There’s a lot to say about the Nikon AF-P DX 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR as a “landscape” lens (opens in a new tab). When the going gets tough and you’re climbing tough terrain, looking for landscape photo opportunities, the last thing you need is a heavy camera kit bag. This remarkably compact ultra-wide zoom weighs just 230g and uses a plastic rather than metal mounting plate, but it still packs some useful features. Unlike Nikon’s older and heavier AF-S DX 10-24mm lenses, it adds 3.5 VR gears that can save a lot more weight, eliminating the need to lug a tripod around with you. It’s also a bonus when shooting interiors in low light, and even nighttime cityscapes.

Features

To go up: Nikon F (DX)
Full frame: Nope
Autofocus: Yes
Stabilization: Yes
Lens Construction: 14 elements in 11 groups
Angle of view: 109-70 degrees
Diaphragm blades: 7
Minimum opening: f/22-29
Minimum focus distance: 0.22m
Maximum magnification ratio: 0.17x
Filter size: 72mm
Dimensions: 77x73mm
Mass: 230g

Main characteristics

Autofocus is based on a stepping motor that provides fast performance for stills and smooth, near-silent transitions when recording video. As usual for this type of system, manual override and full manual focus are available via an electronically coupled focus ring. The downside is that neither autofocus nor manual focus is available in some older Nikon DSLRs, including the D3000, D5000, and D7000.

Three aspherical elements are included in the optical path, which includes 14 elements in total, and a Super Integrated Coating is applied to reduce ghosting and flare. The build quality seems pretty solid for such a lightweight lens, and unlike Canon’s similar offering, the Nikon comes with a lens hood. A 72mm mounting thread allows easy use of filters such as ND Grads and circular polarizers.

Performance

Autofocus is quick and assured and VR (vibration reduction) lives up to its billing of 3.5 stops. Center sharpness is very good even when shooting wide-aperture across most of the zoom range, only falling off a bit at the long end. Edge and corner sharpness is relatively uninspiring and a bit poor at 20mm. The lens is also a bit dull in terms of color fringing and short zoom distortion.

Laboratory results

We carry out a range of laboratory tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master test suite. Pattern shots are taken over the full range of apertures and zooms (where applicable), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion, and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (Spatial Frequency Response) graphs and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-distances, over the full range of aperture settings. and, with zooms, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Acuity:

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Sharpness is very good in the central region of the image frame, less so in the surrounding area, and relatively poor towards the edges and corners.

Fringe:

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Color fringing can be quite noticeable away from the center of the frame, with the lens relying quite heavily on the in-camera auto-correction of recent and current Nikon DSLRs.

Distortion:

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Barrel distortion is severe at the shortest focal length, but decreases as you stretch the zoom range, becoming fairly minimal in the long run.

Verdict

You often have to pay big bucks for your own brand Nikkor lenses, but this wide-angle zoom for DX-format (APS-C) cameras offers a large field of view in a compact, lightweight build at a great price. attractive. Optical image stabilization adds to the appeal, image quality is good overall, and the stepping motor autofocus system is very effective, although it does make the lens incompatible with some older Nikon DSLRs.

Read more:

• Best Camera Lenses (opens in a new tab) obtain
• Best Canon Lenses (opens in a new tab)
• Best Nikon lenses (opens in a new tab)
• Best Sony lenses (opens in a new tab)