A few weeks ago I bought another new (to me) lens – a Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR. It was bought as a walkabout lens to use with my Nikon F80, and also the Nikon D810 DSLR that I bought to scan negatives, but which I will probably do some actual photography with as well. I believe that the lens was the kit lens for Nikon’s pro line of DSLRs and, from the reviews I read, appeared to be well regarded and sharp.
Othe than the Reto Ultrawide and Slim camera I have, it’s the widest focal length lens I own, and it’s surprising the ammount of difference between 24mm and 28mm (the widest focal length I otherwise have at my disposal), and I’ve made use of this wider angle on a good few occasions now. It does distort noticeably at the wide end though, and not in a way that’s easily rectified (on film shots, at least), but with a bit or perseverance it can be done well enough for my needs.
It’s also not a small lens and is a little unbalanced on my F80, which is quite small for an SLR, but I can put up with this due to the convenience it brings. The 24-120mm focal length is plenty good enough for most of my needs (I can bring along the 70-200mm lens if I need more reach), and it is sharp – far more so than the Tamron 28-300mm I had for a while.
It’s also a VR lens which makes it even more useful thanks to the F80’s ability to make use of the image stabilisation. It means I’m able to handhold it at pretty slow shutter speeds and still avoid camera shake.
I’ve shot a few rolls of film using it so far, and the ones I’ve developed and scanned all look good, so I’m pretty happy with it.
And what better subject for a new lens than some pylons. 😀
Nikon F80 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (shot at 200asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°
Taken 28 July 2026.
