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

This is the all-new F2.8 constant standard zoom lens from Nikon. It finally features the long-awaited built-in VR (vibration reduction) effective up to 4 shutter speed stops. This may not sound very surprising these days, but actually it's quite effective in practice. For example, when the shutter speed is 1 second, the 4-stop higher speed is 1/15 second. Of course, you may want to increase the sensitivity with this speed. But when shooting indoor using fluorescent lighting, ISO100, F2.8, and 1/15 second shutter, you want to try shooting handheld, which is again not easy. But with the VR, you can freeze the shot and its benefit to this standard everyday zoom range is enormous. The VR brought the dramatic changes in the optics, but I think they used this opportunity to further improve the optical performance. Interestingly, the front element is concave lens and the ED lens has aspherical surface. This lens is a world of technology! As for the overall image quality, I found it "heartily good."

( Photography & Text : K )

I found a car parked under the elevated railway and shot it using the diffused available light. Because I own the previous version whose rendition is neutral and steady, I was curious to test this new lens. Compared to the previous version, the clarity is higher and purer. It's like a kind of Japanese sake close to water. But, the rendition is still sexy. And, this impression is similar to what I feel when I switched to a fixed-focal lens from a regular zoom lens. So, I think the performance and rendition can rival with fixed-focal lenses - such an amazing achievement for a zoom lens.

Checking front and back bokeh. Sharpness isn't extremely high, but has a good balance. No matter how high the resolution is, the sharpness can be spoiled by other elements. It's sharp enough to define the curtain clearly and I can almost feel the touch. The bokeh is soft and natural, front and back.

Another shot wide open. The distance to the woman was about 3m. The lens captured the texture of the hat and clothes minutely. I thought the background was a bit complex, but the lens rounded the outlines nicely. When the 3D separation is this clear with the number of pixels of the D4S, what happens if I used the D810 with more pixels? I regret I didn't have the chance this time... Anyway, I'm sure the image quality is even better with the D810 because it's the one of the newest Nikkor lenses.

Stopped down to F5.6. Rendition is perfect. The lines look a bit thicker, but maybe it's because of the subject.

Stopped down to F4. As expected, the lines don't thicken. Sharpness is high enough wide open, but becomes even higher at this aperture. Again, the clarity is so high that I see no stagnation.

Testing how it captures the atmosphere with the morning fog under the flat lighting. Even though I tightened the shadow significantly with software, I still feel this lens is so good at reproducing tonal gradation and love the way it draws the mood. While there're some lenses whose performance is apparently excellent and they have their own values, they may not have enough range of expression. This lens, on the other hand, doesn't have the strong appeal that we can tell at a glance. Yet, it always meets the expectations.

Slight distortion is noticeable at the wide-end and the tele-end. But, it's within the level that you can take care of with software. To make a blurred image of the person, I needed the 1/40 second shutter. And, I didn't have to increase the sensitivity thanks to the VR. Even though the D4S has an excellent high-sensitivity performance, you (particularly if you have been shooting since the film age or the beginning of the digital age) still want to use the base sensitivity if it brings the best results. Anyway, this lens let me shoot without using the ISO AUTO setting of the D4S, which I hadn't done for a long time!

What can I say? It's free from showiness. The resolution is high enough to discriminate each tile and the clarity is pleasingly high.

The lens captured the dark gray sky faithfully even with the flat lighting.

This lens deserves to be an object of envy. The ball is in your court now.

This lens made me feel the importance of VR so keenly. The size had to increase because of the VR and updated optics, and it may be too big for everyday use. But, it's still easier to handle this lens than carrying many high-performance fixed-focal lenses. Of course, professional photographers will pick this lens no matter what. Finally, by testing this lens, I learned that the higher basic performance enables the lens to better capture the reality instead of eliminating the tastefulness of images. The F2.8 constant zoom trio is the envy of every photographer, and this lens will undoubtedly live up to their expectations.

( 27.10.2015 )