That f/3.5-5.6 max aperture is really slow for indoors. It's not a problem with studio strobes but with continuous LED lighting I've had to boost the ISO really high. I think you mentioned some continuous lighting in another thread that is more powerful than most. What was that lighting?

It's too bad that Nikon doesn't produce truly professional lenses in the DX format. It seems like the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 DX lens is their only really pro DX format lens. In the FX full frame format there are great choices like the 14-24mm f/2.8, 16-35mm f/4, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 70-200mm f/2.8. Of course, those can be used on cropped sensor cameras - it's just more weight than necessary.

That Nikon 43-86mm seems really bad. I don't have any experience but I just read Ken Rockwell's review of it. Why is it that manufacturers used to produce lenses with odd focal lengths that are not used anymore? I have a Konica Hexanon 52mm f/1.8 and a 57mm f/1.4 lens for my Konica Autoreflex 35mm camera.