Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF

I wrote an earlier review, basically saying that I was thrilled with the performance of this lens - when it works. Background: I bought the lens in Dec 07 and it worked fine till about March 08, when it intermittently lost function and caused my (then D70) to lock up. I sent the lens back to Nikon for work under warranty. After this repair, the problem was much less frequent, but was not totally eliminated. As a result, I used the lens sparingly and always carried a backup. Fast forward ...

For me this lens is the best portrait lens available for the DX format from, by providing very nice bokeh and a excellent zoom range, very fast and quiet auto-focus, excellent colors and contrast, large aperture and outstanding sharpness even at f/2.8. It is also good for landscape, night shots, sport and any other general photography. It balances very well on a D200/D300, but it is not quite easy to handle on smaller cameras like the D7000.

Portraits, weddings, landscapes, travel, family, for most of my paid or unpaid work, this my go everywhere do anything lens. It's first rate build quality and excellent handling will tie me to the DX format until FX comes up with something comparable. Don't talk to me about the excellent 24-70 as it's quite a bit larger and doesn't handle as nicely (for my tastes). Lightroom's Automatic lens correction profiles tame the minor distortions nicely and the relatively fast f/2.8 glass suits my ...

I bought this lens a few years ago to use for more-demanding professional event and group photography work, for my D70 bodies, as an alternative to the seemingly less professional 18-70. The 17-55 is a constant f2.8 aperture, unlike smaller less-expensive variable-aperture zooms. It is easier to compose and focus in lower light conditions, and can render a nice image at f2.8 if carefully focussed. It has the range to be a general purpose walk around lens. The fast aperture coupled with a ...