24-85mm

I am considering buying either a Nikkor 24-85mm f3.5-4.6 G AF-S or a

Nikor 24-85mm f2.8-4 OD-IF. There is a differance of about $150.00

between the two. I presently have a Nikon N70. I don't like the idea

of not having an aperture ring, but $150 is considerable. Any advice?

You won't be able to use other exposure modes than S or P with a G lens. In other words, no manual mode, no aperture priority. Are you really prepared to pay that price?

Ever since I bought my N8008 (F801) back in 1989, I have been using mainly the P mode on all my newer Nikons; that includes the F4, F5 and F100. In the P mode, you can still control the aperture/shutter speed combinations just as in the A mode or M mode. Unless you somehow must use the M mode, you won't lose much.

 

Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the aperture ring is just one extra item that gets in the way. A number of times it has somehow slipped out of the minimum setting so that my cameras cannot fire in the P (or S) mode. That problem goes away with G lenses.

 

The 24-85mm AF-S G lens is half of a stop slower but you gain the advantage of AF-S, ED glass and of course the savings. Nikon is currently running a $35 rebate, making it effectively $325 at the major mail-order companies, so the price difference may be even greater depending on whether you buy US or the grey version.

 

I'd say your $150 is better for upgrading your camera, buy more film or other assessories. The N80 is well below $400 after rebate. $150 is like almost half way towards a better body.

I need a new lens for a stock job I'm about to pick up - This will be it - I shot a whole roll around a camera shot with this lens, and was quite impressed by the quailty, good in the corners, even wide open, the macro focus is pretty nice as well. Yes it isn't the 28-70, yes it isn't a 60mm micro, but it does gives a great zoom range. The older F2.8-4 24-85 is so soft wide open as to be almost unusable. The newer version really is the better lens, smaller, lighter, better handeling (focus override etc). Howerver - I would never consider it if I didn't have a body that could use it in all modes. Locking your self out of manual mode seems foolish, kinda like buying half a lens or something.

I'm very curious to know how the new 24-85 G lens is behaving wide open and stopped down? I'm thinking of getting one of these, or the 28-105 to put on a N80 or used F100 to use alongside my rangefinder.

 

Anyone compared/used both those lenses?

Have a look at www.kenrockwell.com - My testing confirms his view. It is the best normal zoom that nikon has ever made, with perhaps the exception of the 28-70 AFS. The test shots I took wide open were very good, sure they improve a bit with stopping down, but then this is true for nearly all lenses. For the price it is really hard to go past.

"Ever since I bought my N8008 (F801) back in 1989, I have been using mainly the P mode on all my newer Nikons; that includes the F4, F5 and F100. In the P mode, you can still control the aperture/shutter speed combinations just as in the A mode or M mode. Unless you somehow must use the M mode, you won't lose much. "

 

As any photographer should tell you, using Aperture Priority mode and Manual mode are way different from using P model and then shift the shutter speed to get the desired aperture/shutter speed combination. If you don't mind this tremendous hassle of jiggling with the shutter speed teim everytime after you have focused and composed, then why would merely checking whether the aperture dial is at its mimimal once in a long while be a fuss? In addition, the inability to control the aperture will limit your ability to use manual flash etc.

 

This lens will turn your N70 into a point and shoot and not much more (this is not a condemnation of the lens but merely an observation).

 

With Nikon's new policy, the older cameras are simply not compatible with the G-lenses (or at least maintain their full functionalities). Whether you should buy this lens over the F2.8 version depends on (1)budget (2) how you use your camera (do you do incident metering, manual flash, etc) (3) other older Nikon cameras that you may use as a backup now or in the future. ie you cannot use any of these lenses with the FM3A, one of the latest models that Nikon introduced.

 

Some may say that it could be better to save for a F80 to replace the aging N70. Given the things that Nikon is doing (and I don't like it one bit), this may indeed be the sensible solution.

 

However, do not do it if you have any pre-AF lenses. The N80 will not be able to meter with them. The cheapest body that avoids compromises is the F100.

 

Johnson

Not sure this is available on the N70, but when I use the P mode, I just turn the command dial to select different aperture/shutter speed combinations. It is extremely easy to use. That was even available on my N8008 from 1989.

 

While the 24-85 G is a nice lens, as Chuck Fan pointed out a couple of times, it has noticable barrel distortion at 24mm. That is easily visible even from the viewfinder if you place the edge of the frame against a stright line. Interestingly, the barrel distortion disappears from 28mm and up. However, barrel distortion on the wide end is pretty common among zooms except for the very expensive ones. Unless you shoot architecture or place the horizon against the enge of the frame, it is usually not noticable in the final imagge and therefore doesn't matter.

 

Since DSLRs are getting more affordable, a lot of people are alreadying switching over to the D100. My guess is that in two years with further price drops, DSLRs will be so affordable that a majority of the people will switch and all these backward compatibility issues with old film bodies will gradually become moot for the most part.

I tried the AF-S 24-85G on my F100, and I'm pretty sure P,A,S and M modes were all available, but instead of changing apertures on the ring, you do it on the camera. I would confirm that this is the case with your camera. The lens was very sharp and contrasty. There was some distortion, but that wasn't the reason I returned the lens: I plan on getting a manual focus camera, and the G lens won't work on that because it lacks the aperture ring. Also, I don't like the non-standard 67mm filter size.

 

In your case, between the two lenses you mentioned, and assuming the lack of aperture ring and filter size don't bother you, I see little reason to choose the f2.8-4.

 

However, there are, luckily, other lenses to choose from. For example:

 

28-105. In my opinion, a more useful range (but this is a personal choice). Also, probably better optics than the AF-S 24-85, but slower AF. Of course, it has an aperture ring and the filter size is a standard 62mm.

 

35-70 2.8D. More expensive than the AF-S 24-85 and focal length not as useful, but the optics are clearly superior. Of course, it has an aperture ring and the filter size is a standard 62mm.

I won't go into detail since so many others have. However, I did want to cast my vote for the Nikkor 24-85mm f3.5-4.6 G AF-S ED-IF. The lens is awesome. The quality, IMHO, is excellent! Not to mention how quiet the auto-focus is. It is hardly audible.

 

Hunter Harrison

In the US, Nikon USA has just doubled essentially all of its lens rebates. So the current rebate (valid through the end of December) for the 24-85mm AF-S G is $70, and the final cost of this lens is now below $300 ($359 at the major mail-order houses minus $70 rebate). The grey-market version is actually more expensive for the time being.

<P>

<A HREF="http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/fallintosavings.pdf">This document</A> from Nikon USA has the updated rebate information.