Nikon 24-120mm f/4 AF-S VR Sports Review

[Scottwdw]

I doubt the Nikon engineers when designing the 24-120mm f/4 AF-S VR lens thought of it as a sports lens. ; Maybe for parents photographing their children playing outdoor sports. How about indoor professional ice hockey?

You see, I have a problem when using the Nikon D7100 DX dSLR camera at ice level. ; The crop factor of 1.5x makes the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR lens hard to capture the action. ; The premier lens is great for closeups and for shooting above the glass but I missed too much of the action set at 70mm which equals 105mm on the DX camera. The 24-120mm is designed as an FX lens but I did not encounter any vignetting at the 24mm setting.

I only had one lens in a range that was usable. An older Nikon 24-85mm G AF-S lens. It is primarily my people event lens like weddings, parties, etc. As a sport lens, it was very slow and the variable aperture causes havoc with under and over exposing shots.

With the month of March being very busy for the Syracuse Crunch, I decided to rent the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 to see if it could meet my needs. I shot four games using it the last two weekends. Being newer, the focus was much faster then the 24-85mm lens. ; Shooting it at f/4, I did not have to worry as much about the exposure changing as I zoomed in and out. ; Though heavier, the 24-120 balanced well with the D7100 body.

Here are a few photos taken with the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 AF-S VR lens. ; I did NOT engage VR since I was shooting at 1/800th of a second. ; VR is useless at high shutter speeds and will slow down the focus a tad. All of these photos have been cropped so do not judge the subject size in the frame with the focal length indicated.

Syracuse Crunch Vladislav Namestnikov (90) gets tripped as he shoots and scores on Rochester Americans goalie Nathan Lieuwen (31) in American Hockey League (AHL) action at the War Memorial Arena on Saturday, March 8, 2014.

Nikon D7100/24-120VR, 1/800s, f/4, ISO 2500, EV +1.3, 55mm (83 mm DX) FL

Syracuse Crunch Cedric Paquette (17) fires a shot at the Rochester Americans net in American Hockey League (AHL) action at the War Memorial Arena on Saturday, March 8, 2014. This photo is NOT cropped.

Nikon D7100/24-120VR, 1/800s, f/4, ISO 2200, EV +1.3, 24mm (36 mm DX) FL

Syracuse Crunch Evan Rankin (11) waits for a face-off against the Binghamton Senators in American Hockey League (AHL) action at the War Memorial Arena on Sunday, March 9, 2014.

Nikon D7100/24-120VR, 1/800s, f/4, ISO 3600, EV +1.6, 120mm (180 mm DX) FL

Syracuse Crunch Brett Connolly (28) gets his shot blocked in close by Hershey Bears goalie Philipp Grubauer (31) in American Hockey League (AHL) action at the War Memorial Arena on Friday, March 14, 2014.

Nikon D7100/24-120VR, 1/800s, f/4, ISO 2500, EV +1.6, 78mm (117 mm DX) FL

Syracuse Crunch PC Labrie (20) fights with Hamilton Bulldogs Nick Tarnasky (74) in American Hockey League (AHL) action at the War Memorial Arena on Saturday, March 15, 2014.

Nikon D7100/24-120VR, 1/800s, f/4, ISO 4000, EV +1.3, 92mm (138 mm DX) FL

In conclusion, I will be getting this lens. ; Probably before the month is out as it is on sale (about $300 off) until March 31st.

Due to weather and time constraints I was not able to try other types of photography with the lens. ; IMO, it would be a good lens for Disney resorts and parks. I will let you know!

 

[Joanie Eddis-Koch]

This is a great assessment Scott! My Husband got this lens a few weeks ago and he is just loving it. It is a full frame lens idealized for a crop sensor camera. What that essentially means is that it's best attributes take place in the image area utilized by a crop sensor camera. When you put it on a full frame it's short comings become more apparent, like vignetting and image softness in the corners. When used on a crop sensor those problems disappear because they are out of the sensors size range.

My husband says that the vibration reduction on this lens is fantastic!

One of the other really nice things about this lens in the nice Bokeh it is able to produce. The zoom range is another plus, especially when you are considering this lens over the Nikon 18-105mmm lens. Boy did I LOVE that 18-105 on my Nikon D90. If I was still shooting a crop sensor camera I'm sure this lens 24-120 lens would be my new favorite.

It really pays to do your homework and read up on the reviews and tech specs of any potential lens that you want to purchase for use with a given camera. It's sort of like pairing the right wine with the right foods. Make the right connections and things are in harmony!

I have to say that one of things things that shocked me was my recent experience with renting an 85mm 1.8 Nikkor prime lens. Everyone talks about how much they love this lens and I thought for sure that it would out perform my 24-70mmm Nikon lens on the dark rides, simply because of the fact that it was a prime and could open to f1.8.

BOY WAS I WRONG!!! That lens was a DISASTER! It was slow focusing/focus hunting constantly for the way that I wanted to use it. The depth of field was also more shallow than I realized, even at further distances. I learned that that 85mm lens was a lens that did not suit my purposes in using it nor did it meet my needs. I discovered that it is a lens that has very specific applications for use, in my opinion it is best used for isolating detail shots with lots of creamy bokeh.... and if you are one of those people who likes to shoot a lot of pictures within those constraints then that is the lens for you! THAT'S WHY people were raving about it... because for what they wanted to do... that lens was right in their sweet spot. That's why they were raving about it....

I was thinking that that 85mm was going to open up and let a lot of light in on the dark rides. This would enable me to increase the shutter and more importantly decrease the ISO to get cleaner shots. This lens was the pits on those dark rides and I can not get my head wrapped around the reason why it would focus hunt so intensely...

So let the buyer beware and do your research when considering purchasing a new lens. You want the match made in heaven not some nightmare of a marriage. Thankfully that 85mm prime was only a rental so it was a lesson learned instead of a costly mistake.

Despite all the positive feedback that people have about this lens or that....be sure to do your homework and consider a rental before you invest your dollars in a new lens.

Oh and that 24-70 mm 2.8 is a Goddess in my bag! It just sings on the Nikon D4. I also rented a 70-200mm Nikon lens and that baby is going to find it's way in my bag as soon as I can rob a bank or two. The only thing I have to get over with that lens is finding a way around the shoulder shake it induces in my nerve damaged left arm.

~Joanie

~Joanie

 

[Scottwdw]

Sage advice, Joanie. ; It's the reason I will spend some money on a lens rental or a lens I may need once for a special project like a Macro or super telephoto for that big wildlife trip.

 

[Scottwdw]

I did pick one of these up as Nikon has them on sale for $300 off right now. ; The Nikon sale on lenses ends so so use those links you see at the top of each page if you are in the market. ; I think Canon has a sale going on now, too.