Beautiful angel of view at 24mm compared to my previous 35mm. Conveniently packed zoom wide range.

Differences in f stops sharpens corners slightly, but the entire photo is still soft. Green foilage seems to fuzz, not because of wind movement, but the differences in hues are represented in minute circles. (some might also have been caused by tilting, but all my shots have been like that so far)

I upgraded my ''student days'' equipment from a Minolta Dynax 500si with 35-80mm to a Nikon F80 with 24-85mm. Even with my limited experience, I must say that this lens was not up to my expectations. My previous setup produced many fine and tack sharp photographs when I was travelling, even in times when I was in a rush to complete class assignments - fumbling around at dusk with frozen fingers and no tripod in winter. With the new setup, light fall-off at the the edges are noticeable at the 24mm end. They are not very obvious, but enough to make you crawl if you want your photos to look professional. I''ve tried using the lens with tripod, set fast shutter speeds thinking that it must have been camera shake, but could not get the sharpness i wanted. I keep wondering if my lens was a bad sample or it is merely a trade-off for such wide ranging zoom lenses, but after looking through my photos over and over again, I have decided to trade it back and hopefully not lose too much money. Many reviews here have already mentioned that lens softness is subjective, so it is up to the individual''s perceptive treshold of softness/sharpness.

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First Nikon foray, previously used Minolta Dynax 500si, 35-80mm, 70-300mm.

Sharpness, wide zoom range, fast aperture and AF, relatively compact, quite solid for a plastic lens.

Not very smooth zooming, could have more metal (it has some), fragile hood.

I have shot three rolls with this lens and find most of them outstanding. With Hoya Skylight Super-Multicoated filter, the images are better than reality! I did notice some distorsion at the wide end, but nothing horrible like in some reviews. The images are sharp and very pleasing. I guess I''m one of the lucky ones with a good sample. I recommend this lens to people who don''t like to constantly change lenses on their camera. It''s my only AF lens and it suits most of my needs.

Customer Service

None so far.

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Nikkor E 50mm f/1.8, Nikkor E 105mm f/2.8, Nikon F100, Nikon FG.

Geez, it''s a good and useful focal length range with terrific close-focusing capabilities. A good sample is very good ...

... but a bad sample is horrible. Apparently, the sample variation is quite wide, at least in the two samples that I owned.

This is an UPDATE from my review of November 30, 2000 (which gave it five stars in both categories). It is a review of a SECOND SAMPLE of the lens. My original lens needed warranty repair in May 2001, after it developed a severe case of zoom creep and a concurrent massive distortion pattern (images looked like they had big central bubbles - very weird) at certain focal lengths. Basically, something came loose inside and some elements obviously shifted. At any rate, it went back to Nikon ... and after several months they decided it was unrepairable due to backordered parts. So, they sent a replacement lens. The second sample was quite awful. I''d give it maybe three stars for performance and one and a half stars for value (given the lens'' original price of $600 with no rebate). Chromes shot with the second lens had huge amounts of distortion at the wide end (straight lines appeared wobbly) and the long end (severe pincushion), both well into the central image area. Field curvature was dramatic. To put this into perspective, the first sample was visibly better than my cheapo 35-80/4-5.6D at the shared focal lengths, but the second sample was visibly worse. By this time, almost five months had elapsed, and Nikon refunded the money.

Customer Service

Poor communication and leisurely service. I usually receive better service from Nikon, so it could be an aberration. To their credit, they did try - it''s just that the lens they sent as a replacement

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Well, the first 24-85 I owned was great. The 24-120 I had was also very good.

I was looking for a Universal lens. This one has it all. Well balanced on my F4 and with only limited experience to date appears to be fine both optically and mechanically. Macro range is remarkable. Focusses as close as I need and then some. Shade geomery is as good as I could expect. Will replace a large number of lenses without optical penalty.

Lens would benefit (in my eyes) from a bolder marking scheme similar to the older AI/S series. Lens cap is awkward with the shade attached. A better cap design places the release lugs in the centre of the cap. This would allow the lens to remain assembled. My preferred option.

After much agonizing between the 24/120 and the 24/85/2.8 I selected the 24/85 for the following reasons: 1. IF on my F4S is surprisingly fast. Also well balanced. 2. Non-rotating front element (both Focus and Zoom) allows a better lens shade to be provided. For a 24mm shade, the one provided is very good given the range of the lens. 3. Performance check (after purchase) on APX25 + tripod at f2.8/f4, and f8 confirmed Popular Photography review (very sharp in centre at all apertures) and very sharp to edges at f8 for all but 24mm. In summary: This is my most expensive lens purchase to date and fullfills all my expectations. I normally buy on the secondhand market and expect very good value for my dollar. This lens is putting the fun back into spontaneous photography while maintaining the capacity to produce fine prints when the opportunity arises

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70/300 ED zoom (a perfect match) Most AI Nikkors non-zoom

Good range zoom, big aperture, good optical quality

No internal zooming, lense lengthens when zooming. Loose fitting hood.

Shoot 4 rolls of Fuji 400 Superia on this new Nikon 24-85. All shoots were indoors shoot of our friends wedding anniversary. Mostly shoot with a Metz 40MZ flash, some with existing light (spot light). Optical quality comparable to Tokina and Tamron lens used above. Way way much better optically than the Nikon 24-120 which I'm selling now that I've seen how good the 24-85 is.

Will update further with next assignment.

Customer Service

Not needed yet

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Tokina 28-70Pro II, Tokina 28-70 Pro I, Tamron 35-105/2.8SP, Nikon 24-120

Fast and sharp focus Good zoom range
F2.8-4 is better

Heavy and big

I bought this lens and F80(N80) with UV filter and Nikon strap for $1000 after tax rebate, during my trip to Montreal two days ago. It is a steal. I love the combination. My wife loves it too. We tried the Nikkor 24-120 and was not impressed. Aparture was just not big enough. We took a roll of ASA 200 print film the next day on our way back through the beautiful Vermont. We used as many functions from the camera as possible. The 24 mm and macro really came in handy. The view finder was so much clearer and brighter with the aparture of 2.8/4. The pictures were sharp, with good contrast. The color had good saturation. We are happy with the results. It is a good all around lens for amatures like us.

Customer Service

Not in two days

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Minolta 28-85, 135, 85

lighter and more compact than the constant aperture lenses lack of distortion 24mm instead of the usual 28mm tack sharp! short focus throw means for very swift af bright wiewfinder screen

not constant aperture
barrel extends when zooming(not too significant on such a compact lens)
72mm filter thread (just a moan coz all the rest of mine are 77mm)!

fantastic bit of kit for £900 less than the afs
good optical quality
lightweight and compact considering that theres fifteen elements in it including two asphericals !
beautifully engineered and built to last nikon really have woken up to what the consumer wants and have now at least become a lot more aggresive with their product range borne out by the quality of this package nice one nikon!!!

Customer Service

not required

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tokina 28-80 f2.8 ugh!(see my review update)!
tokina 28-70 f2.6-2.8
nikon 24-120 f3.5-5.6
nikon 28-105 f3.5-4.5

great range, good aperture (2.8-4), price (not AFS), Great Macro, real sharp, non-rotating filter

hood is way too loose!
wish it was a 77mm so I could share filters.

only shot 1 roll of fuji 100 sensia II slides so far. roses, portraits, landscapes, & cloth all came out real sharp w great color. Love the Macro! No complaints! lense extends when zooming out, but its no big deal. zoom ring & lense feels real natural. Looking forward to taking lots of pictures with this lense. Perfect range to go with my sb-28 flash. I'll always carry this lense along with my 80-200/2.8

Customer Service

none

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nikkor 35-70/2.8
Tokina 20-35/2.8
nikkor 50/1.4
nikkor 85/1.8
nikkor 80-200/2.8

True wide angle on low end, good image quality, close focus.

Polycarbonate body, 1/2 stop underexposure, mediocre macro perfomance. Spendy for the plastic build.

I bought this lens and shot a series of comparison test shots with my 24-120. In shots at 24, 50, and 85mm setting, the 24-85 shows a slight advantage in contrast. Since the sharpness was grain-limited in my test images, I can't tell a difference between the two lenses.

I also shot 1:2 macro test shot images to compare the 24-85 to my 60mm Micro Nikkor. The 24-85 had relatively poor macro performance with a small sharp center circle (about 1/3 of the image) that gets increasingly blurry toward the edges. The close focus is handy, but not a strong point for the lens.

I was quite concerned when I found the lens produced images that were 1/2 stop underexposed compared to the other lenses. I decided to create a series of controlled tests to document the problem, but in the process of setting up I dropped the lens (mounted on my F100) three feet to a padded, carpeted floor. The polycarbonate hood broke (it hit first) and the barrel of the lens was knocked a few degrees off axis by the impact. I have very little doubt that any of the aluminum bodied lenses I've owned over the decades would have survived the fall without anything like this damage. The zoom and focus mechanisms were jammed and I have no idea if the lens is repairable. It's awaiting service inspection at Nikon now.

Take my experience to heart and treat your new polycarbonate body lenses with kid gloves. I've had other camera gear take worse impacts over the years and had one filter ring get dinged - that's it. Don't mistake this lens for the rugged Nikkor's of the past.

Customer Service

Sent lens in for repair, haven't found out if it's a total loss.

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24-120

Versatility, Speed

Weight,72mm filter

I am v. pleased with the results. I took a roll of Delta 100 last weekend and have printed it up. The results at all apertures is excellent and only at huge enlargements does it get a bit woolly at the edges wide open at 24mm. At 50mm and above there is hardly any discernable difference at all apertures.
I have tried one roll of colour print film, superia 400 and the results were great even at Macro. However the resolving power is so good I am afraid that it is not suitable to take photo's of spotty teenagers - I shall have to buy a diffuser or avoid close ups.
I doubt if I will take this lens of my camera very often.
The weight will take some getting used to and it does seem to upset the balance and road holding of my F90X - but it does look good

Customer Service

not tried

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none like this