Dilemma

Needa

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Dilemma

So the VR in my 24-120 F4 decided it was tired. And is complaining loudly when the camera is powered up and even when the memory card is removed. Tests on second camera and the results are the same. The question is what to replace the lens with. It would be nice to have a 2.8, this would put me in the 24-70 or the 70- 200 category. May be scrap it all and get a Zf but this would require some significant scratch especial if I was to go with the 24-120.

Here is my historic lens usage.
Lens usage.png

Note D5100 info only since use of current program and shot in RAW. The red represents equipment no longer available. Also the 70-300 currently lives on the D7100 other than some testing .

So the simple answer it replace with another 24- 120 F4. It’s inexpensive and would be familiar. Any thing I’m missing here?



I will break out the focal length shot info when I find a good way to present it.
 
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BF Hammer

BF Hammer

Senior Member
The 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 sell for surprisingly low as used currently. I saw both listed on the used list at my local camera store. The 24-120mm is also selling for the $650 range as used. I look as I eventually plan to trade in my F-mount gear. Kind of disappoints me as I realize the value goes down steadily.
 
Clovishound

Clovishound

Senior Member
MPB currently has the 24-120 F4G ED VR in Excellent condition for around $400. I made the switch to mirrorless 2 years ago, and never looked back. Of course, I had an entry level DSLR and two low end DX kit lenses, so there wasn't a lot to walk away from. If you are planning on being active in photography for many years to come, I suspect you will eventually switch to mirrorless. The good and bad news is that, IMO, the Z lenses are so good you will be tempted to replace your F mount lenses as soon as you can, even though the FX lenses will generally work quite well using the FTZ adapter.

Bottom line is, it's a tough call.

If you are felling lucky, you could buy a lottery ticket and then buy a couple Z9s and all the trimmings with the winnings. :sneaky:
 
Needa

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
High Usage.png


No surprise 24, 120 and 300. 208?

So the order is in to MPB. Mirrorless is not in the cards at this time, maybe if the Saudi Prince money comes through. Thanks for the posts.
 
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hark

hark

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I have 2 of the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR lenses. The first one was originally a camera store's lens rental that I purchased in 2018 so it already had mileage on it. I think it is now experiencing some issues with sticky aperture blades not stopping down or stopping down too far because of exposure issues. It is the lens I use the most. The second Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR came with the D750 body/lens combo when it went on a ridiculous sale price before being discontinued. I need to start using it.

I also have a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 (no vibration reduction) lens which is quite sharp but has onion skin bokeh. When I switched to the 24-120mm, I've become so accustomed to the extra reach over the limitations of the 24-70mm that I would miss the benefit of zooming out to 120mm.

So I have a question ... are you leaving your VR turned on when you power down your body? And are you leaving your body on when removing the SD cards? The only time I left my VR on was by accident when powering off with a Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens attached. My D750 suddenly went into ERR with the mirror locking up. I've had intermittent CPU issues ever since. Nikon says to turn off VR before turning off a body (and make sure the VR isn't engaged when flicking the switch to OFF) so I've always tried to stick with that. And I only remove cards when my bodies are turned off. Maybe try turning off your VR and see what happens. By the way, due to the CPU issue I have now, I always make sure the top screen LCD goes into standby when powering off all of my bodies. That seems to be the only thing that helps my D750 from having the mirror lock up issue on the first shutter actuation of the day.

Have you tried turning off the VR and doing the electrical reset that @Peter7100 shared with us a while back and see if that helps at all? I used that technique on a D7200 when the shutter actuation button must have gotten a little bit of snow in it causing the actuation button to stop Auto Focusing. The process worked like a charm and haven't had any issues since.

Good luck with whatever you decide, Jeff!
 
Needa

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
hark said:
When I switched to the 24-120mm, I've become so accustomed to the extra reach over the limitations of the 24-70mm that I would miss the benefit of zooming out to 120mm.
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I believe that would be the case also.

hark said:
So I have a question ... are you leaving your VR turned on when you power down your body?
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Always have.

And I only remove cards when my bodies are turned off.
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99.9% of the time

And are you leaving your body on when removing the SD cards?
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No and that is the funny part the VR initiates when the card is removed and the camera off. It also initiates regardless of off/on position. Almost positive it is the VR, focus works perfectly.

Have you tried turning off the VR and doing the electrical reset that @Peter7100 shared with us a while back and see if that helps at all?
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No, but it does the same on the D7100. The 70-300 does not exhibit the same problem on either camera. May be worth a shot though.

This is also the lens that was on my D7100 years ago when it slid out of the bag and to the drive as I was retrieving the bag from the back seat of a rental car. Somebody forgot to zip the bag after a sunrise shot on the way to the airport.
 
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hark

hark

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Needa said:
No, but it does the same on the D7100. The 70-300 does not exhibit the same problem on either camera. May be worth a shot though.
Click to expand...
If the same thing happens when using the lens on a different body, then the electrical reset won't help. I believe it only affects the body.
 
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