AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR

WestEndFoto

This lens is what the "24-70 but where is my VR" crowd has been waiting for. It will be interesting to see how sharp it is. I am sure that Nikon will sell a few thousand tonnes.

Good move on Nikon's part. Again, not my cup of tea, but I have to acknowledge how useful this will be to a lot of photographers. If I was an event photographer, I would be in line for it.

spraynpray

I may wait until the dust settles and sell my 24-120 f4 for it as I have never been impressed with the IQ or VR or that lens. I also find I don't use the long end of it either.

starralazn

It does seem like it would be useful for event photography... however if its substantially heavier (probably not likely), i'm not sure how useful the VR would be... maybe?

heartyfisher

I dont use the range enough to lust over it.. :-) I am sure it will be great for many people though. I already have the Tamron (Onion Bokeh) version:-) which I don't use much, though the 24-35mm end I growing on me. (hmm .. maybe I should swap it for the sigma 24-35 F2).

VR/VC at the wide is very useful !! Love it on my Tammy !! Took it out on my D7200 recently and as a "Street" lens (sic: just for you snp ;-) ) in the evening it sure opens up the night !!

HockeyMan

I had the previous 24-70 f/2.8 and loved it, but I never used it since I had a 14-24 and a 50mm prime. So it was sold to a friend. But now I think I want one again just to be able to use different perspectives. If I get one I'll try to post some test pics.

CEBlueclouds

I would pre-order at the first opportunity!!

WestEndFoto

I would pre-order at the first opportunity!!

I would wait until all the bugs are worked out.

PB_PM

Good thing I dumped the current model, no doubt these rumors will drive used prices downward.

CEBlueclouds

I would pre-order at the first opportunity!!

I would wait until all the bugs are worked out.

True talk WestEnd.....but would still pre-order once announced

rmp

I have the current version and it is almost always on my D810. I am tempted to order this one and put it on my D4, but that seems a little redundant. Maybe I will wait until the new FF mirror-less comes out.

Photobug

The 17-55 F2.8 on the D300 and later on the D7100 was my main go to lens. When I switched to FF the 24-70 became my go to lens. What a terrific lens.

While my D750 is at Nikon I have been using it on my D7100 and wow...nice range; 25.5 - 105mm. Mine is only 9 months old so the new lens is going to have to be significantly better for me to justify selling this lens and upgrading. Of course, the cost needs to be within $200 of the current lens, but my guess we are looking at a minimum of $500 jump. I saw the price in yen but don't know what that equates to in USD.

WestEndFoto

About $2300 in USD.

Photobug

About $2300 in USD.

Thanks. That makes it interesting and reachable. Bet the current lens drops to $1500/$1400.

WestEndFoto

And $2,900 CDN. Before the price of oil crashed, it would be about $2,400 CDN.

PB_PM

Not too outlandish, isn't that about the same as the Canon 24-70mm F2.8L II costs? (Edit: Yes the Canon is $2200 CDN when not on sale).

paulr

When you consider that the 24-70 lens is coming up to it's 8th birthday and what it would cost to change. Unless there are some major changes apart from VR. I will not be upgrading. Of all my lenses this is my workhorse, and after 8 years, Vr or lack of it. is not a problem, After the initial teething problems of the noisey helicoide when the lens first came out , this has been a great lens which most pro's have in their lens arsenal.

Benji2505

I replaced my 24-70 with 3 primes f1.8 in the similar range. I am very happy with the decision. Pictures are of higher (technical) quality and lenses are much lighter.

tcole1983

When you consider that the 24-70 lens is coming up to it's 8th birthday and what it would cost to change. Unless there are some major changes apart from VR. I will not be upgrading. Of all my lenses this is my workhorse, and after 8 years, Vr or lack of it. is not a problem, After the initial teething problems of the noisey helicoide when the lens first came out , this has been a great lens which most pro's have in their lens arsenal.

I feel this way about my 17-55. Although I have only had it a couple of years if Nikon added VR it wouldn't be worth the upgrade.

TriShooter

Think carefully before you rush out to buy a lens in this range with VR for portraits. The current 24-70mm is a very tough workhorse that will take a beating and keep on ticking. This is more about marketing than anything else base on my experience for portrait work. Admittedly, most of my shooting in this range is with strobes so the VR is just something else to break for me, although it would be nice to not to have to clean up chroma in the background; the lens does need an update for certain backgrounds, but VR is not an issue for people shots.

I used the Tammy 24-70 VC for available low light, and decided it was undesirable. and suspect others may have had similar experiences. The Tammy VC worked fine, but found I was losing sharpness because of subject movement with the VC on. The best alternatives for me was to move to a faster primes, flash, or strobes.

For this purpose you can buy the f/1.4 primes, but I have also found the Nikon f/1.8 lenses, as Benji2505 mentioned above are excellent. These lenses are amazingly sharp with plenty of contrast, and the bokeh is okay, and can easily enhanced by controlling the distance of to the subject, and the background. If I want exquisite bokeh I shoot with the fabulous old Nikon 85 f/1.4 AIS, or the Carl Zeiss 135mm ZF.2 f/2.0 which are always in the bag all the time.

Also, remember the 24-120mm (mind is sharp after I aligned it to +4 on my cameras), the 70-200 VRII (a superb lens, and the new af-s version of the 80-400mm (which is not meant for low light) all have the high end of the 24-70mm covered with VR.

When I need more light at the wide end for me it is better to use a faster lens like one of the Nikon f/1.8 lens to lower the risk of having subject movement ruin my image. VR does have limitations for use on portraits when the shutter speed gets too low.

kanuck

Excellent points regarding VR needs TriShooter! Primes will win every time over zooms especially on higher mp bodies..

However, I have been waiting for this new 24-70 lens for at least the last 5 years. I would pay $3000 for this lens if it as sharp as the new 70-200mm F4 VR. The current 24-70 gets an overall score of 29/40 on DXO and a sharpness of 21. If this new version gets closer to the 70-200 mm F4 VR or say a 31 overall with a sharpness of say 27-29 I'm all over it. The 24-70 range is my bread and butter. Very excited about seeing the leaked images this past week. I broke out in a little jig in my living room actually

Photobug

+1 TriShooter. I used a Nikon 17-55 2.8 for almost 10 years and I never felt I needed a VR function on that lens. My 24-70 2.8 is only 8 months old and so far I don't need it.

nek4life

I'm more interested in seeing the optical performance of this lens vs the current version. I've been holding out on buying the current version to go with my D810 to see if the next generation will be significantly sharper. If not I bet I can get a good deal on the current version. VR would really just be bonus, although I do find it really useful on my 105mm macro lens.

Photobug

I'm more interested in seeing the optical performance of this lens vs the current version. I've been holding out on buying the current version to go with my D810 to see if the next generation will be significantly sharper. If not I bet I can get a good deal on the current version. VR would really just be bonus, although I do find it really useful on my 105mm macro lens.

It's an excellent lens. If the new version has the same quality, sharpness with the addition of VR not sure there is a need to update.

nek4life - +1 on waiting to see the reviews.

kanuck

OMG the new 24-70 is 2.4 lbs! Thats insane 1070g I already hated the heavy weight of 1st 24-70. The image quality better be a major upgrade....

Wesley

.4 pounds heavier & 1 inch longer. I was hoping the exact opposite.

Just need to find if it zooms internally & if the ring won't be stiff.

kanuck

Me too I am quiting my job and traveling for 5~6 months this fall and winter and this was going to be my go to lens after I heard the rumors last March, but not now. I guess I will either keep the older 24-70 or pick up a 16-35 for VR at nearly half the weight..Nikkor weight is a major dealbreaker for me. Unless the image quality is revolutionary...