Nikon 17-35 mm AF-S Review for Documentary Photography -

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

User Experience

Unlike Nikon's more recent "G" lenses the 17-35 features an aperture ring around the lens collar. I vastly prefer this way of controlling aperture than through the camera's command dial. Using my left hand to change aperture frees up my right for controlling other functions and this provides a more sensible division of labour between left and right hands in my opinion.

The throw of the zoom and focus rings is well proportioned and very smooth. The full zoom and focus range can be accessed in less than a quarter turn of each ring. The lens barrel is well proportioned with a circumference that sits comfortably in the hand and aperture, zoom and focus rings align with my fingers nicely.

The ability to take control of focus manually at any time thanks to the AF-S is a great asset for subjects that don't fall conveniently on an AF focus selector. When I do use the autofocus the focussing speed is very fast and accurate even in low light - this is useful when photographing people, allowing me to work quickly and unobtrusively - no waiting around while I try and focus accurately in poor light.

There's no getting away from the limited focal length range of the 17-35 when you compare it to a similar lens like the 17-55 DX and I have found that at the end of a day's use there can be a risk of many shots having the same perspective and looking similar. To counter this I've attempted to find more dynamic compositions and framing options - so even this potential shortcoming has helped to increase my creativity, whereas a wider zoom range may have caused me to be lazy and rely solely on the zoom range to vary my framing.

Using this lens on a D200 has caused me some frustration due to the fact that the D200's finder only shows 95% of the frame - when I want to try and squeeze the most out of the 17mm end it's annoying not being able to see fully to the edge of the frame (this is the case with any lens of course not an issue with the 17-35). Sometimes, ironically this can be a good thing, providing a slight margin of safety when I think I've cropped off a curtail element in the scene.

Improvements in flash technology have led to Speedlights that cover the full zoom range of the 17-35 AF-S (unlike the 12-24 DX). The flash coverage allows fill flash to be used to great effect; this can be very handy for getting adequate illumination on the main subject when shooting in close at the minimum focussing distance. The D200's built in flash will lead to shadow cast in the bottom of the image due to the physical length of the lens. This becomes an issue at the wide end from 20-17 mm (without the hood mounted) and throughout the range with the hood attached.

Left - rear lens element recessed well into the barrel when the zoom is set to 35 mm. Right - rear element protruding from the end of the mount when zoom is set to 17 mm

During use for documentary work this is a lens that can cope with just about any operating conditions. I also never feel I have to treat the lens with kid-gloves thanks to its durability.

The rear element does sit flush with the mount when the zoom is set to 17 mm so requiring extreme caution when mounting and dismounting from the body.

During use in wet, dusty or dirty conditions I'll keep checking the front filter and cleaning it as required while I'm on the go. The fact that I've got a UV filter on the front of the lens means I've got no worries about damaging it during frequent cleaning.

When I'm using the lens for documentary shooting I'll typically start off with it set to f/5.6 as this aperture represents the best combination of speed and image quality. Depending on the light levels I'll adjust ISO to allow me workable shutter speeds at f/5.6 and then only if I want to get specific control over depth of field or shutter speed will I change the aperture away from this setting.

I generally keep the lens hood on all my lenses during use. The greatest benefit of this is to provide an additional first line of defense against me knocking the lens and damaging it - all to easy when my concentration's on the subject, especially given the close focussing that often results in me getting too close and hitting the hood off something.

The focus is extremely fast and quiet. Focus can be shifted from closest focus to infinity extremely fast and accurately and I've had no problems with back focussing.

Considering that this lens is my widest option I have at times wished for greater range at the wide end but usually manage to get what I'm after by moving back, of course sometimes this isn't possible or not desirable for compositional reasons - at these times I do regret not being able to zoom out further.

Because of the amount of spray in the air from the jet washer in this image I was continually cleaning the filter on the front of the lens while taking pictures of this scene. Being able to clean the front of the lens in this way without risk of damaging the front element is one of the main advantages of keeping a UV filter on the lens at all times

The ease of use of manual focussing with the 17-35 AF-S lends its use to images such as this where the point of focus (the feet at the top of the frame) are no where near an AF focus selector