NIKON Z 8 (20.5mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO2800)
Still learning the new camera. This is from one of the very first outings when I visited the Stefansdom (St. Stephens Cathedral) in the heart of Vienna.
Like visits to my favourite museum I like to come here too to test new cameras. The last time I visited was with my then brand new Fuji X100F. A compact camera but one that is very powerful in low light. Inside cathedrals it is usually rather dark even on a very sunny day. But shooting at high ISO is not a big problem anymore. No serious camera today has any problems below ISO 6.400 or with high dynamic range scenes.
So this time it was not so much a test if my new camera can handle the task but much more of a test if I can handle my new super wide lens the Nikon Z 14-24/2.8 S. I love wide angle lenses and the Fuji XF 14/2.8 R (20mm on full frame) was my favourite lens. I have a big respect for anything wider though especially outside of landscape photography.
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO1400)
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO2800)
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO2200)
Over the years I managed to handle a 20mm wide angle for the majority of my shots in Asia and also for architecture but 14mm is a whole different story. In a wide angle lens every single mm of focal length makes a big difference. 24mm is not that wide at all. It’s the starting point of most standard zoom. There is some perspective distortion but it is minor. At 20mm things start to get interesting. There is perspective distortion that you can easily spot and in case you plan to shoot an environmental portrait you should place your subject close to the center of the frame.
Go below a focal length of 20mm and things start to get wild. Every mm now makes a huge difference and at 14mm things are really crazy. At this first occasion I shoot way too many images at 14mm simple because I loved the sensation of it. Of course I have tried to keep the camera straight to avoid falling lines but the perspective distortion is something you can’t avoid no matter what you do except to go back to a less extreme focal length.
You can easily see it on the tiles on the floor or on the unfortunate young lady on the left that I chose to include on the edge of the image below. She starts to look like Obelix while in real life she of course was not. I also don’t like how small distant things become compared to things in the foreground. The main organ in the cathedral is huge. It has been renovated recently and the cost of the renovation was about 3 million Euro. The organ has more than 8.500 pipes from very small to 12 meter high and 650 kg heavy. The whole organ is 14 meter wide, 20 meter high and 8-9 meter in depth and in full play it needs 130 m3 of air per minute. In short it is huge but in the image blow the chair in the front row is almost the same size.
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO1250)
NIKON Z 8 (19.5mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO1400)
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO2500)
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO2500)
NIKON Z 8 (18.5mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO450)
NIKON Z 8 (19.5mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO640)
Thank god that I managed to restrict myself to 18-22mm at least for a couple of pictures. This lens doesn’t need a focus limiter but a focal length limiter or a message in the EVF like “are you sure you want to go below 20mm”. But regarding image quality there is no penalty to use the lens on the short side. The Z 14-24/2.8 S is really excellent at 14mm. If this lens has a weak point it is on the “tele”-end of the zoom at 24mm.
When I demonstrated this lens to my wife I set it at 24mm before I handed over the camera and then I asked her to zoom. It’s just impressive. I know that the Fuji XF 10-24/4 R is almost as wide but to experience 14mm on full frame with the super large and bright viewfinder of the Nikon Z8 is something special.
The image below shows the smallest of the four organs that can be moved around with a forklift and placed anywhere. I like the image except for the floor. The tiles really don’t help to mask the perspective distortion. It almost looks like the floor is warped.
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO1100)
NIKON Z 8 (16mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO360)
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO1100)
NIKON Z 8 (20.5mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO2800)
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/2.8, 1/15 sec, ISO560)
NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/8, 1/20 sec, ISO3600)
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO1800)
Seems that I’m complaining all the time here but that of course is far from the truth. I’m just a little overwhelmed with all that wide angle and that’s hardly the fault of the lens. The lens is fantastic and even size and weight is very reasonable. My friend Harald owns the F-mount version of this lens and he was stunned when he picked up my Z 14-24/2.8 S. The F-mount 14-24 was heavy and even worse extremely front heavy even on a Nikon D3.
So the Nikon Z 14-24/2.8 S is a super wide angle that is sharp even in the corners, it’s lightweight compared to the F-mount version and it even can take front filters (kind of) so is it perfect? Almost. I think the lenses biggest flaw is its range. Sure 14mm is very nice compared to 16mm, it is a huge difference but 24mm is a little short. I understand that they kept the range low in order not to compromise image quality but at least 28mm would have been nice. I once owned a Canon EF 17-40/4 L. It’s quality was really laughable compared to the EF 16-35/4 L IS that I got later but I liked the range. But I think it is prove that it can’t be done.
I love this lens for its quality but if Nikon some day would bring out a optically excellent 14-40/4 I would buy that in a heartbeat.
NIKON Z 8 (22mm, f/5.6, 1/25 sec, ISO2200)
NIKON Z 8 (17mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO4000)
NIKON Z 8 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO1800)
One recommendation if you plan to visit the Stefansdom yourself. In recent years the number if visitors increased dramatically. That’s why there is an entry fee of 7 Euros that you have to pay if you want to walk through the whole cathedral. For some strange reason not a lot of people decide to pay but I recommend you to get at least this self guided ticket. Because if not you are stuck in the entry area with hundreds of people and your experience will be very different.
I’m not a religious person but I’m drawn to places of worship no matter if it’s a cathedral, a mosque or a temple. Those are very special places no matter your believe.
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/2.8, 1/25 sec, ISO640)