Review AF-S Nikkor 17-55/2.8G IF-ED DX

© September 2005

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I have now used the 17-55'er almost every day since May 2005 when I got it. It has been used for all kinds of shoots, such as press-, sports-, wedding- and concertphotography. In practical use, in all kinds of situations, it performs very convincing. Sharpness, contrast, and especially the colors it makes, pleases me every single day. Today it is by far my most used lens.

The first impression you get of this lens, when you start using it, is that it is so big and heavy. It is almost like having a 70-200 on your camerabody. It gets worse when the big HB-31 hood comes on. The next impression reveals when you come home with your shots, and get them up on your screen. Then you see what fantastic colors and contrast you get in your pictures. I used a 18-70 for some time, and I was actually quite surprized and satisfied with the quality of that lens. But I can tell you that there is a significant difference in performance. I have used a 17-35 quite a lot also, and if you only use D-SLR's you should'nt think twice about buying the 17-55 in stead.

I was very excited to work with the 17-55 range. I feard that I would miss the range from 55 to 70 mm. I used that range quite a lot for 'pressportraits'. It however quickly became evident that this was'nt a problem. It is actually nothing more than a lstep forwards. On the other hand, the f/2.8 gives a very nicely blurred background, that is impossible to make with the 18-70 fully open (f/4,5). The fact that it is so sharp allready at f/2.8, gives you a lot of creative options I think.

The focussing works perfectly now, but the first sample I got had a problem, unfortunately. I could'nt focus correctly on subjects further away than 2-3 metres. Everything was a little unsharp. The Nikon importer in Denmark DFA handled the case very quickly, and I got a new sample after a few days. Already the first time we spoke on the phone they decided to send me a 17-35/2,8 that I could loan from them until the problem was fixed. Professional equipment must perform 100%, and I should'nt be without a lens in the meantime. See that is service.

 

 

Testing sharpness.     

In the following I want to test the sharpness of the zoomlens, compared to one of the  sharpest lenses in my bag. AF-Nikkor 50/1.8 that is. It is widely acnowledged fore its fantastic sharpness.

For the test I have used a Nikon D1x mounted on a big and stable tripod (Manfrotto 075 B professional m. manfrotto kuglehoved). I have used mirror lockup og selftimer, all to eliminate the risc of camerashakes interfering on the testresults.

The shots are made in NEF (RAW) format, to ensure that no "in camera processing" that would interfere with the results occur.There has been no sharpening add to the testphotos at all - Nowhere in the process.

Of course digital photos must have some kind of sharpening in the postprocessing, to compensate for the antialias filter in front of the sensor. The following 100% crops therefore appear relatively soft. I just chose that way, to completely eliminate anything that could mess up the results. (This means that the 100% crops does'nt really show you a lot. But they were the basis fore my first analisys. All of these have been re-shot with standardized testchards and Nikon D2X to further strengthen the analisys.)

The test is only completely documented at 50 mm, as I use the 50/1.8 as the referencelens. I sold my 24/2.8 a short while ago, so I have no referencelens in the wideangle area. So you have to take my word for that it performs well in that area also.

     
 

All testshots are made without moving the camera. Only lenschanges has been made. The test is made on the wall above at I have made a 100 % crop in the picturesurface with a lot of detail. I have not documented the sharpness along the edges, eventhough there's a theoretical small reduction in sharpness there. It is so small a difference that I chose to use the area with a lot of detail instead.

 

 

  
AF-Nikkor 50/1,8 (f:2,8)

 

AF-Nikkor 17-55/2,8 (f:2,8)

 
   

AF-Nikkor 50/1,8 (f:8)

 

AF-Nikkor 17-55/2,8 (f:8)

 
Addition to the test

The two photos hereafter show the difference in the corner of the pictureframe. The camera has been moved from the original position, so that the detail is in the upper right corner of the frame. Otherwise everything is the same as in the other testpictures. The testconditions are exactly the same.

 
 

AF-Nikkor 50/1,8 (f:8) in the corner

 

  

AF-Nikkor 17-55/2,8 - (f:8) in the corner

 
I almost can't determin any difference in the performance between the two lenses at f:8, but the 17-55'er comes out very good here also. If you go back to the first testphoto with f:8 you can see the 17-55'er is loosing a little sharpness in the corners, but between the two lenses the difference is very very little. Please remember the first testshots were closer to the center of the frame. The two following pictures are shot at f:2,8 and also in the corner of the frame. Here the 50/1,8'er wins. 
 

AF-Nikkor 50/1,8 (f:2,8) in the corner

 

 AF-Nikkor 17-55/2,8 - (f:2,8) in the corner
 
 
RAW Converting

RAW-files has been converted with Nikon Capture 4.2.1 and later cropped and analyzed in Photoshop CS.

 

Referencelens: Nikkor AF 50/1,8

One of the sharpest lenses in the market.

Conclusion

The conclusion is that AF-S Nikkor 17-55/2,8G is precisely as good as I read it was. The big pricetag is heavy, but you really get some quality for your money.

The conclusion on the sharpnesstest is: To compare two so sharp lenses of course gives very little difference. But it came as a surprize to me, that the 17-55 come so close to a very sharp prime in performance. In the center of the frame, eventhough the difference is very very small, the zoomlens in some cases came out the winner. In the corners the 50 mm. is sharper, but you have to look very carefully, and use good testcharts to see the difference. (Pictures of the testchart shots will be added to the article later..)

The 17-55'er has very good resolution, colors, contrast and sharpness in general. There is, as allready mentioned very very little difference. When you start postprocessing as f.ex USM in Photoshop, it becomes a little more clear that there is a tiny little difference. I had a AF-S Nikkor 18-70/3,5-4,5 in a simular test a while ago, and there really is quite a jump up to the professional lenses. Both with regards to vignetting and distortions, which is a lot more dominant on the 18-70'eren. It still is a fine lens for the money.

To get more clear results the test need to be made with a Nikon D2X camera instead of D1X, as the D1X's resolution seems to be the limit here. (Since then the test has been reproduced with a D2X and standardized testcharts. This did'nt change anything in my conclusion. It did, however, make the small differences more obvious.)

6. September  2005 - www.larstroels.dk

 
 
   

 
   
AF-Nikkor 85/1,8 (f:8) - 100% Crop - USM in NC 4.2.1

Just to show the details in the used testobject. Here the photo has been given sharpness in Nikon Capture 4.2.1. in connection with the RAW-convertion..

The shot has been made under the same testconditions as all the above. Just with my AF-Nikkor 85/1,8.

 

© 2. June 2005 - www.larstroels.dk