Nikon Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8S Lens Review

Background

We dig deeper into the new Nikon Z mount with the purchase of the new Nikon 35mm f/1.8S prime lens.

Is it as good as others have said?   How does it stack up against other mirrorless prime lenses in the same focal length and field of view? 

Let's go on that journey together and find out!

Handling/Size/Weight

Compared to other 35mm prime lenses in the Nikon ecosystem, this one is actually larger than most.  However, do not let the size of the lens lead you to believe that it is a heavy brick.  Surprisingly, in hand, this is a light lens.

top down view of the Nikon Z (left) and Nikkor-S Auto manual focus lens (right)

side view of the Nikon Z (left) and Nikkor-S Auto manual focus lens (right)

This is a metal and plastic construction, with a very simple layout.   You've got the control ring that can be used for manual focus, ISO control, exposure compensation among other things.   This ring takes up most of the lens exterior.

The only other option on the lens is the auto or manual focus switch.

The control ring is easy to use and has a smooth operation.
On the Z6, it balances well.

The lens comes with a hood that clicks into place with a positive action and I have no fear of it coming off the lens by accident.

My only concern with the metal focus rings is using them in cold weather.   Not that the metal itself is an issue, I'm thinking more about the shooter!   If you don't want to use gloves while shooting in cold weather, it can be a challenge on your fingers holding that metal with bare skin.

Weather Sealed

Nikon made all their initial Z mount lens offerings weather sealed, and it is my understanding that they are to the same level as the Z6 and Z7 bodies.  I've not had a reason to use the lens in inclimate weather.  I have not personally tested the weather sealing, but I have no reason to doubt it's effectiveness.

Image Quality

Having used quite a few 30mm to 35mm lenses in my day, including the Nikon 35mm f/2D, 35mm f/2.8 Nikkor-S Q both of which are capable lenses - they are not in the same league as the Z-Mount prime.

Even shooting at f/1.8, this lens reminds me of the joy I experienced the first time I used my Micro Four Thirds primes.   More than acceptable sharpness wide open.  Shooting at f/1.8, you have more of an issue worrying about having sufficient depth of field on your subject than you do losing sharpness, especially if you are close to the subject.

This lens is SHARP, no doubt about it. 

Not only is it sharp in the middle, but edge to edge we found no major issues with the copy we have.   In the same way that we were pleased with the edge to edge performance of the 24-70/4S, this lens is just putting its money where it's aperture is and delivers every time.

You know what time it is!  Time to put the images front and center and give you the opportunity to determine for yourself what you think.

The below 2 images show the ability of the lens at wider apertures,  Given the close focus range, you can see in these images that the depth of field is small, but the in focus areas are indeed sharp.  Thanks to Kylo and Ren below for being unwilling models.

The day I bought this lens, it was non-stop rain for the entire day, so these are my first shots.  :)
I did process these images for the look I was wanting, so just take into account that these are not straight out of camera JPG or RAW.

I believe that a review of images should be about what the lens/camera/system is capable of producing.  Straight out of camera(SOOC) is a good baseline, but you can get a ton of those kinds of samples elsewhere - and you've probably already done so.

1/100, f/2.5, ISO 7200

1/60, f/2, ISO 1600

1/400, f/2.2, ISO 100

1/200, f/1.8, ISO 100

1/6400, f/1.8, ISO 100

Focusing

As mentioned about the 24-70/4S in z mount, the AF is quick and silent.   When first using it, there is a moment when you do not realize that it is in focus...and I'm sitting there waiting to hear the AF motor whir or the VR to kick in.  Yeah, both are silent.  Something to get used to for sure.

Even in very low light, from f/1.8 to f/2.8, this lens and the Z6 focused with little to no fuss.  Yes, as with any system the AF was a bit slower in lower light, but I would not call it slow or pokey.

This may be more about the Z6 than the Z35mm f/1.8S, but when I did the portrait shoot, I used the auto area AF mode with face detect.  I shot over 250 images during that multi location portrait shoot and when I went back to see what was in focus and what was not - I found 2 in total that were not.  That's not a bad hit to miss ratio.

Even in lower light, I had to be more aware of slower shutter speeds introducing blur than I did the AF.

Using the face detect AF, as soon as my model was in view, the green box snapped onto her face.  It made portrait shooting more efficient and the fact that I don't have to worry that the AF is off is great.

I will admit that I have never used the eye AF features available on other cameras.  They very well might be better, but in this implementation on the Z6, having the face and eyes in focus was good enough for my needs.

VR

No VR in the lens, IBIS in the camera body will give you 5 axis IBIS.  This seems to work well and as advertised.  No complaints.  Again, this is more about the Z6 than the lens.

Bottom Line

I debated whether to get this lens or not.  I have some friends that really like the less expensive f-mount FX 35mm f/1.8G.  They are getting great results with that lens and the FTZ adapter.  I was hooked on this lens when I was given the opportunity to test it out with the local camera stores demo model.

I, for one, am on the bandwagon that will sing the praises of this lens.  35mm may not be the focal length for you, but if it is then this is one of the best 35mm f/1.8 lenses that I've ever used and highly recommend it.

If you are on a budget or are just not a big prime user, but want to have one around for those times when you'll need light gathering ability faster than the native 24-70/4 can offer, then you might want to pursue looking at adapting f-mount AF-S and G options.   We've done that very thing with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G and are satisfied with the results.

Let's answer the question I asked initially.  Is the Z35mm f/1.8S worth it?  In my eyes, yes it is.  So far, employing it in an environmental portraiture capacity in low light, it did very well and I'm not sure I would have been happy with just the f/4 on the Z24-70mm or even the f/2.8 of the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G adapted.

1/40, f/1.8, ISO1250 

1/80, f/1.8, ISO 800 

Nikon 28-105 f/3.5-4.5D Lens Review

Background

We are exploring older legacy Nikkor lenses again.  In a quest to find an inexpensive yet quality walk around lens for the Nikon Df, we will look at this wide to medium telephoto.

All images taken with the Nikon Df.

Handling/Weight/Size

 A mixture of plastic and metal.  To me, it feels very sturdy in hand.  The front filter ring is plastic, the mount metal.

The zoom ring feels good. Not quite like the zoom on a higher end lens, but better than some of the bargain kit lenses of today.

The focus ring moves when you AF, so be aware of that.  The ring is larger than some in it's class which makes for finding and turning the ring easy to do.  However, precise manual focus is a bit of a challenge as the focus throw is rather short.  Manual focus is doable, you just need to get used to the short throw.

When compared to other similar lenses, this one is smaller and lighter, thanks in part to the plastics used as well as the variable 3.5-4.5 aperture.

1/125, f/8. ISO 180 @ 105mm

1/1000, f/8, ISO 1250 @ 105mm

Image Quality

Looking at this lens, it was put up against the other legacy Nikkor lenses I've used in the past.  Those were the 35-135/3.5-4.5 and the 28-85/3.5-4.5.  Both of those lenses performed very well on the Nikon Df and the D700.  The 28-85 being just a bit sharper than the 35-135 in similar focal lengths and apertures.

The 28-105 appears to be every bit as sharp as the 28-85 was, even out to the 105mm focal length.  Yes, the edges are less sharp at wide open, but become more acceptable once stopped down.  The center is very sharp at all focal lengths.

I can see this lens being used quite a bit for every day carry when the Nikon Df is being taken that day.   It should be a great lens for candids, street photography.  It will have a companion lens, the Nikon 80-200/4.5-5.6D for anything that requires more reach.

Since you do not have VR on this lens, be aware of the hand holding rule and make sure that you do not drop below the hand hold-able shutter speeds.

1/1000, f/8.0, ISO 1250 @ 105mm

1/250, f/5.6, ISO 1250 @ 75mm

Auto Focus

Not a blazing fast AF-S pro lens speed, but for an older screw driven design, it performs quite well on the speed front.  There was little to no hunting on the testing runs we did, even in low light.  The lens is a solid AF performer.

Another feature that is a bit quirky, but is there is the built in macro mode.  The quirks are that this only works between 50-105mm.  In order to get out of macro mode, you need to focus on something that is 0.5m or further away.  Instead of messing with that, I just throw the camera into manual mode, turn the focus ring to infinity and then slide the switch back to "normal".

It only does 1:2, but is a nice feature to have as the normal close focusing distance is roughly 2.7ft.

1/200, f/8, ISO 100 @ 28mm

Bottom Line:
Given the current used prices of this lens, you'd be hard pressed to find a better "bang for your buck" than this.  No, it does not have VR, it is not an f/2.8 or constant f/4 aperture lens...but given the great high ISO performance of modern FX DSLRs and the ability to shoot this lens at wide open apertures makes this something that the budget conscious FX shooter should seriously consider.  I found this one locally for $120.  If that is a bit out of the budget and you want to go cheaper, then look to the Nikkor 28-85.  That lens I purchased used a year ago for $62.  The only thing you lose function wise, is the longer focal length and maybe a small bit of AF speed.

Nikon 300mm f/4 PF Lens Review

Image © NikonUSA

Background

Looking for something on the long end of the Nikon line...why stop at the 300mm f/4 PF?

I'm not running 2 "pro" kits anymore.  I was wanting the Olympus Micro Four Thirds system to work for me...but it just did not work out in the end.  Olympus makes good cameras and lenses, however there were some short comings that made me eventually say that I was going to stick with Nikon for all my paid assignments.  I'll get more into that in a later blog.  However, I will tell you that the Olympus gear went toward the lens you see above.

This review was almost one line and a bunch of images.  That one line would have been, "The images will speak for themselves."

However, what fun is that?   Then you would not get a chance to hear me blather on about gear stuff.  lol

All images in this article taken with the Nikon D500.

1/500, f/4.5, ISO 250

Handling/Weight/Size

 This is one of the great things about this lens.  It is relatively the same size as the Nikon 24-70/2/8.  Yep, that's right.  My understanding is that the PF or Phase Fresnel element in the lens helped to reduce the weight and length of the lens.

Years ago, I had the old 300/4 non-AF-S lens with the aperture ring.  That lens was long and an all metal construction.  It was not something you brought along "just because".  You brought it because you knew you would need it.  That old lens did not have VR either.

Now, this lens is hand holdable.  It doesn't even come with a tripod collar (although one can be purchased for it).

The 300mm balances well on each of the camera bodies I've tested it on (D700/D500).  It's control layout is similar to most modern Nikon lenses, so all the switches and rings are where you'd expect them to be.

The VR has 3 modes, Off, Normal and Active (used for panning).

The AF switch has a/m, m/a, and m modes.  This lens also allows for full tiem MF override just by turning the AF ring.

The animal images you see here were taken at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

1/800, f/4.5, ISO 100

Image Quality

This is where the rubber meets the road and boy, do we have a sweet set of tires!!

At f/4, this lens delivers.  Stopped down shows a slight improvement.   Honestly, unless I need more depth of field or to block out a strong light source, I'm happy to shoot this wide open all the time.

Other reviews have stated that the IQ suffers little with a Nikon TC14E III teleconverter.

On a D500 with the APS-C sensor - you are looking at a field of view with just the lens being 450mm.  Add a 1.4 TC to that and you are into 600mm field of view territory.  You've got a very capable setup to reach out there.

The sample images throughout the article are showing you what this lens has to offer.

1/125, f/4, ISO 4000 VR Normal active

1/320, f/4, ISO 1250 VR active

1/320, f/4, ISO 280

1/320, f/4, ISO 720

1/320, f/4, ISO 2500

Auto Focus

Quick, as you'd want it to be.  I've had no complaints from it on my initial outings.  I'm shooting a sports festival soon, so I will be able to test out the AF-C performance there and will post image from that outing.

I checked the AF accuracy and my copy was spot on.  No adjustments were needed.

Heck, I even used this lens for some street photography!!

1/1000, f/4, ISO 100

1/1000, f/4, ISO 125

1/1000, f/4, ISO 800

Bottom Line:
This is not an inexpensive lens.  You are not getting cheap optics either.  If you need a 300mm lens and f/4 is enough for you, then this is one of the best lenses in its class.  For me and the work I do this lens is looking to be the one long lens that I will bring with me just in case and not only when I know I will need it.

This is one of those lenses where you can believe the hype around it.  Is it perfect...well no, but it will disappoint you rarely and only if you go looking for issues.

Nikon 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6D Lens Review

Image Copyright Midwest Photo Exchange (www.mpex.com)

Background

Another lens in the rounding out of the Nikon kit.  This one fits in the everyday carry line of lenses.  Previously, I wanted something wide, so got the Tamron 20-40mm/2.7-3.5  (review on that lens coming soon)

This one covers the long telephoto end.  I heard about this lens from some online blogs.  Specifically that this lens was used by Galen Rowell when he wanted something longer but weight was a factor.  They state that it is a very specific use type of lens and that it performs well when used to its strengths.  Fair enough.

This find was even cheaper than the Tamron 20-40mm.   At $44, I can't think of a losing scenario other than the optics were damaged or the focus was so off as to not be able to be corrected.   Into the review we go!

Handling/Weight/Size

This is a very light lens.  The mount is plastic as is the lens body.  The zoom ring is very easy to turn and does so smoothly.  The focus ring is very small and quite fiddly to try and use.  The lens is not really that big either for an FX coverage lens.  This is great as it is almost an afterthought to throw into my every day carry bag.  When carrying the Nikon Df, I usually have the Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 attached and the 80-200/4.5-5.6 in the bag.

Image Quality

Lots of reports stated that the lens wide open was on the verge of unusable.   While not as sharp as f/8 or f/11, they are definitely usable.  The strength of the lens is definitely in it being stopped down.  In one article I read by Galen Rowell, he stated that the lens provides "publishable" image quality.    For $44, the images I am getting out of this lens are good enough.

This is definitely a lens you want to use in decent light given your aperture range.  However, I found that at 86mm and f/4.8 - the image quality is definitely more than usable.  Check out the leaf image below.

Nikon Df, 1/500, f/4.8, ISO 400 @ 86mm

Nikon Df, 1/500, f/11, ISO 720 @ 200mm

Auto Focus

This is not a fast focusing lens.   Again, we are in the adequate range of speeds here, but for shooting street, landscapes and the like it will do just fine in most situations.

Bottom Line:
This is a decent find and I can see why Galen Rowell appreciated the qualities that this lens provided.  It is a good companion lens to an everyday carry kit where small and light are a priority.