Conclusion

The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28mm f/1.4E ED is a superb wide-angle prime lens for full-frame landscape and reportage photographers looking for the ultimate in image quality.

You’d expect sharpness to be high across both the frame and aperture range from such a premium optic, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Shooting at the maximum f/1.4 aperture does reveal a slight reduction in sharpness compared to the rest of the aperture range, but the image is already pin-sharp by f/1.8, and bokeh is very nice for a 28mm lens thanks to the 9-bladed aperture. The Nano Crystal Coat successfully prevents any contrast loss attributable to veiling flare, even if it cannot fully eliminate the kind of reflections that are inherent with wideangle lenses. The only real issue is corner shading at the maximum aperture, but this is something every full-frame shooter has to put up with, especially when using wide angle lenses. Chromatic aberrations in particular are very well controlled and geometric distortion is impressively low for an ultrawide lens.

The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28mm f/1.4E ED is also a pleasure to use, thanks to its excellent build quality, fast AF and smooth focusing ring, although it is pretty big and heavy for a 28mm lens. It's also undoubtedly expensive at the full RRP of £2,079.99 / €2,479.00 / $1,999.95 - much less than the Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4 APO Distagon T*, but much more than the slightly slower Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28mm f/1.8G, although the image quality from that cheaper optic isn't as good. In summary, if you love the 28mm focal length and value the fast f/1.4 aperture, the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28mm f/1.4E ED will certainly live up to your expectations. 

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4
Ease-of-use	5
Image quality	5
Value for money	4