My Favorite Wide Angle Lens

A buddy of mine recently dropped and destroyed one of his favorite wide angle lenses, an AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G, which he called his “butter 35.” The nickname described the way this remarkable lens rendered out-of-focus areas.

Madi Brown tries to photograph her dog Moose during the Santa Stroll Monday night, Nov. 21, 2022 in Ada's Wintersmith Park. Shot with my AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 on the Nikon D700, it shows how a wide angle lens can be used to create a sense of "being there" for the viewer, as well as an idea of the way sunstars can express brightness in a wide angle image.
Madi Brown tries to photograph her dog Moose during the Santa Stroll Monday night, Nov. 21, 2022 in Ada’s Wintersmith Park. Shot with my AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 on the Nikon D700, it shows how a wide angle lens can be used to create a sense of “being there” for the viewer, as well as an idea of the way sunstars can express brightness in a wide angle image.

It got me thinking about my own wide angle lenses over the years, how I use them, why I like them, and which ones have emerged as my favorites over the years.

In the film era, I shot a lot with the Nikkor 24mm f/2.0, which was the staple of most of us news photographers. It was one of those lenses that I literally used up and sold almost as scrap, which I think is the perfect fate for a truly great piece of artistic equipment.

This is a scan of an image I made very early in my career, shot with my Nikkor 24mm f/2.0 stopped down to about f/5.6 to create gorgeous 14-point sunstars. The effect really drove home the brilliance of the spotlights.
This is a scan of an image I made very early in my career, shot with my Nikkor 24mm f/2.0 stopped down to about f/5.6 to create gorgeous 14-point sunstars. The effect really drove home the brilliance of the spotlights.

Also in my bag during most of my film-era photography was a Nikkor 35mm f/2.0. It was also a staple of news photography back then, serving as a more popular and versatile “normal” lens than the ubiquitous 50mm. I used it up as well.

As the digital era has matured, very wide angle lenses have taken over, made possible by computer aided design and manufacturing. An impossible-to-build lens in 1985 is in everyone’s bag by 2023. I have several that I love, including a very lightweight, very affordable 10-20mm for my Nikon APC-sensor (24x15mm) cameras.

But I am also a lover of the classics, and as larger imaging sensors (36x24mm) have made their way into my workflow, so have a couple of classic ultra-wide-angle lenses: the AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8, and the AF 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5.

The AF Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 is shown on my well-used Nikon D700.
The AF Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 is shown on my well-used Nikon D700.

You will usually find one or the other of these classics parked on my Nikon D700, usually as my second camera at events like news conferences and football games. They are very capable. The 18-35mm is more versatile, while the 20mm is more compact, yet has a larger maximum aperture. The 20mm also has the advantage of creating very smart 14-point sunstars with its 1990s-standard seven straight aperture blades.

Oddly, the bigger 18-35mm is noticeably lighter than the 20mm, since it was produced using a plastic barrel, focus, and zoom rings, while the 20mm is all-metal.

The use of these lenses can be a bit tricky, since using a wide angle to “get it all in the frame” usually results in an image that bores the viewer. The best way to use these lenses is in creation of a narrative that leads the viewers into the scene with near-far relationships and leading lines. That means using a wide angle involves movement – up, down, looking up, looking down, crowding in and, honestly, having fun bringing new perspectives to old subjects.

If I had to nail it down, I’d say the 20mm is my very favorite wide angle lens.

The AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 is shown mounted on my Nikon D700. This lens with its bayonet-type hood has been mistaken on a couple of occasions for the AF Nikkor 18mm f/2.8.
The AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 is shown mounted on my Nikon D700. This lens with its bayonet-type hood has been mistaken on a couple of occasions for the AF Nikkor 18mm f/2.8.

2 Comments

  1. As you probably know, my Canon 10-18mm has replaced just about everything else as my go-to. Not wide enough to create a fisheye effect, plenty wide enough to include a large group of government officials or volunteers for a litter cleanup campaign all in the same frame. I love taking this lens out along with my Canon 70-200mm for a variety of shots either for news or sports. Thanks for your suggestion about the use of the wide-angle in telling stories. Good tip to keep in mind.

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