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Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S IF-ED  PDF Print E-mail
Lenses Nikon
User rating
4.1
out of 5
Editor's rating
1.0
out of 5
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Reviewed by:
Editor
Thursday, 20 December 2007
Average user rating: 4.1 
13 User reviews
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Lens Summary

Overview

  • Fast, ultra-wideangle zoom lens with Silent Wave Motor
  • Features two types of Aspherical lens (two molded-glass lenses and one hybrid) and two ED glass elements for higher optical performance
  • 0.28m closest focusing throughout zoom range
  • M/A mode for quick switching between autofocus and manual focus operation
  • Nine-blade rounded diaphragm achieves a natural Blur for out-of-focus elements

Lens Specifications

Generic Lens Specifications
Lens Type: Zoom
IS / VR / OS: None
Min Focal length (mm): 17
Max Focal Length (mm): 35
Number of Elements: 13
Element Groups: 10
Max Aperture: 2.8
Minimum Aperture: 22
Diaphragm Blades: 10
Closest Focus Distance (m): 0.28
Filter Diameter (mm): 77
Diameter at widest (mm): 82
Lens Length (mm): 106
Weight (g): 745

Details


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Editor review : Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S IF-ED
Overall rating (weighted)
1.0
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
1.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
1.0
Editor review will be updated shortly.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: Editor review
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Undecided

User Lens Reviews

Average user rating from: 13 user(s)

Overall rating (weighted)
4.1
Sharpness
4.3
Build Quality
4.1
AF Speed
4.1
Value for Money
4.0
 

Add new review


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

A superb wide-angle lens for full-frame (FX) Nikon, Tuesday, 14 July 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I purchased this lens along with my D700 nearly 12 months ago. My choice was between this lens and the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S. I went with the 17-35mm for the ability to use filters and have not looked back.

During that time I have had a blast enjoying landscape photography with the combination. The lens is exceedingly sharp --corner to corner-- particularly when stopped down from wide open. I have no use for 'prime' lenses within this focal range anymore.

Indoors, the extreme Angle of view and large aperture have been great for indoor candids. Obviously, 17-35mm is not a desirable focal length for portraits.

Some have complained about corner 'sharpness' wide open, but the depth-of-field at f/2.8 is so shallow on FX that corner sharpness is a non-issue since objects in the corner are unlikely to be within the focal plane of the subject anyway. With the high-ISO performance of the D700, aperture selection is an artistic choice for DOF, not a necessity for low light. Stop the pixel-peeping and just enjoy the lens!

I have also found DxO Optics Pro (Elite) a priceless software tool with this camera/lens combination. I always shoot RAW images and use DxO to convert to TIFF or jpg. DxO includes both the D700 and this lens in their database; the result: noise-free images with perfect optical corrections. Amazing.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

A superb wide-angle lens for full-frame (FX) Nikon, Tuesday, 14 July 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
I purchased this lens along with my D700 nearly 12 months ago. My choice was between this lens and the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S. I went with the 17-35mm for the ability to use filters and have not looked back.

During that time I have had a blast enjoying landscape photography with the combination. The lens is exceedingly sharp --corner to corner-- particularly when stopped down from wide open. I have no use for 'prime' lenses within this focal range anymore.

Indoors the extreme angle-of-view and large aperture have been great for candids and other interior shots. Obviously, 17-35mm is not a desirable focal length for portraits.

Some have complained about corner 'sharpness' wide open, but the depth-of-field at f/2.8 is so shallow on FX that corner sharpness is a non-issue since objects in the corner are unlikely to be within the focal plane of the subject anyway. With the high-ISO performance of the D700, aperture selection is an artistic choice for DOF, not a necessity for low light. Stop the pixel-peeping and just enjoy the lens!

I have also found DxO Optics Pro (Elite) a priceless software tool with this camera/lens combination. I always shoot RAW images and use DxO to convert to TIFF or jpg. DxO includes both the D700 and this lens in their database; the result: noise-free images with perfect optical corrections. Amazing.
Was this review helpful to you? yes     no

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

A superb wide-angle lens for full-frame (FX) Nikon, Tuesday, 14 July 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I purchased this lens along with my [[ASIN:B001BTCSI6 D700]] nearly 12 months ago. My choice was between this lens and the [[ASIN:B000VDCTCI Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S]]. I went with the 17-35mm for the ability to use filters and have not looked back.

During that time I have had a blast enjoying landscape photography with the combination. The lens is exceedingly sharp --corner to corner-- particularly when stopped down from wide open. I have no use for 'prime' lenses within this focal range anymore.

Indoors the extreme angle-of-view and large aperture have been great for candids and other interior shots. Obviously, 17-35mm is not a desirable focal length for portraits.

Some have complained about corner 'sharpness' wide open, but the depth-of-field at f/2.8 is so shallow on FX that corner sharpness is a non-issue since objects in the corner are unlikely to be within the focal plane of the subject anyway. With the high-ISO performance of the D700, aperture selection is an artistic choice for DOF, not a necessity for low light. Stop the pixel-peeping and just enjoy the lens!

I have also found [[ASIN:B001K9GQTE DxO Optics Pro (Elite) ]] a priceless software tool with this camera/lens combination. I always shoot RAW images and use DxO to convert to TIFF or jpg. DxO includes both the D700 and this lens in their database; the result: noise-free images with perfect optical corrections. Amazing.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Extremely sharp, high quality images, Sunday, 28 June 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This is a superb lens. I purchased it along with my D700 and the results have been very impressive. It's very well made; the zoom control is linear (evenly spaced on the zoom ring), and it's not as heavy as I thought it would be given the pro level of construction. Its a nice chunky size ... it fits my hand well, and is well suited size-wise to the D700 ... yet doesn't feel too big or heavy. I've been using it mostly on a tripod for landscape photography, but I think it will also be a great walking-around lens.

The included lens shade is pretty much worthless and is so wide physically that its a PITA in my backpack. The lens also comes with a beautiful hard case which I will never use. It would have been nice if Nikon had shaved $50-100 off the price and skipped this high quality but impractical part of the package.

Highly recommended!
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

great!, Sunday, 18 January 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
an ultra high quality lens far superior than the canon counterpart, i actually have the canon 16-35L 2.8 II and bought this lens for my friend who has a nikon d700, i am totally impressed by nikon and especially there 5 year warranty on most of their lenses. if i did not already own canon lenses i would have defiantly switched.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

I received a Dud!!, Monday, 31 March 2008


Overall rating (weighted)
2.3
Sharpness
2.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
2.0
Value for Money
2.0
Check the quality control of this lens when you buy. Mine had severe front focus problems. Even when i selected the auto focus sensor the lens still had focusing issues . The lens was soft to F4. At F2.8 the images were incredibly poor. In my 20+ years of photography i have never seen a lens this bad. To make sure, i borrowed a friends 18-55VR. This $200.00 lens had better color saturation, Contrast and accurate auto focus. Not only that, but it was sharper. To get the 17-35 as sharp, i had to stop down to F8. I tried to get another sample but they were out of stock, so i just returned it. I know a lot of people rate this lens 5 stars, and i understand that ever now and then you get a bad sample, but this lens had multiple problems. On the positive side, it is not as big and heavy as some people claim. It balances well on my D200, and the autofocus is fast. I will be looking into the 24-70 2.8.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

First Class Glass, Thursday, 28 February 2008


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This is a first-class professional quality lens. I am using it on Nikon F5, F100, and D200 bodies. I bought it in anticipation of purchasing an FX digital format successor to the D200/D300 DX-format cameras. It is extremely sharp from edge-to-edge, rendering crisp images with great color and contrast. Good low-light performance for natural people-pictures. On my film-based shoots, it is nothing short of spectacular. With digital, I am presently using DX-format cameras, so the focal-length range is reduced. But, when used with an FX-format digital, I expect equally exceptional results. This lens is considered both heavy and pricey by some. However, I find the weight promotes better stability with hand-held images. The price is right for what you get. I also like a Depth of field indicator on the aperature ring for doing wide-ange shots employing hyper-focal distance techniques. You don't get this with the newer g-series lenses. If you can afford this lens and are going to go FX-format, buy it.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Quallity Control Issues, Wednesday, 07 November 2007


Overall rating (weighted)
1.5
Sharpness
2.0
Build Quality
1.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
2.0
At $1,500, this lens should be mint straight from the factory. My copy failed to auto-focus properly and appeared to have serious backfocus issues. Although the "Silent Wave Motor" made for very quick focusing times (if the copy had been focusing properly), it made a pronounced metal-on-metal or metal-on-plastic, high-pitched scraping sound at times. I understand this is endemic in many copies. Lastly, I did not think I would miss the added focal length of a 17-55mm or 18-55mm, but that extra 36mm-55mm range really does make a difference, and makes this lens less usable for DSLRs. More importantly, when focused (by chance), the optics did not produce sharpness substantially superior to my other, less expensive, DX lenses.

On the other hand, this lens is not as heavy or large as other reviewers have noted. I would have no problem carrying the 17-35mm all day, every day. Perhaps my review would have been different if I received a different copy. But for $1,500, this should never happen. We as consumers should not be forced to return substandard equipment in order to ultimately get a copy that works.



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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

3 out of 5, Thursday, 21 June 2007


Overall rating (weighted)
2.5
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
2.0
Value for Money
2.0
I wanted to like this lens badly based on what I needed in my bag and what was said here and at other sites. Unfortunately I found the lens to be unacceptably soft between f/2.8 and 4.5. If I would have been a little more careful in my research I would have noticed this to be a common observation though for landscape photographers they don't mind as they're typically stopped down anyway. But for me, to consider the 17-35mm as a replacement for the kit 18-70 as a near-full time lens I just couldn't justify the price/quality ratio when I'd have to stop the lens down to where the kit lens is to get to the sweet spot. I guess I'll have to start looking for the 17-55mm option where it is said to excel at the wider open aperature.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Editor
A very nice lens, Tuesday, 17 April 2007


Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
3.0
Nice lenses, not cheap and needs to be used with a Pro body to get the best out of it.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: I own it
Where did you buy this item?: Ebay
Price paid: 620
When did you buy this item?: Jan 06
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

What is up with this image?, Thursday, 05 January 2006


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
The image that Amazon is showing is not the Nikon 17-35mm.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Outstanding wide angle zoom!, Tuesday, 29 June 2004


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is widely held to be one of the best if not the best wide angle professional zoom lens for 35mm and Digital SLRs compatible with Nikon's lens system. I've had mine for about 6 months on a Nikon D-100 and have absolutely nothing I don't like about it. It's sharp from corner to corner at all zoom settings and any pincusion destortion is negligible even at 17mm @ f2.8. The AFS focusing motor is lightning fast and accurate. Filter size is 77mm, same as my Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR lens. Since filters this size aren't cheap, it's nice to be able to share. This lens will support 35mm, APS, and DX format film and digital sensor sizes and comes with a 5-year warranty. If you want the best, and can afford it, you won't be sorry you purchased this lens.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

The sharpest and fastest wide-angle Nikkor zoom fo, Saturday, 11 October 2003


Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
Of the auto-focus Nikkor lenses, I've owned the 20/2.8D, 24/2.8D, and 35-70/2.8D. My current lenses are the AF80-200/2.8D (2-ring version), and the AFS17-35/2.8D. That's all is needed for my general photography. Any distortion can be easily created in Photoshop CS.

The AFS17-35/2.8D is the sharpest lens of all the manual and auto-focus Nikkor lenses I have owned/used. Since purchasing this lens almost 3 years ago, it has become the standard lens on my Nikon F5.

I travel with the AFS17-35/2.8D and (in my opinion) it's natural companion the AF80-200/2.8D. Both Zoom lenses are ranked number 1 and 2 in sharpness respectively.

The lens, mounted on an F5, was dropped 3.5 feet in a thinly cushioned bag onto a concrete walkway. The back of the F5 took the impact. According to Nikon Canada, the lens survived but the F5 needed a new $400+ autofocus assembly.
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