Sigma 24-70mm Lens

Unless you make a lot of money with your mid-range zoom lens, or are willing to spend what it takes to get the best, $1900 for the 2 pound Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is a hard price to justify. For that price, you get an ultra-sharp, ultra-fast, lens, but you don’t even get VR. I’ve enjoyed using Sigma’s version, the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens that I reviewed in 2010. It is much less expensive, but not as solidly built and also isn’t stabilized. Until now there hasn’t been a value-priced version of a 24-70 f/2.8 that could measure up to the Nikon. That’s why I was excited to work with the new Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Lens, which not only featured a fast focus motor but unique among mid-range pro zooms, also has image stabilization….

 

Mid-range zooms have become the bread and butter lens for almost all photographers, pro and amateur. So each new announcement in that space is greeted with tremendous energy and excitement. Nikon’s overhaul of the venerable 28-70mm f/2.8 into the digital full frame friendly 24-70mm f/2.8 was big news for Nikon shooters. But the 24-70 is large, heavy, expensive and doesn’t have VR (Vibration Reduction). Sigma’s 24-70 helps with the first three but it also doesn’t have VR. And neither offers the kind of large range photographers have come to want from their zooms. So enter the new Nikon 24-120mm f/4 AF-S VR Lens—Nikon’s third offering in that zoom range. Read on to find out if it finally the perfect fit for your needs…