28mm on a Crop Sensor - The 40mm Experience

Photographed using a Nikon D300s with a 28mm f/2 Nikkor AI lens. The woman with the rifle is Abbey Burton: the first woman to set a British record title of 100% perfect score in Olympic Trap Clay Shooting.

Another helping of Victorian pornography, made with a Nikon D2Xs with a 28mm Nikkor f/2 AI lens. Interviewed for ‘Camera & Darkroom’ magazine during the 1980s, Sally Mann (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Mann) said she had supported her artwork by doing lots of small freelance jobs. For this work she often used a 40mm Zuiko lens on a 35mm camera. She felt that 40mm was "about right." The field of view provided by a 28mm lens on a crop sensor camera is very close to 40mm. Therefore it might suit photographers who felt that, for their purposes, 50mm was a bit too long and 35mm was a bit too wide.

I bought this secondhand at perhaps a bit less than the going rate because of the damage to the filter mount. I have had worse: at least it remains possible to mount a filter or a screw-in hood to this one. This lens dates from the pre-AF era. It remained in production from 1970-2005 but was not made in the volume that its f/2.8 companion was produced. Opinions differ over which is the better lens. Professionals often went for the f/2 on account of its faster speed and good image quality at all apertures. It was of course more expensive. Amateurs could not set its purchase off against tax.

Photographed using a Nikon D300s with a 28mm f/2 Nikkor AI lens.

I've photographed this gate hinge at Lacock Abbey several times. It is a perfect subject to showcase depth of field and diminishing perspective simultaneously. Recently I acquired a manual focus 28mm Nikkor lens with a maximum aperture of f/2. Bjørn Rørslett holds this lens in high esteem, listing it amongst the best performing Nikkor lenses. He remarks that it is excellent for DX, FX, and on film, and here I had it on a DX camera where it provides a field of view equivalent to 42mm on a full frame instrument. More normal than wide angle therefore but nonetheless maintaining the characteristics of a wide angle lens such as close focussing ability and great depth of field capability.

Nikon D2Xs + Nikkor 28mm f/2 AI lens. ISO 100; f/6.3; 1/160th. Interviewed for Camera & Darkroom magazine in the 1980s, photographer Sally Mann said she used Olympus OM cameras, and that, if she were going to do any art work using 35mm film, she would use the 40mm Zuiko. She felt 40mm was ‘about right’. There have never been many 40mm lenses on the market. Professionals tend to prefer 35mm for general work and amateurs have provided the market for the ubiquitous 50mm standard. And for many years now, manufacturers have provided zoom lenses with consumer cameras, and people take photographs without having to move to a better viewpoint. However, one thing the digital crop sensor has done is to breathe some life into the 28mm prime lens, the old wide-angle stalwart from the days when an outfit consisted of 28mm, 50mm, and 135 mm lenses. On a crop sensor a 28mm lens provides a field of view of 42mm (or 45mm in the case of Canon sensors which are even smaller). 42mm is exactly the diagonal of a full frame sensor. It is as normal a viewpoint as it is possible to get for photography. Ah! The joy of being normal!

'Modern English Usage' was first published in 1926. Since that time the language has been well and truly mangled. My photograph was made in available light using a Nikon 28mm f/3.5 lens on a Canon digital SLR camera. The field of view would therefore be equivalent to 45mm on full frame. However, all the wide angle lens characteristics remain preserved, including the depth of field advantage. Bjørn Rørslett remarks that the 28mm f/3.5 performs excellently on the D2X and D200 digital bodies, giving very sharp and crisp images with just ever so slight a trace of CA. He adds that shooting directly into the sun with this lens is a breeze, and that this lens is one he nearly always carries with him on field trips. It seems also to do quite nicely on a Canon EOS 30D via an adapter. It weighs only 8.55 ounces; the optical quality is excellent; and its mechanical quality makes it a joy to use even 40 years after it was built.

The Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 AI lens provides a field of view of 42 mm on a Nikon DX SLR. All the characteristics of a wide angle lens, such as plenty of depth-of-field, are nevertheless preserved. The f/3.5 maximum aperture is a bit slow but on the plus side performance is good even wide open and impressive when stopped down. The advantage of using it on a crop sensor is that you are experiencing only the centre performance and not much of the fuzzy edges. It's interesting and fun to use a lens which for all practical purposes behaves like something between 35mm and 50mm lenses on a full frame camera. Nikon D2Xs + Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 AI lens.

The Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 AI lens provides a field of view of 42 mm on a Nikon DX SLR. All the characteristics of a wide angle lens, such as plenty of depth-of-field, are nevertheless preserved. The f/3.5 maximum aperture is a bit slow but on the plus side performance is good even wide open and impressive when stopped down. The advantage of using it on a crop sensor is that you are experiencing only the centre performance and not much of the fuzzy edges. It's interesting and fun to use a lens which for all practical purposes behaves like something between 35mm and 50mm lenses on a full frame camera. Nikon D2Xs + Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 AI lens.