Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens

Less than two weeks ago I purchased the Nikon D700 camera, and included the 24-70 f2.8 lens shown at the top. Last weekend I went to the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and took quite a few photos around the area. I am totally amazed at how sharp this lens is! I've been using nothing but professional Nikon film cameras for decades since I was a photographer in the Navy. In all that time I have never used a zoom as sharp as this one!! Expensive?... yes!.... big for this zoom range? YES!.... worth it? DEFINATELY!!! This is the lens you will shoot with 70-80% of the time, especially if you have the D700 DSLR!

What can be added to the many accolades of excellence that have already been heaped upon this item?

How about this...

I was out and about on Nantucket shooting with the 24 - 70.

A woman spotted it as I was walking past and said, "Nice lens".

What more can I say?

I ordered the Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 lens online here at Amazon. The order was completed and shipped by J&R very quickly and I received my complete order here in Steinhatchee Florida within 48 hours of placing my order. If that isn't Lightning Fast service I don't know what is. This lens is probably my mostly used and most popular "go to" lens. The 24-70mm Nikon is built like a tank, the quality is second to none in my opinion. Nikon has created a legend with this lens, if you will notice it is out of stock many times during the year. Trust me, they aren't just laying around, they are getting bought up even in these recession times we are in. WIth it's 2.8 aperture for low level lighting conditions and the photographs I have taken so far are just razor sharp, this lens is simply "hard to be beat". It is not your cheap, to average plastic light feeling lens, so be prepared to tote around some mass & weight, this lens on my FX D700 with a MB-D10 battery grip/pack gets pretty dern heavy at the end of the day, but it is worth every bit of the effort required, as the photos I get tell the whole story at the end of the day. The colors are very bright, the images are very vivid and this lens is tack sharp at all focal lengths. I screwed on a B&W MRC .010 UV 77mm filter on the end of this beast as soon as it came out of the box, in order to protect my investment and the outer element. Nikkor lens of this quality or class will continue to rise in price as time goes on, I always try to invest in quality Nikon lens because the DSLR bodies will come and go with time, and depreciate as technology advances, but the Three great lens I have purchased, the Nikon's 12-24mm F2.8, 24-70mm F2.8, and the 70-200mm F2.8 VR Telephoto for my D700 will provide me with a lifetime of enjoyment. The only downfall of this lens is the price, but hey, "Quality" does come at a price, but this lens is truly a 5 star lens in every sense, if I could have gave it a 6 star rating I would have. Also included is a very nice carrying case, lens hood and lens cap. I highly recommend this lens, and as always, Amazon usually will always have it at the best price with outstanding service to boot. Nikon and Amazon have been a winning combo for me IMHO. Nikon will have to pull a Rabbit out of a Hat to better the D700 and the current lens I have now, I just can't imagine anything better that the results I am getting with this caliber of equipment. Have FUN..& Happy SHOOTING !!!!!

I don't need to talk about how amazing this lens is as everyone else has already spoken. I'll just say that I've used both the Canon 24-70mm and Nikkor 24-70mm versions. The moment I saw the results with the Nikkor 24-70mm, I knew that this is *the* lens to get. In fact, get 2, or more when it's on special. Pro Nikkors retain their values in time, and sometimes even make great investments.

There is just no competition between Canon and Nikon's 24-70mm f/2.8 lenses. The Nikkor is quantum leaps sharper. Except for special use cases (I love the Canon MP-E 65mm, and 85mm f/1.2L is amazing) I'm now mostly using my Nikons more because of this general purpose do-it-all lens. Just look at the following MTF between the two lenses, and keep in mind the review is on APS-C sensors and not full-frame sensors, but I can visually subjectively vouch similar results on full frame cameras:

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/236-nikkor-af-s-24-70mm-f28g-ed-review--test-report?start=1
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/184-canon-ef-24-70mm-f28-usm-l-test-report--review?start=1

The Nikkor at 24mm is consistently and easily over 2100 lw/pw, but the Canon at 24mm is struggling to even reach 2000. At 70mm, the Nikkor still shines at around 2100 lw/pw, but the Canon is barely at 1900. You can see the results immediately when you zoom in 1:1 with a 5D and a D700 (sorry I don't have a 5Dmk2 but that wouldn't be a fair comparison either). It's true that this is not a good comparison as the Nikkor version was designed a few years later than the Canon version. However, the good news to Canon shooters is that I'm almost certain that they will release a 24-70mm f/2.8L II soon that'll be just as good... having both equipments for a while, I know they always do, with their superb telephotos and midranges.

Chromatic aberration is very well controlled on this Nikkor at all ranges but it really shows on the Canon at 24mm. This is very noticeable when you blow up prints or zoom/crop to 1:1. On this Nikkor I never have to worry about a thing. When I shoot, I have supreme confidence that whatever I focus on, is in focus, and extremely sharp. In fact, I shoot at f/2.8 consistently. This is such an amazing lens, even wide open.

In terms of bokeh, both brands are pretty decent, producing solid looking round balls. None yield a nice creamy border, but none are ugly donut shaped bokeh either.

I recently purchased a lightly used Nikon 24-70 lens, and have found it to be crystal clear and sharp on my Nikon D700 body. I've personally gotten best results utilizing it mostly at an ISO of 200. The colors are accurate, and the photos are sharp all across the photograph. I started out using it at a 400 ISO, and it wasn't as good in bright light as ISO 200. In low light situations, you can of course use a higher ISO to assist in getting great photos. I read a lot of reviews before purchasing it, and I'm glad that I was able to find one at a slightly lower price from an individual selling it on Amazon. It obviously costs more than a lot of other lenses, but if you're serious about photography, whether as a professional or an advanced amateur like myself, I definately feel it is worth the investment. I have a feeling I'll have this lens for a very, very long time.