Lens review Nikon AF-S 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 DXG ED SWM IF Aspherical
25
SPECS
way to f/11. This is not an uncommon characteristic, and most zooms tend to be less sharp at the longer end with edge sharpness often getting more badly affected. In this case, it is the Nikon’s only notable weakness. Peak resolution in the MTF 20% test measured 111 lines-per-mm, at 10mm f/5.6 in the centre – not at all bad, but a little lower than some. Verdict The Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 is a super little lens, with the broadest range of any APS-C super-wide. Optical performance is high, rating Very Good to Excellent right through the most useful range. Even though it’s not quite the sharpest lens of this type, in practice you’d be hard pressed to notice it. That is, all except edge sharpness at 24mm which doesn’t really get going until f/8. Really the only fly in the ointment is the rather high price.
Nikon launched this 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 DX super-wide in 2009, and it sits alongside the very similar Nikon 12-24mm f/4 DX that predates it by several years. The newer lens has several advantages, with a useful extra couple of millimetres at the wide end, while not giving away anything much on the maximum aperture. It’s also slightly sharper, a bit smaller and lighter, and a lot cheaper. On the important business of optical performance, this Nikon does very well. It gets off to a great start in the centre at maximum aperture, at all focal lengths – comfortably above the Excellent line. This is held until f/8-11, before diffraction starts to become intrusive, pushing sharpness down to Very Good. Edge sharpness naturally follows a little behind the centre, never quite reaching Excellent levels although very close to it at mid range apertures. The one area of exception is edge sharpness at 24mm that lags noticeably, playing catch up all the
PRICE £640 CONTACT nikon.co.uk
FORMAT APS-C 1.5x OPTICAL DESIGN 14 elements in 9 groups GLASS TYPES 2x ED, 3x aspherical APERTURE RANGE
f/3.5-4.5 to f/22 DIAPHRAGM
7 rounded blades ANGLE OF VIEW APS-C (diagonally) 109° to 61°
MINIMUMFOCUS 0.24m (from sensor) MAXREPRODUCTION RATIO 1:5
AUTOFOCUS Ultrasonic SWM
MANUAL FOCUS Full-time override FILTER SIZE 77mm non-rotating WEATHER SEALED No (mount gasket) DOF SCALE No DIMENSIONS (DXL) 83x87mm (extending +8mm) WEIGHT 460g ACCESSORIES Hood and soft case FITTINGS Nikon only
%MTFat36lines-per-mm(APS-C)
Howitrates
Centre 76+ 34+ 74+ 46+ 67+ 55+ 61+ 59+ 55+ 53 f/4.5 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 76 34 74 46 67 55 61 59 55 53
71+ 54+ 74+ 65+ 70+ 66+ 66+ 62+ 59+ 54 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 71 54 74 65 70 66 66 62 59 54
76+ 57+ 77+ 59+ 76+ 64+ 74+ 63+ 70+ 59+ 63+ 49 f/3.5 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 76 57 77 59 76 64 74 63 70 59 63 49
Sharpness10mm 100
15mm 100
24mm 100
Edge
FEATURES
23/25
Winning 2.4x zoom range matches broadest in this class for maximum versatility HANDLING Compact and light, well made, smooth operation and with excellent ultrasonic AF PERFORMANCE High sharpness throughout, just a blip around the edges at 24mm with lower f/numbers VALUE FOR MONEY Compared to sister Nikon 12-24mm, it’s cheap. Compared to other rivals, much less so OVERALL
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25/25
23/25
22/25
ABOVE In the centre, sharpness is Excellent at all focal lengths, only dipping into the Very Good zone at higher f/numbers. Towards the edges, sharpness scores slightly lower, but always Very Good. The one exception, and it’s not unusual, is edge performance at 24mm that lags behind at lower f/numbers.
93/100
Sigma EX 10-20mm f/4-5.6 DCHSM
SPECS
improves significantly at f/5.6, and there’s another good jump at f/8, by which time it’s comfortably into the Very Good zone, and this is held to f/11 with only a modest decline at f/16. Optimum aperture for best sharpness across the frame is f/8, though peak resolution was measured at f/5.6, in the centre at 10mm, where a high figure of 121 lines-per-mm was recorded. Verdict There’s a lot to like here. The overall specification is fairly middle of the road, but another way of putting that is well rounded and balanced. However, the meat of the matter is optical performance and here it faltered. Sharpness in the centre of the frame is always of a very high order – no problem there at all – but at the edges things didn’t get properly good until around f/8, and that’s a bit of a shame.
Sigma makes two 10-20mm zooms, both for APS-C cameras only. This is the cheaper of the two with a street price of £370 and a variable maximum aperture. Limiting the aperture to f/4-5.6 certainly keeps the size, weight and cost down, and the result is a neat and compact lens. Zoom and focusing rings are very smooth and finger-light. Sigma’s ultrasonic HSM focusing is fast and effectively noiseless, with full-time manual override. All aspects of mechanical performance are excellent. Optical performance is a tale of two halves – the centre, which is always of a high order, and edge sharpness that is markedly lower. In the centre of the frame, from maximum aperture through to f/11, sharpness never falls below Excellent. It’s very slightly weaker at the 20mm end, as is often the case, but there’s very little in it. The edges, however, start from a lower position at full aperture, especially at 18mm f/4. Sharpness
PRICE £350 CONTACT sigma-imaging-uk.com FORMATS APS-C 1.5x and 1.6x OPTICAL DESIGN 14 elements in 10 groups GLASS TYPES 3x SLD, 3x aspherical APERTURE RANGE f/4-5.6 to f/22 DIAPHRAGM APS-C 1.6x 107° to 68°; APS-C 1.5x 110° to 71° MINIMUMFOCUS 0.24m (from sensor) MAXREPRODUCTION RATIO 1:6.7 AUTOFOCUS Ultrasonic HSM MANUAL FOCUS AF/M switch FILTER SIZE 77mm non-rotating WEATHER SEALED No DOF SCALE No DIMENSIONS (DXL) 84x81mm 6 rounded blades ANGLE OF VIEW
%MTFat36lines-per-mm(APS-C)
77+ 52+ 78+ 53+ 78+ 63+ 70+ 61+ 61+ 55 f/5 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16
75+ 41+ 78+ 53+ 78+ 61+ 71+ 61+ 60+ 52 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16
73+ 59+ 74+ 62+ 70+ 62+ 60+ 55 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 Centre
Sharpness10mm 100
14mm 100
20mm 100
Edge
Howitrates
FEATURES
22/25
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All-round good spec, gets the job done. Ultrasonic AF, 77mm filters, hood supplied HANDLING One of the best – nicely proportioned, well made, light and smooth operating PERFORMANCE High central sharpness at all times, though edges only catch up at mid range apertures VALUE FOR MONEY One of the cheapest super-wides at £370 OVERALL
25/25
WEIGHT 465g ACCESSORIES
22/25
Hood and case supplied FITTINGS Canon, Sony, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma
22/25
ABOVE Classic wide-zoom sharpness characteristics, Excellent levels in the centre from maximum aperture. This standard is held throughout the zoom and aperture range, with a modest dip around 20mm and at f/16. Edge sharpness lags noticeably, especially at the wide end and lower f/numbers.
91/100
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