Nikon fx 24 120 review – Nikon FX 24-120mm review sets the stage for this enthralling narrative, offering readers a glimpse into a story that is rich in detail with storytelling with scientific facts style and brimming with originality from the outset. The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR is a versatile lens designed for photographers seeking a single lens solution for a wide range of subjects.
Its wide zoom range, covering from wide-angle to telephoto, makes it ideal for landscapes, portraits, events, and everyday photography. This lens boasts a constant f/4 aperture, ensuring consistent exposure across the entire zoom range. It also features Nikon’s renowned Vibration Reduction (VR) technology, providing up to 4 stops of shake compensation for sharper images, especially in low light.
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens is a testament to the company’s commitment to delivering high-quality optics. It is engineered with precision, utilizing ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements to minimize chromatic aberration, resulting in sharp, detailed images with vibrant colors.
The lens also incorporates a Nano Crystal Coat, effectively reducing ghosting and flare, ensuring exceptional image clarity even in challenging lighting conditions.
Introduction
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens is a versatile and high-performance zoom lens designed for full-frame Nikon DSLRs. It caters to a wide range of photographic needs, from landscape and portraiture to travel and wildlife photography. This lens is particularly appealing to professional photographers, enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a single lens that can handle diverse shooting scenarios.
Key Features and Specifications
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens boasts a comprehensive set of features designed to deliver exceptional image quality and user experience.
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens is a versatile choice for travel photographers, offering a wide zoom range that captures both expansive landscapes and intimate details. If you’re looking for a camera that’s equally compact and capable, consider exploring the world of Olympus cameras.
Olympus cameras are known for their lightweight design and impressive image quality, making them ideal companions for adventures near and far. The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens pairs well with an Olympus camera, offering a powerful combination for capturing the world’s beauty with stunning clarity and detail.
- Focal Length Range:24-120mm, offering a versatile range for various subjects and compositions.
- Maximum Aperture:f/4, providing consistent aperture across the entire zoom range.
- Optical Design:17 elements in 13 groups, including three extra-low dispersion (ED) elements and a nano-crystal coat (N) for exceptional image sharpness and color accuracy.
- Vibration Reduction (VR):4-stop VR system, effectively reducing camera shake for sharper images, especially in low-light conditions.
- Silent Wave Motor (SWM):Enables fast, quiet, and precise autofocus, crucial for capturing fleeting moments.
- Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm:Creates pleasing bokeh (out-of-focus areas) for aesthetically pleasing images.
- Minimum Focus Distance:0.45 meters (1.48 ft), allowing for close-up shots and macro photography.
- Filter Size:77mm, providing compatibility with a wide range of filters.
- Weight:840g (1.85 lb), well-balanced and comfortable for extended use.
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens is a well-rounded and versatile lens that excels in both image quality and user experience, making it an excellent choice for professional and enthusiast photographers alike.
Image Quality
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens delivers excellent image quality across its entire zoom range, making it a versatile choice for various photography genres. It excels in sharpness, resolution, and color rendition, with minimal distortion and vignetting.
Sharpness and Resolution
The lens exhibits remarkable sharpness throughout its aperture range, especially when stopped down to f/8. At wider apertures, the sharpness is still excellent in the center, but it might slightly soften towards the edges. This is typical for zoom lenses, especially at wider focal lengths.
The lens’s high resolution allows for capturing fine details and textures, making it ideal for landscapes, portraits, and even wildlife photography.
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic aberration, a common issue in lenses, is well-controlled in the Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens. This lens employs special ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements to minimize chromatic aberration, which is visible as colored fringes around high-contrast edges, particularly at wider apertures.
The lens’s effective aberration control ensures accurate color reproduction and sharpness across the image frame.
Distortion and Vignetting
Distortion, a lens defect that can warp straight lines, is minimal in the Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens. The lens exhibits slight barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom range, which is generally well-corrected by modern image editing software.
Vignetting, a darkening of the image corners, is also minimal and easily corrected in post-processing. The lens’s excellent distortion and vignetting control contributes to its overall image quality.
Image Examples
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens delivers excellent image quality across its entire zoom range, making it a versatile choice for various photography genres. It excels in sharpness, resolution, and color rendition, with minimal distortion and vignetting.
An image of a bustling city street captured at f/8 demonstrates the lens’s exceptional sharpness and detail rendition. The intricate details of the buildings, street signs, and people are clearly visible, showcasing the lens’s ability to capture fine textures and patterns.
Another image, a portrait taken at f/5.6, highlights the lens’s pleasing bokeh and smooth transitions between sharp and out-of-focus areas. The subject is rendered sharply, while the background is beautifully blurred, creating a sense of depth and separation. The lens’s ability to produce high-quality images with excellent color accuracy is evident in a landscape photograph taken at f/11.
The vibrant colors of the sky, trees, and mountains are faithfully reproduced, while the overall image is sharp and well-balanced.
Build and Design
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 VR S lens boasts a robust build and design, showcasing Nikon’s commitment to high-quality optics. Its construction is a testament to its intended use in demanding professional environments.
Construction and Materials
The lens is crafted with a blend of high-quality materials, contributing to its overall durability and weather resistance. The exterior is primarily composed of magnesium alloy, known for its lightweight yet sturdy nature. This material choice contributes to the lens’s impressive weight distribution, making it comfortable to handle even during extended shooting sessions.
The lens barrel features a textured rubberized grip, providing a secure hold even with gloved hands. This thoughtful design detail enhances user comfort and control, particularly in challenging weather conditions.
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens is a versatile choice for photographers, offering a wide range of focal lengths suitable for capturing various subjects. From landscapes to portraits, its sharp optics and fast aperture deliver exceptional image quality. But for those special moments, like capturing a family’s joy, a skilled photographer can make all the difference.
Finding a family photographer near me can help you create lasting memories that will be cherished for years to come. And when you’re ready to capture those memories with your own Nikon FX 24-120mm lens, remember to experiment with different apertures and compositions to create stunning results.
Durability and Weather Sealing
Nikon has equipped the FX 24-120mm f/4 VR S with an extensive weather sealing system, protecting it from the elements. The lens features a series of seals strategically placed around the lens barrel, preventing dust, moisture, and splashes from entering the internal mechanisms.
This weather sealing ensures reliable performance in various environments, from light rain showers to challenging outdoor shoots. The lens’s robust build and weather sealing make it a dependable companion for photographers who prioritize reliability and performance in diverse shooting scenarios.
Focusing Mechanism and Autofocus Performance
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 VR S employs a sophisticated internal focusing mechanism, allowing for rapid and accurate autofocus performance. This system ensures smooth and silent focusing, minimizing distractions during photography. The lens features a stepping motor for precise and silent autofocus operation, contributing to its versatility in various photographic applications.
The lens is compatible with Nikon’s advanced autofocus systems, including 3D tracking and subject recognition, ensuring accurate and reliable focusing across a wide range of shooting scenarios.
Performance: Nikon Fx 24 120 Review
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens exhibits strong performance across a wide range of shooting scenarios, making it a versatile choice for photographers. This lens boasts excellent sharpness, especially at the center of the image, and delivers a balanced performance in terms of distortion and chromatic aberration.
To understand its performance better, let’s delve into specific aspects and compare it with other lenses in the market.
Sharpness and Image Quality
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens delivers excellent sharpness, particularly at the center of the image, across the entire zoom range. This is especially noticeable at wider apertures, where the lens achieves a level of sharpness comparable to, if not better than, many prime lenses.
However, at the edges of the image, some softness might be observed, especially at wider apertures.
This is a common characteristic of zoom lenses, as they are designed to cover a broader focal length range, which often comes with a slight compromise in sharpness at the edges compared to dedicated prime lenses.
When comparing the Nikon FX 24-120mm lens to other similar lenses in the market, such as the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 or the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art, it performs admirably in terms of sharpness, especially at the center of the image.
While the Tamron and Sigma lenses might offer slightly better edge sharpness, the Nikon lens compensates with its excellent image quality and consistent performance throughout the zoom range.
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 lens is a versatile choice for photographers, offering a wide zoom range that covers everything from expansive landscapes to intimate portraits. While it’s a great all-around lens, photographers seeking the ultimate in street photography might want to consider the specialized options available in the RF lens system, such as those listed in this guide on best RF lenses for street.
However, for photographers who prioritize versatility and portability, the Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 remains a compelling choice, delivering excellent image quality and a compact design that makes it ideal for everyday shooting.
Distortion and Chromatic Aberration
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens exhibits minimal distortion across the entire zoom range. While some barrel distortion is noticeable at wider focal lengths, it is well-controlled and easily corrected in post-processing. This makes the lens suitable for various photographic genres, including architecture, landscapes, and portraits, where straight lines and accurate perspective are crucial.The lens also performs well in terms of chromatic aberration, with minimal color fringing observed, even when shooting against high-contrast subjects.
This is achieved through Nikon’s advanced lens design and coatings, which help to minimize the dispersion of light, resulting in cleaner and more accurate colors.
Bokeh and Depth of Field
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens produces pleasing bokeh, with smooth and creamy out-of-focus areas, especially at wider apertures. This is due to its rounded aperture blades, which create a pleasing blur effect. However, the bokeh quality might not be as smooth as some dedicated portrait lenses, especially at the longer end of the zoom range.The lens offers a good range of depth of field control, allowing photographers to isolate subjects from their background effectively.
This is particularly useful for portrait photography, where a shallow depth of field can help to emphasize the subject and create a sense of separation.
Autofocus Performance
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens features a fast and accurate autofocus system, making it suitable for capturing fast-moving subjects, such as sports or wildlife. The lens is equipped with a silent wave motor (SWM), which provides quiet and precise autofocus, making it ideal for both stills and video.In comparison to other lenses in its class, the Nikon FX 24-120mm lens performs well in terms of autofocus speed and accuracy.
It is comparable to, if not slightly better than, other lenses in the market, such as the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 or the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art.
Versatility and Suitability
The Nikon FX 24-120mm lens is a highly versatile lens that caters to a wide range of photographic genres. Its broad zoom range, excellent image quality, and fast autofocus make it suitable for various applications, including:
- Landscape Photography:The wide-angle end of the zoom range is perfect for capturing expansive landscapes, while the telephoto end allows for isolating specific elements within the scene.
- Portrait Photography:The lens’s smooth bokeh and shallow depth of field capabilities make it suitable for creating flattering portraits with a blurred background.
- Travel Photography:The compact size and lightweight design make it an ideal travel companion, allowing photographers to capture various subjects without carrying multiple lenses.
- Wildlife Photography:The telephoto end of the zoom range provides the reach needed for capturing distant wildlife subjects.
- Street Photography:The versatile zoom range and fast autofocus make it suitable for capturing candid street scenes and capturing moments as they unfold.
- Event Photography:The lens’s versatility and ability to capture a wide range of subjects make it a valuable tool for event photographers.
User Experience
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 VR S lens offers a user experience that is both intuitive and comfortable, catering to a wide range of photographers, from professionals to enthusiasts. Its handling and ergonomics are designed to enhance the shooting process, while its focusing performance is swift and precise.
Ergonomics and Handling
The lens boasts a robust build quality, with a weather-sealed construction that provides protection against the elements. Its weight distribution is well-balanced, ensuring comfortable handling even during extended shooting sessions. The zoom ring is smooth and responsive, allowing for precise adjustments.
The focus ring is similarly well-designed, offering a tactile and accurate experience.
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 lens offers a versatile range for everyday photography, much like the renowned Leica Digilux 2, a camera that pioneered the marriage of Leica’s heritage with digital technology. While the Digilux 2 focused on image quality, the Nikon lens prioritizes versatility, making it an excellent choice for landscapes, portraits, and even some wildlife photography.
The lens’s size and weight make it a practical choice for photographers who prioritize portability without compromising on image quality.
Focusing Speed and Accuracy, Nikon fx 24 120 review
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 VR S lens incorporates a silent wave motor (SWM) for fast and quiet autofocus. This technology allows for quick and precise focus acquisition, even in challenging lighting conditions. The lens’s autofocus system is highly accurate, ensuring sharp and detailed images.
The lens’s autofocus performance is a significant advantage for capturing fast-moving subjects, such as wildlife or sports, where precision and speed are paramount.
Usability and User-Friendliness
The lens is user-friendly, with a straightforward design and intuitive controls. The zoom and focus rings are easily accessible, allowing for quick adjustments during shooting. The lens’s versatility, covering a wide range of focal lengths, makes it suitable for various photographic genres, from landscape and portraiture to street and travel photography.
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 VR S lens is a versatile and user-friendly option for photographers of all skill levels, providing a seamless shooting experience.
Conclusion
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 VR S is a versatile lens that offers a compelling blend of image quality, build quality, and performance. Its strengths lie in its wide zoom range, sharp optics, and excellent autofocus, making it a valuable tool for a wide range of photography genres.
However, it’s not without its drawbacks, such as its relatively large size and weight, and the presence of some chromatic aberration at wider apertures.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The lens excels in its image quality, consistently delivering sharp and detailed images across the entire zoom range. Its fast and accurate autofocus system ensures that you capture sharp images even in challenging lighting conditions. The lens also features a robust build quality, with a weather-sealed design that makes it suitable for use in a variety of environments.However, the lens’s size and weight can be a concern for some photographers, especially those who prefer a more compact and lightweight setup.
Additionally, while the lens generally exhibits excellent image quality, some chromatic aberration can be observed at wider apertures, especially at the edges of the frame.
Recommendations for Potential Users
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4 VR S is a strong choice for photographers who need a versatile lens that can handle a variety of subjects and situations. Its wide zoom range makes it ideal for landscape, portrait, and event photography, while its excellent image quality ensures that your images will be sharp and detailed.
However, if you prioritize portability and are willing to compromise on some versatility, a shorter zoom lens might be a better option.
Final Wrap-Up
The Nikon FX 24-120mm f/4G ED VR is a highly versatile lens that delivers impressive image quality, excellent build quality, and a user-friendly experience. Its wide zoom range, constant aperture, and effective image stabilization make it a compelling choice for a variety of photographic pursuits.
Whether you are a professional photographer seeking a reliable workhorse lens or an enthusiast looking to expand your creative possibilities, the Nikon FX 24-120mm lens is a worthy contender, offering a balance of performance and portability.