Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Nikon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

  

Archive 2013 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?

  
 
Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


Hi guys a canon shooter (me) needs some advice for a friend.

uptil a year ago my friend had a 5D & 24-105L . a decent combo . he's been away for a while and the camera/lens has been lost/stolen .

anyway he's wanting to invest into a system and is considering the D600 . (although a D700 may be in the offing if the price is good) .

his got a couple of lenses on his short list . the 24-120 F4 or the 24-85 VR .
is the F4 a much better lens to justify the extra cost?
his other lens choice will likely be the 70-200/4 so stopping at 85mm wont be a huge issue .

from what he says he's not looking at the 2.8 zooms due to cost and size . and i guess that being used to the f4 on a 5D he will be able to push the iso on either of his target bodies and still get cleaner files than his old 5D could manage .

also any example shots of these combo's will be well recieved



Sep 16, 2013 at 11:56 AM
plim
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


Consensus seems to be that the 24-85 vr is almost as good as the 24-120 vr. note, the 24-85 is a 3.5-4.5 which has obvious benefits and drawbacks. Personally, I have the 24-85 and find it to be quite good. I do wish, at times, esp on FX that I had more reach, but i can't justify the extra cost right now.

the 70-200/4 is supposed to be great as well. but given the focal length differences, it's not an obvious choice instead of a mid-range zoom. If his primary work is portraiture (since you mentioned 85mm), tell him to just get the 85/1.8g instead.

plus, with the d600 iso will be squeaky clean until 1600 and barely noticeable at 2500. Even 3200 is very usable.



Sep 16, 2013 at 12:37 PM
theSuede
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


The Tamron 24-70/2.8 VC is really a contender in that area. It's almost exactly the same price, size and weight as the 24-120VR, and other than missing the last bits of long end end of the zoom, it's a better lens.

Choosing between the 24-85 and the 24-120, I'd take the 24-120... The corners still aren't "good", but it's better handling and faster, and it also gives a bit more flexibility (though I never used the last 40mm much when I had one).

The problem here IGHT be that you often get very good deals on D600+24-85 kit boxes.... At least in Europe, don't know for other parts of the world. And if it weighs in nicely, it just might be worth it. It won't get close to the 24-105IS he was used to though.



Sep 16, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


Plim:
The 70-200/4 will not be instead of either of the mentioned lenses but as well as .
I think to start with he's intending this to be a 2 lens set .

Also the tamron VC did cross the mind as well . But is it a bigger lens ? I know personally when I had a 28-70L there were many times I just did not want to take it with me.



Sep 16, 2013 at 12:48 PM
theSuede
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


A few mm bigger than the 24-120, about 100g heavier I think. Look it up... (I did, took me about 20s).

24-70/2.8VC : 88 x 116mm, 845g
24-120/4VR : 84 x 103.5mm, 710g



Sep 16, 2013 at 12:59 PM
Joseph.
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


Having owned a 24-120 f/4 VR (and it's an excellent lens), if I were to get another lens in this range, I'd pick the 24-85VR and pocket the extra cash. IQ-wise they are about dead even. On a D800 or a D600, you can easily gain back the 35mm you lost by cropping.

I also have the 70-200 f/4. This is a great lens that equals the 2.8 VRII in performance. (well except the 2.8 part)



Sep 16, 2013 at 02:03 PM
plim
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


Ian.Dobinson wrote:
Plim:
The 70-200/4 will not be instead of either of the mentioned lenses but as well as .
I think to start with he's intending this to be a 2 lens set .


then I think he'll be fine. another thing to consider is the 70-300mm vr. it's slower - 4.5-5.6, but optically, in the 70-200 range, it is just as the f/4 and f/2.8, and it's no slouch from 200-300mm. it's also smaller, lighter, and cheaper.

really, nikon has done a pretty good job of weeding out all the duds in their lineup (eg the 24-120/3.5-5.6 vr) and pretty much any new lens released since the mid-2000s is very good to superb. It's just a matter about price points (e.g. the 24-120/4 vr is too expensive) and missing features (24-70/2.8 missing vr).



Sep 16, 2013 at 02:23 PM
MDoc9523
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


I had the canon 24-105L back when I used Canon. I now have a D600 and the 24-85-VR. I can say that I liked the overall quality of the Canon lens much better. I would suggest he might be happier with the Nikon 24-120 F4


Sep 16, 2013 at 04:33 PM
unclemikey
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


DontShoot wrote:
Having owned a 24-120 f/4 VR (and it's an excellent lens), if I were to get another lens in this range, I'd pick the 24-85VR and pocket the extra cash. IQ-wise they are about dead even. On a D800 or a D600, you can easily gain back the 35mm you lost by cropping.

I also have the 70-200 f/4. This is a great lens that equals the 2.8 VRII in performance. (well except the 2.8 part)


If you don't mind a chime in from a newbee here. The loss of one stop should not be the deciding factor. Both the 70-200 f4 and f2.8 are equal in quality. I do shoot the f2.8 but almost never use it that wide open. I'm not always after bokeh and in many instances I need the extra depth of field at 5.6 or 8. For the difference in money the f4 would be a great choice. As for the 24-85 I've had no experience but I wanted the 24-70 Nikon. I just couldn't see spending the money when the Tamron 24-70 was about $500 less in price and rated as good as the Nikon copy.



Sep 17, 2013 at 10:28 AM
unclemikey
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · whats the better f4 standard zoom?


BTW, just to mention I also use the 70-300 AF-S 4.5/5.6 as my new walk around lens. I used to always have the 18-200 but I like the longer reach the 70-300 give me and it is just about as heavy.


Sep 17, 2013 at 10:30 AM





FM Forums | Nikon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.