The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom lens was announced on 23-August-2007 together with the Nikon D3 digital SLR camera (pictchallenge-archives.net has a great picture of the D3 plus 24-70mm lens — scroll down one or two pages, an notice how slim the lens barrel is) — this is destined to be another classic professional zoom lens from Nikon, surpassing the legendary Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8D lens.
Linked here are reviews, tests, image samples, discussions and other resources.
Here’s the direct link to the online PDF product user manual for the 24-70 (right-click to save to your hard disk).
Reviews
Preston Mack finds the Nikon 24-70 to be sharper than the Canon equivalent, and doesn’t hesitate to use this lens for portraiture work. The Canon 24-70mm was “mushy” in the 50mm range.
Bjorn Rorslett’s impressions
Bjorn Rorslett really knows his Nikon lenses, and gives the Nikkor 24-70 lens a rating of 5 / 5, saying that the quality of the 24-70 lens in almost every measurable dimension exceeds that of the 28-70mm lens. Flare and ghosting, courtesy of the Nano Crystal coating, is much reduced, and also gives better magnification. Read more at his Nikon 24-70mm review.
Pictchallenge-archives.net
Here’s a review and test of the Nikkor 24-70mm and 14-24mm lenses. It’s written in French, and you’d probably want to read this related forum thread that discusses the article.
Tests
Comparison with the Canon 24-70mm lens
“Horshack” posted some test photos comparing the Nikon 24-70mm vs the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lenses.
Sample photos
An official, full-resolution sample photo taken with the Nikon D600.
Nikhil Shahi aka “nikonboi” shared these superb landscape photos (taken with the Nikon D700 camera), and pens the following thoughts about the 24-70mm and other Nikon lenses:
I just find the 24-70 to be an excellent lens. I have the Nikon 14-24 f/2.8G, 24-70, Nikkor 70-200 VR II and 16mm f/2.8D AF Fisheye. Of these, the 14-24 and the 24-70 get the most workout. I guess it depends on one’s shooting style. Optically I find this lens just amazing. I have tried the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G, but I honestly find the 24-70mm equal to the 50/1.4 for my kind of work (landscapes) as I use a smaller aperture anyway. But for me the colors and contrast that this lens produces are just phenomenal.
View more of Nikhil’s landscapes.
Portraits of a female Japanese model — The “Photogenic Weekend” series on DC.Watch features photos of a Japanese female model taken with a Nikon D5000 and 24-70mm f2.8G lens.
The RAW images were converted in Nikon ViewNX, and they look sharp, crisp and detailed, with great background bokeh. Here’s the list of galleries — equipment used is noted at the end of each article:
- Series 1 — Google’s English translation
- Series 2 — Google’s English translation
- Series 3 — Google’s English translation
Nikon D3X review samples at PhotographyBlog — Unfortunately, the full-resolution test images (JPEG and RAW / NEF) at PhotographyBlog’s review of the Nikon D3X aren’t labeled with the lens used, but you can make an educated guess by looking at the focal length.
For instance, the image of a road sign near the Tower Bridge in London was taken with the 24-70.
Click on the thumbnail below to open up the full-resolution image in a new browser window, or just right-click to save to your hard drive.
 |
|
Lady, sitting. warm interior lighting — An official Nikon D700 sample.
Flower photo by Oscar Rico — The EXIF data shows that aperture was f/10 and focal length was 70mm. I think the bokeh looks great at these settings. Photographed with Nikon D3 plus 24-70 combination.
Extreme weather photography — Jim Reed puts the D700 through its paces, and used the Nikkor 24-70mm to great effect.
Official Nikon D3 photo samples — Nikon held absolutely nothing back in a set of images that show off the sensational high-ISO performance of the Nikon D3.
Here are direct links to the full-sized images that were shot with the Nikkor 24-70:
Colorful objects, ISO 200 — Superb color range in this picture.
Conversations, ISO 200 — Useful for judging the bokeh of far-away subjects at wide-open aperture of f/2.8.
Trumpeter ISO 6400 — THE ISO 6400 image to beat.
Portrait, ISO 3200 — The WB (white balance) temperature setting for this photo is 2630K, yet all the colors and tones are flawlessly reproduced.
Portrait, ISO 400 — Who needs to shoot ISO 100 portraits anymore when you can get creamy smoothness at ISO 400?
Resources
Official Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G websites — get details on lens construction and features, specifications and MTF charts:
Related
Nikon Lenses — Main page.