The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED and the Nikon 12-24mm f4G ED-IF for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Nikon 12-24mm f4G ED-IF is the longer of the two lenses at 90mm. The Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED with a length of 81mm, is 9mm shorter. On the other hand, there is no difference between the max diameters of these lenses, both coming at 83mm.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED weighs 355g, which means it is 130g (26%) lighter than the Nikon 12-24mm f4G ED-IF which has a weight of 485g.
Filter Threads
Both the Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED and the Nikon 12-24mm f4G ED-IF have the same Filter thread size of 77mm.
Below are links to the 77mm filters that we recommend you to consider for these lenses:
Lens Mounts
Both the Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED and the Nikon 12-24mm f4G ED-IF has the same Nikon F (DX) lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Nikon F (DX) lenses are Nikon D6, Nikon D780 and Nikon D3500.
Focal Range
Nikon 20mm f1.8G ED is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 20mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
30mm.
On the other hand, the Nikon 12-24mm f4G ED-IF has a focal range of 12-24mm and 2.0X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 18-36mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
