
      
      I also need a 35mm 1.8 or 2.0 G for Full Frame!!! the 1.4 I way too expensive!
      - piahi
        
        i used the 35mm f1.8G DX lens in full frame mode on a D800E… there was surprisingly little vignetting. at the wider aperture settings the vignetting was pretty diffuse and only when stopped down a lot (f11 and beyond) did distinctly dark, well-defined corners appear. i was pleasantly surprised, and i’d use the 35/1.8G DX lens on an FX camera for wide-aperture people pictures. 35/1.4G FX would be better, of course, but it’s over 8x the cost.
        
        sloma_p
        
        +1
        
        It’s crazy good on FX – yeah, you’ve got dark corners @1.8-2.5, but the way it draws – magic!
      - Joel C
        
        I bought my 35 1.4 a year ago for $1600. I could sell it for $1600 now and I’ve used it for a year, so it’s been pretty much cost neutral if inflation is cancelled out by use..
        
        allen23
        
        why would anyone wants to buy a 2nd hand lens for the full price? Mate you must be a very good sales man
    - MikeV
      
      Nikon made the 28 1.8g, and updated the 85 1.8 and the 50 1.8 which are sharper wide open than the “D’s” and work on FX & DX. However they made the 35 1.8 a dx only lens ??? (i know it will work on fx but it distorts) why Nikon why. They shouldn’t have made a 35 1.8 dx lens
      - saas
        
        It doesnt work on FX, I used to own one and used it on my D700. Yes, there was little or no vignetting at some apertures and some focus distances, but at others there was sheds load of it. It is an FX lens in the same way that turning your socks on the other side makes them clean.
      - Micah
        
        …it’ll come soon, I’m sure.
        
        And I agree–I love 35mm on full frame. Seriously though, it’d have to be insanely good to make me dump my 35/2. Although I wouldn’t mind something the same size with weather seals.
    - tengris
      
      > I also need a 35mm 1.8 or 2.0 G for Full Frame!!!
      
      The Samyang AE 35mm f/1.4 is good at f/1.4, very good at f/2 and f/22 and excellent from f/2.8 to f/16. Head to head comparison with the AF-S 50mm f/1.4G is a tied game. The limitations you have to consider are big size and weight, manual focus (despite it is registered as “AF 35mm f/1.4D” in the EXIF data) and internal reflections if direct sun is slightly outside the frame corners. There is a slight “glow” around bright objects at f/1.4, but that’s gone at f/2. I can’t see any visible falloff in resulution in the edges and corners of the FX frame.
      
      I don’t like the other Samyang lenses that much, but this one really is worth the price.
- Sahaja
  
  @inginerul
  On the D800 this reviewer seems to find the 85mm 1.8 generally better than the 85mm 1.4
  http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/05/07/lens-review-the-nikon-af-s-851-4-g/
  
  Don’t know if the same sort of thing will apply to wide angle lenses.
mark

Any MTFs? What about posting some links to some reviews?
- Mark
  
  http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/singlefocal/wide/af-s_28mmf_18g/index.htm
  
  Mark
David H.

……just add it to my waiting list to go with my D800 …waiting….!

😉
Bobby

I will definitly get one!

A 35mm 1.8 FF would be a must!!!
David

Indeed – had an email from my local shop to say that they expect my pre-ordered one in on Friday morning, so I’ll get to play with it at lunchtime! I’ll post some comments on handling (on a D7000) then.
- David
  
  It ended up coming in today, Thursday.
  
  Initial thoughts: Amazingly light, compared to what one would expect. (feels pretty plastic-y, though)
  
  Most of it is focus ring, which makes it surprisingly awkward to hold without jogging the focus (but a friend who does all his photography with MF said that he liked the feel of the ring). Focus is fast enough (not blazing, but that’s not needed for a wide-angle).
  
  Focus breathing is a real problem – it’s a lot wider in terms of field of view at infinity than it is at closest focus. I can’t really compare it directly, but the scale of the breathing is something like (assuming true 28mm at infinity), maybe 32mm at closest focus.
  
  There is a little bit of CA in RAW (the usual tiny bit on twigs in the corners), gone in JPG (and I assume that it will be correctable in lightroom when the correct profile comes out). I failed to take any pictures to look at the bokeh, I’m afraid.
  
  The Nano coating really works – I failed to get any flare unless I was shooting directly into the sun and stopped down (i.e. sun fully in the frame; I was aiming for a sunstar…), and the colours are nice and punchy.
  - David
    
    Oh, and it’s nice and sharp, even at f/1.8 (on D7000, so same pixel density as D800 at the centre; I can’t comment about the edges of the FX frame)
Dweeb

Just bring out an updated 28 2.8. The nineties are over Nikon.
- Micah
  
  This IS a 28mm/2.8
  
  …it just happens to come with an extra stop and a third at no extra charge. If you don’t like 1.8 or 2, don’t use them. Problem solved.
  - EnPassant
    
    nikonusa.com gives the price $ 699.95 for 28/1.8 G and $ 289.95 for the 28/2.8 D.
    No extra charge? What do you call the $ 410.00 price difference?
    Check the facts before you write!
    Be sure that Nikon charge very well for EVERY extra third stop!
    - Micah
      
      Do you know how old the 28/2.8D is? A cursory search says about 1994. That’s called inflation.
      
      Let’s compare like for like: 50/1.4D sells for $300 and the 50/1.4G has an MSRP of $582.
      
      Using that example, if a new 28/2.8D sells for $280, a new 28/2.8 should sell for a little under $560.
      
      If I had a choice between buying a 2.8 lens for $560 or a 1.8 lens for $700, I’d pick the 1.8 in a heartbeat.
      
      If I had the choice between trying to market a 2.8 or a 1.8 lens when all my (fabulously sharp) zooms are 2.8, I’d forget about the 2.8 lens.
      
      Sorta like the 300/4, I think a 28mm/2.8 is a lens that there’s just no market for right now.
      - EnPassant
        
        Where are you shopping? At least use the same source for both lenses you compare!
        Adorama sells the 50/1.4 D for $ 340 and the 50/1.4 G for $ 460, a $ 120 difference.
        
        Therefore a 28/2.8 G would propably sell for $ 400. Still a $ 300 difference which I would call substantial.
        
        You may of course be loaded with cash and still prefer the 1.8 lens for your photography.
        But when the price, size and weight is right there will also be a market for a slower lens.
        
        Nikon don’t need to hurry release new lenses they already have in their program!
        
        First they had to fill the missing “holes”, fast wide angle lenses and AF-S 50 and 85 mm lenses that also can be used on their AF-S only DX cameras.
        Next we will propably see affordable FX standard and wideangle zooms. After that Nikon will start replacing other old FX primes as well. But in which order only Nikon knows. It will anyway for sure take several years.
        
        Micah
        
        Sells for ≠ MSRP.
        
        $699 is MSRP for the 28/1.8, which is not even in good stock most places. When it has been in stock and sold for a while, the price will drop.
        
        When the 50/1.4G was new, it sold for MSRP–in some cases HIGHER than MSRP. So did the 28/2.8 when it came out. But that was like 1994. Things change–it’s called inflation. Dollars are worth less (especially today!)
        
        I stand by what I said: in context of time and tech, this is a 28/2.8 for the SAME price with an extra 1.333 stops for almost free. AND it’s optically superior, so even if they came out today, it SHOULD be more expensive, since it’s a better lens.
        
        I’m not rich, but I’m realistic. And I make money from the gear. Any improvement in IQ will pay for itself in higher quality output or time saved in post. If your time isn’t worth anything, or quality is meaningless to you, you don’t need to get all snarky that someone who spends more for something better is rich. If you don’t know how to cook and can’t appreciate it GTFO the kitchen.
        
        Cheers.
BryanL

Can’t wait to get this lense along with my 50,35,and 85 1.8’s…they are all so sharp on my D7000…..it hard to make out the diffence in looks of pics compared to the 1.4’s…28 on dx though is gonna be close to my 35 1.8….If only they could make a 14 or 10 1.8..g…wouldn’t that make sense??? It sell like hot cakes….
- Ralph
  
  Aren’t all reasonable lenses sharp on a DX camera? Certainly I’d expect a prime to be, your only using the lenses sweet spot and cropping the problem areas.
  - Micah
    
    No, they aren’t all sharp on DX. And no, lenses are not one bit reasonable. Higher resolution sensors require higher resolution lenses. Well, not require, but they benefit from them.
RussB

Like others I’ve been surprised the promise of these 1.8s. I have the 85 1.8G on my D800 and it’s stunning. This made me snap up the 28 and it’s shipping to me today for delivery tomorrow. Can’t wait…

My prediction: the 28 will cause a rift in the Nikon continuum because I have a feeling it’s going to strongly challenge the relevance of the 24 and 35 1.4 leaving them to deliver only very specialist tasks. The 28 looks like a fantastic package, it looks far from being a second tier lens with its Nano coat and aspherical elements I reckon it’s going to be a massive seller and made for a body like the D800 and forthcoming D600 too no doubt.
- Tarik M.
  
  Hey Russ,
  I really like your work! I’m looking forward to go your way “as an experiment and inspiration”. Besides the importance of lenses choice that is very obvious (tilt and shift and so on) is it really necessary to go for a D800 for that type of work – I know you came from D700 – or is it possible to go for D4 as a main body for the kind of landscaping you do and still have the possibility to do reportage work (my actual main work).
  In two words what would bring the D800 compared to D4 for the kind of work you do?
  
  Thanks in advance.
  - RussB
    
    A D4 is total overkill for landscape work – it’s the Olympic Athlete of the photography world; it would be like using Usain Bolt to take part in a Marathon, or something. You know what I mean. Mr Bolt would no doubt finish the course but he wouldn’t excel at it.
    
    Maybe that’s an unfair analogy though. I decided to keep my D700 for now so I’m running with the D700 & D800. I have good reasons for this – the D800 will handle the vast landscapes where high detail, precision and DR is everything at ISO100. The D800 couldn’t be any better suited to my needs in this respect, I pretty much did somersaults on my desk when I saw the specs being revealed on here because I knew I was finally approaching Medium Format territory without Medium Format prices; the D800 is a massive game changer. I’m keeping the D700 for family shots, as a abused travel companion and to shoot as a second body to the odd event and wedding, perfect for those means because it has a bit more speed, with great higher ISO performance without compromising quality. I’m kind of hoping the D600 might do this really but I’m less than convinced by its lower end market positioning…
    
    Having said all of this…..
    
    With the D4 coming onto the market I’ve even considered picking up a second user D3S to replace the D700 because of its amazing low light performance and Olympic sprinter capabilities beyond the D700 which would seem to make an amazing combination with my D800. And, I know two professional landscape photographers who use the D3S routinely as their main camera for landscape work and turn out amazing images.
    
    So the long answer to your question is yes, of course the D4 can turn out landscape, but I know that even if I had the two with the D800 I know I would be reaching for the D800 over and over because there would be no point in the D800 otherwise – it’s almost custom made for landscape.
JD

Since I received my D800 today (wheee!), maybe I should celerbrate by getting this one as a friend for the D800? 🙂
DimaK

Just picked mine up in here in Baltimore. It looks and feels very very cheap, like 18-55mm. BUT very fist impressions about the IQ are very good. It is sharp at 1.8 on D800. Lots of CA, like 35 1.4, but that is expected. Will have to play with it more, but it will be a winner for many people!
FanBoy

Just called B&H, Adorama and Roberts. None of them have received any from Nikon yet. Those that are selling must have imported version.
- DimaK
  
  You are not correct about that 🙂
- Jmin
  
  Nope, not correct, gmcamera has a couple available:
  
  http://www.gmcamera.com/Nikon-AF-S-NIKKOR-28mm-1-8G/dp/B007VGGIRK
  
  And others here have already purchased them, too.
  - J Fan
    
    Local stores seem to have new gear in way before the big boys. At my local store in WA, they even had an extra 28 f/1.8 in stock and a whole slew of D800/D800Es ready for customers (all spoken for on the body, however, but their wait list is mostly drained).
  - Crystal
    
    I ordered mine from Green Mountain Camera and it shipped yesterday!
Roberto

I need 24 e f/2.0 AF-s G
Scott M

Adm:
Just saw over on Nikonians.org that Best Buy wasn’t taking any more D800 orders because Nikon stopping production for left focus issue recalibration? Rumors are your area, any truth to any of this? We know Nikon hates to admit anything.
- [NR] admin
  
  I seriously doubt that Nikon will stop the D800 production.
- Get a real site bro
  
  Nikonians sucks. You PAY for 10 year old site design?! LOL
  - Geoff_K
    
    I pay for the silver membership. Maybe $25 is alot to you. /shrugs
    - It’s for suckers
      
      There’s a lot (it’s two words by the way) of free forums that are way better than nikonians. You were suckered bro.
      - Rudi
        
        Yup! Money making machine. People are bringing their
        Money for nothing! Really cool…
jdub

Fairly extensive video review, including a “sniff test”, and links to download full-res samples from the d4 and d3200:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hffe8D-Xqr8
- RussB
  
  Thanks for the link. Looks like it smells delicious. Will be giving mine the lick test later today 🙂
  - jdub
    
    Yeah, I thought he was just joking, but apparently and extensive sniff test is part of his standard evaluation. If you could, please hit up some high contract shots and let us know what you think of the CA. I was unhappy with the 24mm 1.4g due to the lousy CA, and returned it.
    
    I’m also wondering how well dxo corrects for CA in their lens profiles, since I’ve switched to that since testing the 24mm.
    
    Thanks!
  - Rudi
    
    LOL!!
- Samas
  
  Did he really say “Chromatic “”Abravations””” @ 7:46? Btw – that sniff test was funny! Jokes apart, I got this lens today. It brings out colors awesome on my D800. 🙂
Ralph

I think the cost difference is mainly from the AF-s factor, for some reason Nikon seem to think that’s worth a stack extra. A modern 28f2.8 with af-s would also be more expensive than the D version. I think D versions are discounted because they don’t work on a lot of cameras.
Brandon

Just got an email from Amazon that mine should arrive May 31st. Pre-ordered mine the night it was announced. Not sure if I’m in the first batch or not.
- Jan
  
  The 28mm 1.8 G is in stock at my local store, looked at one yesterday.
  Again, your local dealer is certainly a better option than those large vendors, learned that the hard way.
FanBoy

So no one is going to buy 24 1.4G and 35 1.4G from now on? Bullshit!
Abraham

Oh, so do people still fall for these “Made in China” lenses?, I would feel very bad about buying low quaility lenses…, but on the other hand I still have a brain.

Nikon 28mm f/1.8G lens now shipping

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