I have tested this lens on a Nikon F100, a D100 and a D200. This is an exceptionally well made lens. Everything is metal, even the filter thread. It's big and heavy and feels rock solid. Don't go banging against someone elses brick wall.... they'll sue you for the damages! I could find no play in the focussing ring, although it moves nice and light. There is no play in the zoom ring either. Focussing and zooming occurs internally, so the front of the lens does not turn and it always remains at the same length. Auto focussing is extremely fast and accurate. There's a button to lock the lens on manual or auto+manual focus. If you set it at auto+manual, you can grab the focussing ring for manual override any time, fantastic! The finish is beautiful with just enough gold to make it look very professional. All markings are engraved on the lens.

Sharpness
This lens is very, very sharp at all apertures and focal lengths. It is sharper than any wideangle lens I have ever used. Even wide open at f/2.8 it is very good. But stopped down to f/5.6 it is simply spectacular!

Color and contrast
Color is neutral, contrast is excellent. There is no trace of colour fringing. The image quality is very impressive with very crisp colors.

Flare and ghosting
Virtually non-existent, very impressive!

Light falloff
Just a tiny little bit of falloff at f/2.8, which is completely gone at f/4. If you're not looking for it, you will never see it. With the lens mounted on a D1/D2 series digital camera this is less of an issue because of the smaller angle of view.

Vignetting
There is no vignetting when using one filter. I've tried both B&W slim type and normal filters. I've also tried B&W circular polarizers, no vignetting occurred. I never use more than one filter at the same time, so I have not tried that. But I expect some vignetting to occur when using two filters stacked, at least at the 17mm end. On a D1/D2 series digital camera this is less of an issue because of the smaller angle of view.

Geometric distortion
A typical problem with wideangle lenses, especially with the cheaper wideangle zoomlenses is that straight lines are never straight. This lens performs a whole lot better than the cheaper 18-35mm Nikkor. Slight distortion at 17-20mm, some pincushion at 35mm and neutral in between. Again, very good! And again, if you mount the lens on a D1/D2 series digital camera distortion is less of an issue because of the smaller angle of view.

Astonishing lens. This lens outperforms most fixed-focal wideangle lenses on the market. It feels great, the sharpness is out of this world and the AFS is extremely fast and quiet. And its ability to focus very, very close to the subject is an added bonus you will learn to appreciate! There is only one disadvantage with this lens and that's the price, but looking at its superior performance and build quality I think that price is definitely justified. If you want the very best in Nikon optics, this is it!