Nikon PC Nikkor 19mm F4E ED tilt shift lens review
Key features
- +/- 12mm shift and +/- 7.5° tilt
- movements can be applied in parallel (same axis) or perpendicular
- 90° rotation left and right in 30° increments, tilt 90° left only with a 45° stop
- Shift movement operates without having to lock it
- Three extra-low dispersion elements reduce chromatic aberrations
- Two aspherical elements minimise coma, distortion and enhance sharpness
- Nano Crystal and Super Integrated Coatings reduce reflections, lens flare, and ghosting
- Fluorine coatings protect front and rear elements from water drying marks, fingerprints
- Electromagnetic aperture mechanism ensures stable and accurate exposure control
What is it?
The Nikon PC Nikkor 19mm F4E ED is a F-mount retrofocus lens designed specifically to control perspective in an image, primarily for correcting converging vertical lines in buildings. As it’s an ultrawide-angle lens with a horizontal field of view of almost 100 degrees, it is a prime choice for architecture and interior photographers. That said, it will also appeal to landscape and fine-art photographers, primarily for its ability to create ultrawide panoramas, but not exclusively so.
With a shift of ±12 mm and a tilt/swing of ±7.5 mm, this lens is the first from Nikon to feature two independent rotation mechanisms, allowing the tilt and shift features to be operated on the same axis. This highly desired capability, I suspect, is a result of the lens being an ‘E’ type, which indicates it has electromagnetic aperture control. On the downside, this means that Nikon film-based F-mount SLRs and any Nikon DSLRs older than the D3/D300 aren’t compatible. For more information, visit the company’s product support site.
Additionally, if you intend to adapt the lens to a mirrorless camera, you will need to find one with electronic control, as aperture selection and stopping down on it are essential, as ‘dumb,’ or mechanical-only, adapters will not function.
Tilt, or ‘swing’ as it’s called when using horizontally, on a small sensor (full-frame 35mm), is a trickier proposition, though and takes some time to master. On a DSLR, it’s necessary to use Live View.
Curiously, the focal length of 19mm isn’t a typical focal length for Nikon. Historically, Nikon has traditionally adopted 18mm and 20mm. And if you know how the Japanese work, this atypical focal length suggests this might not be a wholly Nikon-designed lens; see the patent here.
In any case, this lens was designed for DSLRs. Nikon doesn’t make any PC lenses for their mirrorless Z series cameras, yet anyway, so it would have to be used on an adaptor. As the lens is quite heavy, the original Nikon FTZ adapter with tripod foot would be ideal. Somewhat unbelievably, though, it is no longer made. However, it can still be found used, though, at MPB. or at KEH.
How does it handle?
Despite the large size and bulbous front element, the Nikon PC Nikkor 19mm F4E ED is a delight to use. Nikon has adopted Canon’s control layout mostly, with the shift, tilt, and rotation controls all being very familiar, if you have used the Canon T/S lenses before, that is.
Small metal levers release the two rotation collars, one allowing the independent tilt and shift mechanisms to be aligned or up to 90 degrees apart, and the other to rotate both together, left or right up to 90 degrees, depending on your needs. The latter makes panoramas incredibly simple, as there’s no need to locate the exit pupil or buy additional equipment.
Mid-size locking-knobs are used to operate the tilt and shift mechanisms but unlike the Canons, there’s no locking unit needed for the shift, which is a plus. Furthermore, the shift knob is positioned low down and away from the optical axis, allowing left-handed use while gripping the body, which is useful when using the combination hand-held.
Tilt has two locks though; one locking lever when not in use (to prevent accidental use) and a small screw-down knob to lock the mechanism once tilted.
Aesthetically speaking, the focusing distance and DOF scales located above the focus ring look odd and take time to become accustomed to, and I still don’t like it now, unfortunately. However, in use, it doesn’t affect anything other than my sensibilities. Focusing is manual, obviously, but the operation is smooth and quite light to the touch. One downside, however, is the relatively short focus throw.
Nikon supplies a locking lens cap, which is a necessity, but it could do with being felt-lined.
How does it perform?
Distortion or lack of it in a tilt/shift lens is imperative, and I’m pleased to report that the Nikon PC Nikkor 19mm F4E ED has very low levels, at least at most typical working distances. Admittedly, there’s some barrel distortion noticeable at short distances, but it’s unlikely to be used often like at. Furthermore, it’s relatively simple to correct when using RAW files when shifted, though not so easy with tilt or a combination of the two.
Working with the shift function is easy, so if you work handheld at any time, you’ll appreciate the excellent ergonomics. Additionally, the lock option to prevent any inadvertent tilt is a nice feature, as the slightest movement off-axis can result in ruined files. Admittedly, you still have to remember to lock it when you’ve finished, but it’s a welcome all the same
What would be a great addition, with any future Z-series lenses, would be the recording of the amount of shift and tilting in the metadata. Fujifilm’s Fujinon 30mm F4 T/S records shift and rotation but not tilt, and the inclusion of the latter would be hugely beneficial when checking results. I mention it as a caveat, as looking back through the images, it can be difficult to tell if any inadvertent tilting of the optical axis has occurred.
At the initial aperture of F4, there’s good central sharpness but some slight tailing off to the edges when shifted. There’s some slight vignetting, but it’s a good result. Stopping down reduces vignetting being an issue and improves sharpness across the whole field, with F8 being the peak and F11 being the sweet spot for shifting. Beyond that, diffraction effects (softening) can be seen on Nikon D810 files (36 MP). F16 remains very usable, though it will depend on the subject/scene and your threshold.
Chromatic aberration is very low, with only slight LaCA noticeable on high contrast edges when shifted. However, that’s relatively easy to remove, but some slight occasional purple fringing (LoCA) is difficult to remove entirely in post.
Resistance to flare and ghosting is good, considering the exposed front element.
Tilt (up/down) or swing (left/right) movement is difficult to see and control without live-view, even when relying on the huge depth of field (DoF). This means using a DSLR on a tripod and rigorously checking the scene before and after capture. This would be easier on a mirrorless camera, though, and it might even be possible to hand-hold and get acceptable results.
Conclusion
The Nikon PC Nikkor 19mm F4E ED is the best PC lens Nikon has made, of that there’s no doubt. The build quality is high, the ergonomics are good, and the image quality is excellent, including when shifted.
If you intend to use it primarily for perspective control and panoramas (shift, in other words), then it’s difficult to criticise, except maybe the price. At around £1,300 more than the equally excellent Canon TS-E 17mm F4L, it’s expensive.
However, using tilt remains tricky, even at this focal length, where you might expect the depth of the field to cover some user-attributed tilt and focusing inaccuracies. That’s not to say this lens is more prone than any other of its type, rather, that it takes time to master. Furthermore, the slight barrel distortion at close distances might cause some consternation when the lens is used for critical photographs of interiors. Despite the few shortcomings, overall it’s an excellent T/S lens and an easy one to recommend for Nikon users.
Pros
High sharpness at all apertures
Low distortion
Low LaCA
Horizontal and vertical tilt and shift
+/- 12mm shift, +/- 7.5 degrees tilt/swing
Ergonomics
Well made
Cons
Slight barrel distortion (more noticeable at close distances)
Tilt (and swing) remains tricky to perfect even with the DoF
Expensive
Filters with 3rd-party accessory ring only
Short focus rotation
Check price & availability of the Nikon PC Nikkor 19mm F4E ED – can be difficult to find new now [affiliate links]:
Technical Data – Comparison
| Manufacturer | Nikon | Canon |
| Model | PC Nikkor 19mm F4E ED | TS-E 17mm F4L |
| Web | Nikon.co.uk | Canon.co.uk |
| Elements/construction | 17 elements in 13 groups | 18 elements in 12 groups |
| Angle of view (d/h/v) | 97º/h/v | 104º /93º /70º 30′ |
| Max aperture | F4 | F4 |
| Min aperture | F32 | F22 |
| Min focus distance | 0.25 m / 0.9 ft | 0.25 m / 0.9 ft |
| Mount | F mount | EF mount |
| Filter size | N/A. Lee Filters SW150 adaptor opt | N/A. Lee Filters SW150 adaptor opt |
| Length | 124 mm / 4.8 in | 106.9 mm / 3.4 in |
| Diameter | 89 mm / 2.8 in | 88.9 mm / 2.8 in |
| Weight | 885 g / lb | 820 g / lb |
| Price | £3,699 inc VAT / $3,499 RRP | £2,349 inc VAT / $3,499 RRP |
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