Howard_Creech's Full Review: Nikon Nikkor AF 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0D IF Lens
The new Nikon IF AF 24-85/f2.8-4D Zoom Nikkor is Nikon’s first f2.8 variable aperture zoom lens. Nikon has long been famous for their constant f2.8 aperture “high end” pro level zoom lenses. This is the first lens from Nikon that compromises on that very successful formula. Variable aperture zooms are cheaper, lighter, and simpler to manufacture. The maximum aperture at 85mm is f4.0, which is still relatively fast and should be fine for outdoor travel images, general landscape, environmental portraits, and street shooting. Additionally, the new 24-85 has some hidden talents that bear mentioning. When the macro mode is engaged, the lens becomes a 35-85mm lens that focuses continuously from infinity to 1:2 (half-life size on the film) at the long end @ 8.5 inches. Center sharpness in the macro range is excellent at all apertures except f2.8. The enhanced macro capabilities add a significant extra value to an already versatile performer.
This lens covers a very important focal length range, one that is especially useful for travel and street photographers. The new 24-85 was designed primarily to replace Nikon’s disappointing 24-120 zoom lens. The 24-120 was introduced to a lot of positive press and many glowing reviews, however over time the lens didn’t wear well with demanding photographers. First it is too slow at the long end to be of much use handheld, secondly the images tend to be unacceptably soft at the 120mm end and a bit less than acceptable at the 24mm end; but the 24-120’s most glaring shortcoming is the f5.6 maximum aperture at 120mm, which completely ruins it as a portrait lens. The small maximum f-stop (f5.6) doesn’t allow the use of selective focus to blur the background and accentuate the subject. Although the focal length range is almost ideal, the 24-120 has always had some serious resolution problems that precluded its use as a primary street/travel photography lens. In addition, the 24-120’s close focusing capabilities left a lot to be desired.
Lots of photographers bought the 24-120 and far too many of these lenses ended up collecting dust on closet shelves or at the bottom of camera bags, seldom used after the initial charm had worn off. My friend sells and distributes cameras, and he has a couple of 24-120’s in his rental inventory. They rarely generate any interest (or much income) anymore. We decided that it would be fun the check out the new 24-85 and compare it directly with the 24-120 to see if the new lens could do a better job of covering the same general focal length range. My friend doesn’t want to latch onto another lens that gets positive initial reviews only to find out later that people don’t like it over the long run.
Beargrass Creek Nature Reserve/Louisville Nature Center
My friend and I used a Nikon N90S and a Nikon F100, and we switched back and forth with the two lenses, trying to shoot the same subjects (as closely as possible) with both lenses. We also had a Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 (for close-up comparisons). Both of us were using Kodak Ektachrome ISO 100 slide film. We drove to the Louisville Nature Center (right across from the Louisville Zoo) and spent the afternoon shooting in the adjoining Bear grass Creek Nature Reserve. The Bear Grass Creek Nature Reserve is a 41-acre urban nature reserve. The BGCNR offers hikers, nature lovers, and photographers second growth forest and creek bottom ecosystems, which support a wide variety of plant and animal life. It’s a wonderful natural green oasis in the middle of a densely populated urban setting, it’s a great place to spend an afternoon out in the woods and there’s plenty of free parking at the LNC trailhead.
Jefferson County’s Schools use the reserve as a prime destination for environmental field trips for local elementary, middle, and high school students. Ornithology, entomology, botany, wildlife photography, habitat and ecology/environmental studies, searching for animal tracks and signs, and herpetology can be pursued less than ten minutes from the interstate system. Butterflies and moths, raccoons, rabbits, skunks, red foxes, snakes, turtles, and other animals, amphibians, and reptiles can be found in the preserve. More than 180 species of trees, shrubs and flowering plants, and over 150 species of resident and migratory birds make the preserve their home. The preserve is co-managed by The Louisville Nature Center and the Commonwealth of Kentucky and features one-mile of hiking trails. On the warm Saturday afternoon that we visited the reserve it was almost completely deserted.
Shortly after arriving we discovered a small clump of electric blue cornflowers in a strong beam of light (with a dark background) and noticed three Monarch butterflies swirling around in the beam of light, doing a sort of territorial dance. We waited patiently for a few minutes and eventually two of the Monarchs settled on the Cornflowers. Both of us slowly moved in as close as we could to shoot some serious late summer macro. The butterflies cooperated beautifully and we were able to shoot several slides with each of the zooms and even managed to get a couple with the Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8.
In the field/Handling and operation
The 24-85 is a substantial lens, heavier than expected. It is well finished and the markings are clear and easy to read (metric scale in silver and footage scale in yellow). The zoom ring is wide and has a nice “grip” texture. The manual focus ring is smaller and (as usual in AF lenses) a bit under damped. The macro switch (focus limiter) limits focus range to just over 18 inches. The lens balances very well on heavier high-end Nikon SLR’s, like the N90S and F100. The lens exhibits minor barrel distortion at 24mm, and noticeable pincushion distortion at 85mm. The lens only needs to be stopped down one or two f-stops for maximum image quality, the 24-120 had to be stopped down to f/8 or f/11 for the best results.
The new design has better resolution, higher contrast, and is half a stop faster than the Nikon 24-120. This means the viewfinder is brighter (which makes manual focusing easier) and you can start shooting about half an hour earlier (or keep shooting about an hour later) and end up with sharper slides with richer color and better contrast. The front element is quite large, which means ghosting and flare can be a problem, so the included lens hood should be used at all times. The 24-85 uses 72 mm filters and the front element doesn’t rotate during focusing, which will facilitate the use of polarizers and graduated neutral density filters. The lens operated very smoothly on both the N90S and the F100. The AF action is very quick, but it is slightly noisy.
The lens has a couple aspherical elements (but no ED glass) which help provide excellent image resolution with high contrast and vivid highly saturated color. There is just a bit of corner fall-of at the maximum aperture (at 24 mm) but stopping down to f4-f5.6 will take care of the problem. Typical field curvature causes soft corners at 24mm, but stopping down to f4-f5.6 will cure this. Center sharpness is excellent and by f5.6-f/8, the images jump out at you, much better apparent resolution than the 24-120 zoom. Despite the lack of ED glass, color fringing is not a problem.
Slides shot with this lens and Nikon N90S/F100 (when viewed on a color corrected light table with a Schneider 6X loupe) were sharp and contrasty. Slides were crisp at all apertures except f2.8 where the corners were a bit soft. Flare and internal reflections were very well controlled throughout the zoom range. Slides shot with 24-85 were sharper, had better color resolution, and improved contrast over slides shot with 24-120. The differences, while subtle, were consistent. Macro images shot with the 24-85 were significantly better than similar images shot with the 24-120. Macro images from the 24-85 were quite good even when compared side by side with the superb macro images shot with the Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8. The 24-85 will not replace a dedicated macro lens, but it will do a much better job than most “macro” zooms.
On an absolutely beautiful late summer Sunday afternoon, my friend and I walked along Bardstown Road in Louisville’s “Highlands” neighborhood looking for interesting street scenes. My wife had suggested that doing some environmental portraits (in addition to the nature stuff we had shot the day before) would provide us with more comprehensive test results and a better basis for comparing the two lenses, she was right, as usual. We found a couple of colorful young “buskers” (with some incredible piercings) singing for tips in front of Mid-City Mall and shot a few environmental portraits (my friend said it was like time travel, a trip straight back to the sixties) the 24-85 worked very well for framing dramatic portraits up close and with tricky lighting. The images turned out very well, and a couple of them were quite impressive. Unfortunately the young singers looked a lot more interesting than they sounded, they’ll really need to practice both their musicianship and singing abilities quite a bit before they can expect to sing anywhere other than on a street corner for tips. Late afternoon photographs shot at Lynn’s Paradise Café of the restaurant’s eclectic collection of “off the wall” cement ornaments (a gigantic coffee pot & cup, pigs, alligators, sheep, and other brightly painted oversized cement animals) was a lot of fun and a couple of the images were striking because of the oblique directional “Golden Time” light. The 24-85 consistently outperformed the 24-120, and by the end of the afternoon my friend and I were arguing over whose turn it was to use Nikon’s new mid-range zoom.
Technical Specifications
Focal Length Range: 24-85mm
Maximum Aperture (at 24mm) f2.8
Minimum Aperture: f32
Optimum Aperture: f5.6-f8
Construction: 15 elements in 11 groups
Minimum Focus distance: 19 inches
Minimum Focus Distance (Macro): 8.5 inches
Filter Size: 72 mm
Included: Front & Rear Caps and a rigid lens hood
Street Price Range $450-$600
Conclusion
Nikon’s first f2.8 variable aperture zoom performs very well, and I suspect that it is almost everything the 24-120 could have been, a faster maximum aperture, much sharper, a more useful range, better build quality, true macro capability, and no zoom creep. When compared directly with the 24-120, the new 24-85 zoom is winner across the board, with faster AF, and better handling and balance. As an all-purpose mid-range zoom, the Nikkor 24-85/2.8-4D AF offers tremendous performance and versatility at a good price.
This lens exhibits exceptional center sharpness at all apertures except f2.8, which makes it an excellent lens for travel, general photography, the intimate landscape, and street shooting. The fast maximum aperture combined with excellent resolution and a very useful focal length range will make this lens a capable performer in the crowded conditions prevalent in marketplaces, tourist attractions, and narrow European and Asian streets. The focal length range is almost ideal for these tight situations, wide enough to include lots of detail when there is no way to back off, and the short telephoto end is long enough to allow tight environmental portraits and intimate landscape shots.
The Bear Grass Creek Nature Reserve/Louisville Nature Center is located in Louisville’s east end. Follow I-264 to the Newburg Road (North) exit, drive north on Newburg Road until you reach Trevillian Way (you’ll see signs for the Louisville Zoo and Joe Creason Park) turn left and go about half a mile to the BGCNR/LNC sign and turn right into Joe Creason Park.
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