The best midrange zoom for digital

Introduction

The Nikon 17-55 DX is Nikon's flagship midrange digital zoom lens. The "DX" denomination means that the lens is optimized for the small sized sensors of Nikon digital cameras and is therefore not quite compatible with full-frame film based cameras. If you attach the lens to a Nikon F5 for instance, you will get a more or less circular image with massive vignetting around the corners unless you zoom in to somewhere around 28 mm. For film cameras the Nikkor 28-70 AF-S is a much more sensible choice.

The rather high price tag implies that the 17-55 DX is not mainly marketed towards the casual weekend photograper, but is instead meant to be used by professional photojournalists or keen amateurs who are willing to spend a considerable amount of money for a midrange-zoom.

Specifications

So what do one get for those whopping 1200 dollars? Well, if we start by looking at the specifications, we find that the lens has fourteen elements, of which three are ED for minimized chromatic aberration. To further help fighting distortion, there are no less than three advanced (and expensive) aspheric glass elements inside.

Unlike the other DX-lenses, the body of this lens is made entirely of metal with environment seals. It is basically built like a tank, but then it is no lightweight item either: it is 110 mm long without the lens hood and weighs 755 grams (26.6 ounces).

In spite of its weight, the lens feels just about perfect on the D200, and I suppose it also goes just as well together with the bigger Nikon cameras. On more lightweight cameras, such as the D50, the D70 or the new D80, I guess it would be a little bit front-heavy.

As usual on the modern G-type lenses from Nikon, there is no aperture ring and the lens aperture is set from the camera. Hence the lens barrel has a very sparse and minimalistic design, with only a focus and a zoom ring, a distance scale window, autofocus disabling switch and the ubiquous golden embossed lens denomination text. The lens barrel has a cool black crinkle finish with a discrete golden ring at the front, exclusive to Nikon's professional grade lenses.

Being a state-of-the-art Nikkor, the 17-55 DX is of course equipped with Nikon's Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for near instant and silent focusing. You can at any time grab and turn the focus ring and override the automatic focus without the need to flip any switches or go into menus.

The 17-55 DX has a maximum constant aperture of f/2.8 throughout the entire zoom range. This is excellent for available-light shooting and gives both a bright viewfinder and a practically hunt-free autofocus performance.

The filter thread size is 77 mm, which is the standard size for professional lenses. A plastic bayonet lens hood is supplied, as well as the usual pinch-locking snap-on lens cap. The deep lens hood will when attached make the lens appear nearly twice as long than without, and even a bit intimidating for photo-shy subjects. However, since the lens hood is so deep, it does a very good job blocking out stray light from falling onto the front glass of the lens, which could cause flare and decreased contrast.

The zoom range may not be very exciting, but is incredibly useful with the D200 and other digital cameras with a 1.5x crop factor - it is the equivalent of a 25-82 mm zoom lens in the full-frame 35mm world. It is not quite as wide as one would believe, but it is the perfect range for normal close-range shooting.

Unfortunately the lens is not equipped with Vibration Reduction (VR) circuitry, like Canon's corresponding midrange lens. While I understand that a midrange zoom probably doesn't benefit as much from vibration reduction as a dedicated tele zoom, I can easily imagine scenarios where it would come in handy. On the other hand, it would probably increase the weight and the bulk of the lens and also have a heavy impact on the already rather hefty price tag, so I suppose one cannot have it all. Still, I wouldn't be too surprised if a redesigned version of the lens with VR would appear sometime in a not too distant future.

The lens extends and retracts a bit during zooming: it extends at both extreme ends of the zoom range and is completely retracted somewhere in the middle. However if you use the lens hood (as you should), you will never notice this. The front lens doesn't rotate as you zoom or focus - esential when using polarizers and graduated filters.

The manual focus ring turns smoothly and with a minimum of resistance, but the zoom ring is a bit stiff, probably because of the environment sealing.

The position of the zoom ring and the focus ring seems to differ on each Nikkor lens: on the 17-55 DX the zoom ring is the closest one to the camera and the focus ring is further out on the lens barrel. On other DX lenses, it is the other way around. This may lead to some initial confusion, but not a major problem once one gets used to it.

The build quality is superb - while the lens feels just like the precision instrument it is, it has a solid ruggedness unlike any other DX lens, such as the 12-24DX or the 18-70DX - which quite frankly appear rather dinky-toy-like in comparison. It is pretty obvious that the 17-55 DX is designed to be able to withstand the sometimes rather rough handling of professionals on the field, banging and tossing their equipment around.

Sample variation

It has been wildly speculated all over various photo forums on the internet whether or not the 17-55 DX has a higher individual sample variation than other lenses. I frankly don't know quite believe this - I suppose you can get a lemon regardless of if you buy a car, a computer or a camera lens. These things just happen. However I have first hand experience with the fact that different individual lenses can perform vastly different on the same camera body, so I know for a fact that sample variation is not just an internet myth.

When I got my first 17-55 DX, it was actually a huge disappointment. It just wasn't even nearly able to match my 300 dollar 18-70 DX regarding image sharpness, not centrally in the frame and even less around the edges.

After two days I returned the lens to the shop, where it was exchanged for another one. Back home, I tested the second lens with meticulous attention, worried that I might get disappointed again. However, my second sample was flawless, and clearly much sharper than the first one.

Since the first lens was clearly a subpar copy, throughout this review I will be referring to my second copy of the lens.

Optical performance

So how does it perform on the camera? The answer is, just as one would expect for this price: brilliant.

On the D200, sharpness is truly magnificent. Throughout the entire zoom range, the lens provides enough sharpness and detail for the 10 megapixel sensor to capture. The image quality is indeed pretty good already at f/2.8, and when stopping down to f/4 it is simply stellar.

Upon scrutinizing the images at 100% magnification on a computer screen, a noticeable decay of definition and sharpness becomes evident from the center of the frame and towards the edges. The edges and corners are by no means blurred or soft, just not as sharp as the center. Some minor chromatic aberrations (green and red fringes) are also visible near the edges at the widest setting, but it all clears up beautifully in Nikon Capture as long as you are shooting in RAW-format. It is important to keep in mind that the 17-55 DX is not primarily a landscape lens, but first and foremost a people lens, where you have your main subject somewhere near the center of the image and the less important features on the perimeter.

Some distortion can also be found if you are explicitely looking for it, especially some barrel distortion at the 17 mm end, but nothing that I will lose any sleep over.

The appearance of out-of-focus elements in the picture (the so called "bokeh") is a bit harsh, but still quite decent thanks to the nine rounded aperture blades (not seven as stated in some other reviews). The large maximum aperture makes it rather easy to declutter a busy backdrop and separate the main target from the background.

Some lens comparisons

I thought I would try to do some rather unscientific comparisons with two of my lenses to see how the 17-55 DX measures up against some of the the competition with real life subjects (my backyard and more or less volunteering members of my family).

I started off by comparing the lens to its smaller cousin, the 18-70 DX. The first thing I noticed was that in dimly lit scenarios, where the 18-70 DX is prone to hunt a bit for focus, the 17-55 DX locks onto target almost instantly. Also the build quality is worlds apart, the 18-70 DX being a lightweight lens with a lot of plastic, while the 17-55 DX is a rugged metal construction with weather seals to withstand the occasional drizzle.

When looking at the images taken with both lenses, I must admit, that I initially expected a much more pronounced difference, but they were in fact rather similar in performance at f/5.6 and above, the 18-70 DX being only ever so slightly inferior.

However, when opening up the aperture, the two lenses quickly separated in performance, the 17-55 DX maintaining the same overall sharpness, while the 18-70 DX was only able to maintain its image quality in the center of the frame with a successive drop in sharpness, contrast and coherence near the edges of the frame. Well, given the difference in price, that was pretty expected!

The next comparison was with my 12-24 DX. Not a real match for the 17-55 DX - the latter being clearly sharper overall where the zoom ranges overlap and with less chromatic aberrations. The 12-24 DX however has less distortion and of course just goes on wider and wider! The build quality of the 12-24 DX also feels rather cheapish because of the plastic lens barrel.

Conclusion

The 17-55 DX is by no means a bargain. It is certainly very expensive and is definitely not meant to be used by everyone and everywhere. It is heavy, bulky and you will be noticed when using it.

On the other hand it gives a very sharp image with wonderful color rendition and crispness, and wide-open performance is quite impressing. The 17-55 DX is undoubtedly better than the more modest budget zooms in its range, even if it won't run circles around the 18-70 DX regarding sharpness. But sharpness alone is not what you pay for. It is also the constant f/2.8 aperture, the excellent low-light performance and the sturdy build quality.

It will not render the 12-24 DX redundant, as 17 mm in the digital domain is just a mild wideangle. When I need truly wide shots, it's time for the 12-24 DX to come out and play.

The 17-55 DX is an immensely practical and handy lens. It may be a boring zoom range, but the thing is that this lens just does everything so well. When paired up with the 12-24 DX and the 70-200VR, you will have a perfect combination to cover nearly all you everyday photo needs. If you can pay the premium price, it is definitely worth it.