Do I ~need~ it?

[DrEntropy]

Naaah... But! There's an AF-S DX 17~55mm ∱2.8 Nikkor on Ebay, likely will go for half the price of a new one. Cosmetically not the prettiest thing but the glass and function are stated to be fine. I'm not one to fuss over looks, only function. Fast glass is always costly but those are the lenses with the greatest latitude. Want "bokeh" out th' wazoo? Got it. Want SHARP images across the whole ∱-stop & focal length range? Got that too. I'll not go stupid but that'd be a good optic to have, if for the right price.

 

[GregW]

Well Bro, you've jumped back into photography with both feet.

 

[DrEntropy]

Well Bro, you've jumped back into photography with both feet.

It would seem so.

I did get the lens, price was more than fair if it's as billed. Delivery is prognosticated to be 6 Jan-ish. Fingers crossed as to efficacy of the optic. Images will be forthcoming.

 

[GregW]

I few years ago I bought an old 35mm f1.4 AIS from Ebay. It arrived nicely in the packaging but the iris was full open no matter what I adjusted. Contacted the seller and also drove to Nikon to get a quote from them. Nikon wanted $375 which the seller said was crazy, send it back, he had a repair guy. To the seller's credit, he was good on his word and returned the lens to me fully functional.

 

[DrEntropy]

I few years ago I bought an old 35mm f1.4 AIS from Ebay. It arrived nicely in the packaging but the iris was full open no matter what I adjusted. Contacted the seller and also drove to Nikon to get a quote from them. Nikon wanted $375 which the seller said was crazy, send it back, he had a repair guy. To the seller's credit, he was good on his word and returned the lens to me fully functional.

IMO most Ebay sellers seem to want to keep their ratings good, glad to learn about your experience.

All the DX optics here I got from Ebay, have had only one with a minor issue. All have been as described (so far) but that one, a 55~200mm for Mitsy's bag. It had a slight rattle of the barrel at full extension but it worked fine otherwise. I got her another of the same (both "cheap" compared with a new one) and it's fine. Got a 50mm ∱1.4 prime with cosmetic wear, the gold raised lettering worn a bit, but it's functionally great. For the comparatively "skinny money" of some really good optics I've no concern getting them from Ebay sellers. Even from Japan: Took a chance on a DX 70~300mm ∱ 4.5~5.6 G ED VR, came inside of three weeks, fully functional and even looks like new.

Compared with "the old days" of quality optics costs, this seems a Golden Era. As I posted earlier, there's always someone who just HAS to have the newest, greatest gear and will sell off the last gen stuff for bargain prices. Most of those folks also treat their equipment with TLC while they have it. News photogs are about the only exception.

I suspect the 17~55 is/was a pro's lens, likely *well* used. We'll see.