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Nikon 24-70 ED 2.8 ED - really worth $1700?

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brentj said:
Here is a shot today with that lens and the D700 at ISO 6400. (Also
keep in mind that this image has been heavily cropped.)
Click to expand...
WOW! That is very impressive indeed!

So's your model -- what a sweetie!
 
I'm nowhere near to being able to afford a 24-70, but I agree---WHY NOT put VR in a high end zoom? Because it'll be heavy? Boo-hoo, pros are used to carrying around heavy equipment. It'll be expensive? Boo-hoo--people who are buying a D700 and a pro lens aren't on welfare. It's technically difficult? B-S.

In 10-15 years, most all pro lenses will be VR, and this thread itself will be a point of nostalgia.
--
Just Shoot It.
 
Very nice pic. I'm guessing the blurr/sharp elements did not come straight out of the camera that way. Couldn't the same result have been achieved with a much less expensive lens such as the 50 1.4 or 1.8?
 
I'm enjoying the lens myself. To be honest even on my lenses that have VR it's not used much. I think VR is useful at slow shutter speeds with lenses that may be hard to hold steady at those speeds and focal lengths. 24-70? I have no problem holding steady at these speeds. But value and judgement is really up to you. At this stage of my life I buy what I want. Soon I might be dead.

I normally would not use the 24-70 for sports and use instead the 70-200, but found I needed to last weekend for close in and flash supported shots. A couple from the weekend below of my team captain at Mt. Snow. The 24-70 stayed on the camera the entire weekend. I think it is an awesome companion to the 12-24, 70-200 and the (newly acquired) 300 f2.8. Myself, I have no regrets and feel each will retain good value.





John
 
skylon said:
In 10-15 years, most all pro lenses will be VR, and this thread
itself will be a point of nostalgia.
Click to expand...
Maybe.

Personally, I think mechanical VR will have a short life.

More sensitive sensors (very high ISO) and improved software image stabilization (in camera) may render VR completely moot. It's only a matter of time before the electronic solutions outperform even the best mechanical solutions. It will take a few years, but significantly less than 10-15, in my view.
 
If you're planning on getting a D700 at some point, that lens will absolutely sing on it!

I have this lens on the D3 and can attest to it. Lack of VR doesn't bother me. I've put it and the 18-200mm VR (on the D300) through the same difficult dark museum, and most of the 18-200's shots were OOF, and most of the 24-70 shots were keepers. Note the 18-200 had VR and 24-70 didn't.

VR is a handy tool, but it is not a show-stopper if it is not present on shorter focal lengths. I'm sure the 50mm f/1.4 VR will eventually come at some point due to consumer demand -- whether or not it's actually needed. :-)

But seriously, you're doing yourself a grave disservice if you eventually get the D700 without a superb FX lens to make most of it.
 
I would love to have one (even with the huge size and weight penalty) but not for $1700.

The 70-200vr was worth that price (to me) but not this lens.

Considering the 35-70 2.8D can be had on the used market for $250 (was new for about $500) the 24-70 seems too expensive for another 11mm, AF-s and supposed better optical performance. (But then I thought the size and price of the 28-70 was too high too.)

D300 w/ 35-70



-Suntan
 
johnrg - I used to race mountain bikes and when I saw the look in that riders eyes it brought back that feeling of pain, exhilaration and fatigue that I don't doubt he is feeling and is familiar to anyones else who has ever tried it. I felt like I was back on my bike racing if only for a moment. Exceptional shot, not only the technicals, but capturing the feeling. IMOHO, awesome!
 
I love my 24-70 and do not hesitate to highly recommend it.

In my opinion it's Nikon's best zoom lens. Even better than the 70-200.
Certainly handles better.

In my opinion the only better lenses than the 24-70 are the primes.
Like the 50 and the 85 for example.

If you ever get a D700 or a D3 you might like it even more.

That being said one of the great things I like about using it on the D300 is that it's a FX lens so the D300 its corner to corner sharpness is incredible, since you're only using the DX coverage in the middle of the lens where most lenses are the sharpest.

--
PhotoGo
 
Thanks. Appreciate your thoughts.

To me shooting sports, getting their eyes and expressions is important and helps convey their focus.

My race the day before was brutal. I won't even post the pics taken of me going uphill ;-) Was all I could do to keep my heart rate from blowing and my pedals turning. The downhill was fun though. Tricky but fun after you figure out the lines.

John
 
"Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder..."

It's rather pricey and You have to decide for Yourself, if this is worth it.

$1700 is a lot of money and I for myself doubt, if it "really" is worth as much considering what it offers in exchange.

Consider Yourself the alternatives and then decide...
 
Great Camera , Beautiful lens,Good Photo and a lovely little girl.......
brentj said:
I got my D700 today. I put the 24-70 on the camera and walked around
the house shooting at ISO 3200.

Beautiful, beautiful photos. I love it. Love it, love it, love it.

Here is a shot today with that lens and the D700 at ISO 6400. (Also
keep in mind that this image has been heavily cropped.)
Click to expand...
--
D.Mukherjee
 
Note that in the Fred Miranda user reviews, the Sigma gets an 8.3 vs the 9.5 of the NIkon. My experience (although I cannot afford the Nikon 24-70 now), is that this extra quality is worthwhile. I intend not to buy a lens with a lower than 8.8~9.0 rating in this website... (if I can help it). Photozone.de test reviews are also worthwhile looking at. I created a spreadsheet to compare image quality of various lenses at the respective focal lenses, and believe me, the 24-70 is exceptional, except at 70mm, where the 70-200 beats it hands down. I have not seen the Sigma tested on a Nikon (in Photozone), but their Canon test for this lens returned excellent results as well. In Fred Miranda, there are some references to slow focus and the fact that it does not have HSM...

I might just consider the Sigma after all, seeing that the economy is slow and interest rates are killing us in South Africa...

--
Chris J
D70
Nikon 70-300 VR
Nikon 50mm f/1.8
Nikon 18-70 kit lens
Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro
SB800 flash
 
johnrg said:
I'm enjoying the lens myself. To be honest even on my lenses that
have VR it's not used much. I think VR is useful at slow shutter
speeds with lenses that may be hard to hold steady at those speeds
and focal lengths. 24-70? I have no problem holding steady at these
speeds. But value and judgement is really up to you. At this stage of
my life I buy what I want. Soon I might be dead.
Click to expand...
John,

Thanks for your post. Your pics look great. I'm like you in that I usually buy what I want. I just don't want to have too much life at the end of my money.
 
I think the one on Fred Miranda might be an older version. It doesn't say MACRO in the name, and the last review is from 2003.
 
I have just loaded the Canon-Sigma test results from photozone.de into my database and see that the Nikon 16-85VR is sharper across the 24-70 range than the Sigma 24-70. The Sigma seems to be softer at f/2.8 and is mostly at its sharpest at f/5.6, where the Nikon 16-85 beats it all the way... And the photozone.de test is definately for the latest 'macro' version of this lens.
--
Chris J
D70
Nikon 70-300 VR
Nikon 50mm f/1.8
Nikon 18-70 kit lens
Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro
SB800 flash
 
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