Canon 11-24mm f/4 vs Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8

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Canon’s new 11-24mm f/4 is the world widest zoom lens. It is even wider than Nikon’s famous 14-24mm f/2.8. It is also bigger, heavier and more expensive than the Nikon’s. Compare to the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, it weights 180 grams more, 10mm fatter and cost $1000 more. This gives you a perspective that if Canon is to come out with a 11-24mm f/2.8, it will be impractically huge and heavy. There is a balance with cost, size and practicality when it comes to lens design and the fact that Canon has decided to offer a lens from 11mm is an interesting one.

The Canon 11-24mm is 3mm wider than the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 but a stop slower and cost $1000 more. Both lenses have adopted with built in lens hood and without filter thread. Given both lenses are specified and cost differently, they are designed for different purposes; the Nikon 14-24mm is an ultra wide angle lens for low light situation while the Canon 11-24mm is for extreme wide angle uses.

You can pre-order your Canon 11-24mm f/4 here

Here is an angle of view comparison with the different lenses at their widest focal length. There is a 12° difference between the Canon 11-24mm and Nikon 14-24mm at the widest focal length and 19° compare to the Canon 16-35mm. 12° is quite significant when it comes to landscape and architectural photography which  is what this lens is designed for. Both Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 and Canon 11-24mm f/4 are what I considered special lenses like macro lens and fish eye lens. If you are looking for a general wide angel lens, I would suggest to go with the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 or Nikon 17-35m mf/2.8, they are much cheaper and offer a more useful zoom range.

Lens Horizontal Vertical Diagonal
Canon 11-24mm f/4 117.1° 95.0° 126.1°
Canon 14mm f/2.8 104.3° 81.2° 114.2°
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 96.7° 73.7° 107.1°
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 104.1° 81.1° 114.1°
 
Here is why the Canon 11-24mm f/4 is not for you – 90% of wide angle photography can be done with the more general Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 or Nikon 17-35m mf/2.8 lens, the other 10% photos require special lenses. Personally, I found 17mm is more than enough for landscape and I hardly need to use 14mm. Shooting at ultra wide angles below 17mm, your object is distorted and seems to be pushed away, so it is a more challenging to shoot at ultra wide angles (<17mm). For those who need this lens, you know who you are already. For those that are still thinking about it, get the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 or Nikon 17-35m mf/2.8 instead.
 

Canon 11-24mm f/4 Detailed Features

Durable and Tough

The mechanical structure of this lens makes it move more smoothly, higher precision and a highly durable construction. Additionally, the zoom durability and resistance to vibration and shock of the lens barrel is exceptional. This lens achieves high durability and toughness in order to withstand harsh environmental conditions and rough handling. Dust-proof and drip-proof structure is applied to the mount, the switch panel, zoom ring, and focusing ring.

Circular Aperture Diaphragm

Equipped with an electromagnetic diaphragm (EMD) that uses a 9-blade circular aperture diaphragm, transforming point light sources in the background into more circular and beautiful background blurred shapes.

Focal Length of 11mm

Canon’s new EF11-24mm f/4L USM is an ultra wide-angle zoom lens that surpasses all competition by starting at 11 mm, the widest angle in the world. This lens has achieved a minimum focusing distance of 0.28 m (maximum magnification of 0.16x). This enables the user to shoot the subject from up close whilst still capturing the surroundings. Explore other photographic possibilities such as capturing wider range in one shot (horizontal angle of view of 117 degrees and diagonal angle of view of 26 degrees), large subjects from cramped positions or even surreal images through use of extreme perspectives.

Silent AF USM

This lens utilizes rear focus and ring Ultra Sonic Motor as well as offers silent Auto Focus. The use of a high-speed CPU and an optimized Auto Focus algorithm has brought about higher precision and speed.

ASC Coating

ASC is a technology that forms a film that includes air spheres over the vapor-deposition coatings. By regularly lining the inside of the coating with low refractive index air, this forms an ultra-low refractive index layer. ASC has excellent anti-reflective effects, particularly with respect to incident light that enters almost vertically. The air spheres cover a flat interface, so being a strong coating is also a feature.

Aspherical and UD Lens

An aspherical lens is used that has largest diameter in the world for an SLR interchangeable lens*. The following was achieved with four aspherical lenses: Widest angle 11 mm in the world, high image quality around the peripheral areas, and very low distortion at wide angle (between the EF16-35mm F4L IS USM and TS lenses).

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    About Kent Yu

    Kent is a professional wedding and portrait photographer based in Queenstown and Wellington, New Zealand. He creates beautiful, natural and story telling wedding photos. Kent has his work published in international magazines and is a regular author to a number of photographic publication. He is fascinated by photographic equipment and enjoys showcasing the gear used in creating his images. You can find him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

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