All-in-one...amazing

I had been waiting anxiously for this lens ever since it was announced by Nikon. I was all set to buy my sample when it was released in late spring last year. My enthusiasm was dampened by the initial reports of quality issues. Namely, soft images on one side of the lens.

Most Nikon dealers in Toronto assured me that the problem was limited to compatibility of the lens with Nikon's DSLR CCDs. However, the opinions of some well-respected reviewers/professional users caused me to wait and see if the problems would clear up as Nikon (hopefully) made production improvements to the alleged quality issues.

I finally received the lens as a Christmas present from my wife (I love her!) and have been using it ever since as the main glass on my F80.

My initial impressions:

The build is fairly good. The lens is heavy, at least compared to my old standby, the 28-105. The weight is due to the extra glass elements (including two ED elements) and the AFS and VR mechanics. The focus and zoom rings are well-damped.

I still have NOT gotten used to the reversed zoom and focus rings. (The 24-120 has the rings reversed from the traditional order of focus and zoom rings on AF Nikkors.) I tend to grab the focus ring to zoom and am peeved to see the picture go out of focus. It does not help that all of my other lenses have "conventional" ring placements.

It is also sometimes disconcerting to grab the focus ring and be able to twist it when the camera is set on AF. On other lenses, such an action could tear up the gears in your camera. I wish the focus ring had a bit more tension so that it were not so easy to turn.

The front glass is an awkward 72mm, which makes for difficulty in sharing filters with other Nikon lenses. I just bought an ND filter for protection and have not used anyting else.

Shooting Observations:

The AFS works like magic. It is extremely quiet, which is appreciated in my wedding photography. The 24-120 has a short focus throw to begin with, so there isn't much to turn in any case. I don't necessarily find it to be that much faster than say my 50 1.8 or the 28-105. (Probably because both those lenses have short throws and are "easy" to focus.) The problem may also be with the F80. I have compared the 24-120 to the 28-105 on an F100 body, and there is a definite advantage in the 24-120. The pictures really seem to "pop" into focus.

The VR has come in very hand when shooting in available light (e.g., at church ceremonies.) I have gotten some very interesting effects by handholding slow shutter speed exposures. However, I would NOT recommend using VR to shoot large groups of people. I have been burned several times by the fuzzy pictures that come out. VR is not good enough to distinguish facial features in a group shot of over 100 people at a distance of 15 meters. Also, pay attention to the instruction manual. You MUST turn off the VR when the camera is mounted on a tripod. Otherwise, the picture will look like you've had way too much coffee.

I have used the 24-120 on my F80 both with and without the MB-16 battery grip. With the battery grip the camera is nicely balanced. Without the grip, the lens is clearly too big for the body. There is not enough grip (literally) to get a good hold on the camera/lens.

Overall, I have been quite happy with the performance of the lens. It provides a useful extension of range from the 28-105. The colour renditions are pleasant. I have only experienced slight flaring, even with the sun directly above and behind my subject.

The only major objection I have is that the camera seems to hunt a great deal in dimly lit areas with the 24-120. I would say that it hunts even more than with the 28-105, but that is based upon my anecdotal observations, and not empirical tests.

At one point, I was upset that the 24-120 would only be produced as a "G" lens (no aperature ring). However, I have not missed the feature, and quickly got comfortable with setting the aperature on the camera body.