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Legacy 24/28mm lenses and distortion

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AristocratPhoto

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I've been hunting for an affordable 28mm to use for a architecture project I've been wanting to do. It's a just for fun thing so I'm trying to find the most cost effective option.

I'm actually looking for a lens to use on my Canon M (Why? Because my Kipon Nikon F adapter doubles as a tilt shift converter) so while AF isn't out of the question, I don't need it.

I was thinking about getting the old 28mm 3.5 but reviews tell me it's got huge field curvature and mustache distortion...(I do realize that's like, the cheapest Nikon option and I should expect that!)

Are any of the old 24 or 28mm relatively free from distortion? Third parties included.

I don't mind if its a lens I have to stop down a lot, mostly concerned about the distortion.

Thanks for any input
 
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I just had a look at my old Nikon 24/2.8 from 1971. I mounted it on a D810 and looked at building details through the viewfinder. (It is Ai-ed later on.)

To me it looked surprisingly good concerning distortion. I feel quite confident that using correcting software would take care of any problems. Generally speaking, almost all lenses except for macro lenses have some degree of distortion.
 
I bought my 24 2.8 in 1972 and it is in the bag with the Df. Landscape wise there seems to be little distortion . At close range it will barrel at the sides . It is still sharp F8 -F11. I am not sure of your preferred focal length but the 28mm 2.8 AIS resolution contrast ,color seems to be the winner. Below 24mm the choice isn't too bad distortion wise. The 15mm seems great on interiors but outsiside in the sun it can be subject to bad flare if the sun is close to the frame Shame is if it is held plumb to the subject it has VERY LITTLE distortion if not for the flare it would be in a lot of people's bags. To make this long story short , in my humble amateur opinion Nikkor 28 mm F2.8 AIS is worth serious consideration for a Nikon Fx camera. As far as your intended use goes ,forgive me but I haven't the slightest idea. Good luck . Mike S.
 
Just doing some tilt-shift photos of some historical buildings.

I Like 28mm on FF but I'll be on crop so I was thinking about 24mm. Not quite the same but the 15 is a little too much.
 
I've had this for about a year now and its a gem of a lens. Picked it up used but in new condition or $89. Series E was Nikon's econoline in the 80's. Econo on build but not optics. What's funny is that it's build is on par with many modern lenses. But the AF ring has a solid end rack to rack. And it's not much bigger than what would be considered a pancake lens. It's MF, but it's one of my favorite walk around lenses. Very little distortion.
 
Looking strictly at distortion, one of the 24mm f/2.8's is probably the best of the "affordable" legacy wide Nikkors. It has a slight-to-moderate amount of barrel distortion on a DX camera and it's fairly easy to correct. (That's less true for FX). But for an architecture project, you may find that the light falloff (soft vignetting) of this nearly 40-year old design is as troublesome as distortion.

All of the 28mm f/2.8 designs exhibit a moderate amount of barrel distortion. In my opinion, the 28mm f/2.8 AI-s is the best of these in overall. The 28mm f/2's exhibit a similar amount of distortion as well.

While I can't call it "affordable," and it's only arguably a "legacy" lens, on DX the 17-35mm f/2.8D exhibits only a small amount of barrel distortion at 24mm and an even smaller amount of pincushion distortion at 28mm.
 
AristocratPhoto said:
Seeing good things about the 28...and the price is right.
Click to expand...
"Legacy" 28mm' f/2.8's come in four different optical formula's. As a result, they sell at a wide range of prices. The 28mm f/2.8 AI-s is typically the most expensive and the 28mm f/2.8 Series E the least expensive.

Just before I purchased my D200, I looked at the options and decided to pick a Sigma 28mm f/1.8 EX over all of them. Had I to do it over again, I probably would have gone with a manual focus 28mm f/2 AI-s.
 
No distortion (as in zero), very little fringing and great sharpness on my 36mp sensor.

Besides that it is small, well built and super close focusing. Very fun lens to work with.
 
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AristocratPhoto said:
I've been hunting for an affordable 28mm to use for a architecture project I've been wanting to do. It's a just for fun thing so I'm trying to find the most cost effective option.

I'm actually looking for a lens to use on my Canon M (Why? Because my Kipon Nikon F adapter doubles as a tilt shift converter) so while AF isn't out of the question, I don't need it.

I was thinking about getting the old 28mm 3.5 but reviews tell me it's got huge field curvature and mustache distortion...(I do realize that's like, the cheapest Nikon option and I should expect that!)

Are any of the old 24 or 28mm relatively free from distortion? Third parties included.

I don't mind if its a lens I have to stop down a lot, mostly concerned about the distortion.

Thanks for any input
Click to expand...
What are you planning on shooting that distortion is most important? i have many old lenses... ive made some of my best pictures with old lenses but ive not needed to care about distortion...infact i prefer a lens that hasnt had its natural distortion flattened out. These below are all an ancient 24mm 2.8:



























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