Nikon 17-55mm 2.8 Zoom Feel

I recently went to Adorama and after much debate with myself I decided to go with the 17-55mm over the Tamron 24-70 since the Nikon was much-much cheaper. I looked at 2 used versions of the 17-55..... one was rated E+ and one was E-. I don't know if they mislabeled it but the E- copy was in much better shape and a over $100 cheaper. I did the usual IQ tests at the time (as well as you can do in poor store lighting) and all seemed well, which it is.

My question is the zoom throw from 35mm up to 55mm is very rough and if you throw with speed its pretty noisy. For those of you who have this lens, what kind of zoom feel should i be getting. For all I know this is normal but I am psyching myself out being that this lens was so clean and labeled as E-....

This is what it feels like - 17-37ish mm zoom feel is very firm and stiff. At 37ish mm (barrel at it shortest) throw gets light and rough for the remainder of the zoom throw.

I have another week to return this for another or refund but the IQ seems very good. As long as this is not signs of failing parts I can live with it......

When i had the lens i do remember there was more friction at a certain range and less in another part. Noise though, no never had. It was damped well but not sometbing you could fling with one fonger like i can with my 28-70 afs or even my tamron 17-35 2.8-4. Theyre a delight to use. Take it back because if you say rough then something is off. It should be smooth and quiet throughout the range but you do feel a "step" where you need more force to turn it. You do feel it but nothing extreme. Good luck

rocketman122 said:

When i had the lens i do remember there was more friction at a certain range and less in another part. Noise though, no never had. It was damped well but not something you could fling with one longer like i can with my 28-70 afs or even my tamron 17-35 2.8-4. Theyre a delight to use. Take it back because if you say rough then something is off. It should be smooth and quiet throughout the range but you do feel a "step" where you need more force to turn it. You do feel it but nothing extreme. Good luck

Click to expand...

Same experience when I had mine. I'd recommend exchanging it if you can. Those lenses are built like tanks and a joy to use.

Some lenses reverse direction mid zoom, which can account for a slight increase in tension while zooming through that particular range; but should still feel smooth. I believe the Nikon 24-70 2.8 does that. Rough and noisy is a problem, could be a screw lose in the barrel.

I bought a second hand one which was a bit stiff. It eventually seized and Nikon Canada charged me 460.00 to fix. I eventually sold it afterward and the guy I sold it to took me to small claims because he had problems with focusing... I won the case but only because he had it repaired before informing me by Nikon Canada who charged him another 460.00 and said they had to replace the lens mount... So my humble suggestion is that if the zoom feels funny or tight where it reverses it's direction, don't keep it.

Ok thanks for the help. I guess I'm taking another trip to the city next weekend!


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