I sold the Tamron a couple of weeks ago, and now I am on the hunt for a new lens for the Nikon D300. I have in mind the 17-55mm f/2.8, which has a rounded diaphragm, thus creating more natural bokeh, in the blurred out areas of the image, rich contrast, and a very sharp image and super fast, silent auto focus. I have scoured eBay and can find reasonable used ones going for around £600. Naturally I have less than that in the bank, and need to add more from my allowance in order to even pick up a used one. Then there is the Jessop’s option of only £870 for a new one. I could use an increase in photo sales… ;-) Oh well, I will keep scouring till pay day.
I think the 17-55 is the route Nikon took to cover the range below the 24-70 FX lens, thus allowing a little overlap when you consider the 1.5 crop factor of the DX range cameras. It would be a fair starting point to the high end lenses, and would suite many of my travel habits, though I think in the long run, I would be very happy to get my hands on a 24-70 or a 70-200mm lens in order to really boost my portrait capabilities. But in all you are talking over £3,000… Too many other things needed still to complete the pro kit.