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

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Conclusions

Nikon produce numerous wide angle zooms alongside the 17-35 AFS. They also produce a host of zooms like the 18-200 mm VR that cover almost all the range of the 17-35 and a whole lot more. There are also many very good third party lenses covering this range - illustrating the popularity of the wide angle focal length. The wide perspective is very well suited to documentary photography and offers many creative options through perspective control and composition. The alternatives to the 17-35 AF-S like NIkon's 18-35 mm AF-D offer a similar lens at a vastly lower price and the 12-24 and 17-55 DX lenses provide many of the same benefits while offering increased zoom range over the comparatively limited 17-35.

Despite its limitations however, this lens offers a great deal of benefit over the alternatives and this keeps me from trading it in for one of the alternatives.

When I travelled to New Zealand for three weeks this was the only lens I took with me and on a recent trip to Paris this was the lens that I took all of my best images of the trip with, from a whole weeks worth of shooting. Every one of the 11 images that I included in the gallery section from that Paris trip are made with the 17-35.

As of the middle of 2007 over a third of the images in my gallery sections have been made with this lens.

Lens choice is a very personal decision, based on individual needs. This review describes what the 17-35 AF-S has to offer and the attributes that particularly lend it to documentary photography. If these attributes meet your needs then this lens is a great option that I would highly recommend.

The versatility of the wide angle perspective lends itself to a variety of shooting styles offering tremendous potential for documentary photography

Closing Remarks

[This is the most important bit of this review from the point of view of documentary photography]

Regardless of my recommendation any wide angle zoom is a superb tool for documentary photography and anyone interested in this subject area should not overlook the benefits of the wide angle perspective and make a lens in this range a priority purchase.

My experiences of continuing to use the 17-35 AF-S despite moving to a DX body and effectively losing the wide range demonstrates that having a specific lens is not the be all and end all of getting a good photograph. I would like the increased wide angle coverage of the 12-24 mm DX, but I don't let the fact that I don't own this lens hold me back - its more important to get out and use what you've got available to the best of your ability and find interesting subject matter.

Honing your skills of interacting with people, improved anticipation and timing coupled with an appreciation of composition and light will result in far greater photographs than any additional piece of equipment.

AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35 mm f/2.8D IF-ED

Advantages

◆ Resistance to flare and ghosting
◆ Minimum focussing distance just 12 cm from the front element
◆ Covers the full range 17-35 mm with both 35 mm and DX cameras
◆ Solid build quality
◆ Superb optical quality and CA resistance above f/2.8
◆ Excellent handling including the provision of an aperture ring
◆ Fast f/2.8 maximum aperture when you really need an extra stop

Disadvantages

◆ Relatively expensive compared to other wide angle options
◆ Reduction in wide angle coverage on DX sensor
◆ Heavy
◆ Limited zoom range
◆ Slight reduction in image quality at f/2.8

Future Equipment Reviews

If there is a lens or piece of equipment that you are interested in please email me and I'll let you know my thoughts - if I get enough interest in a particular piece of equipment I'll consider getting hold of a sample and doing a review on it in the future. You can contact me at eyeswitching@googlemail.com as always I'll respond to your messages in person as quickly as I'm able.

Note on impartiality

Please note that eyeswitching.com is a non commercial site, I have no connections with Nikon or any other manufacturer in the photographic industry. These reviews and user experiences are independent and represent my own opinion of the equipment tested and nobody pays me to do any of this.