Nikon AF-S 14-24 2.8G ED / Sigma EX 12-24 4.5-5.6 DG

Yesterday, after much consideration, I bought the Nikon 14-24/2.8. It's supposed to replace my previous Sigma 12-24, which I was never particularly happy with. However, as I don't use the lens very often, the need to suffer wasn't too great. But now there is a Nikon cashback promotion until the end of July, which means the lens costs 200 euros less. So I decided to finally go for it.

This is what the two lenses look like. As you can easily see, the Nikon is significantly larger and therefore heavier than the Sigma.

Due to the strongly curved front lens and the built-in lens hood, it is unfortunately not so easy to put a filter on the lens.

Of course, I had to take a few test photos to see whether the lens was really better than the old one. Once again, the view from the balcony was my test subject. This is what the two pictures look like reduced and sharpened:

Sigma

Nikon

It is noticeable here that the Nikon has significantly more distortion than the Sigma.

And here are the marked areas enlarged to 100%, without post-processing. First the left section.

Sigma

Aperture 4.8

 
Aperture 8

Aperture 13

 Nikon

Aperture 2.8

Aperture 4.5

Aperture 8

Aperture 13

And now the section on the right:

Sigma

Aperture 4.8

Aperture 8

Aperture 13

Nikon

Aperture 2.8

Aperture 4.5

Aperture 8

Aperture 13

I think it's pretty obvious that the Nikon is far sharper than the Sigma. However, it's also fair to say that the Sigma is almost 10 years old. I can't judge how well the current Sigma wide angles perform. With the Nikon, the chromatic aberration is clearly noticeable. With Adobe Camera Raw, however, the effect (just like the distortion mentioned above) can be corrected well:

What I also noticed during the test is that the Nikon focuses much faster than the Sigma. The latter even took a few attempts to focus on the trees.

I think this lens was a good buy. Even if this test is once again anything but scientific, you can at least clearly see the differences. How it proves itself in everyday use remains to be seen.