Nikon D700 with 24-120mm tested
Some critics may say that the AF-S 24-120 mm f/3.5-5.6 doesn't justify the qualities of the camera. Our test shows that this is only partially true. It's not the best lens in Nikon's range, that's for sure, but it's certainly not the most expensive, either! True 24-120 mm focal lenghts provides a versatile zoom range, it's fairly small and light-weight, thus making it an ideal companion for the compact D700 body, and its performance certainly justifies the price tag.
The mediocre lens speed of f/3.5-5.6 may be considered as a disadvantage, but it's actually vice versa. First of all, it helps keeping weight and size down (a good reason for choosing the D700 instead of the D3). Secondly, the camera's excellent viewfinder is still bright even at f/5.6, and thirdly, larger f-stops provides no gain in terms of image quality. Actually, on a fullframe sensor, image quality only gets worse with larger apartures, particularly in terms of vignetting. Thanks to the camera's extraordinary high sensitivty qualities with exceptionally low image noise, stopping down the lens and compensating the exposure by increasing the ISO value is a much better choice than a faster lens.
Not surprisingly, the camera related image quality measurements from the D700 are virtually identical to the measurements from the Nikon D3.
Please find our extensive test results of the Nikon D700 and the AF-S 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 VR here.
The mediocre lens speed of f/3.5-5.6 may be considered as a disadvantage, but it's actually vice versa. First of all, it helps keeping weight and size down (a good reason for choosing the D700 instead of the D3). Secondly, the camera's excellent viewfinder is still bright even at f/5.6, and thirdly, larger f-stops provides no gain in terms of image quality. Actually, on a fullframe sensor, image quality only gets worse with larger apartures, particularly in terms of vignetting. Thanks to the camera's extraordinary high sensitivty qualities with exceptionally low image noise, stopping down the lens and compensating the exposure by increasing the ISO value is a much better choice than a faster lens.
Not surprisingly, the camera related image quality measurements from the D700 are virtually identical to the measurements from the Nikon D3.
Please find our extensive test results of the Nikon D700 and the AF-S 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 VR here.