Check the quality control of this lens when you buy.  Mine had severe front focus problems. Even when i selected the auto focus sensor the lens still had focusing issues .  The lens was soft to F4.  At F2.8 the images were incredibly poor.  In my 20+ years of photography i have never seen a lens this bad. To make sure, i borrowed a friends 18-55VR.  This $200.00 lens had better color saturation, contrast and accurate auto focus.  Not only that, but it was sharper.  To get the 17-35 as sharp, i had to stop down to F8.  I tried to get another sample but they were out of stock, so i just returned it. I know a lot of people rate this lens 5 stars, and i understand that ever now and then you get a bad sample, but this lens had multiple problems. On the positive side, it is not as big and heavy as some people claim.  It balances well on my D200, and the autofocus is fast. I will be looking into the 24-70 2.8.
Check the quality control of this lens when you buy. Mine had severe front focus problems. Even when i selected the auto focus sensor the lens still had focusing issues. The lens was soft to F4. At F2. 8 the images were incredibly poor. In my 20+ years of photography i have never seen a lens this bad. To make sure, i borrowed a friends 18-55VR. This $200. 00 lens had better color saturation, contrast and accurate auto focus. Not only that, but it was sharper. To get the 17-35 as sharp, i had to stop down to F8. I tried to get another sample but they were out of stock, so i just returned it. I know a lot of people rate this lens 5 stars, and i understand that ever now and then you get a bad sample, but this lens had multiple problems. On the positive side, it is not as big and heavy as some people claim. It balances well on my D200, and the autofocus is fast. I will be looking into the 24-70 2. 8.