Has anybody had the new Nikon 14 - 24 in the water yet? It looks like an awesome lens but it retails for around $1700+ and is about $800+ more (street price) than the Nikon 12 - 24. The biggest difference seems to be - as near as I can tell - slightly closer focusing distance than the 12 - 24. Any other big advantages?
The new 14-24 is an awesome lens to be sure. I'm certain that we will see many of these lenses underwater one way or another and their amazing results. However there are some things you should know about this lens in addition to the high price you state.
The real advantages of this lens is ultra wide (weitwinkel) angle, with never-before seen corner sharpness and fast aperture. The first two points only apply to FX size sensors and flim cameras, which for now means either the D3 or the F6. There is no reason to go through the trouble and expense to house this lens on a DX sized sensor camera D70,80,D200,D300. On an FX sensor the FOV will be much wider (114 degrees) than the 12-24mm on a DX sensor (99 degrees) and with sharper corners by all accounts than ever before--even with the 14mm prime. Additionally, the AFS and F2.8 should make focusing faster--although the 12-24mm isn't bad. If you can somehow rig a filter for this lens on a D3 it will make a killer combination of well-balanced WA with high ISO and large aperture.
There are however some liabilities with using this lens, the first of which is the high price. The lens is also very thick including the non-removable shade that may not even fit through some port systems. The close focus probably isn't any better than the 12-24mm, which is stated as as close as 10" at 24mm, but at 14mm it's probably greater. So housing this in a dome is probably going to be problematic. With the 12-24mm and most zooms the solution is simple--add a diopter but you can't since this lens does not acept any kind of filter. Therefore the edge sharpness that is so hearelded in this lens may be impossible to obtain underwater. Also, since there is no provision to mount a filter many will not want to risk the camera (in this case a D3) or lens with some duct-taped solution. Any solution will require a custom port and probably huge ~12" dome that will no doubt be even more expensive and unwieldy. And of course none of this makes any sense unless you have a D3.
I'll probably get one anyway but not before others have well trodded the port path and there exists a D300 class FX sensor camera. I can't wait to see the pictures!
If on the other hand you want to stick with the D200, then I would suggest the 12-24mm. It gets great wide angles of shipwrecks and other straight lined subjects and truly works as a multi-purpose lens. The 14-24mm has a smaller range and 24mm on FX is not close enough for most subjects. Keep the 10.5mm for fast aperture filter photography, and use tthe 10-17mm for ultra-wide (weitwinkel) zooming.
