Last Day of Winter, 2013: Statesville Blvd., Salisbury, NC

--Lannie

The rather ordinary snaps that I took on this day accomplished one thing for me: they gave me confidence in the new second-hand lens that I had just gotten on eBay at a very substantial discount--and it looks absolutely brand new!  I am talking about the Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8.  It is not the best lens in all respects, but I came away with the shots with a minimum of trouble.  It is a pro grade lens with a very solid build and a quick auto-focus.  It is a heavy lens and might not be my lens of choice in every wide angle situation, but it sure seems to get the job done on the D800E as easily as shooting with a point-and-shoot. 

Shots on this day ranged from apertures of f/2.8 to f/8--most were shot at f/5.6.  The lens has no obvious weak areas at any aperture or at any point on the zoom range that I could find.  Some say that it was made for the film era and is not particularly good for the digital era, but it did fine on the D800E, and that is good enough for me.  On my D7000, it would give an effective focal range of 25.5mm to 52.5mm--a pretty good walk-around lens, if a bit on the heavy side.

--Lannie

Hi Lannie,

A fine image all around my friend.

I like your user report and comments concerning this older Nikon design. The Nikkor 17-35 is a well made lens that is suitable for any DSLR camera. Many times, the word of mouth from others is to buy new because the new lens are designed for digital applications. Nothing is further from the facts. There are no "digital designed lens" , other than specialized optimizations for specific wavelengths imaged by specific sensors and filters. Film often contained much more information per unit area than did any sensor of today. Yet, the best older lens designs often exceeded the finest films made for the consumer.

Best Regards, Mike

Hi Lannie,

  Wonderful image with beautiful colors.  Take care, Patsy