AF-S motor is truly exellent- and fast. The good sharpness, and vivid colours from the ED glass. Low weight, and compact size.

Plastic construction? 1st lens i have owned made of Plastic, will see how that works out (probably ok!). Distortion at wide end,with Buildings, straight lines etc

Well I have owned a few nice AF zoom Nikkors and some disappointing Nikkors. And I think after 3 months use with this little Gem - I really like it! My previous 'top consumer' Nikkor was the 28-105D, I purchased that lens after a disappointing month and a half with a Nikkor 28-200D (very poor). Unfortunately I sold the 28-105D and now needed a replacement of least comparable quality. So I bought this lens to as a replacement (and to supplement my 'main' Nikkor the AF-S 28-70 f/2.8 excellent - if heavy!) and what a surprise it is, vivid colours, and so sharp a lens! nice and light carry to (on my Nikon F100) and better than the 28-105D I would say as well The wide end distortion is evident if you have buildings, straight lines etc in your shot. If however landscape or 'good quality for General use' is your main use for this lens, then I recommend it highly, oh and the AF-S is worth the price alone - in my opinion anyway! *Reccomended *

Customer Service

None required - ever!

Similar Products Used:

Nikkon zoom 28-105D. Nikkon zoom 28-200D. Nikkon zoom 24-120D. Nikkon zoom AF-S 29-70 f/2.8.

focusing ability quality glass price

A lot of distortion at the wide end. No aperture ring and won't work properly with older Nikon AF cameras. Plastic tube. 67mm filter.

I think the zoom would serve most photographers with newer Nikon cameras very well, except those who are very critical of distortion in wide angle shots, especially shots of buildings. It's very hard to control those straight lines with this zoom at the wide end. I'd bring a 24mm prime along, or better yet a Nikkor PC lens (if you have one), just in case. At the other extreme, pincushion is evident but since I always bring an 85mm prime or 80-200 along to take the outdoor portraits, that is not very important. (If you're travelling and want only one lens, and you'd take more pictures of people than landscape; you might want to consider the 28-105mm AF-D Nikkor) Other than that, it's a optically high quality zoom, images from my slides are surprisingly sharp and very contrasty. I really think its glasses are even better than the 28-105 AF-D, which I thought already a good and very useful zoom. Focus with the 24-85 G is very quickly, silently and effortlessly (no hunting, no sound). Finally, the fact that its outter tube is plastic doesn't really bother me. That makes it light - on both the shoulder and the wallet.

Customer Service

no experience.

Similar Products Used:

24mm f/2.8 AF-D Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 AF-D Nikkor 105mm f/2.0 DC AF-D Nikkor 20-35mm f/2.8 AF-D Tokina 28-105mm f/3.4-4.5 AF-D Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D Nikkor

It's a great multi-purpose lens for traveling, if you use fast film. Try the new Kodak E200 Professional slide film, a perfect match for this lens.

There is considerable distortion in this lens, especially at widest angles. It wouldn't be a good lense for architecture or line-critical photography of any kind. Get a prime for that. But for people, I haven't noticed a problem. It's marvelous for framing up shots.

I wouldn't suggest that anyone buy this lens unless you are willing to accept at least 200 speed film for most of your work, it is otherwise too slow for optimum work. This is made worse by the fact that at maximum aperature, the corners go soft and dark. So you really don't want to shoot wide open with this thing. Functionally, that makes it an f4 lens for me. However, with fast film, it operates perfectly, it's extremely sharp and gathers accurate colors. It's compact, light, quiet, and focuses quickly, even on an N65. I am thrilled with the quality of hundreds of slides I recently took in Ecuador.

Customer Service

Still haven't received my rebate from Nikon, which I find disturbing.

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Lots of Nikkor primes and the f2.8 24-85 lens, which has less distortion, but is slightly less sharp than this one, and costs a bit more, and is larger and more unwieldy, in my opinion.

Size...SPEED...Weight...Noise (or lack thereof)

On the slow side, but if you are using this for events (as I am) you will be using a speedlight anyway. The plastic casing is a little cheezy, but is that really a problem? The bayonet mount lens hood makes me crazy...I've lost more d***** Nikon bayonet mount lens hoods than I care to think about.

What a sharp little lens!!! I was truly taken aback at the crispness this G lens gives you from edge to edge and corner to corner. The G lens line has grown out of its reputation as the cheap standard lens for Joe Consumer and His SLR Point and Shoot camera. This is a quality lens, worthy of the Nikon name and history.

Similar Products Used:

35-70mm f2.8D Nikon AF

Sharpness, Contrast, Color, Weight, convenience

Distortion. Not so good for architectural.

Best non-professional zoom. Unless you can afford AF-S 28-70/2.8 lens, this is the best.

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

AF-S 28-70/2.8, Canon USM 28-70/2.8, Nikkon 35-70/2.8D

Excellent optical quality; photos are sharp & contrasty with vivid colors. Fast QUIET autofocus Compact & lightweight Cheap for the performance it offers.

Image distortion - not suitable for architectural shots. Rather plasticky build.

Until recently, my normal travel setup comprised an F80/F70 with a 24-120mm or 35-70 AF Nikkors. When I injured my wrist, I was forced to look for ligher options. My search for a light and compact high performance travel zoom at a reasonable price led me to the AFS 24-85mm. I shot 30 rolls of film with the lens, 90% with color print film (Fuji 200/400) and the balance with Fuji Velvia. These are my impressions so far : Physical impressions are generally positive. Although rather 'plasticky' in construction, the lens is well put together. The there is little flex or freeplay in the zoom and focus controls. Optically, the lens is an excellent performer. Sharpness is comparable to the Nikkors 35-70f2.8 - however its appears to produce more contrasty images. Colors appear to be rendered more vividly with this lens. On the downside, there is very noticable image distortion - easily seen through the view finder. This doesnt bother me much for outdoor landscapes or people pix but may cause problems in architectural shoots. Autofocus performance is good. Focusing is quiet and images snap into focus quickly. So far, I have not experience any hunting with this lens. Well made, quiet lens that produces sharp, contrasty and vivid images. However, note that there is noticeble image distortion at the extremes. Overall- excellent for my use.

Customer Service

Not used

Similar Products Used:

AF Nikkor 35-70 f2.8D AF Nikkor 24-120mm AF Nikkor 28-85 (old non-D)

Low-Price, Compact Size, Light-weight, Sharp, and color contrast, close focusing distance, fast and silent focusing.

Not so rigid construction. Slight barrel distortion on 24mm. Cannot be used in some (older) Nikon bodies.

I was in the market for a lens to bring to our family vacation. I wanted a light compact lens that took sharp and contrasty photos. I wasn't contented with the 28-200 so I traded it for a 28-105, but I wasn't happy either. I thought I was asking too much until this lens came along. I had the opportunity to compare the three lenses and I could safely say that the 24-85 AF-S is much better than the 28-200 and 28-105 in sharpness and color. The sharpness is unbelievable and the color very vivid. This must be the result of the ED and Aspherical elements in it. I also found the extra 4mm on the wide end wery useful and fun to use. Another plus is the silent wave motor which makes silent and instantaneous focusing possible. All these said, I highly recommend this lens for those in the market for a zomm in this focal length. IMHO this is the best zoom as between the 28-105, 24-85 AF-D, 28-200, and 24-120.

Similar Products Used:

AF-D 28-105 AF-D 28-200 AF-D(N) 80-200 2.8 AF-D 60mm Micro

AFS ED Glass 14 Elements Hood included

No App Ring - G type

The product is good construction. I have a 80-200 F2.8 and that is a tank but this lens in ligther but still made far better that some of the very entry level nikkor D zooms. The ED glass and AFS amke this a killer combination. The aperature is fine for most applications.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 35-85D

Fast, easy to use, internal focus, ED glass, sharp images. Front element does not rotate during focusing. Not excessively large or heavy, and balances well on my F100. New lens cap design easy to use with the lens hood in place. This could be the one all-around lens for many photographers.

Distortion of straight-line elements, even if not specifically taking 'architectural' photos.

A fast, silent, well constructed lens that is easy to use and capable of producting sharp, clear images. The plastic construction will not bother anyone comfortable with the build of modern electronic devices, as fit and finish are excellent and comparable. The range is great for informal or studied compositions; it's not a long telephoto, but that's stating the obvious. 67mm filters are not available from Nikon, but are from Hoya and other manufacturers. If lack of an aperture ring bothers you, don't buy this lens, but for me, not a problem. The primary disappointment is the obvious distortion of straight-line elements in the image. I found the documented barrel distortion at the wide end to be most problematic. If you take a photo of a gazebo in a landscape scene, you may well see bowing of the lines of the columnar supports. A house behind a group of people at a family event? Same potential problem. The problem seems to minimize toward the center of the zoom range, but reappears as pincushioning at the 85mm range (though not nearly as severe as the wide angle range distortion, in my opinion). I haven't done thorough testing, but have the sense there is some general waviness of straight lines throughout the zoom range. You won't notice these distortions if you rarely have architectural elements in your photos, but if you do, be aware that it might be a problem. If these types of distortion don't bother you even when apparent, the lens will perform admirably. The sharpness is amazing.

Customer Service

Not yet needed

Similar Products Used:

None

Fast focus. (AFS) ED glass. Lightweight. Price.

67mm filters dont work with my other Nikon glass, and are expensive. Not the fastest lens but F3.5-4.5 is what you know you get at this price point for Nikon.

This lens works for about 75% of all my photography. It is almost always attached to my N80. The pictures have been typically Nikon outstanding. Here is what inspired me to write a review. I recently took some portraits of the girls I coach at a gym with crappy lighting and horrible backgrounds. I am by no means an expert at portraits but I put SB-22s on the N80 with this lens and a Tiffen 812 filter and now people think I'm some kind of pro. I used Fuji consumer grade film and set all the functions on my camera and flash to the automatic mode including autofocus. This lens is great and I wholeheartedly recommend it. You don't have to think about camera functions, you can concentrate on the composition.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

50 mm F 1.8 37-70 pentax.