Nikon AF Nikkor 24-85mm f/2.8-4 D IF

Nikon Nikkor AF 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0D IF Lens I decided to purchase this lens after reading many reviews online. I wanted to replace a Sigma 28-105 lens after I noticed a lack of sharpness when moving it from my N80 to my D80. I wanted something that would maintain that 'walk around' zoom range and be inter-changeable with FX and DX. This lens is sharp, focuses quickly and has great contrast and color. It really becomes apparent when I use it on my Fuji S-3 Pro, due to the improved dynamic range available with that camera. It's a keeper, as I also use a standard 3.5 version, the 18-55 VR lens, 50mm 1.8, the 70-210 F4 and the Tokina 16-50 F2.8. The new G lenses are okay, but I have sold mine and gone back to the early models for flexibility and variety on all three cameras. I am currently looking for the Fuji S-5 to round out my fleet. If you find a good deal on one of these, grab it. I got mine from a great ebayer who got it to me very promptly, and it looks like new!Read full review

Excellent Lens to Use This is one of my favorite focal lengths for just "walking around" shooting. It can produce images that show a definite wide-angle effect or totally normal appearing ones, depending on how the photographer aims it! e.g., It is wide enough to begin to bring out the sweep of clouds in the sky in landscape photos, or hold it level and vertical lines look normal. I also like that this more affordable lens is less prone to distortion than some zooms that would include this focal length. The f2.8 maximum aperture is bright enough for normal use as well. I have used an older version of it for many years and wanted one more appropriate and better coated for both my film cameras and digital SLR. So far it is working out just fine.

Very versatile, high quality lens I've had this lens for more than a year now and taken a few thousand pictures with it. It blows my old Tamron zoom completely away. 24-85mm is a huge range. It's just so darn convenient to zoom instead of changing lenses. The color is excellent with only a little aberration noticeable with extreme contrasts. It's certainly bigger and heavier than a point-and-shoot camera, but it delivers the same kind of instant flexibility. The "macro" switch is a little cumbersome and mine broke off after a while. I have other lenses for macros so I put a piece of tape over it and haven't missed it. It takes sharp photos, but certainly not as sharp as my Nikkor 60mm f2.8D macro. My biggest gripe with this lens is the barrel distortion at the wider-angle settings. I can never seem to fully correct the distortion in Photoshop and on architecture shots I could spend forever trying. I hardly ever use the 85mm end of this lens and over half the pictures I take (on my D50) are at 24mm. I've never tried the Nikon 17-55mm, but it is highly rated and I sometimes think of trading this in for one. But that lens is much more expensive. Heck, if money was no object, I'd hire a porter to carry around a bag of prime lenses and clean each one every time I switched. But in the real world, this is a great all-purpose lens in its price range. Not to mention that leaving a lens on the camera eliminates the chance of a piece of dust landing on the sensor.Read full review