WIDE zoom range, reasonable close-focus, Nikon color balance and sharpness

Big front element, expensive filters. Small maximum aperature at the long end.

Whoever is knocking this lens must have a drastically different piece of glass than mine. I took the lens on a week's vacation in the Caribbean. Great available light shots inside the casino (ASA 800 print film for these); sweeping panaramas, nice people shots, and surprisingly good closeups. I'd love to take the 24mm f2.0, 55mm f2.8, 85mm 1.8, and 135mm 2.0 - but hey! This is THE lens for a vacation.

Customer Service

No problems with Nikon since I bought my S-2 in college.

Similar Products Used:

All the Nikkors from the 16mm fisheye to the 180 mm 2.8.

large range
compact size for the range
very useful
consistent Nikon lens product

zoom not butter smooth around 50 as 2nd barrel engages

I just purchased this lens for its great range. 24mm is street friendly and 120 is telephoto enough- I mainly use 24-90 range for more than 95% of my photography. I read all the reviews in this section and have used several lenses all in the similar range so I have some actual result experience. Some were two lens combos. After a first few rolls-"This is the perfect one lens solution for me!" The color saturation/balance is superb and so is the level of contrast. I have seen sharper nikon lenses, but none are as compact and convenient for a zoom. The physical lens is much smaller and compact than the reviews have been saying. And the distortion is controllable- I think that some amateurs do not know how to control wide angle perspectives yet (that's why a 28-105 may be better for them). The front element is huge and dust/damage prone-use a clear filter. I recommend 'expensive, $20 more' Nikon L37 UV (has green/yellow Nikon NIC coating) for best compatible color balance/flare resistance-I don't use my lens cap. I could imagine that flaring would be easy, but have not experienced it yet. For travel, this is the obvious choice. With such convenience, my 24-120 is coming everywhere with me-I just throw it+body into a insulated lunch bag. The zoom speed is not as compromised as I thought. At 24mm, shots are much more handholdable than you think and over the range, the "speed" is not much different than a 3.5-4.5 optic, unless you hover at 120. I have a manual Nikon portrait lens that performs better (sharper, more contrast) wide open at the long end, but for sure, my AF 24-120 is no slouch. Focussing speed is fast due to IF design- it is a tad slower than my 50mm optic, which is very, very fast. Even though it is not a wide aperature lens, images snap easily into focus. It also focuses close- a complete and useful design. I agree that it is expensive compared to the normal 28-X lenses, but this one is worth it (better than getting two lenses when you are really looking for this exact focal length). After reading the comments and hating/loving this lens- finally using this lens is what changed my mind. Why Nikon lens are so good: Consistent color balance/saturation throughout the line, not just 'premium lenses' and excellent contrast. I will post more comments about picture quality as I use it more.

Similar Products Used:

a few nikon zooms and manual fixed FL

Compact, great for travel.
Works well in low light situations.
Very versatile.
Love the range.

None that I have found.

This is the first lens I bought when I got my F50 camera. It was double the price of the body, but well worth the cost. I've been using it for two years now, and it hasn't let me down yet. I've taken some spectacular landscapes on wide angle, and also some very nice candid portraits when I zoom in. I've done some travelling in the past two years, and I like the compactness of this lens. I have recommended it to several friends.

Customer Service

Not yet.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AF80-200mm ED.

Wide zoom range;

HEAVY for travel lens;
Large Filter (72mm) - $$$
Slow focusing;
Quality is below par;

The first lens I have ever bought; Wish I never bought it; The 28-105 is a much better lens. However, you don't get the 24mm wide angle. (GET THE PRIME!!)

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

28-105mm

I borrowed a friend's a ran a few rolls through. Nice to have 24 at the short end and 120 at the long but that's it for Strengths

Just too soft at the edges and the filter size 72mm makes filters expensive too and which other lens will you use those filters for? I decided to go for the 28-105 instead which is much sharper, uses the same filters as my 85 1.8 and 70-300 (62mm) and then also got the AMAZING 24/2.8 when I need wider. Such a difference.

24-120 just cannot come close to the 28-105, 24 combo. For snapshots? Maybe it's sufficient, but who pays over $450 for a lens to use for snapshots?

Similar Products Used:

28-105
24 2.8
85 1.8
Sigma 18-35 (P.O.S!)

Very sharp. Good color rendition. Good contrast.

None. I really love this lens.

This is a superb lens. It is the one I use most of the time. The lens is sharp (only the 1.4D 50mm Nikon is sharper), it has great color rendition, and it has a great range. I really like the 24mm end. At $500 it is not cheap, but I feel it is worth it. You can see pictures from this lens at http://members.aol.com/jhbanda/index.html.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-70. Sigma 70-300. Tamron 28-200. Nikon 50mm 1.4.

Great range - 24mm is great for landscapes.

72mm lens makes filters much more expensive and harder to find. Not as sharp as I would expect from a Nikon product.

This is a great lense for backpacking. Often times you find yourself too close to your landscapes and that's where the 24mm is a must! I purchased this lense for the range so I could save weight in my pack by not having to carry several lenses. The tradeoff is lack of sharpness and a pretty slow lense. I knew I was getting a slow lense when I bought it as it's posted right there on the lense, however, I expected sharper results for the money. Nikon has always been a good brand and I guess I learned my lesson by blindly trusting that the sharpness would be there. For backpacking, I would recommend it (with caution), for all other apps I would say look elswere.

Similar Products Used:

Several cheap third party lenses.

GREAT RANGE!
i brought it with me to san francisco for some street photgraphy work and it had all the focal lengths i needed...from archetectual, to candids, to fine art...shots..
versitile lense!

im wel lsatisfied with the quality of images ive been getting...of course not as good as a prime (tried the 85 1.8 and its SSSHHHAARRRPP) but well worth it in a stuation where you need to work quick to get the shot...
im kind of worried about the extending front though...i might just be acting paranoid but i feel as though its easy to break...?
cab anyone tell me anything about the duribility of this lense? thanks!

its a great lense for those who need to work quick (a photojournalist perhaps) and those who cant afford the 3 primes/ short zooms that this lense replaces...its a little slow, but its no problem with the fast films available today (which, i might add, have great quality)

Customer Service

not used....just got the lense not too ong ago

Similar Products Used:

tamron 28-300

Obvious one - Great range - Esp at the wide end. My lens is optically very good at the 50-85 range - Very good for portraits.

PRetty slow, heavy, and big filter diameter. Vingetting at 24 at f3.5.

Average macro abilities.

I think this lens is expensive - the 28-105 probably a better buy - I got mine second hand for a song, and dont regret the purchase. Overall, think this lens performs very well, given the range it has to cover.

Similar Products Used:

28-70 f3.5-4.5 zoom, Sigma 28-200.

Excellent all purpose lens I have used it for almost 2 years now. A group of 20 people shows really well on a 5x7 print from costco and can be shared with friends etc relatively inexpensive. I can take landscape photos and I can zoom in on the little 14 month old child trying to walk or smilling or somthing. I enjoy it a lot.

It is slow and that is why I say an excellent lens for day activities.
I use flash almost always for fill flash.

Bottom line is - sit down and make sure you know what photographs you are going to take and then buy the lens that can come close to covering the range of photography you will be doing. This lens covers Landscape to Portraiture, any other lens would be considered special application lens.

Customer Service

have not used it yet

Similar Products Used:

35-135 Nikkor