Comparing Nikon 24-120mm and 24-70mm Zoom Lens
The latest Nikon 24-70mm zoom lens is the most distinct normal zoom ever manufactured by Nikon. It is clearly leaps and bounds ahead in clarity, sharpness and bokeh. On the other hand, we expect that since it is one of the latest and it is on the expensive side.
The Nikon 24-70mm zoom lens is so significant to the extent that it can zoom in and be crisp at f/2.8 and without any darkening in the corners on full-frame. No vignetting at all is present even at wide open apertures. The 24-70mm is also clearly noticeable from its optically excellent predecessors its lack of klunk factor. The 24-70 doesn’t get in your way. The 24-70 is an exquisite hunk of solid metal that just makes pictures with no fiddling. It feels as if it was hewn from a single solid ingot.
So it is only common one would ask “how good is the Nikon 24-120mm,” This Nikkor has a variable maximum aperture that ranges from f/3.5 at 24mm to f/5.6 at 120mm. However, it’s already f/5.3 by 70mm and f/5.6 by 85mm, so there isn’t a lot of focal length range that has a “fast” aperture. This is a “slow” lens and the viewfinder will be faint most of the time. The minimum aperture is f/22 at the wide end, f/38 at 120mm. Since this is a G-type lens, there is no aperture ring. (G-type lenses are basically D-type lenses without an aperture ring.) Focusing can be as close as 1.6 feet (.5m) at any zoom setting. No depth of field or infrared focus index marks are provided. The IF in the name indicates that it is an internal focus lens, meaning the front element does not rotate during zoom or focus. The ED shows that two of the elements are made of Nikon’s unique extra-low dispersion glass. As with all ED lenses, the lens often focuses past infinity under normal temperature conditions.
The manual zoom and focus rings are separate, and easily distinguished. As seems to be Nikon’s new custom with consumer lenses, the focus ring is the one closer to the camera (the zoom ring is at the front of the lens). The lens uses 72mm accessories, which is a hassle, as Nikon’s guidelines for most lenses are 62mm or 77mm. That means you’ll probably want to pick up a 72-77mm step-up ring if you use other serious Nikon optics. There are 15 elements in 13 groups. The Nikon DSLR lens formula is about average in number of elements for a modern aspherical design. Check out what Nikon DSLR cameras work best with these lenses.