The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED ($1,999.95) is an ambitious lens—it covers an ultra-wide field of view at its widest, and a 2x zoom ratio that seems modest, but actually changes the field of view quite dramatically given just how much it captures at its widest—and it does it all while maintaining an f/2.8 aperture. It's an excellent performer, even on full-frame cameras, with only a few weak points, and a go-to lens for Nikon shooters who crave an ultra-wide zoom lens. Some folks may prefer a more modest wide zoom, like the less expensive Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G($849.00 at Amazon), but when 18mm isn't wide enough, this is the lens to reach for.

And when you reach for it, it won't be hard to find. The 14-24mm($1,596.95 at Amazon) is big, measuring 5.2 by 3.8 inches (HD) and heavy at 2.1 pounds. Its front element curves outward, so there's no way to screw in a standard lens filter. Lee Filters sells the SW150 holder for use with the lens; it's pricey at $400, but does include a graduated ND filter, which is often used by landscape shooters to balance the exposures of sky and land.

The hood is built in, so Nikon includes a slip-on lens cap. A minimum focus distance of just 11 inches makes it possible to get right up to your subjects and taking in a lot of the environment in the background. The zoom ring is in the usual place, near the base of the lens, and the manual focus ring sits right behind the hood. Both are covered in a rubber texture for easy gripping, and the textures vary so you can tell them apart by touch. The lone control switch on the lens toggles manual and automatic focus.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness of the lens when paired with the 36-megapixel full-frame Nikon D800. At 14mm f/2.8 the lens is very sharp, scoring 2,984 lines per picture height on our center-weighted sharpness test. There's some drop-off at the edges, but they still manage to top 1,853 lines; we like to see an image that scores 1,800 lines on the center-weighted test, so bettering that figure at the very edges is a plus. Narrowing the aperture to f/4 improves performance; the center-weighted score jumps to 3,235 lines and edges approach 2,300 lines. That level of performance is maintained at f/5.6 and f/8. Barrel distortion is a bit of an issue at 14mm; the lens shows 4.6 percent, which gives photos a very mild fish-eye look with straight lines that bow outward. This can be corrected via software; Lightroom includes a profile for the lens which counters the distortion with a single click.

At 18mm the barrel distortion drops to 1.3 percent, which is just slightly noticeable in field conditions. The lens is still sharp, hitting 2,903 lines at f/2.8 with edges that are softer at 2,000 lines, but still pretty sharp. Stopping down to f/4 bumps the overall sharpness to 3,300 lines, and it peaks at 3,550 lines at f/5.6 (with edges that hit 2,400 lines). At 24mm there's no distortion, but the sharpness is a little less even. The center weighted score at f/2.8 is 2,829 lines, but edges drop down to 1,700 lines. Narrowing the aperture to f/4 improves things; the center-weighted score is 3,330 lines and edges show 1,900 lines. There's a modest improvement at f/5.6 and f/8; the lens scores about 3,500 lines at those apertures on our center-weighted test, and edges hover around 1,900 lines.

Lovers of ultra-wide perspectives are going to adore the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. It's not perfect; there's a lot of distortion at the wide end, and landscape shooters are going to want to budget for a filter holder system if they employ graduated neutral density, polarizing, or similar optical filters in their work. It's not a lens every shooter is going to use every day, but when you do reach for it, you won't be disappointed with the quality of images that it captures.

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