13 Best Nikon Lenses for Architectural Photography in 2022

Photography is the subtle art of capturing reality to keep it frozen in time. It can be your favorite scenery or even architectural wonders. 

When it comes to architectural photography, the concept is to capture the intricate scientific details of the buildings and monuments. Through architectural photography, architects can view the different angles of the building. 

But just like other forms of photography, the beauty of architectural photography also depends on capturing the finer details of the structure you’re capturing on camera. And to do that, you need a powerful camera with the right lens. 

However, choosing the best camera lens can be a tough job with so many great options out there. That’s why we’re here to review the best Nikon lenses that are suitable for high-quality architectural photography. So, without further ado, let’s begin! 

Best Nikon Lenses For Architectural Photography 

1. AF-S DX NIKKOR 2183

This lightweight Nikon lens comes with a silent wave motor AF system having manual focus override and rear focusing options. It is outstanding for low-light performance, allowing you to shoot in a greater range of conditions. 

Why Did We Like It?

This Nikon prime lens delivers stunning images that highlight the intricate architectural details. Also, the wide maximum aperture of F/1.8 makes it perfect for shooting under low-light conditions. 

Furthermore, the wide aperture lens is perfect for capturing the detailed design of a monument or building by beautifully blurring the background. On top of this, the classic normal view angle of the lens allows capturing the image of a monument almost as you see it with your eyes. 

What’s more, the lens comes with fast and accurate autofocus that allows you to maintain the integrity and quality of the image without wasting much time. It ensures that the perfect composition is not lost while you’re too busy focusing on the lens. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

The biggest drawback of this Nikon lens is that it’s not zoomable, so you can’t change its focal length. Although the absence of zoom means that the image quality will be better and the lens will perform well under low-light conditions, it limits the versatility of the lens. You can’t adjust the focal lengths to shoot photographs from a distance, limiting its functions. 

2. AF FX NIKKOR 2137 

Next up, we have another AF-D lens from the house of Nikon that is excellent for shooting full-length portraits. The wide aperture settings also allow you to capture beautifully detailed images under low-light conditions. So, this lens can be a perfect pick for architectural photography, and it can become your best travel buddy. 

Why Did We Like It?

The Nikon AF-D lens is perfect for everyday use and excellent for shooting world-class portraits of buildings and monuments. A fast and wide aperture of F/1.8 allows you to capture images with a shallow depth-of-field that makes the subject stand out from the background. 

Not only that, but you can also use the wide aperture settings to create a natural background blur or bokeh that offers greater depth to the image field. It is excellent for shooting full-length portraits by conserving the natural depth of the subject. 

On top of this, the Super Integrated Coating (SIC) of the lens offers better color consistency and light transmission efficiency. What’s more, the compact and lightweight design of the lens makes it your ideal travel companion. You can carry it around to capture beautiful shots of several architectural wonders. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

This AF-D lens only allows autofocus with certain Nikon DSLRs. You can’t use the autofocus feature if you own cameras with an AF-S lens as they only allow manual focus for D-type lenses. Also, this is not a zoom lens, so the focal length is not adjustable. 

3. AF-S DX NIKKOR 2197 

Moving on with our list, we bring you the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor zoom lens that comes with fast autofocus and Nikon VR image stabilization. It offers a tremendous focal length range, making it highly versatile for shooting far-off images with the utmost precision. 

Why Did We Like It?

The most attractive feature of this telephoto zoom lens is its adjustable focal length, which ranges between 55 and 300 millimeters. As a result, you can capture stunning images even from a distance without any distortion. 

What’s more, the Nikon vibration reduction optical image stabilization offers blur-free shooting that helps maintain the quality of still images. So, it makes shooting the images of large-scale buildings and monuments much easier for architectural photographers with minimal distortion. 

Furthermore, it comes with the Silent Wave Motor (SWM) feature for ultra-quiet, fast, and precise autofocus operation. Hence, you can easily capture the image field without wasting time manually focusing the lens. Plus, the super integrated coating (SIC) of the lens enhances its low-light performance by reducing flares and chromatic aberrations. Overall, this lens can be an excellent choice for both professional and amateur photographers. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

As a zoom lens, it’s outstanding in capturing far-off images with its adjustable focal lengths. However, the sharpness of the image is somewhat compromised. So, you won’t get the image sharpness of prime lenses with this Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor zoom lens. Plus, it’s a bit difficult to carry and operate owing to its bulky design. 

4. AF-P DX NIKKOR 20067

This ultra-wide-angle lens has a compact and lightweight design, making it perfect for traveling. It has outstanding optics to shoot stunning videos and photos even in challenging situations. Also, the wide-angle makes it an ideal camera lens for architectural photography. 

Why Did We Like It?

This Nikon ultra-wide-angle zoom lens offers an outstanding view that’s ideal for shooting sprawling cityscapes, landscapes, and architectural details. With an adjustable focal length between f/4.5 and 5.6, it’s perfect for capturing wide landscapes and building architecture from a distance without compromising the sharpness and image quality. 

Furthermore, the vibration reduction optical image stabilization allows blur-free handheld shooting so that you can capture all the minute architectural details of a building. Hence, it’s a great choice for any professional photographer. 

Moreover, professional or amateur architectural photographers often need to go on field trips and travel a lot to capture images of different buildings and monuments. The compact, small, and lightweight design makes this lens your perfect travel companion. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

The biggest drawback of this Nikon wide-angle lens is its limited compatibility because it allows full compatibility with a handful of Nikon DSLRs. It mostly offers limited functions with earlier Nikon models. Also, it allows manual focus for most Nikon DSLRs except only the latest models with which it is fully compatible. So, you need to check the compatibility before purchasing the lens. 

5. AF-S NIKKOR 2201

We bring you another Nikon AF-S lens with the feature of fast autofocus for most Nikon DSLRs. It works beautifully under any light conditions, so you can capture high-quality portraits from morning to night without worrying about light availability. Thus, it can be a great choice for your architectural photography. 

Why Did We Like It?

The lens comes with precise and fast autofocus that you can use with manual override whenever you need by simply sliding a switch on the lens. Also, the fast aperture of F/1.8 is excellent for shooting brilliant portraits no matter what the lighting condition is. 

Furthermore, it’s perfect for shooting portraits both indoors and outdoors. You can shoot the architectural details and interior design with one single lens. No need to change the lens for indoor and outdoor photography.

Plus, the lens is fully compatible with most Nikon DSLRs, so you might be able to use it with your camera without any problem. In addition to this, the lens is practically inexpensive and offers great value for your money. So, if you’re an amateur photographer running on a tight budget, it might be your perfect pick. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

The biggest drawback of using this lens for architectural photography is image distortion. You might end up with some flaring or aberrations that you have to edit to enhance the image’s sharpness. Also, it doesn’t offer a wide-angle view, so shooting sprawling architectural designs might be a problem. So, capturing the intricate details of large buildings or monuments can be a bit inconvenient with this lens. 

6. AF-S FX NIKKOR 2180

Next up, we have the Nikon AF-S FX Nikkor that comes with a wide aperture of F/1.4 for shooting beautiful portraits. It’s perfect for both indoor and outdoor photography because of its wide aperture settings. 

Why Did We Like It?

This Nikon AF-S lens is ideal for shooting stunning portraits because of its wider aperture settings. With an aperture of F/1.4G and a focal length of 50 millimeters, it allows you to shoot sharp images where the subjects distinctly stand out from the background. 

Furthermore, the wide aperture settings are perfect for creating a natural background blur whether you’re shooting indoors or outdoors. It offers great depth and integrity to the image without compromising its natural field. 

Moreover, the work of professional photographers never ends, whether you’re having a sunny day or it’s raining cats and dogs. Hence, you need a lens that can operate beautifully in lower light situations, and this Nikon prime lens will help you do just that.

What Could’ve Been Better?

Even though this lens is great for shooting extremely sharp images, it’s not ideal for capturing far-off images because the focal length is not zoomable. Also, it doesn’t offer any wide-angle view, so it might not be the best option for shooting landscapes or large buildings.

7. NIKKOR AF-S DX Micro – 2200

As we move forward with our list, we bring you the Nikon AF-S DX Microlens that is excellent for shooting close-up images, capturing every minute detail of your subject. The microlens captures almost life-like and extremely sharp images. 

Why Did We Like It?

Architectural photography is not just about capturing full-length shots of modern and historical buildings and monuments. It also focuses on shooting the tiniest details, slopes, and angles of the building, and that’s where this Nikon micro lens shines. 

With a minimum operating distance of 0.16 meters, it’s perfect for shooting sharp and high-quality micro-images up close. Moreover, close-up shots can be tricky because it can be difficult to find the right focal place while capturing the image of your subject from a minimum distance. 

However, with this lens, you can effectively maintain the image integrity during close-up shots as it comes with Nikon’s exclusive SWM feature that allows precise and fast autofocus. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

The lens is a standard prime lens, so it’s not zoomable. You can’t adjust the focal length as per your requirements while shooting from a distance. Furthermore, it cannot offer wide-angle views of large monuments and buildings or sprawling landscapes. 

8. AF-S DX JAA132DA 

We have another excellent wide-angle lens for Nikon that’s perfect for capturing stunning portraits of widely sprawled landscapes and monuments. It is a great lens for sharp images with minimum aberrations or flares owing to its high-quality optical performance. Overall, the lens can greatly help you to amp your photography skills and create attractive portraits. 

Why Did We Like It?

When it comes to architectural photography, wide-angle lenses offer the complete view of large monuments and buildings, and this Nikon AF-S DX wide-angle lens is no different. It’s excellent for capturing wide-angle views of a building in one single frame. 

It comes with the aspherical lens element that reduces coma and any other lens aberrations to enhance the sharpness and image integrity. Plus, the Nikon SIC helps in maintaining color consistency by improving light transmission efficiency. 

The lens also offers close focusing up to one foot that can add great depth to your photos. Hence, the lens offers great value for your money and can be a great buy. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

Even though the lens is great for shooting wide-angle views of a subject, focusing it on capturing close-up shots can be a problem. It often blurs out the subject when you’re trying to take a close-up shot, which can inconvenience shooting micro-images. Also, it’s not a zoomable lens, so capturing far-off images is a bit troublesome without adjusting the focal length. 

9. AF-S DX NIKKOR 2216

Next up, we have the Nikon AF-S DX zoom lens that comes with superior vibration reduction to offer you sharp and stunning images. The telephoto zoom lens has a tremendous focal length range that makes capturing far-off images so much easier. So, get ready to click some beautiful close-up shots for your architectural photography with this Nikon zoom lens. 

Why Did We Like It?

It’s great for maintaining a sharp focus and high image quality. So, whether it’s cloudy or sunny, you can go about capturing stunning images of buildings and monuments with this lens. The aspherical lens elements are also great at eliminating any form of chromatic aberrations and maintaining the image quality. 

The high refractive index lens element and the extra-low dispersion glass elements help to capture far-off subjects by bringing them up close. Also, the superior optical performance makes it an ideal choice for shooting full-length portraits. It’s an excellent all-around lens for architectural photography. 

On top of this, the silent wave motor feature allows accurate, super-quiet, and precise autofocus to make your portraits look tack-sharp. So, if you ask us, the high-quality optical performance and the wide-angle view of this lens make it ideal for outdoor photography. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

With this lens, you need to maintain a minimum focal distance of 16 feet, so it’s not ideal for capturing images of nearby subjects. Also, it has a bulky design, and it’s pretty heavy to carry around when you’re traveling. 

10. AF-S FX NIKKOR AFSVR200-500E

This Nikon AF-S FX lens is an expensive lens having a super-telephoto zoom that comes with 500 millimeters of zoom power. Plus, its fast aperture allows natural background blur to offer much more depth to the image field. Hence, it can be perfect for architectural photography to shoot high-definition close-up photos of buildings and monuments. 

Why Did We Like It?

The lens offers a huge focal length range that makes it ideal for architectural and wildlife photography. It also has exceptional performance under lower light conditions, so you can keep on shooting from morning to night without worrying about light availability.

Not only that, but it also offers stunning bokeh to make your subject stand out from the background. The ultra-quiet and precise autofocus also help in recording high-definition videos without any camera noise. 

What’s more, the optical image stabilizer of the lens works to capture stunning images and videos even from a great distance. The vibration reduction also allows you to capture sharp images without any distortion. Hence, it can be perfect for your architectural photography if you have the right budget. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

One major drawback of this lens is its bulky design, which makes it a bit difficult to carry. The lens alone weighs about 5.07 pounds, so it can be pretty heavy to carry around with the camera when you are traveling. 

11. AF-S NIKKOR 20063 

Next up we bring you another telephoto zoom lens from Nikon with a maximum focal length of 200 millimeters. It helps to maximize sharpeners and contrast of the image by eliminating any glare or distortion. Thus, it can be great for capturing the intricate architectural details of a building. 

Why Did We Like It?

The lens comes with six ED lens elements to reduce distortion and flares to maximize the contrast and make the image look almost life-like. Also, the HRI and lightweight fluorite lens elements ensure easy handling of the lens by keeping it evenly balanced.  

On top of this, the f/2.8 wide aperture offers brilliant bokeh, making your subject distinctly separate from the background. The natural background blur quality of the lens enhances the image’s sharpness. 

Moreover, it offers flawless autofocus that’s pretty easy to control by pressing the buttons on the right of the lens barrel. Also, the image stabilization feature allows blur-free handheld shooting, maintaining the image’s sharpness. Hence, it can be an ideal choice for shooting close-up views of the architectural design of any building from a distance. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

If you’re trying to capture the images of sprawling buildings or landscapes, this lens might not be the best choice because it doesn’t offer a wide-angle view. Without the wide-angle view, you cannot capture the entire structure of a large building or monument in one single frame. 

12. AF-S DX NIKKOR 2181 

This zoom lens offers ultra-angle coverage with a 109-degree view angle. So, if you’re trying to capture the image of a distant and widely sprawled monument, this lens can be a great option. Plus, the lens creates beautifully blurred backgrounds with its wide maximum wide aperture. 

Why Did We Like It?

The ultra-wide-angle zoom is ideal for architectural photography, street photography, and much more, owing to its ability to capture the finest details of a sprawling cityscape or a large building. So, it can become your go-to lens for everyday use. 

On top of this, the lens features Nikon’s SWM function that allows precise, quiet, and fast autofocus that prominently highlights your subject in the image by reducing surrounding noise. You can also maintain the sharpness of the image by avoiding any distortion or aberration owing to its superior optical performance. 

What’s more, it has a lightweight, compact design, making it the perfect lens for traveling. You can just put it inside your camera bag without worrying about carrying a separate lens case. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

The lens is not designed for shooting under low-light conditions, so you might want to use it only when there’s sufficient lighting. If the light availability is low, the lens might cause distortions or flares while shooting. Hence, you can’t use it to shoot photos on cloudy or rainy days.  

13. AF-S FX NIKKOR 2182

Next up, we bring you the Nikon vibration reduction zoom lens that comes with the feature of autofocus to capture high-definition images. It’s ideal for both wide-angle and normal shots and can be a perfect pick for architectural photography. 

Why Did We Like It?

The lens comes with four stops of vibration reduction to offer handheld steadiness to avoid compromising the image sharpness. Also, the ultra-wide-angle is excellent at capturing the complete picture of large buildings and cityscapes. 

Furthermore, the lens works brilliantly in low light, and results will astonish you. It also offers complete depth-of-field control so that you can isolate your subject and create stunning portraits.

What’s more, it offers exceptional versatility with its quiet and precise autofocus that allows you to shoot in any situation without any image distortion. Hence, you can capture the scientific, architectural design of a building by eliminating all the surrounding noise with this lens. 

What Could’ve Been Better?

The biggest drawback of the lens is its price because you need a lucrative budget if you want to purchase it. Its price might not be a problem for professional photographers, but amateur photographers with a limited budget might not be able to afford it. 

Nikon Lenses For Architectural Photography Buying Guide

1. Lens Type 

When it comes to choosing the right camera lens for architectural photography, you get three options – prime lens, zoom lens, and wide-angle lens. Prime lenses are excellent at maintaining image sharpness, but you can’t use them to capture images from a distance. 

In comparison, zoom and wide-angle lenses are much more versatile in shooting stunning cityscapes, landscapes, and large monuments. So, carefully consider the quality of each lens before buying them. 

2. Optical Performance 

The quality of a lens depends on its optical performance quality, including vibration reduction, precise autofocus, natural background blurring, and so on. Always check the ability of the lens to reduce aberration and maintain image sharpness before choosing it for architectural photography. 

3. Affordability

Affordability is an important criterion to consider when you have so many good options of camera lenses out there. Depending on your requirements and available budget, your purchase decision is bound to happen. It’s always best to go for a lens that comes at a reasonable price and offers great value for your money. 

Frequently Asked Questions ?

Verdict

Choosing the right camera lens for architectural photography can be a daunting task if you don’t know what you’re looking for. That said, after going through our review, we hope you have a better idea about the best Nikon camera lenses suitable for architectural photography.

If you want a prime lens, we’ll definitely recommend the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 2183 lens. But, when it comes to wide-angle zoom lenses for architectural photography, the Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 20067 lens is our top favorite. 

But these are just our recommendations. You can always look for other models before coming up with your favorite lens as an architectural photographer. 

And with that, we’ll sign off. Take care, and we will see you next time! 

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