I'm considering buying one of these:
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

I'd love to know if anyone here has one, and if so what they think of it.

I'd also love to see some sample photos shot on it, high noise images (high ISO) would be appreciated as one of the primary uses will be low-light parties and gigs.

you are better off looking at low iso, low noise examples as noise will not help you see how the lense performs.

^^ +1

http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/46-n...w--test-report

http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showp...ct/1121/cat/13

high iso will be very grainy best off doing it with low iso film

I rented one of those for a while, they are a good lens but waaaaay pricey and pretty heavy, Check it out in a shop first, they are quite a lump to lug if you have a few in your bag.

Pretty fast lens, so would be good for gigs etc. But unless you need the zoom you can't beat the 50mm f1.4 for low light. (and or the 85mm 1.4)

Edit - Sorry it was the 28-70 that I rented, but I think the 24-70 is its successor.

The 50mmm 1.4 is the best lens I own by long way, and not too pricey second hand neither.

+1

I already have that lens.

I don't have a zoom, and the problem I've found with the prime is that there are many situations for which the prime is just a little ill-suited. I'm looking for a zoom to act as a prime replacement but still be incredibly strong in the prime range. And this lens seems to fit.

The bit I'm unsure about isn't size, weight, 70mm sharpness or even 50mm sharpness... but the pin cushion effect at the edges in the 24mm range.

I'd love to see similar use samples (gigs, parties) using the lens to try and determine whether it's an important reason not to buy or to wait a while longer.

That said, I hadn't considered one thing that has been mentioned on here... renting. I could just rent a lens and see. Seems a much better option than paying money without knowing.

true, but I think what he meant was what will his outfit perform like at high ISO.

@VB: the lens won't really affect how your camera performs in very low light, that's up to the sensor. However, the lens will determine how far you have to push the sensor, based on the amount of light it will let in. f2.8 isn't quite fast enough for "available light" shots at dark events (e.g. gigs etc). even at the limit of the sensor (which will be very noisy unless it's one of the latest models). For this you need something around f1.4, and you won't find an affordable zoom that goes to 1.4. But that's not to say it's a bad (or more importantly, a useful) lens.

24-70 is an excellent all-round lens and very versatile. But it depends what you have in your bag right now as to whether you should buy it, or get the 50mm first. If you have something in this range and need a lens specifically for low-available light work, then 50mm or even slightly wider fast prime might be money better spent.

EDIT: posted at the same time as your clarification. f2.8 isn't (IMO) fast enough. you can find easily out by using your 50mm at f2.8 or slower at the next gig ...

check the reviews but you can fix this easily in post production - now we're (and I assume you are) digital, it's not the same problem as lack of sharpness, which can't really be fixed

better plan: borrow one for a couple of weeks...:-)

The only thing I have in my bag is the 50mm f1.4 prime :)

Oh, and the camera is a D80

as per edit above: f2.8 isn't (IMO) fast enough for a low-available-light gig. you can find easily out by using your 50mm at f2.8 or slower at the next event...

I shoot events. All prime, slowest lens f2.0. Most of the time I work with 35mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.8. (on a full frame sensor), occasionally 50mm f1.4.

unless you wanna spend £££, then prime is your only real option, but that's just my opinion.

If you're looking for example shots, see here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikkor_24_70/

it reviews as a great lens*, but nothing on the flickr group from low-light events, which should tell you something.

*buy it :-)