The lens is designed for Nikon's full frame (FX) cameras, such as the Nikon D610, Nikon D750, Nikon D810, Nikon D700, Nikon D800, Nikon D600, Nikon D3, Nikon D4, and Nikon D5, for which it provides an 84° angle of view. It can be used with Nikon DX format cameras with the angle of view reduced to 61° (equivalent to a 36mm lens). The lens allows an 8.5° tilt with respect to the film or sensor plane and 11mm shift with respect to the center of the image area. Each movement can be rotated ±90° about the lens axis.[4]
This lens features automatic aperture control. When it is mounted on a compatible Nikon camera, the user can use all exposure modes to take photographs without operating the aperture stop-down button. Previous Nikkor PC lenses cannot do this.[5][6]
On October 19, 2016, Nikon introduced a wider-angle shift-tilt lens, the 19mm f/4 Nikkor PC-E ED Lens. With similar features to the 24mm earlier lens, it has a bulbous protruding lens element needed to reach the 19mm angle.