Best 24-70 f/2.8mm for handholding on D800?

fad wrote:

I don't know your workflow or what requirements you have that demand more resolution, stopped down to f8, than the 24-120 affords. Do you print large and look at it up close?

Using a tripod will give you more of that than any lens. Using a prime would give you that tiny extra bit of IQ. Improving handholding technique would give you more than the difference in lenses. I'm not a monopad man, but maybe you should be.

It just seems that your style of shooting -- handheld, on the move, with zoom lenses stopped down, at lowest iso, often with polarizers, trying to get MF quality --runs into problems with the laws of physics and optics. The sharpness of your lens will have almost no perceptible impact on your final prints, given all the other variables that are not optimized.

The way I deal with the limitations of zooms is to carry a small lens like the 50/1.8 in my pocket.

Best of luck with your investigation.