Nikon’s 24-70mm f/2.8E is a new version of this versatile zoom, replacing the older Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G. The headline feature is that it adds vibration reduction to gain a few extra usable stops when shooting hand held.
You can find more details in my review of this lens, but the short version is that I found the optical performance of this lens to be excellent. It has a fast maximum aperture of f/2.8 that remains stable throughout the zoom range and also has vibration reduction. But it’s also a bigger and heavier than you’d expect for a lens in these focal point ranges.
- Fast f/2.8 constant aperture with an electromagnetic diaphragm
- Sensational image quality and sharpness with virtually no distortion, Focal Length Range : 24 to 70...
Sample Images taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR Lens
Here are some sample images shot with this lens across a range of different subject matters designed to test various aspects in real-world shooting. Click on the photos below for full-size versions.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 38 mm and f/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/9.0. This was handheld in a dark space and the lights are in a 3D shape, so it’s not the same as a lab test in a controlled environment, but you can see even here there’s good sharpness throughout the frame, even at the corners.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/22.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 50 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 44 mm and f/2.8. The VR gives about three extra stops of stability when taking handheld photos like this one.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 52 mm and f/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 42 mm and f/2.8. This was handheld using the VR.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 56 mm and f/2.8. The rivets on this wing serve as useful reference points for looking at sharpness. The high-contrast lines in the right-hand side of the frame also show only very slight chromatic aberration.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/4.5. This was handheld in a dark space. Again, the VR helped keep things sharp.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/22. At f/22 you get a very wide depth of field throughout the frame.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 55 mm and f/2.8. The wide aperture of f/2.8 lets you isolate parts of the shot based on depth and adding bokeh.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8. Even wide open the sharpness is good even at the edges of the frame, as you can see from the text on the blue panel at the bottom here.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/2.8. Even at 70mm there is some barrel distortion, which you can see in the curves of the vertical lines on the wall and on the frame.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 56 mm and f/8.0. I took this shot as an example of sharpness. As you can see from the various text on the buses, license plates, and signs, as well as the scaffolding on the US Capitol Dome in the distance, and the branches on the trees, at f/8 it’s very sharp throughout the frame.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 55 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 32 mm and f/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 44 mm and f/2.8. There’s a very smooth dropoff with the bokeh.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/6.3. It’s not a macro lens (or micro, if you’re Nikon), but with a minimum focusing distance of 15 inches it’s useful for general close-in use.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/8.0. I find the 24mm end of the range to be very useful for general landscape and travel photography shots.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 32 mm and f/8.0.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/8.0.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/8.0.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/22.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/8.0.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 70 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 45 mm and f/4.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 50 mm and f/4.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/8.0. As you can see in the skylight at top left, there’s no real issue with chromatic aberration even on high contrast sharp lines.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 50 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/11.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/4.0. As you can see, this one has fairly strong lens vignetting at f/4. Compare to the next shot from the same spot at f/11.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 29 mm and f/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 24 mm and f/2.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 48 mm and f/2.8.
Buy At
You can find them at B&H Photo, Adorama, and Amazon.
- Fast f/2.8 constant aperture with an electromagnetic diaphragm
- Sensational image quality and sharpness with virtually no distortion, Focal Length Range : 24 to 70...
- Focal Length Range : 24 70 mm
- Minimum Focus Distance : 1.2 ft.( 0.38 m)
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Jim Lutz says
I have a D 810 & Nikon 24-70 mm lens and I too often end up with a soft image.
I shoot on Auto, yet I’m careful to give the camera/lens an extra second to lock in.
On occasion there is a delay of the shutter engaging , not sure why this happens.
I don’t change my setting often except for ISO and F stops. I have come a long way in the last 3 years,
but always something new to learn.
David says
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. This is a camera/lens combination I’ve used a lot, and having such a long delay isn’t normal. There are all sorts of reasons that come to mind that might be causing it–I’ll start with the ones I’d look at first.
– Make sure battery is fully charged (it’s unlikely to be this since you’re seeing it consistently, but still doesn’t hurt to mention it).
– Clean the contacts between the lens and the camera. A standard lens wipe should do the trick, but if that doesn’t there are some more specialized sprays for cleaning electronic contacts.
– Try changing the focusing mode. On the front of the camera, find the AF/M switch. Press and hold the button in the middle of that. Then rotate the dial on the back with your right thumb between settings like AF-S, AF-C, and AF-F. You most likely have it on AF-S, from the sounds of it. There’s nothing wrong with that, but seeing if switching to AF-C resolves the delay will be a helpful step in isolating the problem. More info here.
Those are some ideas to start with. If you’re getting consistently soft images, you might need to finetune the camera/lens combination. You can find instructions for doing that here. But that probably doesn’t account for the slow responsiveness of the shutter.