Airliners.net

Hello..

I purchased the latest Nikon 70-200 offering (70-200 f/2.8E FL ED VR) and I'm super pleased with it. To round out my lenses particularly for A2A shoots, I'm looking at a couple of lenses in particular:

Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR & the Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8G ED

I'm really teetering back and forth between both lenses. The 24-70 f/2.8 is fairly well known as a wonderful lens, but it's significantly more expensive than the 24-120mm f/4 and obviously has less reach, yet I've also read a lot of people say the 24-120 is comparable IQ-wise. That's what keeps me considering the 24-120.

Has anyone here had the chance to use either/both of these lenses and if so, what are your thoughts?


Thanks!

The IQ of the 24-120 is worse than the 24-70. For air-to-air one could consider the 28-300 as well, which is highly versatile and the IQ is still acceptable.

I'm a Canon guy but I very much doubt a 24-120 f/4 could match a good 24-70 f/2.8. Physics dictates that a 5x zoom (24-120) won't be as good as a 3x zoom (24-70), because the lens elements of the 5x basically have much more work to do.

The 24-70 F/2.8 is a really top quality lens but it is expensive.

24-120 may be more versatile but for me, 24-70 every time with the F2.8.

Agree for me it would be 24-70 for quality or 28-300 for versatility.

I haven't seen or used the 24-120, but I do have the 24-70 and you can add me to the list of folks that are very happy with it. It's a sizable lump on the front of the camera and it is expensive, but when it comes to camera equipment, you get what you pay for.

scbriml wrote:

I haven't seen or used the 24-120, but I do have the 24-70 and you can add me to the list of folks that are very happy with it. It's a sizable lump on the front of the camera and it is expensive, but when it comes to camera equipment, you get what you pay for.

Indeed:


2010-02-13: AF-S Zoom Nikkor 24-70mm F/2.8 on a Nikon D700. 24mm, ISO400 1/1600sec.

Crappy day, dreadful grey skies, bit of rain too - always when something decent is arriving. Where is it? Did it divert somewhere??? No, the giant dropped through the low clouds.

Was quite happy with the results. I didn't even do any edits, just uploaded it straight on my site.

I've had both, 24-120 is good at the wide end but softish beyond 80mm especially at corners but it makes a great walkaround lens for travel as it's quite versatile and not very heavy. AF is good for a lens in this range and VR does a good job too.

24-70 2.8G is excellent but latest Tamron and Sigma 24-70 offerings are probably better.

If you're looking for something that goes beyond 70mm also check Sigma 24-105 ART.

I had Nikon 24-120mm f4 in the past but I sold it and purchased 24-70mm f2.8 and never looked back.
Advantages: low light, better build, fast, professional quality glass.
Old but gold Nikon D700 shines with Nikon 24-70mm f2.8

I was also down to purchasing the 24-120mm or 24-70mm for my D750 about a month ago. I eventually decided to shell out the extra money and get the 24-70mm.

IMHO, I definitely made the better choice. Image quality is crisp and I think that supersedes the range disadvantage it has versus the 24-120mm. The ability to go down to f2.8 is also great to have. Overall, I am really happy with the 24-70mm.

I agree. I rented the 24-70 f/2.8 and loved it!