Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f2.8

[JJChan]

After reading about the 17-35mm in Andy's D5 post, I pulled out some old photos - D100, D700 - I hardly use it now and have almost all but forgotten it at the back of my shelf.

These are some snapshots with not a lot of artistic merit but opened the world to me of wide angle possibilities.
Mine has been squeaking since 2010 but still has good AF and motor has not died yet.

Post some more of your 17-35mm!

JJ

[Chip Chipowski]

#1 is very nice - great light and composition

[jhinkey]

Mine has been squeeking for the last 10 years, but works just fine.
With today's high resolution sensors the sharpness is not quite up there with the best, but it's pretty darned good.

What I really like about this lens is the resistance to flare and ghosting - it's very very very good.

I don't use mine all that much these days having gone to a smaller kit made of primes (A7RII + M glass), but it gets pulled out every once in a while when I need to make some wide angle shots in low light.

I really need to send it in to APS to get a CLA and a motor replacement.

[bjornthun]

I like the first image in b&w, nice tones and composition!

[Frank Fremerey]

geometry & mood of #1 are very appealing to me also

[stenrasmussen]

As to the squeak I am not convinced it has anything to do with the motor itself. The construction of the 17-35 is like the AF-S 24-70 for instance in which there are two circuit boards that can easily touch down on the rotating ring of the motor and thus cause a very annoying squeaky sound. I believe I showed this in another thread re. a repair attempt of a 24-70 in a hopeless condition.

Edit: Here's the thread: http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,2193.15.html

[jhinkey]

As to the squeak I am not convinced it has anything to do with the motor itself. The construction of the 17-35 is like the AF-S 24-70 for instance in which there are two circuit boards that can easily touch down on the rotating ring of the motor and thus cause a very annoying squeaky sound. I believe I showed this in another thread re. a repair attempt of a 24-70 in a hopeless condition.

Edit: Here's the thread: http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,2193.15.html

Is there any way to easily see if this is in fact the case and to be cured with some minor adjustment?

APS wants ~450 for a full CLA and motor replacement, which might be worth it just for the CLA.  They say that a CLA will include replacement of wearing components in the focusing and zoom mechanism in addition to the motor replacement.

[Erik Lund]

Nikon took a patent on a new motor stator/rotor design to avoid squeak where the blocks and spaces are distributed unevenly. You can see similar on for instance the rubber blocks of a car tires.
I believe it's indicated in the serial no shift

[Roland Vink]

You mean the shift from the first series 200001 - 30xxxx to the second series 400001 - 43xxxx ?

Could be. But almost every Nikkor got a new serial number at the same time in early 2006. it coincided with the announcement from Nikon that they were discontinuing most film cameras, most AIS lenses and many AF lenses designed for film, so they could focus on digital imaging. So I don't think the new serial number is particular to the 17-35 and the change in AFS motor, more likely that is a "silent" update. I always thought the new serial numbers just marked a change in organisation within Nikon, not any real change to the lens lineup. There was one change at this point: before this Nikon used one black screw in the lens mount at 12 o'clock to help the photographer orientate the lens for mounting while looking at the rear. The black screw was discontinued with the new series.

[Erik Lund]

Could very well be a silent upgrade, but I believe there are two different motors for that lens.
I continue to add the top black screw to my lenses, it's very distinct even at night to see the black against the shiny mount

[John Geerts]

I have a sample with serial 217xxx. Luckily never noticed anything with the motor

Here some recent images with the 17-35

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Last sample is great !!

My lens  is from 1999 and squeaks badly after a period of not being used. After some "warming up" it is usually quite silent, until next time it is used when the cycle repeats itself.

[John Geerts]

Thanks Bjørn.

My lens is around 2000, but when I bought it in 2007 it had also a somewhat squeaks behaviour, probably because it hadn't be used too much. That disappeared after frequent usage and has gone.

[Fons Baerken]

My  copy #206955 definitely shows its age, the distance metering doesnt always seem to work correctly, autofocus on the D300 if i remember stopped working sometimes oh yeah it squeaks.
And the HB-23 got cracked,
still a fine piece of glass

[John Geerts]

My HB-23 got cracked as well

I used the lens a lot on the DX camera's but somehow the D700 was not a real match. The Df and D800E work better with the 17-35.

Also very suited for close-ups and usable with the 6T which gives a nice round effect at @17mm