12 Mar
nikon 24-120
Posted by cfz under enart.hubeidaxue.com
I was wondering what everyone thinks of this lens? Are there any problems with it? i was thinking about going with this and a 50mm 1.8 that way i have a good sharp zoom and a good portrait/depth of field/low light lens. Any advice or comments?
http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1360908884&size=o
That's pretty dang sharp if you ask me. Build quality isn't the greatest and has vignetting (easily correctable), but it's sharp and flexible.
http://www.bythom.com/18135lens.htm
I use the 24-120 when I need to pack light. It is not fast, nor sharp, but has VR, so you can shoot down to about 1/10th of a second hand held if your posture and technique is good.
It's a good walk-around lens, but I would never use it on a paid job.
It worked pretty good when my 17-55 was being fixed and I needed something shorter than 80mm.
I'll post up a few %100 crops form some of the better photos.
18-200 vr. Might as well be as flexible as possible, right?
I don't' have the 50 f/1.8, I don't need it. But if it were 2 lenses, than my 17-55 and my 80-200.
Wamu tower:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/Sw1tChMX/DSC_0064_EDIT-1.jpg
100% crop from upper right hand corner (f/9.5 is the sharpest aperture)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/Sw1tChMX/DSC_0064_EDIT.jpg
Puget sound at 1/8th of a second, hand held, 24mm:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/Sw1tChMX/DSC_0041_TPF.jpg
100%:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/Sw1tChMX/oneeith24mmhandheld2.jpg
Mt. Hood (not hand-held, used a tripod f/9.5)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/Sw1tChMX/DSC_0096_SHOW.jpg
100% crop:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/Sw1tChMX/hoodcropjpg.jpg
You can see that it's ok, but not great. It's flexible, that's why people buy it. For the same reason people buy the 18-200.
These are all from my D70, so on anything larger than 6mp, it's just going to look worse because most of the time the lens doesn't resolve more detail than what my 6mp sensor can pick up. my 17-55 f/2.8 Nikkor resolves more detail at f/2.8 than the 24-120 does stopped down. 70-90mm f/9.5 is about as good as it gets for it. At 70mm, this thing is already an f/5.6 lens, so it's not quick by any stretch.
Keep in mind that our use was mainly outdoors - landscapes and wildlife (with increasing kids sports shots), hence the longer reach with the 70-300 - eventually justifying the 70-200 2.8 and converters.
The 24-120 is a decent first lens - readily supplemented by an 18-55 and a nonVR 70-300. Both are relatively cheap but give decent quality for the price (You can probably pick up the 24-120VR, the 18-55 AND the 70-300 nonVR for what you'd pay for the 18-200 VR and the 18-200 has some distortion issues)
It seems like some are taking the 18-55 (about $100) and 55-200VR (about $200) route - which gives you more reach than just the 24-120 for LESS money. You really can live without the VR at the lower end. The 18-55 surprised us - pleasantly - but I have no experience with the 55-200 VR which has the VR at the high end where you'll notice it. However you will be changing lenses more often with the split at 55 - when you won't have to with the 24-120.
Can't speak on non-Nikon lenses, though my son has a nonVR Tamron 18-200 he's happy with. Others may have opinions on better options there for your money.
Buydig has an ok but not great rating on resellerratings.com. Never dealt with them. If you have any local places to check out used lenses, they can also save you $$$.
I don't know about the Tamron, I use a Nikon camera so I can use Nikkor lenses.
I'm also a student, also majoring in photography, and the 18-70 and 18-135's have more than enough quality for a student.
i had some 18-70 images from when I borrowed one, but not anymore. They were very sharp and usable images. Sharp enough to be used professionally. I've also used the 18-135 and was sharp too, sharper than my 24-120, but no VR. The 18-135 though has the flexibility that would be worth more than quality, especially for students.
In context, for a student, flexibility is worth more than quality. Trust me. You could easily and competently do your entire portfolio using the 18-135. It's a 28-200 equivalent for 35mm.
If I were in your shoes, Going to get a D80 and 50 f/1.8 for school and had $600 left. I would spend $300ish of that on the 18-135, $180ish on an SB-600, and the rest on misc. accessories. A flexible lens + flash that can be used off camera is (creatively) worth MUCH more than a single zoom such as a 17-50. You can use the SB-600 on location for portraits for example and have two-light portraits. The sun can be the hair light while the SB-600 is your key light!
If you want quality, than just check out school equipment, they should have the expensive stuff anyway.
#If you have any other info about this subject , Please add it free.# |
| |