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Nikkor 24/1.4 or PC-E 24/3.5 for landscapes on D3x?

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AlexLF

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I mostly shoot landscapes and this year I want to do this with my D3x (and not LF). So I'm looking at two of the sharpest wide-angle lens available from Nikon (I think) - 24/1.4 and PC-E 24/3.5. No worries about weight after LF. Does anybody has an idea which one is sharpest?

And I print landscapes up to 60x80 cm (20x30").
 
Also consider, for around the same price, the 14-24 is probably more versatile.
AlexLF said:
I mostly shoot landscapes and this year I want to do this with my D3x (and not LF). So I'm looking at two of the sharpest wide-angle lens available from Nikon (I think) - 24/1.4 and PC-E 24/3.5. No worries about weight after LF. Does anybody has an idea which one is sharpest?

And I print landscapes up to 60x80 cm (20x30").
Click to expand...
 
AlexLF said:
I mostly shoot landscapes and this year I want to do this with my D3x (and not LF). So I'm looking at two of the sharpest wide-angle lens available from Nikon (I think)
Click to expand...
If you intend to use a WA for landscapes, you should consider also the Zeiss ZF 21/2.8 over the 24/1.4.
The 24 PC has its own advantages, due to tilt and shift.

I guess you know that these features are very useful in landscape photography (to those who are not familiar, I suggest reading http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/tilt-shift-lenses2.htm and http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/tilt-shift-lenses1.htm ).

I have used both 24 PC-E and 85 PC to get 20+ Mpix files with my 12 Mpix DX camera (D300). I used shift and stitching in CS4.

This way I could obtain a file similar (in terms of pixel count) to a D3X file. However, I noted that the 24 PC-E has some tendency to show CA at the borders when shifted. Also border sharpness decreases when shifted (note that my experience was on DX). The 85 PC performs better, probably due to its easier/simpler design.

In conclusion, if you need Tilt & Shift capabilities, and/or you wish to use stitching in a simple way, the 24 PC-E is the lens for you. If you need a world class WA for landscapes, then the Zeiss ZF/ZF.2 21/2.8 represents the best WA ever produced for 24x36 SLRs (digital or not). It's cheaper than AFS 24/1.4 (see https://photo-shop.zeiss.com/epages/cz.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectID=5719321&Locale=en_GB ).

Finally, if you need a fast WA, well the 24/1.4 is the tool you have to use. At present time, I've not seen any clear indication about the 24/1.4 performance in landscape photography. Most of the files you can see in the web show reportage/street pictures.

Best,

Riccardo
 
I use the 24 PCE, the 14-24 and now I took the 24 f1:1,4.

In my opinion these 3 lens are all fantastic but each has a different use.

The 24 PCE is absolutely useful lens in architectural jobs and also for landscape, it's not the best lens for reportage or portraits.

The 14-24 is a must in reportage and in interiors architectural jobs. (for reportage the new 16-35 which i am testing wright now should be even better due to it's focal range).

The 24 f 1:1,4 it's a fantastic lens for certain kind of portraits in low light due to the possibility to have a large field of view with a shallow DOF at the same time.

I am also very interested in using this new lens for video.

This doesn't mean that you can't use one of these lens to do different thing but if wan't to choose only one lens you should choose the one more near to your kind of use.

I have not compare all 3 (or 4) with my D3X yet under the sharpness point of view but I am surprised from the sharpness of the new 24 f 1:1,4 not only at the maximum aperture but even in landscape photography at f8.

ciao

Lorenzo
 
AlexLF said:
I mostly shoot landscapes and this year I want to do this with my D3x (and not LF). So I'm looking at two of the sharpest wide-angle lens available from Nikon (I think) - 24/1.4 and PC-E 24/3.5. No worries about weight after LF. Does anybody has an idea which one is sharpest?

And I print landscapes up to 60x80 cm (20x30").
Click to expand...
 
Take a close look at the new 16 35VR as it is very sharp from f5.6 to F13 and is just an excellent landscape lens, and accepts filters as I lke using CP's for my landscape shots. Here is an example. No pp sharpening or distortion correction done, just in camera sharpening set at 8. Dave
D700 f8 ISO 200 1/320th @ 16mm



--
Visit my gallery at http://www.poperotzy.smugmug.com

 
Wow, that's crisp. Look like you nailed the WB also!
 
AlexLF said:
I mostly shoot landscapes and this year I want to do this with my D3x (and not LF). So I'm looking at two of the sharpest wide-angle lens available from Nikon (I think) - 24/1.4 and PC-E 24/3.5. No worries about weight after LF. Does anybody has an idea which one is sharpest?
Click to expand...
I don't own the 24 1.4 so can't comment on which is sharper. But the PC-E is plenty sharp and the stitching means it'll shoot as wide as a 16 mm when needed without rotating the camera. And how often will you shoot landscapes at 1.4? This is the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind (sorry, couldn't resisit). dave
 
I'd go with the PC-E.

I've got both, 14-24 and 24 PC-E and for landscapes, I mostly use the latter. If and when 24mm is not wide enough, I stitch panoramas using the shift version. When fully shifted L and R (or up and down), I get a FOV similar to a 16mm lens.

--

Robert Capa said 'you can never get close enough'. Well, he did.... He also often visited my daily photoblog at http://logatec.blogspot.com/
 
Hi,

I have the 14-24 and 24 PCE. The 14-24 is really great but the 24 PCE just gives you more possibilities.

Real life shifting examples:
  • For example when you don't want the horizon in the middle
  • When your own shadow is in the picture
  • When you want to avoid falling lines
Tilting:
  • Shooting from high level and you want to focus the whole coast line and not just a part of it
  • In general increase DOF without going to extreme aperture levels
With the 14-24 you have too often too much foreground or falling lines when not having the lens level. None the less it is an awesome lens and my best landscape pictures are done with it so far...but I just got the 24 PCE 2 weeks ago and have the 14-24 over a year already.

--
Visit http://www.voider.net
 
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