A question of lens

[jason carroll]

As one of the last luddites, I finally broke down and purchased a Nikon D70 a few months

ago. I've learned to live with the limitations and have instead appreciated the

improvements in workflow. Now I'm thinking about making a complete break and selling

my F100 and my favorite Nikkor 28-70mm f2.8. I was delaying this because I love the

camera, but right now I can't see myself using film much. The goal would be to use the

proceeds to buy a Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 DX.

 

So I'm wondering if any current owners of the 17-55 have any opinions? Does it offer the

same clarity and speed of the 28-70?

 

I'm hoping to gain some space in my closet and some weight savings. My real worries are

that Nikon ditches the DX lens when they unveil a 35mm sensor.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

/Jason

[ShunCheung]

I have both the 28-70mm/f2.8 AF-S and the 17-55mm/f2.8 AF-S DX. Simply put it, if you like the zoom range of the former on film bodies, you'll like the latter on a DSLR. <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009jVw">This thread</A> has a long discussion on this lens.

<P>

Full-frame DSLRs are very expensive and have stayed very expensive for years. To me, whether Nikon will introduce one is pretty much a non-issue to me; I won't be able to afford one anyway. And IMO there is no chance that Nikon will all of a sudden abandon the small DX sensor; doing so would have been the best way to force their existing DSLR user base to jump to other brands. In just over a year, Nikon has sold over 1 million D70, more than any other Nikon SLR in history according to the New York Time. The customer base for small-sensor DSLR is already huge and growing rapidly.

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<A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BmuL">

Will the DX format last over time?</A>

[harvey_edelstein1]

Don't worry about the DX lenses not having a home in the future, even in the unlikely event that Nikon comes out with a (one) FF 35mm sensor the Cropped dx lenses will be of use with all the rest of the Nikon lineup.

The question is whether selling your film camera and the best Nikon zoom lens that they make the 28-70 f2.8 will improve you capabilities or photography or just cost you more additional money.

 

Going from 28mm on film full frame to 17mm on 1.5 cropped frame will get you to about a 26mm. On the tele end you are only getting about 80mm . I would use your existing lens on the D70 and add a 12-24mm Tokina dx zoom which is getting good reviews. This will add more wide end coverage. Keep the 28-70 it will give more reach (105mm) on the long end and superb optical results. If you stop using film thats your choice but I would keep the F100 for back-up black and white or for a camera with metering with manual lenses and a camera with an excellent viewfinder for ocasions where the d70 viewfinder limits your abilities to compose your subject.

[craig_bridge]

If the 28-70 has been your only lens and it spent a lot of time at the 28mm end, you might want to go for the 12-24 f/4 DX and keep the 28-70 (might come out ahead money wise). Nothing against the 17-55mm f/2.8 DX, it is a worthy replacement for the 28-70 when switching from film to DSLR. If you ever go back to a full frame body, the 12-24 is usable in the 18-24mm range.

[ShunCheung]

If you add a 12-24mm/f4 DX to your existing 28-70mm/f2.8, you'll likely end up changing betweeen those two lenses a lot because 28mm is not very wide on your DSLR. If you shoot mainly still subjects, there is not a problem and those two will form an excellent combination. If you shoot PJ type work such as news, weddings, etc., keep changing lenses can be a major disadvantage because you might miss shots. In that case the 17-55 DX would be a much better way to go.

[jason carroll]

Thanks for the great answers. Just what I was looking for. I forgot about losing some of

the telephoto, and I think (for the moment) that I'm looking at keeping the status quo... I'll

just have to add a superwide zoom later. :-)