[Leica] Report on my new 24-120/4 Nikon lens

[leica_r8 at hotmail.com (Aram Langhans)]

for those who might be interested.  You may remember that at the end of 
August, two weeks before I was to leave on a cross country trip, I dropped 
and broke my Leica R 35-70/4 zoom.  I looked at a few lenses I could get 
quickly as a replacement and decided on the Nikon 24-120/4 over the 
24-70/2.8 for range of coverage and lighter weight as the main priorities I 
had at the time.  And Rabs said this lens was on his short list.  So, here 
is a  report after 6 weeks of use all over the country in all kinds of 
conditions.

Advantage Nikon 24-120/F 4
   Wider angle (24 vs 35)
   Greater reach (120 vs 75)
   Autofocus - works better than manual on a DSLR, especially on  a crop 
format body (D7000)
   Vibration Reduction - works pretty good
   Front element does not rotate so using CPL is easier.

Advantage Leica 35-70/F4
   Less distortion.  Lightroom applies a tremendous amount of correction to 
the 24-120, and this is on a crop format body.
   Much sharper a f/4 and even f/5.6
   Focus holds constant as you zoom.
   Less size and weight.
   Better build quality

Having used the new 24-120 for a bit more than a month on our 6000 mile trek 
across country both ways, I have found both pluses and minuses.  It is much 
heavier than my 35-70, but since it has more range I have been able to walk 
around carrying two lenses instead of four, which more than compensates for 
the added weight of the one lens.  However, it does not balance as well in 
my hand as the 35-70, so my keeper rate is not as high, except for the use 
of VR.  That is a saving feature.  For that one reason I am glad I did not 
get the Nikon 24-70, even though I think the 24-70 is a superior lens both 
in optics and build.

One thing that does bug me a lot is that the focus shifts as you zoom.  In 
shooting stills, it is not a big deal as autofocus can keep up with this. 
However, I have been trying shooting some video with the D7000, and as you 
zoom, the microphone picks up the lens hunting around for correct focus.  If 
I shift to manual focus, the focus changes as I zoom.  With the Leica, I 
could focus manually and then zoom in or out w/o any focus shift so 
everything would remain in focus.  Not so with the 24-70, and maybe with all 
the Nikon zooms.  I know my father-in-law's 18-200, 18-55/2.8, and my other 
zooms shift.  Annoying.

Then there is the large amount of distortion throughout the zoom range. 
When Lightroom applies the lens correction you can really see the edges 
move.  Way more so than with any of the other Nikon lenses I have.   Of 
course, I have no lens profiles for the Leica 35-70, but I don't remember 
having to apply much correction to images I have taken with it.  I cannot 
imagine the amount of distortion in this lens on a FF sensor.

And the 24-120 is noticeably unsharp wide open, especially at the longer 
focal lengths.  Shot at 5.6 it is not that bad at the wide end, and at f/8 
is good at the tele end.  The 35-70 is quite sharp wide open at all focal 
lengths.  Of course, it is only a 2X zoom range, so is should be sharper and 
have less overall distortion.

So, I will keep the 24-120/4 since with VR, AF and the extended zoom it will 
have many uses when wanting to travel light, but  I will ship the 35-70 off 
to Sherry when I get home in a few weeks and use it when I want the quality 
wide open or shooting things where distortion would show up and I don't want 
to correct it and loose edge detail.


Aram