Nikon 24mm f1.4G vs. 85mm 1.4G - manual focus feel

[Tejpor]

Dear fellows,

i had the opportunity to try both lens out. Since they appear to be "matched" lenses with respect to build, I was suprised to feel that the 24mm lens has a more rough manual focus feel than the 85mm. The 24mm also has more wobble in the focusing ring. Both can be focused by the fingertip.

Is this normal?

With best regards,
L.

[Erik Lund]

The 24 focus ring can slide a tiny bit back and forth, a tiny bit,,,
The rotation dampening is identical, actually for all of the 1,4 AFS lenses

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The 24/1.4 predates the 35, 58, 85 and 105 of the nano coated f/1.4 series. At least in my experience it is the only one of the series to have some play in the manual focus ring. I recall when the 35 came out Nikon advertised a new mechanism which allowed the gap to be avoided. Hopefully the new 28/1,4 will not have the same issue that the 24 has. Nikon should really pay more attention to these things and fix this aspect of the 24/1.4.

[Øivind Tøien]

A parallel case: I recently compared the 20mm f/1.8 with the 24mm f/1.8 in a store, both pretty new lenses. The 20mm f/1.8 had a much better feel to the focusing ring, which felt a bit 'rough" on the 24mm f/1.8.

[Erik Lund]

As stated, my 24mm 1.4 AFS has a very tiny bit of play, hardly detectable,,, not worth mentioning as it has zero impact on use!


By the sound of what you describe yours - Yours must be much much worse,,,

[Ilkka Nissilä]

I've used two and they were similar. The gap is wide enough to feel it and makes precise manual focusing (using the technique of going back and forwards in shorter and shorter passes until satisfied) more difficult and frustrating since the effect on focus is not linear as the movement back and forth gets smaller. While it might cost Nikon something to fix production 24/1.4's or even in the best case modify already sold ones to use the new mechanism in the 35/1.4, the fact of the matter is that the money that could go to Nikon if they did manual focus rings right, goes to other manufacturers for lenses where I have need for precise manual focus and a satisfactory Nikon offering is missing.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The smoothest manual focusing of all of these newer Nikkor generation  is the 35/1.4 AFS, with the 24/1.8 AFS second and a tie between 24/1.4 AFS and 20/1.8 in third position. I currently don't own the 85/1.4 AFS so cannot decide its ranking, though, but it better be good if it is to dethrone the 35/1.4 G.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The 35/1.4 indeed has excellent manual focus, so do the 58/1.4, 85/1.4 and 105/1.4. I wouldn't be able to put any of these ahead of another in that aspect. Perhaps the 35/1.4 has lighter and more effortless turn than the others.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Agree 100% about the tactile focusing feel of the 105/1.4E. However, it wasn't on the discussed shortlist

[Tejpor]

Thank you all for the replies!

In general, my experience mirrors yours. There is a tiny play (back and forth) of the focus ring in the 24 1.4G. When turned, there is also a little lag until focus actually changes. This is noticeable when manual focus direction changes.
The dampening is very similar in both lenses, but the 85mm f1.4G is simply better - "silky smooth" as commonly said. The 24 1.4G is somehow rough in comparison, as if it is not greased properly, etc.

Does "weathering" affect focusing? E.g. enduring heavy rain-drying cycles?

[Frank Fremerey]

Compared to the 1.4/24 the 1.8/20 is a real phenomenon. You can buy the 24 for 1850 but you only pay 800 for the 20 and it is the better lens in many situations. Just the magic of the wide open is missing. Magic is priceless. Sometimes cheap sometimes dear.

The 24 is hands down the slowest AF lens on most bodies but the AF is darn fast on the D500....

Mine also needed a lot of adjusting before I could put it to good use and it was the second lens I took. The first one was so badly misaligned I had to send it back to the dealer for refund. Very disappointing for such a great lens. Bad quality control. The 20 came perfect right out of the box