Nikon AF-S 35mm F1.8G DX Lens Review: 1. Intr...

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G DX review
Andy Westlake, March 2009

The AF-S Nikkor 35mm F1.8G DX is Nikon's latest lens, announced in February for PMA 2009. Its introduction came as something of a surprise to many observers, not because it's an updated 35mm lens with a built-in autofocus motor, but because the 'DX' designation indicates that it's designed for use on DX format bodies, and isn't fully compatible with Nikon's growing FX format camera range. According to Nikon, this has allowed the company to design a lens that is smaller, lighter and cheaper than it would have been had it offered full coverage of the FX image circle. In effect, the lens is primarily targeted as an inexpensive, large aperture option for users of the entry-level (D40 / D40X /D60) series of DSLRs.

The 35mm focal length is roughly equivalent to 50mm on an FX camera, and the lens therefore fits into the 'standard' category, with an angle of view offering none of the 'perspective distortion' associated with wideangle or telephoto lenses. The fast F1.8 maximum aperture admits more than four times as much light as the AF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G VR DX kit lens, which is useful for shooting in low light while keeping shutter speeds reasonably high. The 'Silent Wave Motor' allows autofocus on all of Nikon's DSLR bodies, with the added bonus of allowing the user to tweak focus manually in AF mode if desired.

The 35mm F1.8G features an optical design of 8 elements in 6 groups, including an aspherical element for the correction of aberrations usually associated with large aperture prime lenses. However unlike the typical 50mm standard prime for the full frame (FX) format, this lens's focal length is rather shorter than the flange distance from the lens mount to the imager. This necessitates the use of a so-called 'retrofocal' design, which is more usually associated with wideangle lenses; unfortunately this often results in increased aberrations relative to traditional near-symmetric 50mm designs. So how does the 35mm F1.8 DX measure up?

Headline features

• 35mm focal length; fast F1.8 maximum aperture
• Silent Wave Motor allows autofocusing on all Nikon DSLRs
• Full-time manual focus override
• For DX format cameras

Angle of view

The picture below illustrates the angle of view (click here for comparisons with the Nikon 50mm F1.4D):

35mm (DX format)

 

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G DX specifications

Street price	• $200 (US) • £200 (UK)
Date introduced	February 2009
Maximum format size	DX
Focal length	35mm
35mm equivalent focal length	52.5mm
Diagonal Angle of view	47º
Maximum aperture	F1.8
Minimum aperture	F22
Lens Construction	• 8 elements/6 groups • 1 hybrid aspherical element
Number of diaphragm blades	7, rounded
Minimum focus	0.3m (1.0 ft)
Maximum magnification	0.16x
AF motor type	• Ring-type Silent Wave Motor (ultrasonic-type) • Full-time manual focus
Focus method	Internal (rear) focus
Image stabilization	• None
Filter thread	• 52mm • Does not rotate on focus
Supplied accessories	• Front and rear caps • HB-46 hood
Optional accessories
Weight	210g (7.4 oz)
Dimensions	70mm diameter x 52.5mm length (2.8 x 2.1 in)
Lens Mount	Nikon F only

* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area

Foreword / notes

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read some of our Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

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Dpreview use calibrated monitors at the PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally also A, B and C.

 

Design

The 35mm F1.8 follows Nikon's new design idiom for AF-S primes, and bears a distinct family resemblance to the AF-S Nikkor 50mm F1.4G (although it lacks the distance scale seen on that lens, presumably in a bid to reduce costs). Build quality and finish is of a standard that belies the relatively lowly price; the lens feels sturdy and well put together. The barrel is made from black plastic, with a metal mount, and one nice touch is the addition of an 'O' ring around the mount to help prevent dust and water entering the camera (note though that the lens is not described as weather-sealed).

Compared to Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm F1.4G and Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM

Here we see the 35mm F1.8G between two other modern primes. On the left is the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm F1.4G, a fast standard prime for the FX format released just a few months earlier, and one the right is the lens's most obvious competitor, the Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM (this particular example is in Canon mount). As can be seen, the 35mm is the smallest of theses lenses, although not by much; it's also the lightest and the cheapest. Of course against that it gives up two thirds of a stop in brightness compared to the F1.4 lenses, and sacrifices the focus distance scale.

On the camera

The 35mm is a relatively small and compact lens. The addition of the SWM autofocus motor makes it larger than many of Nikon's older primes (including the full-frame AF-Nikkor 35mm F2D), but it's still much smaller than the AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G VR kit lens. It therefore handles well on all of Nikon's DSLR bodies, from the largest (the D300, above left) to the smallest (D40 / D60 series, above right). The slim focusing ring is easily accessible at the front of the barrel, and the focus mode switch perfectly placed for operation by the left thumb.

Autofocus

The lens uses a ring-type 'Silent Wave Motor' for autofocus, allowing it to focus on all of Nikon's DSLRs, including the entry-level D40 / D40X / D60 bodies. This system also allows focus to be tweaked manually after autofocusing, when the lens is set to the M/A mode. In use the focusing works extremely well - the motor is fast and almost completely silent. Focus accuracy we generally impressive too, although we did detect a slight tendency towards rear-focusing at intermediate distances (ca. 5m), most visible when shooting at large apertures. As always, it must also be noted that focus speed and accuracy is dependent upon a number of variables, including the camera body used, subject contrast, and light levels.

Lens body elements

	The lens uses Nikon's venerable F mount, and will fit all of their DSLRs, both DX and FX format. It communicates with the body electronically via an array of contact pins, with mechanical control of the aperture using a metal lever. A rubber gasket around the circumference of the mount provides a degree of protection against dust and moisture ingress into the camera.
	The filter thread is 52mm, and does not rotate on focus - a bonus for users of filter such as polarizers and neutral density gradients.
	The bayonet-mount HB-46 lens hood has a matte black finish on the inside to minimize reflection of stray light into the lens, and reverses neatly for storage. Sadly though it's just 24mm deep, much shallower than that on the new 50mm F1.4G (36mm), and similar to what we'd expect for a 35mm for FX. It's almost as if Nikon's engineers forgot they were designing a lens for DX.
	The focus ring has an 8mm wide ribbed-rubber grip, and rotates about 120 degrees anti-clockwise from infinity to closest focus. The action on our sample felt slightly 'rough', but this had no negative impact on achieving precise manual focus. There's no distance or depth of field scale though. The angle of view decreases slightly on focusing closer, as is common with prime lenses.
	A conventionally placed switch on the side of the lens barrel selects between auto and manual focusing modes. The 'full-time' manual focus design provides the ability to tweak the focus setting when the lens is set to the M/A position.

Reported aperture vs focal length

This lens allows an aperture range from F1.8 to F22 to be selected.

 

Studio Tests

 

 

NOTE the line marked 'Nyquist Frequency' indicates the maximum theoretical resolution of the camera body used for testing. Whenever the measured numbers exceed this value, this simply indicates that the lens out-resolves the sensor at this point - the calculated MTF values themselves become meaningless.

The Nikon 35mm F1.8G DX performs much as we'd expect from a fast prime in our studio tests. The lens is a somewhat soft wide open but improves rapidly on stopping down, however there's an associated increase in lateral chromatic aberration (this is the most marked difference to a traditional full-frame standard prime such as the AF-Nikkor 50mm F1.8D, and presumably a result of the retrofocal design). However when compared to the AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G DX VR kit lens, the significantly higher sharpness of the prime is immediately apparent.

Resolution	Sharpness is high in the centre even wide open, but deteriorates progressively towards the corners; examination of the checkerboard crops shows that this is essentially loss of contrast due to slight halation, and detail is rendered with high definition. This improves rapidly on stopping down, and by F2.8 is very good right across the frame (although the extreme corners are always slightly less sharp than the centre). The very best results are seen around F3.5, but near-equally excellent results are obtained on stopping down to at least F8, with diffraction having a progressively more destructive impact at smaller apertures. As usual on DX sensors, F18-F22 is best avoided.
Chromatic Aberration	At large apertures chromatic aberration is very low, however on stopping down lateral CA progressively increases up to F4. At this and smaller apertures red/cyan fringing is rather marked, certainly high enough to be visible in many shots.
Falloff	We consider falloff to become perceptible when the corner illumination falls to more than 1 stop less than the centre. The 35mm F1.8G has a maximum falloff value of 1.3 stops wide open; this is lower than that seen on traditional FX-format 50mm primes, and nothing to worry about in normal use.
Distortion	Distortion is reasonably well-controlled at 1.1% barrel - about par for the course for standard primes, although rather higher than the exceptionally well-corrected Nikon 50mm F1.8D. It is high enough to occasionally become visible in real-world shots, but in context much lower than that seen at the wide end of most kit zooms.

Macro Focus

Standard primes are not really intended as macro lenses, and the 35mm F1.8G follows this trend. Maximum magnification is 0.18x, at a measured closest focus distance of 27cm, which gives a working distance of 17cm from the front of the lens to the subject. Optical quality is quite acceptable, if not wonderful; central sharpness is high, but the corners of our test chart never fully sharpen up on stopping down, indicative of curvature of field. There's also obvious barrel distortion, and quite high levels of lateral chromatic aberration.

Macro - 129 x 85 mm coverage Distortion: moderate barrel Corner softness: low Focal length: 35mm

FX (Full Frame) Coverage

On the release of this lens (in amongst some dismay over it being DX format only) there was a degree of speculation as to how fully it might cover the FX / 35mm full frame format. The lens will mount on Nikon FX bodies, which by default will engage DX crop mode and therefore shoot at reduced resolution. But it's also possible to force the camera to shoot in FX mode, so in the samples below we show the degree of vignetting which will occur if you do so (with the DX format frame superimposed in red for reference).

The vignetting observed is dependent upon two factors - distance and aperture - with the affected area decreasing on focusing closer, and the affect becoming progressively more hard-edged on stopping down. But while the image circle appears slightly more generous than the most of the other DX lenses we've tested, only at the minimum focus distance does corner darkening disappear fully. At normal shooting distances there's always a degree of vignetting visible, and of course this test reveals nothing whatsoever about softness or aberrations outside of the DX image area for which the lens was designed.

The more adventurous shooter may still wish to play with this lens on FX, and could perhaps extract useful images somewhat wider than the DX crop area. However, just as we'd expect, the AF-Nikkor 35mm F2 D remains a far more sensible option for users of both formats.

Infinity, F1.8	Infinity, F8	Infinity, F22
1m, F1.8	1m, F8	1m, F22
0.3m, F1.8	0.3m, F8	0.3m, F22

Specific image quality issues

As always, our studio tests are backed up by taking hundreds of photographs with the lens across a range of subjects, and examining them in detail. This allows us to confirm our studio observations, and identify any other issues which don't show up in the tests. The Nikon 35mm F1.8G DX turns out to be a highly capable and reliable lens, producing good results in all conditions.

Flare

The 35mm F1.8G DX is relatively resistant to flare for a large-aperture prime, and does very much better than the various designed-for-film 50mm F1.4 lenses we've tested recently. With the sun in the corner of the frame we see relatively little in the way of flare, with just a multi-colored pattern in the opposite corner which (as usual) increases in definition and intensity on stopping down. Move the sun just outside the frame area and, although there's an overall loss of contrast, there's nothing resembling the sheets of veiling flare seen with older large-aperture designs. Overall, a pretty decent result.

F8, Nikon D300	F1.8, Nikon D300

Chromatic aberration

A large maximum aperture retrofocal design is always likely to suffer from a degree of chromatic aberration, and there's simply no getting away from the fact that color fringing of various flavors is often visible in shots from this lens. And while the sophisticated JPEG processing routines in Nikon's latest DX DSLRs (the D300 and D90) are very effective at suppressing lateral chromatic aberration, owners of older cameras, or the entry level cameras such as the D60, won't see these benefits. Equally longitudinal chromatic aberration (i.e. color fringing based on subject distance) is not readily correctable in software, and will be visible to all users.

First let's look at lateral chromatic aberration. This lens exhibits red/cyan fringing, which can be readily visible on high-contrast edges towards the edge of the frame. This is the type which Nikon's JPEG processing can remove, and the the examples below show both the magnitude of the issue and the effectiveness of the correction. In the process, fine detail is also rendered in a more convincing fashion.

Nikon D300, RAW + ACR	Nikon D300, JPEG
F4, ISO 200
100% crop, lower left

The lens also shows some longitudinal chromatic aberration, in other words fringing around high contrast edges dependent upon subject distance, mainly visible at large apertures. This is common with fast primes, and the 35mm F1.8 DX is really little better or worse than we'd expect. Stopping down progressively diminishes the effect, until it more or less disappears by F4.

The color fringing is magenta in front of the plane of focus, and green behind it; however the region of sharpest focus still shows a degree of magenta fringing, and the neutral region with no fringing is slightly behind that. As the examples below show, this is uncorrectable by the camera's processing, as it can occur anywhere within the frame and is purely dependent upon image content.

Nikon D300, RAW + ACR	Nikon D300, JPEG
F1.8, ISO 200
100% crop, plane of sharpest focus
100% crop, in front of focus plane
100% crop, behind plane of focus

The fringing around in-focus areas seen above implies that 'purple fringing' around specular highlights at large apertures could be quite prevalent with this lens, and this turns out to be the case. Green fringing around out-of-focus background regions is also often visible, and can be accompanied by a magenta 'fill'. If you wish to avoid this, stopping down to the region of F2.8 or smaller is advisable. Note also that the examples shown below are shot under somewhat atypical conditions (with the aperture wide open in contrasty, bright sunlight); for more typical uses of large apertures (low-light shooting, especially indoors) you'll rarely see such large areas of bright highlights, and purple fringing is unlikely to be such a problem.

F1.8, Nikon D300	F1.8, Nikon D300
100% crop, upper right	100% crop, top right

Background Blur ('bokeh')

One genuinely desirable, but difficult to measure aspect of a lens's performance is the ability to deliver smoothly blurred out-of-focus regions when trying to isolate a subject from the background. With its relatively fast maximum aperture, the 35mm F1.8G can produce substantially blurred backgrounds, and while these can be slightly hard-edged in character (especially at F1.8), bokeh is generally rather appealing. Stopping down progressively smooths out the harsher edges, with perhaps the best compromise in the region of F2.8.

F1.8, Nikon D300	F1.8, Nikon D300
50% crop, top right	50% crop, top right

Edge softness wide open

Our studio tests reveal a degree of softness with the aperture wide open, especially towards the corners, and here is our usual illustration of how this might appear in practice using the traditional boring brick wall approach. The loss in contrast wide open is quite visible, but as is often the case a high degree of fine detail is being recorded, albeit at this reduced contrast. Here we can also see the slight drop in brightness in the corner wide open due to vignetting; the top left crop also shows the increased visibility of chromatic aberration on stopping down. It's fair to say that when viewed in isolation, the F1.8 shot would look perfectly acceptable to most viewers; it's only when juxtaposing it against the F4 version that any deficiencies become visible.

F1.8	F4
Nikon D300, RAW + ACR
100% crop, centre of frame
100% crop, bottom right corner
100% crop, top left corner

Conclusion - Pros

• Excellent image quality when stopped down just a little
• Fast and accurate autofocus with full-time manual override
• Generally attractive rendition of out-of-focus regions ('bokeh')
• Resistant to flare
• Low price

Conclusion - Cons

• Slightly soft and low in contrast wide open
• Lateral chromatic aberration somewhat higher than traditional 50mm 'standard' primes
• Prone to purple fringing and bokeh chromatic aberration, most visible at large apertures

Overall conclusion

The AF-S Nikkor 35mm F1.8G DX is a lens which certainly caused a degree of dismay on its release, with many Nikon fans disappointed by the decision to make it compatible with the DX format only. However the main benefit of that decision is plain for all to see - even at its introductory price the lens costs rather less than the venerable AF-Nikkor 35mm F2.0D, despite the addition of an AF-S motor to allow autofocusing on Nikon's entry-level D40 / D40X / D60 bodies. It's also less than half the price of the few other DX format standard primes currently on the market (such as the Pentax 35mm F2.8 Macro, Tokina 35mm F2.8 Macro and Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM), so Nikon has managed with this lens to produce the first genuinely inexpensive (sub-$200) fast standard prime designed specifically for digital SLRs.

Within this context, the lens's performance is very impressive. It produces finely detailed images at all apertures (although with somewhat low contrast wide open), focuses quickly and accurately, and handles well in a small, light package. In particular, it's much sharper than typical DX standard zooms such as the Nikon AF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DX VR or Nikon AF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 DX VR. The fast maximum aperture allows pictures to be taken hand-held in low light levels, while maintaining relatively fast shutter speeds to avoid blur from subject motion (a key advantage over image-stabilised, but slow, kit zooms when photographing people without flash indoors). The slightly less tangible aspects of image quality - such as resistance to flare, and the rendition of out-of-focus regions of the frame - are also dealt with nicely.

If the lens has one major flaw, it is a certain propensity to show chromatic aberration, of both the lateral kind (which can be corrected by the in-camera JPEG processing of the D90 and D300), and the longitudinal (which cannot). To be fair the latter is a pretty well unavoidable with a fast prime, but the 35mm F1.8G DX suffers from it to a rather high degree, and in particular can give some unpleasant purple fringing effects if you're not careful.

Overall, though, it seems almost churlish to complain about these flaws in a lens so inexpensive, which gives otherwise such fine results. It's good to see Nikon finally addressing the lack of purpose-designed, inexpensive fast primes for DX format DSLRs, and we hope they - and other companies - continue with this trend. As it is the 35mm F1.8G DX is, for its winning combination of high image quality, large maximum aperture and low price, a lens which deserves to be on many a Nikon shooter's shopping list.

Detail	Rating (out of 10)
Build quality	8.0
Ergonomics & handling	8.5
Features	7.5
Image quality	8.0
Value	9.0

Highly Recommended

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Samples Gallery

There are 25 images in the samples gallery. All pictures are shot in RAW and processed using Adobe Camera RAW to bypass the test cameras' automatic chromatic aberration correction in JPEG. Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review), we do so in good faith, please don't abuse it.

Unless otherwise noted images taken with no particular settings at full resolution. To provide the fairest impression of the lens itself, images are shot in RAW and converted using Adobe Camera Raw at default settings (to bypass the test cameras' automatic JPEG chromatic aberration correction). A reduced size image (within 1024 x 1024 bounds) is provided to be more easily viewed in your browser. As always the original untouched image is available by clicking on this reduced image.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm F1.8G DX Samples Gallery - Posted 20th March 2008

Preview Samples Gallery

There are 17 images in the samples gallery. Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review), we do so in good faith, please don't abuse it.

Unless otherwise noted images taken with no particular settings at full resolution. A reduced size image (within 1024 x 1024 bounds) is provided to be more easily viewed in your browser. As always the original untouched image is available by clicking on this reduced image.

All images with ACR in the filename have been processed using Adobe Camera Raw v5.2 with corrections made to white balance but no attempt made to remove chromatic aberrations.

AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F1.8 G Preview Samples Gallery - Posted 13 Feb 2009