Nikon 24mm f/1.4G is a must-have

Even though it continues to misfocus regularly (explored in my review in DAP), the more I use the Nikon 24/1.4G the more I like it. It’s a stunning lens for wide aperture landscapes.

It’s beyond expensive at about $2200 (if you can even find one for sale), but it’s Nikon’s best-ever wide angel lens, truly an inspired design, and perhaps even the world’s best. Sic. Uh huh, even the Leica 24mm f/1.4 Summilux-M-ASPH as good as it is isn’t necessarily a better lens when used on the M9, especially with the wonderful color of the D3x, and the eminently useful nearly flat field of the Nikon 24/1.4G, and superior control of color aberrations.

Shoot this sucker wide open, and so long as you focus it right, it’s stunning. A perfect ying/yang between in focus and out of focus. It’s a masterpiece of design.

Screw zooms, if you want a wide, get this lens and use it. At f/1.4 and f/2 and elsewhere.

Lots of recent examples with the 24/1.4G can be found in my Mini guide to wide aperture landscape photography.