Have you ever used a highly versatile zoom lens with a great range to it? They have grown in both number and popularity in recent years, so how is Nikon's one-lens solution?
My love for prime lenses is well documented. I believe that I am a better photographer when using primes, but there are undoubtedly times where I've had to use zoom lenses and to great effect. In my time as a photographer and a writer within the industry, I've unsurprisingly used a lot of equipment. However, of the many lenses I've bought, rented, reviewed, tested, and so on, a super-zoom has never been on the front of my cameras.
I have been put off in the past as some years back they were optically unappealing and very slow, but in the last five years or so, we've seen not only an uptick in the manufacturing of these do-it-all lenses, but in their quality too. Nikon's NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens has proven very popular indeed, with reviews being mostly positive and it has begun to pique my interest. As a walkaround or landscape lens, the 24-200mm could cover an incredible amount of ground, freeing up space in your bag and saving you from swapping lenses — which is something I do a lot. If you add a teleconverter to your bag (which weighs very little), you're covering even more of a range. The lens is unlikely to be very fast in its apertures, but there are plenty of situations where that isn't crucial anyway.
Do you use any super-zoom lenses? What have your experiences been like? Would you recommend them?
This lens is bitingly sharp if you get a good copy. My first one was soft, and the replacement is very sharp. It’s a great lens for traveling and landscape photography.
The Nikon 24-200 is indeed a very nice lens!
What confuses me a bit is the end of the second last paragraph in the post. Teleconverter on the 24-200? That would be new to me. Can you clarify or correct the post?
Yes, I also believe he was wrong. The Z 24-200 can't use a teleconverter.
One of my most used, well I should say my MOST used lens over the past nine years is the Nikon 24-120 f4. It's incredibly versatile. Have used to shoot thousands of portraits and thousands of mostly handheld architectural shots. The sharpness doesn't achieve that of, say, the 24mm Nikon tilt-shift, but it is still acceptable in most situations. Reviews of the 24-200 show it superior to the 24-120 in sharpness. It's a shame the lens never seems to be available for purchase! The cover image I use for my architectural photography page was shot with the 24-120 f4. You can judge for yourself! scottweaverphoto.com/architecture