[Hacker]

Following the demise of my 18-70mm lens I am now in the market for a new bit of fast glass, pretty quickly as well as I have a wedding next weekend.

I've narrowed down my choices to the following:

Nikon 17-35mm f2.8
Nikon 17-55mm f2.8
Nikon 28-70mm ff2.8 (this is the preferred choice due to the focal length)

I've had a look at the Sigma variants but have not been impressed with the build quality of what I have seen. My current line up is Sigma 10-20mm, Nikon 50mm f1.4 and Nikon 70-200mm AF-S. Nikon glass would be the preferred option but I am open to suggestions.

Discuss.

[Dave]

Well the Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 has always been given rave reviews & used by lots of Pro's . The focal range also sits nicely with your other lenses, allowing you to go reasonably wide without swapping to the Sigma 10-20mm.....something the Nikon 28-70mm wouldn't be able to do Gut feel is you need the 17mm in the range, plus the extra 20mm at the other end puts it over the 17-35mm

[Hacker]

Thanks Dave, after giving it some more thought I'm dropping the 17-35mm from the list of options as the range is not sufficient. I'm trying to decide what 'missing' focal length I would use more, the 20-28mm or the 55-70mm.

[VikingPhotography]

As good as the 28-70mm is it was never really designed to work with digital bodies and, when compared against the 17-55DX, it suffers a bit more from flare / ghosting when shooting towards bright light sources and high-contrast scenes. The 17-55 exhibits slightly less flare and ghosting, whilst the 17-35 has next to none - though it lacks flexibility in subject matter.

I've had a look over at the shots showcased on your website and, taking the composition and subject matter presented there into consideration, I would rate the lenses you're looking at as follows in terms of suitability for you:

1. 17-55
2. 28-70
3. 17-35

The 17-55 comes out on top because it is an excellent all-rounder, fully capable of covering everything from landscapes to portraits and at just over £900 average retail price, it's a steal. If you take a peek at my own gallery you'll see that a good many of the shots there were taken with this lens.

The 28-70 comes second principally because 28mm on a D200 just isn't wide enough for a lot of applications; there will be time when you're limited by how far back from your subject you can get - particularly when shooting indoors - and in those situations you would regret not having the ability to go wider.

The 17-35 comes third because a 2x zoom can't compare with the 3.2x zoom reach of the 17-55; the only consideration that would place this lens at the top of the list is if you shoot a lot of sunsets, sunrises or brightly lit scenes with high contrast, since this lens gives excellent rendition of such scenes with the minimum of optical artefacting.

[Dave]

Another option for Wedding shoots, if you are controlling the timing of shots etc, is to consider some primes

Nikon AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 D Super Wide Angle Lens - £300
Nikon AF Nikkor 35mm f/2 D Lens - £170

..which would leave enough money to sell the D70 & buy a D80 as a second body. You could then have 2 bodies with different lens setups for the day, plus you're covered with a backup body . Just a thought

[Hacker]

Thanks martin, some good advice there and I've often admired your shots taken with the 17-55mm which is the one I am now leaning towards, all the reviews are good and it seems like the ideal companion for the D200.

Dave, behave yourself and stop sowing those seeds in my head. If I were to go for another body I wouldn't hesitate in buying a second D200.

[P-E]

Well I can only agree that the 17-55 2.8 is an excellent piece of glass.......was always on my D2H.

Looks like your expensive day didn't finish yesterday

[Dave]

Well it was almost a disgrace him walking round with the D200 with a kit lens on it

[Hacker]

Thank you Dave!

I've just managed to pick up a minty, year old 17-55mm for the princely sum of £475.

[Dabhand16]

Well done sounds like a bargain.

[VikingPhotography]

Quite the bargain you snagged there - eBay?

[P-E]

What a bargain