Compact and lightweight, this very fast f/2 wide-angle lens is perfect for scenic and landscape photography as well as environmental portraits

Technical Details

-Compact, lightweight wide-angle lens for general photography
-62-degree (44-degree with Nikon DX format) picture angle for candids, portraits, and travel photographs
-Nikon Super Integrated Coating for minimized flare and ghost, providing good color balance
-Fast f2 maximum aperture make this ideal for low-light, hand-held shooting
-0.85-foot close focusing distance
See more technical details

 "From [...]" 2010-05-07
By Puma-Concolor (Mt)
This lens is very compact and lightweight. 35mm is a good range to have, and it fits in any of my vest pockets. It weighs about as much as the front and rear lens cap of my 70-200 vrII ;) Great lowlight capabilities. Kind of noisy, I probably won't be using it on much wildlife anyway though. I am glad I added it to my line up.


 "Nikon AF 35mm F2D - a great lens" 2010-04-18
By FredBare (All over)
My lens collection consisted of the AF 50mm f1.4, AF 85mm f1.8, AF 80-200 f2.8, 60mm f2.8 Micro SWM and the 18-55mm SWM kit lens which came along with my Nikon D40X.
I have been waiting for some time for an update to the Nikon wide primes. The idea being that newer versions would come with SWM and thus be more convenient for use with my D40X. Eventually Nikon produced a new 24mm lens with SWM at f1.4 - and a $2200 price tag.
So I decided to take the plunge and purchase the older Nikon AF 24mm f2.8 and Nikon AF 35mm F2 - at a total cost of circa $720 based on the idea that lens technology hasn't changed a great deal, unlike camera technology, over the years.
During the weekend I spent some time comparing the 24mm, 35mm and 50 mm AF lenses against the kit SWM 18-55mm lens (non VR version but I understand that the optics are the same as the newer VR version). The 18-55mm kit lens is supposed to be 'good' for a kit lens but I've never been completely happy with it - the results were not always convincing.
Using the AF lenses with the D40X (or I guess any Nikon SLR without a built in lens focus drive - i.e. those 'below' the D90) is very simple. As there's no focus drive in the body one does not have to decouple the drive and thus one can simply attach the AF lens. If one reads the manual it mentions that for manual focusing one should set the AF focus option to manual but this is not necessary with the AF lenses and if one switches back to a SWM lens then one has to remember to 'reactivate' the autofocus - so it's best to avoid this.
Focusing with the AF lenses is accomplished simply by half depressing the shutter release button and focusing manually - the green 'focus' light in the viewfinder will then indicate that the correct focus has been achieved.
Frankly the 18-55 lens is blown away by the 24, 35 and 50mm AF lenses. Centre sharpness is outstanding and edge sharpness not far behind (expected for an FX lens on a DX camera). Pictures are simply a cut above the 18-55mm. Saturation is more 'natural' too.
If I were to rank these lenses vs. the 18-55 then my order would be:
24=35 > 50 f1.4 >> 18-55.
Although non of these lenses, 24, 35 or 50, have the latest technology they are a well worthwhile upgrade over the kit lens.
The 50mm f1.8 I understand is a better (and cheaper) lens than the f1.4 version so if you don't need the wider aperture then the 50mm f1.8 makes sense.
I give both the 24 f2.8 and 35mm f2 a 4.5 rating, the 50mm f1.4 a 4. I guess that adding nano coating and other new technology could improve these lenses further - but not much. Hence I doubt that newer lens technology would add 0.5 to the rating of already exceptional lenses
If one doesn't mind , changing lenses and manual focus (bearing in mind that these lenses would be used for stationary objects anyway) and one may well upgrade to a body with built in focus drive in the future then these lenses are absolute gems and well worth purchasing - especially at the price.


 "Two of Two (Normal Lenses)" 2010-02-07
By G. J. Huba (Culver City, CA USA)
If you use an FX camera -- I have a Nikon D700 -- this is one of the two "everyday walk around" lenses you want to keep on your camera if you see something and want to grab an immediate shot. The picture quality is excellent, it is a lightweight and small lens (bulges in a pocket but fits), rugged enough but not a tank, can hang off your neck with the camera most of the day without creating backache, and will hold almost all of its value in the auction market if you do not like it after an extended test. I titled the review "Two of Two" because most would say that the Nikon 50mm 1.4g (which I also own) would be One among the two choices as a walk around lens that stays on the camera much of the time. I might say that a lot of days also but my opinion does flip-flop on this. Since variety is a great thing, I might also say to leave this 35mm on a full frame camera if you ask me other days. It depends on what type of image you might want to "grab." If you are in dimly lit places, the 50mm f1.4g has a distinct advantage and is also great for isolating subjects and creating very good bokeh. If you have a little more light, the 35mm f2.0 has an advantage inside if you are photographing groups (you can get a half dozen or more folks in the picture without stepping back or doing the cliche everybody push together shots or you can get the whole table of folks in at a restaurant table without bumping into the table behind you). Outside during the day, it is a minor artistic choice because the pictures are not that different. The 35mm is the more "conservative" or safe choice because you can always crop away stuff at the edges with the number of megapixels in current cameras with the 35mm rather than missing or clipping them with a 50mm. If I am in a city or other place taking grab shots, I would tend toward the 35mm; if I want to do grab shots and portraits at places, I would tend toward the 50mm. One of Two or Two of Two -- it is an artistic choice among two very high quality tools (lenses).


 "Awesome value" 2009-11-21
By Sandip Chatterjee (San Francisco, CA)
Really enjoying this lens on my D80. As other reviews have pointed out, very short minimum focusing distance (~10 inches), solid (plastic) build, sharp at f/2 and even sharper beyond, and pretty decent bokeh. "Normal" (~50mm equivalent) on a DX body, and as a bonus, FX-compatible (full-frame) for the future...

Pretty much the same size lens as the 50mm/1.8.


 "Good overall lens, but at f/2 it's noticeably soft" 2009-06-30
By William (Summit, NJ)
This is a great lens if you need the speed. However, up until around f/4 it is soft, meaning it is not as sharp as other lenses. At f/2 it is very noticeable. I actually didn't notice this at first. It was only until I started using other lenses consistently, that when I finally went back to the 35mm f/2, I noticed how soft it was. For this reason, I choose not to use it over other lenses, but if I need a dedicated 35mm, this is the one I go with.

At f/8 it's particularly sharp. I uploaded a shot of some daises here on Amazon (which you can see by clicking on "Customer Images"). The crispness is spot on.

So keep that in mind. I have not used the 35mm f/1.8 so I can't give an equal comparison. Regardless, if you are shooting with a cropped sensor, I would recommend that for the speed and only this lens for full frame (if you needed a dedicated 35mm prime).


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