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Photojournalistas.com |
| Jan-Feb, 2006 |
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Modern Classic: The Nikon 17-35 f/2.8 AF-S
By Lee K. Marriner |
 Usually it’s cameras that get photographers charged-up and talking. This is even more so in the digital age, where Nikon and Canon introduce newer and better models on a yearly basis. Professional and amateur photographers are always eyeing each other’s cameras, wondering and asking what the other guy is using. The tool that often matters the most, the lens, is often ignored in the banter among photographers. Some how they just aren’t as sexy as a hot camera body. If there is a lens that deserves a place in the topic of conversation, it has to be the Nikon 17-35 f/2.8 AF-S wide angle zoom. This lens is truly a modern classic that is still widely used and, despite being on the market for nearly six years, is still very much in demand.I bought my second Nikon 17-35 f/2.8 AF-S this summer after the autofocus motor on my first one started to make squealing sounds when it was activated. The first lens was nearing five years old, and had been in constant use since being purchased new. Using this lens on a near daily basis has shown it to be unusually tough and well sealed. It’s been used in sawdust clouded dairy barns, granite dust saturated granite quarries and sculpting studios, in storms at sea, blizzards, downpours and extreme cold; it’s even been splattered with by the brown stuff from a cow while shooting in one of those dairy barns. This lens has also been banged into trees, bumped by other people and hit by other photographers’ equipment. Despite this, the only show of wear on the lens is where the lens hood goes on at the end of the lens. Much to my amazement, the inside of it, between the lens elements, is free of dust and specks. Part of the reason this lens has held up so well might be that I always keep it in a case when it's not in use. Additionally, I usually wipe down the outside immediately after a shoot where dust or similar materials get on it. But doing this only goes so far.  My ailing 17-35 was used just a bit longer than I wanted because I couldn’t find a new one with the USA warrantee at the big mail order photo dealers or the local shops that sometimes keep one in stock. Part of this was probably due to rebates being offered on this lens at the time, but I also feel that this shortage is a testament to the lens’ staying power and popularity. I eventually found one via my friend Bob Christy, who said that Campus Camera in Kent, Ohio, the place where I bought my gear while in college, had some in stock. Thinking back, finding a place to buy my first 17-35 had also taken some looking around.So what is it that makes this lens so good and so desired? First of all, as I’ve already mentioned, it is very rugged: This is of huge importance if a lens is going to get a lot of rough use in harsh environments. The Nikon 17-35 f/2.8 AF-S is also incredibly versatile. A big reason that I wanted this lens, despite costing around $1500.00 five years ago, is that I wanted a lens that would still have decent wide angle ability when I went digital. Most Nikon digital SLRs have a 1.5 multiplication factor because their digital sensor size (app. 24mm in width) is smaller than a frame of 35mm film (app. 35mm in width). Thus a 17-35 zoom becomes a 25.5mm-52.5mm zoom when used on Nikon digital SRL. For the deadline related work that I do with digital cameras, this is usually more than sufficient. For the non-deadline long-term stories that I do with film cameras, the 17mm end of the zoom gives me more options for composing a photo. |
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