The 24-70mm is one of photography’s most adorable focal length ranges. For many, it’s one of the most sought-after standard focal length lenses in the business and perfectly complements the 70-200mm and the 14-24mm lenses. But is the 24-70mm lens that makes practical sense? In this discussion, we’ll list the benefits of the 24-70mm so you can decide whether you need this lens in your camera bag.
One lens that covers many sweet focal lengths. The 24-70mm covers some of the best focal lengths in this business. It covers the standard focal lengths of 35mm and 50mm. Apart from that, the lens also covers the 40mm focal length. The 50 to 70mm range is excellent for shooting portraits as well. This lens does it all if you’re looking for a lens that covers every focal length for everyday photography.
The 24-70mm is an excellent lens for portraits. Don’t live under the belief that the only lens that shoots great portraits is the 85mm prime. You can shoot excellent portrait photography if you know what you’re doing, even with a 50mm lens. You can shoot great portraits with the 35mm focal length as well.
Of course, beyond portraits, the 24-70mm lens is great for shooting landscapes and other photography. If landscape photography is something that you enjoy, you can choose the 24-70mm because it covers the focal lengths 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm. These focal lengths are great for shooting landscape photos.
There are two popular versions of the 24-70mm lens. One is the faster f/2.8 version. The other is a stop slower at f/4. If you’re primarily going to use the lens for portraits and then shoot other genres, I recommend you pick the f/2.8 version. This will ensure that the lens offers a beautiful background blur effect. Using the lens primarily for shooting landscapes, you can save considerable money by going for the f/4 version.
Coming down to the image quality of the 24-70mm. The f/2.8 version of the lens, and I am referring to the Nikon version here specifically, has a very sharp performance at the center of the frame. Even when the lens is wide open. Corners are a bit softer, which is attributable to the field curvature of the lens. Stopping the lens down improves the overall sharpness of the lens across the frame. I particularly like OEM lenses, and therefore, even though there are comparable third-party lenses, such as the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8, I would recommend the OEM version.
