Have Camera Will Travel - Reviews & Tips HomepageHave Camera Will Travel - Reviews & Tips

David Coleman Photography

  • Reviews & Tips
  • GoPro
  • Lightroom
  • Places
  • Photos
  • Reviews
    • Nikon
    • Sony
    • Fujifilm
    • Cameras
    • Lenses
    • Sample Images
    • Travel Tripods
    • Adventure Cameras
    • 360°
  • Memory Cards
  • GoPro
  • Flash
  • Travel Tripods
  • Books
  • Social Media
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Twitter

Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8G ED Wide-Angle Lens Hands-on Review

Here's my take on the Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8G ED fast, wide-angle prime as a travel photography lens.

Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED Wide-Angle Prime Lens

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Nikon
Last updated about 2 years ago // Originally published about 2 years ago

I’ve been intrigued by the Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8G lens for a while. I like wide, fast, primes. My stuck-on-a-desert-island lens is the Nikon 24mm ƒ/1.4G. but there are times that I’d love to reach for a something a bit wider without going whole hog into the distorted world of the 16mm fisheye. And as much as I’ve tried, I just never have been able to get into using the 14-24mm ƒ/2.8 consistently for travel photography–I’ve always just found it too bulky and cumbersome to justify a place in my main travel kit, and most of the time I end up leaving it at home when hitting the road. Back when I was shooting film, I used to love using a trusty Nikon 20mm f/4 AI manual focus, a wonderful lens I originally learned about from admiring the work of master landscape photographer Galen Rowell–it was one of his staples.

The Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8G has been out for a few years now, but somehow I hadn’t gotten around to shooting with it. I recently got around to fixing that.

Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED Wide-Angle Prime Lens

With the lens hood attached.

While not quite as fast as the 24mm, this one is close. It’s also physically smaller and lighter, which are plusses for a travel lens. But those virtues do come with some cost. This lens is by no means light and flimsy, but at the same time it doesn’t have the rugged built quality of the 24mm, a lens that has taken a lot of knocks on my travels and is still going strong.

Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED Wide-Angle Prime Lens

First, the basics: Its formal name is the AF-S NIKKOR 20mm ƒ/1.8G ED. It’s a 20mm prime with a maximum aperture of f/1.8 and a minimum aperture of f/16. While it’s definitely not a pancake lens, it is smaller and lighter than some of the other fast, wide primes. It has two aspherical elements in its design of thirteen elements in eleven groups, it has Nikon’s Silent Wave autofocus system, a 7-blade rounded diaphragm, and it takes 77mm filters. It works with full-frame or cropped sensor bodies; on a DX-sensor camera it has an effective focal length of 30mm, making it a good option for mildly wide photojournalistic style shooting. I’ve been using it on a full-frame Nikon D810.

Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED Wide-Angle Prime Lens

Design and Build

The 20mm is lighter and smaller than some of the fast 24mm and 35mm primes–and is definitely a lot smaller than Nikon’s 14-24mm ƒ/2.8 zoom. But it’s also significantly bigger than a typical 50mm prime.

It weighs in at around 12.5 ounces (355 grams) and measures a little over 3 inches in length and diameter (3.25 x 3.17 inches / 82.5 x 80.5 mm).

It has two aspherical elements in its design of thirteen elements in eleven groups. The diaphragm is a rounded 7-blade design to encourage smooth bokeh.

It works with full-frame or cropped sensor bodies; on a DX-sensor camera it has an effective focal length of 30mm, making it a good option for mildly wide photojournalistic style shooting.

It takes 77mm filters.

Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED Wide-Angle Prime Lens

There’s no zoom or optical stabilization, so the only switch on the lens is the manual/auto focus switch.

Shooting with the 20mm ƒ/1.8G

It’s an easy lens to use. By that I don’t just mean that its controls aren’t complicated–I mean the whole package. It’s small and light enough to not be a hassle to take with you. Its focusing isn’t the snappiest I’ve seen on a lens, but it’s quiet and true. I haven’t run into too many quirks that you have to shoot around like distortion, vignetting, lens flaring, or chromatic aberration. It has a useful aperture range, works well in low light, and has pleasant bokeh. And with a close focusing distance of under 8 inches, it can handle subject both near and far or a mix of both. And it’s sharp. Wide open it has the kind of softness and vignetting you’d expect and well within the range I’m comfortable with, but as you step down the aperture those issues recede quite quickly.

In short, it’s just a comfortable lens to use.

Photos Taken with a Nikon 20mm f/1.8

In the hope that it’s useful to someone else to see some photos shot with this lens under real-world conditions, here’s a small selection of sample images I’ve shot with it. I’ve posted a larger collection separately.

All of the photos here were shot on a Nikon D810 in RAW. They were processed in Lightroom, but I haven’t applied any of Lightroom’s lens corrections to them. So any issues like vignetting or chromatic aberration are as shot.

You can click on each image to open a full-size version if you’d like a closer look.

Nikon 20mm f1.8 Lens Photo

Photo taken with a Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8 lens at ƒ / 1.8.

Nikon 20mm f1.8 Lens Photo

Photo taken with a Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8 lens at ƒ / 2.2.

Nikon 20mm f1.8 Lens Photo

Photo taken with a Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8 lens at ƒ / 1.8.

Nikon 20mm f1.8 Lens Photo

Photo taken with a Nikon 20mm ƒ/1.8 lens at ƒ / 8.0.

What’s in the Box?

In addition to the lens itself, there are front and rear lens caps (models LC77 for the front and LF-4 for the rear), a plastic bayonet hood (model HB-72), and a soft lens pouch (model CL-1015).

AF-S NIKKOR 20 mm ƒ/1.8G ED Instruction Manual

You can find the instruction manual here.

Where to Buy

You can find them at major camera retailers like B&H Photo, Adorama, and Amazon. If you’re in the UK, you can also find them at Jessops.

You can also often find used copies. I buy most of my used photography gear from KEH.

By David Coleman
Instagram: @havecamerawilltraveldc

Last updated on October 24, 2018

Categories: Reviews
Tags: Nikon

I may earn a commission for purchases using links on this page. Learn more.

News & Deals

With the holidays fast approaching, there’s some great deals on photography gear and services available. I’ve put together a roundup of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 Photography Deals. It’s a running list as new deals are announced, so be sure to check back.

Canon announces new EOS Rebel T8i DSLR. Canon has announced their new T8i DSLR. 24MP APS-C cropped CMOS sensor, 4K24 video, and updated image processing and detection systems. It’s available for preorder from B&H Photo.

New Firmware for the Ricoh GR III. Ricoh has release firmware v1.31 for the GR III. Release notes are: “Corrected — When shooting with the multiple exposure, in rare cases the live view may not display correctly. Improved stability for general performance.” You can download it here.

New Canon 1D X Mark III Pro DSLR Announced. Canon has announced their new flagship model of pro DSLR, the 1D X Mark III. They’re sticking with a 20.1MP CMOS sensor, but it’s a new and improved version and boasts an incredible native ISO range of ISO 100 to ISO 102400 and an extended range that goes up to a jaw-dropping ISO 819200. With revamped autofocus, a new image processor, and all sorts of other bells and whistles, it’s no wonder that Canon is billing it as “The Ultimate EOS.”

New Manfrotto Pro Rugged Memory Cards. Manfrotto, an Italian probably best known for their tripods and studio accessories, has launched a new Pro Rugged range of high-end SD, microSD, and CompactFlash cards. While they don’t have a huge selection of sizes and speeds, the cards are aiming for very fast cards that can put up with rugged demands. For instance, they claim that their V90 rated SD cards can withstand three times the force (20kg / 45 lbs) of a regular SD card. I’ve ordered some to run through my speed tests.

New Sony Alpha a7 firmware released. A firmware update for the Sony a7R IV now lets you control external Sony flashes from the camera’s own menu system. Up to 15 flashes in five groups can be controlled via the camera. It also applies to the a7R III and a7 III.

Comments

  1. Mark E Gallaher says

    December 24, 2019 at 12:17 pm

    I also use (and love!) the AF-S 20mm f/1.8 on my D810. Was able to get my hands on a barely used copy for a price I couldn’t refuse. Great lens for general landscape and interior use, and is a “stellar” performer for astrophotography – which was my main motivation for purchasing it.

    Reply
    • David says

      December 27, 2019 at 11:45 am

      Thanks for letting me know. I don’t do much astrophotography, so it’s great to hear that it works well for that too. It’s an impressive lens!

      Reply
  2. Frank says

    August 27, 2019 at 11:54 pm

    Nice Review, Nice Pics, Just ordered my today.
    Thank You

    Reply

Questions & Comments Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

About Me

I take photos. I travel. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between.

Get in Touch

Newsletter

© 2009–2021 David Coleman · Have Camera Will Travel LLC · all rights reserved


Photos by David Coleman. Please contact me for licensing images.
All images are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.


Privacy & Disclosure · Cookie Declaration · Disclaimer · Terms of Service · Copyright · Contact


XML Sitemap