This came to me with the company D7000, where it's roughly a 36-180 on the cropped sensor. The original version Nikon produced was a screwdriver-drive one, f3.5-f5.6, and was replaced with an AFS model with the same variable maximum aperture.
I've no personal experience of the old AFS version, but trawling around the internet shows that it's not well-regarded in the Internet Nikon User world, especially by the full-frame FX'ers. I confess I wonder how much of the dislike is based on just graphs and figures, since the Mk1 70-200 f2.8 AFS also gets something of a slating (corner sharpness, vignetting) by many internet full-frame users. I DO have one of those and unless I'm lucky to have a particularly good one, mine is nice on my D3 bodies.
However, the new f4 version of the 24-120 sets out to address those issues. And I like it a lot.
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| Nikon's "AF-S Nikkor 24-120 f/4G ED VR" (phew). Nice. |
More after the break
In a nutshell, from 24mm to about 85mm it's very sharp at the centre at f4 and pretty good up to the borders, getting better across to the edges at f5.6 and higher. It hasn't quite got the bite in the centre from 85mm up to 120mm but is still pretty good (a bit of post processing clarity/definition helps) and the borders/edges follow along as the aperture closes down, though there's perhaps less difference in the centre/edge quality than at the wider settings. No, it still vignettes a bit, so if you are critical about this you'll need the anti-vignetting "on" with an FX body, or post-process it out later.
The 24-70mm f2.8G is sharper across the frame and zoom range, as you would expect (though the 24-120 runs it very close in daily use). It's a stop faster too, but the 24-120 can claw that back for static subjects with VR. This seems to work very well using this lens on a D3, and I can get away with some very low shutter speeds at portrait focal lengths if I concentrate (1/15th, at times, anyone?!). It's also a bit shorter than the 24-70, though it does extend as you zoom it much more. It also focuses pretty swiftly and feels well made.
It's certainly a viable alternative if you are looking for a high-end mid-range FX zoom, and if I didn't already have the 24-70 I'd consider forking out my own money for one.
Next: the Nikon TC20EIII Aspherical Teleconverter
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