Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.8G £600/$695

It occupies the midd le ground

A compromise between two camps, but not ideal for either. This 28mm lens can be a little too wide-angle for street photography with an FX body, but too narrow on a DX body, where it has an ‘effective’ 42mm focal length. It’s larger and heavier than the Nikon 35mm lens, at 73x81mm and 330g, compared with 72x72mm and 305g, and has a bigger 67mm, rather than 58mm, filter thread.

The lens features the same total count of 11 optical elements as the Nikon 35mm. This time, there are two aspherical elements not one, but no ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element. The 28mm also gains Nano Crystal Coat, for better reduction of ghosting and flare, but retains the diaphragm blade count of seven. It has ring-type ultrasonic autofocus and comes with a hood and pouch.

Performance

Corner-sharpness at wide apertures was better than from the Nikon 35mm lens, but colour fringing was worse. True to its claims, the nano-structure coating does well to minimize ghosting and flare.