Nikon NIKKOR Z 17 28mm F 2 8 Review | 54 Data compared

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8 lens as a compact, lightweight, and versatile "Editor's Choice" recipient that offers outstanding center sharpness, effective flare control, and minimal chromatic aberration. Key advantages include a fast STM autofocus, excellent close-up focusing (19cm), robust weather sealing, and a versatile, fast-aperture design suitable for travel and video. Conversely, the lens exhibits visible vignetting and geometric distortion at wider apertures, and corner sharpness drops to "fair" when stopped down to f/22, though these issues are mitigated by in-camera corrections. Overall, it is praised as a high-performing, cost-effective alternative to S-line lenses.

The Nikon 17-28mm f/2.8 is an affordable, compact wide-angle zoom lens rebranded from an optical formula by Tamron, serving as an ideal pairing for price-sensitive full-frame users such as Nikon Z5 or Z6 II owners. On the positive side, the lens delivers excellent sharpness across the center of the frame and throughout the DX crop area, even when shot wide open at f/2.8. Its lightweight, 1-pound body features a internal zooming and focusing mechanism that does not extend, making it highly stable and well-suited for use on gimbals. Additionally, it exhibits fast, near-instantaneous autofocus performance, minimal focus breathing, low chromatic aberration, and excellent flare control against in-frame light sources. Conversely, the lens has notable drawbacks, particularly regarding its optical performance in the extreme full-frame corners at 17mm, where heavy astigmatism creates a directional, wonky blur that does not resolve when stopping down. Vignetting is also severe, showing a dramatic drop-off of over two stops near the corners that in-camera processing cannot completely eliminate. Users seeking smooth bokeh will find it busy and flawed by noticeable onion rings, while the mechanical...

The Shotkit review highlights the Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8 as a lightweight, compact, and budget-friendly wide-angle zoom that offers great value, featuring an internal zoom mechanism that makes it ideal for gimbal use. It is lauded for its robust weather sealing, compatibility with standard filters, and center sharpness that rivals more expensive S-line models when stopped down. However, compromises for its size and price include a lack of custom buttons on the barrel, notable vignetting when shooting wide open, and the omission of built-in optical image stabilization. Additionally, the lens shows some vulnerability to flare when shooting directly into bright light sources.

The NIKKOR Z 17-28mm f/2.8 lens is a compact, lightweight ultra-wide zoom designed for Nikon full-frame mirrorless cameras, offering a versatile focal length and a fast constant aperture at an affordable $1,200 price point. Its standout strengths include rapid, silent, and highly accurate autofocus performance that excels even in dark conditions. The lens features internal focusing, robust weather sealing against dust and moisture, and an impressive close-focusing distance of 7.5 inches for wide-angle detail shots. Optically, it shines by producing smooth, round bokeh with minimal color fringing or distortion, making it a highly balanced option for travel, landscapes, and events. However, achieving this price and weight balance requires some clear compromises, primarily in build quality and handling. The lens body is mostly plastic, giving it a somewhat cheap physical feel. It is entirely devoid of physical switches, meaning users must toggle auto and manual focus through camera menus rather than on the lens itself. The programmable control ring is also overly sensitive, frequently leading to accidental setting adjustments. Finally, while image quality is strong overall, wide-open sharpness lacks the punchy,...

The Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8 is an affordable, compact, and lightweight wide-angle lens designed for full-frame Z-mount cameras, proving itself to be a strong contender for astrophotography and nightscape imaging. Reviewers highly praise its budget-friendly price of $1,199.95, which is less than half the cost of the premium Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8. Its portable design makes it excellent for hiking to remote dark-sky locations, and the distinct physical sizing of its zoom and focus rings allows for easy, intuitive adjustments by feel in pitch-black environments. Optically, the lens delivers impressive performance with very minimal vignetting at its maximum f/2.8 aperture and exceptionally sharp star quality in the corners of the frame, showing only negligible coma distortion. Despite its strong performance, the lens does come with a few notable drawbacks for night sky photographers. Its 17mm focal length slightly limits the expansiveness of Milky Way compositions compared to wider 14mm alternatives, requiring users to shoot panoramas to capture wider fields of view. Furthermore, because it is targeted toward videography, it lacks a physically built-in manual focus switch. This forces photographers to...

The Nikon Nikkor Z 17-28mm f/2.8 is a paired-back, lightweight, and weather-sealed ultra-wide-angle zoom lens designed for full-frame Z-mount mirrorless cameras, functioning exceptionally well for both photography and video. It stands out for providing a bright, constant f/2.8 maximum aperture in a compact 450g body that features internal zooming and focusing mechanisms. Reviewer Angela Nicholson praises its fast and almost silent autofocus, excellent flare control, and impressive sharpness across the frame, especially when stopped down to f/5.6–f/11. Additionally, the lens offers a close minimum focusing distance and manages typical wide-angle optical flaws like chromatic aberration and straight-line distortion remarkably well through in-camera profiles. However, the lens does compromise on physical features and focal range to achieve its reasonable price point. The primary downsides include a lack of "additional" on-lens controls, such as a dedicated AF/MF switch, customisable L-Fn buttons, or a separate control ring, though the slim manual focus ring can be reassigned for exposure adjustments. Furthermore, it is not as wide as Nikon's premium S-line alternatives, suffers from some visible vignetting when shot wide open at f/2.8, and lacks...

The Photography Life review identifies the Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8 as a lightweight, budget-friendly, constant f/2.8 ultra-wide lens, praised for excellent, consistent sharpness, low vignetting, and low distortion. It is ideal for astrophotography and videography due to its internal zoom, 67mm filter compatibility, close 19cm minimum focusing distance, and significant price advantage over the 14-24mm f/2.8 S. However, the lens is limited by a narrower 17-28mm zoom range and notable high vignetting. While the center is sharp, corner performance is weaker at 28mm compared to the 14-30mm f/4 S, and the lens lacks physical buttons, featuring a more plastic build rather than premium S-line construction.

The Nikon NIKKOR Z 17-28mm f/2.8 is described by Ken Rockwell as a lightweight, fast, and high-value wide-angle zoom delivering exceptional sharpness, fast autofocus, and smooth bokeh. Key advantages include an ultra-close focusing distance of 7.5 inches, a 67mm filter size, minimal distortion, and impressive sunstar rendering. While labeled a "winner," the review notes the lens lacks physical AF/MF switches on the barrel and relies on entirely electronic manual focusing. It is also noted that the overall autofocus performance is limited by the capabilities of the specific Z-series camera body, rather than the lens itself.

The Nikon Nikkor Z 17-28mm F2.8 earned an "Excellent" 4.0-star rating from PCMag for its strong performance as a compact, lightweight ultrawide zoom lens. Priced at $1,199.95, its chief advantages include a bright f/2.8 constant aperture ideal for low-light photography and background blur, as well as a robust build featuring dust, splash, and fluorine protection for outdoor landscapes. Testers highlighted its excellent flare control, crisp 18-point sunstars at narrow apertures, an internal zoom design suited for gimbals, and a quiet, rapid autofocus stepping motor. However, the lens falls short in versatility due to its meager 1.6x zoom range and a disappointing manual focus experience. PCMag noted that the focus throw is excessively short, preventing precise manual adjustments and repeatable focus racks. Additionally, the extreme corners suffer from minor smearing, and the lens lacks built-in optical stabilization. Ultimately, while it is highly recommended for vloggers and landscape artists relying on autofocus, PCMag prefers the Nikkor Z 14-30mm F4 S as its Editors' Choice because it covers a broader, more practical focal range for just slightly more money. If you'd like, I...

The Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8 lens offers outstanding center sharpness from f/2.8 to f/8, with near-complete absence of chromatic aberration and fast, silent STM autofocus, according to ePHOTOzine. While lightweight at 450 grams, the lens features a close-focusing distance of 0.19m, high-quality weather-sealed construction, and a Fluorine-coated front element. However, the electronic zoom can occasionally overshoot, causing a small, noticeable correction in the viewfinder. Despite this minor issue, the lens offers excellent handling and performance, with internal focusing that keeps the barrel length constant.

The Nikon 17-28mm f/2.8 is a compact, lightweight wide-angle zoom lens rebranded from a Tamron design, tailored specifically as an affordable option for Nikon's Z-mount system. A major pro of the lens is its exceptional sharpness across the center and into the DX-crop boundaries, even when shooting wide open at f/2.8. It features an internal zooming mechanism that does not extend the barrel, making it highly stable and well-suited for use on gimbals. Additionally, it offers quick and quiet autofocus performance, minimal focus breathing, standard 67mm filter threads, and good control over flare and veiling glare. On the downside, the lens suffers from a restricted 1.6x zoom range, which some photographers may find restrictive compared to traditional 16-35mm wide zooms. Optically, its biggest con is the extreme full-frame corners at 17mm, which exhibit a directional fuzzy blur that does not improve when stopping down. Furthermore, it displays severe vignetting of over two stops near the corners, notable astigmatism, mustache barrel distortion at the wide end, and a busy, unrefined bokeh. The lack of built-in Vibration Reduction (VR) also limits its...