Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR review

The Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR is a hulking brute of a standard zoom

Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR
(Image: © Nikon)

Digital Camera World Verdict

Nikon’s latest and greatest F-mount ‘trinity’ standard zoom for DSLRs is built like a tank and is relatively large for this class of lens. Image quality and overall performance are the key aspects of the design, with no concession to keeping the size and weight down. It’s certainly super-sharp but relatively uninspiring in terms of color fringing and distortions.

Pros

  • +

    Top-notch build quality

  • +

    4-stop Vibration Reduction

  • +

    Excellent sharpness

Cons

  • -

    Very big and pretty weighty

  • -

    Image quality could be better

  • -

    Expensive to buy

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Measuring 155mm in length, the Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR is one of the biggest standard zoom lenses on the market, and it weighs in at over a kilogram. You’d be forgiven for assuming it had an internal zoom mechanism but it extends even further at both ends of the zoom range. To be fair though, Nikon's own Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is only about an inch shorter.

Specifications

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.