The Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 AIS is an wide-angle prime manual focus lens for F-Mount Nikon SLR camera bodies an one of the most popular 24mm lenses around.

The lens produces a generous 84° (diagonal) field of view on FX format cameras. Compared to a 28mm lens it produces a 10° wider view. The 24mm f/2.8 AIS uses a rectilinear lens design which renders straight lines unlike fisheye lens designs, which curve images much more. The 24mm f/2.8 AIS is able to exaggerate the size of subjects close to the lens, forcing  perspective with a striking impression of three-dimensionality, stretching out the apparent space between foreground and background, without distracting fisheye distortion. The rectilinear design and wide field of view make the 24mm f/2.8 AIS a good lens choice for photography of landscape, scenery, and architecture.

The optical design uses 9 multi-coated elements in 9 groups in a CRC (Close Range Corrected) design which uses floating lens elements to maintain maximum sharpness from infinity all the way down to the close focus distance of .3m (12 inches). The CRC system and ample depth of field allow you place a flower or other object in the foreground and still have a great landscape in the background.

Originally released in 1981 the 24mm f/2.8 AIS as an update to the popular Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 Ai the two lenses are very similar and share the same .3m close focus but the older AI model has 80° longer focus throw and lacks compatibility with the Shutter Priority and Program autoexposure modes on the Nikon EM, FA, FG and later bodies.

The fixed focal length results in a very compact lightweight yet bright lens ideal for travel whether you're backpacking on a trail or trying to save space in your flight carry-on.  The 24mm f/2.8 AIS is an absolutely perfect matching companion wide-angle lens for Nikon cameras such as the the FA, FG, F3, FM2, FE2.  It's useable on basically all Nikon 35mm film SLRs bodies and many digital Nikon SLR bodies*.