I'm not planning for any scheduled updates, but do check back here from time to time for availability information and the latest and best prices on the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G and related accessories.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Click on the links to access in-stock and availability information.

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX: $199.95 – no change since the last update.

The following accessories and add-ons are included in the Nikon 35/1.8 box, but you can purchase the replacement part if required:

• Nikon HB-46 Bayonet Lens Hood: Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.
• Nikon LC-52 Snap on Front Lens Cap: $10.09
• Nikon LF-1 Rear Lens Cap: $9.77
• Nikon CL-0913 Soft Lens Case: Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available

The filter thread size on the Nikkor 35/1.8 is 52mm, which means you'll want to be looking at optional 52mm filters.

Good luck shopping for your Nikon 35mm f/1.8G!

Price History Archive

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX: $199.95 – at the time of writing, Amazon is accepting pre-orders for the lens.

Related Posts

1. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Samples
2. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G References
3. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Reviews

This page is a collection of photo samples taken with the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor lens, plus related image galleries, user pictures and other examples that I've come across in forums, online communities, blogs and related websites.

This should help in determining if the image quality of the 35/1.8 G meets your expectations.

Bear in mind that the majority of these photos are resized, and may have gone through post-processing, retouching or other edits. I just thought that it would be interesting to see, at a glance, what Nikon 35mm f/1.8G owners and users are shooting with their lens.

Full-sized images, where available, will assist with judging the image quality.

Attribution is given by linking to the source and where available, the author's homepage or photo gallery.

Recently added

Portraits of a female Japanese model – The "Photogenic Weekend" series on DC.Watch features photos of a Japanese female model taken with a Nikon D5000 and the 35/1.8G lens.

The RAW images were converted in Nikon ViewNX, and they look sharp, crisp and detailed, with great background bokeh. Here's the list of galleries – equipment used is noted at the end of each article:
* Series 2 – Google's English translation
* Series 3 – Google's English translation
* Series 4 – Google's English translation

Splendid Nikkor 35mm 1.8 AF-S shots in Paris

All taken by John Houston with a Nikon D300 camera.

35mm f/1.8 G DX Pictures by Neutralday

This Flickr set has full-resolution images taken with a Nikon D90, which were used in their D90 review.

Only some of the photos were shot with the 35/1.8G (the others were photographed with a Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor lens), but the following three are my favorites (links open up to the images in full size) – Image 1, Image 2, Image 3.

35mm f/1.8 G DX Pictures by XLTimbo

Miscellaneous, web-sized photos with aperture EXIF data which makes it useful for judging the bokeh qualities on this lens.

Camera used was the Nikon D80.

Timbo says: "Overall, I'm happy with the lens so far, I like the perspective it offers, the color rendition is nice and the bokeh looks good too. With it's small size it will probably stay in my bag at all times, if it's not on my camera that is."

Timbo added that he purchased the 35mm f/1.8 at "Tuttle Cameras in Long Beach, CA".

Quick sharpness test with a Nikon D300

Ixon mounted the 35/1.8G on his Nikon D300 for this image.

Aperture was set to f/4, and an SB-900 used to provide the main source of illumination.

I find the bokeh, colors, and yes, sharpness to be just perfect for this kind of shot.

Miscellaneous shots in a shopping complex

Just three web-sized photos, casually snapped at a shopping center, but useful for judging the bokeh on this lens.

Portrait of a female model, shot with a Nikon D5000

This is one of Nikon's official Nikon D5000 photos – the entire gallery is here.

Click on the thumbnail below to open up the full-resolution image in a new browser window, or just right-click to save to your hard drive.

Portrait of a female model, shot details: File size: 3.35 MB Shutter speed: 1/4000 sec Aperture: f/1.8 ISO: ISO 200 Focal length: 35mm Lens: Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor Picture control: Portrait White balance: AWB (Automatic White Balance) Exposure mode: Aperture-Priority Auto Exposure metering: 3D Color Matrix Metering II

Nikon AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8 G Nikkor test report / review samples by Photozone.de

Photozone has posted up nine, full-sized JPEG samples as part of their review of the 35/1.8.

The images were shot with a Nikon D300 camera in NEF / RAW mode.

The RAW files were converted using the Capture One 4.6 application from Phase One.

Apertures tested are f/1.8, f/3.5, f/8 and f/11.

Links to the full-sized samples are easier to obtain if you visit their 35/1.8 gallery on Smugmug.

Full-sized photos by Lukas Hron

Visit Lukas Hron's Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX set on Flickr. There is a ton of full-sized photos taken with this lens. Camera used was a Nikon D40.

To view an image at full-size, click the photo, and then the All Sizes icon above the photo, then select the Original link.

The gallery features a couple of nice portraits. Examples of such images taken with the lens wide open at f/1.8 are here, here, here and here.

What's interesting about this lens, based on Lukas' samples, is that the bokeh is much more pleasing and natural-looking compared to the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF lens which I owned in the past.

I'm personally convinced by this set of images, and will be saving up to buy a 35/1.8G of my own.

Gallery of full-sized test photos at NikonClub

Right at the bottom of the Czech-language, 35mm f/1.8G review by NikonClub, you'll find some thumbnails that link through to the original images. A Nikon D200 was used to snap the photos.

Links to the original version of three photos which I found pretty good are as follows:

1. Building exterior / architecture – shot at f/8, ISO 100
2. Portrait of a white horse – shot at f/2.2, ISO100
3. "Product shot"-type close-up – shot at f/2.8, ISO 200

I think the bokeh quality in the white horse and product shots is great.

Full-sized samples at LetsGoDigital

From the PMA 09 event at Las Vegas, Dennis Hissink posted up six original photos taken with a production sample of the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX AF-S Nikkor lens. Camera used was the Nikon D3X.

According to the EXIF of one of the images (right-click to download this original photo), as viewed in Nikon ViewNX, the D3X was set in DX mode. The dimensions of the resulting image is 3968 x 2640, or approximately 10 MP (Megapixels), so this gives you a good idea of the image quality you get with this lens on a Nikon FX (full-frame) camera.

My own observations of the image that I just linked to:

1. Out-of-focus points of light are pleasantly-rendered due to the rounded diaphragm opening combined with the seven-blade aperture design of the lens.
2. The image is not pin-sharp owing to the slow shutter speed of 1/5s (I'm not sure if a tripod was used), and noise reduction that was applied to the ISO 800 image at normal levels.

Random images from user galleries on PBase.com

Don't forget to hit the refresh button on your browser to serve up another set of random pictures.

You'll also find user reviews there – at the time of writing, I'm reading a very enthusiastic user opinion on the lens by David Henry, who says:

Most of the reviews are right on. It is not "perfect", but for the price, you can not go wrong. I am VERY happy with it. I have been using it on a D90 and a D40 and it is great on both.

David has also linked up to three of his 35/1.8 images: image 1, image 2 and image 3.

Official Sample

Nikon's official page for the Nikkor 35/1.8G has a single link to a reduced-resolution image, a portrait of a female model. Aperture used was f/2.8, while shutter speed was 1/40th of a second. The bokeh looks nice enough.

Related Posts

1. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G References
2. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Reviews
3. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Price and Availability Watch

This post is a compilation of Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor professional and user reviews, owner opinions, reports and experiences, tests, conclusions, ratings and feedback.

Full attribution is given by linking to the source and where available, the author's homepage or photo gallery.

A brief comment on the lens by Thom Hogan

Thom Hogan had the following to say about the 35/1.8G:

35mm f/1.8G DX: a good "normal" lens on the DX bodies, it's small, sharp, and can be used on an FX body in a pinch. Inexpensive.

He recommends the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM lens (Nikon mount) as another option that works well on all Nikon Digital SLR cameras.

Test report / review by Photozone.de

Visit Photozone.de for a 3-page test report / review on the Nikon 35 1.8 DX, written by Markus Stamm.

A summary of the report follows.

Build quality: Very decent.

Focusing: In magnified Live View mode, one can see the whole image shifting slightly when you change the rotation direction of the focus ring.

Barrel distortion: Measured at 1.7%. This is more than expected from a prime lens at this focal length.

Vignetting: Only moderate amounts of vignetting is observed when the aperture is wide open.

Vignetting disappears when the lens is stopped down to f/4 and smaller.

MTF / resolution: Excellent in the center throught the whole tested aperture range.

Border resolution is good at wide open, very good at f/2.8 and f/8, and excellent at f/4 and f/5.6.

Resolution in extreme borders is visibly soft at wide open, peaks at f/2.8, and maintain very good values from f/4 to f/8.

Chromatic aberration (CA): Moderate at wide open, but quite high for the rest of the aperture range.

Bokeh: Not overly impressive at wide open due to harsh outlining.

Bokeh becomes smooth and outlines disappear from f/2.8 onwards.

Background highlights start to lose their circular shape from f/5.6 onwards.

LoCAs (bokeh fringing / longitudinal chromatic aberrations) are prominent at wider apertures but are reduced significantly when the lens is stopped down.

Final Verdict

The Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8 G ist able to deliver very sharp pictures wide open already.

The bokeh, one of the primary aspects for a fast prime, is well developed and generally pleasing (at least slightly stopped down).

There are some drawbacks, though, especially rather high distortions and CAs, both lateral and longitudinal.

And although it's sonic wave driven, the AF is not really a speed demon.

Nonetheless, given its affordable price, the lens performs on a very high level and is a welcome addition the limited range of lenses that can be used as normal primes on DX cameras.

Photozone.de gave the following ratings for the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S:

1. Optical quality: 4 stars
2. Mechanical quality: 3.5 stars
3. Price / performance: 5 stars

Review by Optyczne.pl

Optyczne's review of the 35/1.8 is written in Polish, but Google's translation of the Conclusions / Summary page does a good job of helping us understand the gist of the review in English.

NikonRumors has a good take on the translated conclusion, and posted an email from that site with further details on the review, which made the following comment on comparing the 35mm f/1.8 G vs the Zeiss Ikon Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 Distagon T* ZF Series Manual Focus Lens for the Nikon F (AI-S) Bayonet SLR System:

The behavior at the center is really good and comparable to much more expensive Zeiss Distagon 2/35 …

Impressions by Dennis Hissink

Dennis of LetsGoDigital has posted some 35mm 1.8 samples, and shares his impressions of the lens:

The Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G has a nice finishing, and thanks to a rubber seal it is even water resistant up to a certain extent. The risk of moisture (not running water) entering is kept to a minimum. The shortest focus range is 30 cm. All in all, it is a most interesting additional lens, and the focal length for both types of DSLR cameras, DX and FX, and in combination with the bright f1.8, offers the user all-round possibilities.

Nikon 35mm review by NikonClub

NikonClub's review of the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G is written in Czech, so you might want to read Google's English translation.

The article points out the CA (Chromatic Aberration) characteristics of the lens, so you might want to pay attention to that section.

Also interesting is that the lens could be used on the full-frame, Nikon D700 camera. Vignetting is more or less non-existent once you've stopped the 35/1.8 down to about f/8.

Cone of Cold's feedback on the lens

You'll find the following comments by Cone of Cold at his Flickr gallery of Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G test shots:

My first feedback… The lens is sharp, fast to focus, decent even at f/1.8, excellent at f/4.0 with good contrast but I also see a lot of lens flare in places I shouldn't…

The test shots were done with a Nikon D40.

Bjorn Rorslett's review

Not long after the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G lens was announced, Bjørn Rørslett reported his findings based off a test sample in a NikonGear forum post (requires a free registration). A summary of his remarks follow:

1. It is a small lens, and quite similar in shape to the new Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G AF-S lens, but a little tinier.
2. The focusing ring is placed near the front section of the lens, making it easier to reach with the fingers when mounted on the smaller DSLR cameras from Nikon such as the Nikon D40, D60, D80 and D90.
3. There is an A/M (Auto / Manual) focus switch, but manual override of the focusing is always possible even in Manual mode (this is great news!)
4. The projected image in the viewfinder is clear and bright, so it makes manual focusing is easy even on the Nikon D60 and D40.
5. The small image circle is designed to fit DX / 1.5x crop cameras from Nikon, and as expected, produces heavy vignetting when focused on normal to distant subjects. The image circle only fills an FX (full frame) format frame when focused at subjects on the close focus limit, which is about 0.3m. This is a hint that the Nikon 35mm DX is not of a telecentric optical design.
   At the time of writing, Nikon has three FX digital SLR cameras, the Nikon D3X, D3 and D700. Nikon's top DX camera is the D300, which is the successor to the D200.
6. When shooting into the sun, there is a tendency for ghosting (a few rainbow-colored spots can be observed in the images), but the propensity to flare is kept well under control.
7. You'll get a considerable vignetting when shooting with this lens on a D3 in 5:4 format and aperture stopped down to f/3.5, but the sharpness is fairly acceptable over the entire frame.
8. Bjorn demonstrated the bokeh quality of the 35mm DX by shooting a holly up close, against a busy background. Aperture values of f/1.8, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6 and f/11 were tested. I agree with his conclusion that the lens does a good job of rendering a smooth background, especially considering its short focal length.
9. Bjorn then compared the 35mm DX lens with the older Nikon 35mm f/1.4 Ai-S lens. What the newer 35mm lens has over the older is superior sharpness at f/1.8 and up to f/2.8. Contrast is also very high starting from f/1.8, and the even at f/22, acceptable sharpness is demonstrated by the 35/1.8. From f/4 onwards, the older 35/1.4 lens gets the upper hand in sharpness.
10. The 35 DX lens is based on a double Gauss optical design, so will exhibit a tendency for mild barrel distortion (the same applies to the 35/1.4).
11. Bjorn shared many test photos, so be sure to log in to the forum to view them.

Bjorn is a veteran when it comes to Nikon lenses, so the fact that he was impressed with Nikon's latest "budget" prime lens speaks volumes of the quality one can expect to get from this optic. In fact, he concludes:

Do not let its low price fool you into thinking the 35/1.8 G is just a toy for low-end cameras, though. This lens shows what Nikon can deliver at an unbeatable price point.

Related Posts

1. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Samples
2. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G References
3. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Price and Availability Watch

Full attribution is given by linking to the source and where available, the author's homepage or photo gallery.

The Nikkor 35/1.8 was announced on February 8, 2009.

AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Official Site

The official page for the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G has the full specifications, features, MTF charts and key information for the lens.

Press Release

Read the full Nikon 35mm f/1.8G press release, titled "NIKON INTRODUCES THE FASTEST DX-FORMAT LENS TO DATE: THE AF-S DX NIKKOR 35MM f/1.8G".

Product Gallery

The Nikon Press Center site has three high-resolution and web-ready images for download.

Related Posts

1. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Samples
2. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Reviews
3. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G Price and Availability Watch