AF-S NIKKOR 24-85MM F/3.5-4.5G ED VR Kit Lens Sample Images

32mm @ f.8 @ 1/400 (ISO 200)

Nikon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR AF-S Nikkor Lens

Since receiving the D600 the weather has not been cooperating with me to give a full review.  Ya, I could set some stuffed animals up and snap some shots of that in my house or chase my cat and dog around with my camera all day long but I want to see what this camera and lens are capable of in the real world.  So hold your horses, full review of the D600 is coming.  Until then, here is a teaser of the capabilities of the D600 with its kit lens.

Below is a 100%ish crop of the above photo:

For a kit lens this is very sharp, the distortion is low and there is only slight vignetting at the 24mm end and less so as  you move out to 85mm (all of which can be easily fixed in Photoshop or Lightroom at the click of a button).

85mm @ f.4.5 @ 1/160 (ISO 200)

As you can see above, the photo was taken at the long end (85mm) and came out looking very sharp and rendered the colors beautifully.  Initially I thought I’d try this lens out and then return it for a larger telephoto and some primes but after using it for a couple of days I have decided to keep it for traveling.  The lens itself is very light and small compared to some of the other DSLR lenses I have seen.  I believe this lens will find a home with the on-the-go photographer who needs just a couple small, light lenses to drop in his bag and run.

And now at 100%ish:

At 100% you can see how sharp the image is, this was handheld (would be even sharper with a tripod) and you can see the individual hairs on the horses face and ears.  This is not the general lackluster results I expected from a kit lens, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the images the lens was able to produce.

The Nikon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR AF-S Nikkor Lens has received very positive reviews so far and is being touted as a great all around lens. The main attraction to this lens is it’s cost at $600 or $500 if bought with the D600.  This is an FX lens meaning it is designed for the full frame cameras (D600, D800, D800E, etc.) so if you own a DX (D3100, D7000, D5100, etc.) you’d be better off with a DX lens.  The 24-85mm is one of the least expensive FX lens and probably directed towards the more enthusiast photographer.

So is this lens for you?  If you’ve already got this range covered by say the Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens then there is no need for this lens.  If you don’t own that lens then this one, a 50mm fast lens, and something on the long end like 70-200 or 300mm would be perfect.

**AS ALWAYS, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE 24-85MM LENS PLEASE ASK IN THE COMMENTS AREA (TOP LEFT) AND I WILL RESPOND.  THANKS!

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