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129 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for low light, great focal length for DX, and autofocus will also work with D40, D40x, D60, and D5000 cameras, May 24, 2009
This Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX lens produces sharp pictures and great color and contrast. It is also perfect for portrait and other general purposes (semi-macro etc). This lens also produces nice bokeh. The picture quality and bokeh quality are comparable with the other Nikon prime lenses (50mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4 AF-S etc) lens which are famous for being sharp. Overall, this is a very versatile lens. On a non full frame DSLR (such as D40, D40x, D60, D5000, D80, D90, D200, D300 etc), this 35mm focal length is equivalent to about 50mm which is considered a normal lens (normal as to being close to a person eye viewing angle perspective).
Many of us, including those who already own the 50mm prime, have been waiting for this lens (prime lens that has wider angle than the 50mm) for a long time, especially for non full frame DSLR owners that usually have about 1.5x magnification due to the smaller sensor size. Those 50mm lens on a non full frame DSLR is equivalent to 75mm which is often too much zoom for many situation. For example in a room where you can't keep backing up to compose your photos, or when taking picture of a group of people where you will need to move back a lot with the 50mm lens. This 35mm lens will solve that problem to some extent as this is a lot wider lens than the 50mm prime lenses. Having said that the 50mm prime lens is still a great lens. If you don't own any of the earlier version of the 50mm lens and wondering if you should get this 35mm or the 50mm, then I would recommend you to get this lens over 50mm, unless you know for sure that you need more zoom than the 35mm for your purpose, then you can go and buy the 50mm or 85mm (both available on f/1.4 or f/1.8).
This lens (DX lens) is not designed for a full frame camera (FX or Film). There will be light fall-off which is quite significant. If you have a full frame DSLR, you might want to get the 50mm f/1.4 AF-S, or the older 35mm f/2 AF-D lens instead.
Being a prime lens (this 35mm lens), you will need to move your feet a lot to compose your picture.
While this lens produces very sharp images at f/1.8, the corner show lower contrast. Sharpness and contrast increases further as you stop down to f/2, f/2.8 and f/4. Sharpness increases slowly after f/2.8 (i.e. at f/2.8 seems to be the optimal, without sacrificing too much speed)
The big plus with this lens over the older 35mm lens is the AF-S feature which is auto focus system that is internal to the lens, very fast and very silent. This lens will please a lot of people who currently own D40, D40x, D60, and D5000, as they now can benefit from the autofocus.
Another big win is the manual override on autofocus mode (M/A mode), which will allow us to change the focus without having to change the mode to manual mode (this is pretty standard to most Nikon newer lenses but it's quite new for Nikon prime lens series)
This lens doens't have image stabilization (VR), but that is kind of expected as Nikon also doesn't include VR on their new 50mm f/1.4 AF-S lens. It would be nice to have VR (for longer exposure handheld operation, and for people with less stable photography technique) but it will probably increase the size, weight and cost of this lens.
If you are wondering whether you should get a fast lens or a lens with VR (Vibration Reduction), here's my take: In overall, VR does help a lot (as it will reduce camera shake) and will produce better/sharper picture than equivalent lens without VR (especially if the object is static). If the object is moving fast (sports/action) then VR feature alone might not help (depending on how fast the object is moving and how much light is available), and a fast lens often end up being a far better solution, even without VR feature as it will allow much faster shutter speed to freeze motion. Using tripod (and a remote) will substitute for the need of VR feature. In general I would recommend getting a fast lens with VR feature (and usually it is expensive) such as the 70-200 f/2.8 VR, but if one can only get for one or the other, then find out what do you want to use the lens for and then use the guideline mentioned here.
If you are wondering whether you will get the benefit of buying f/1.4 lens over a f/1.8 lens, just remember that the f/1.4 lens is about 60% faster than f/1.8 at its widest aperture setting. With this information, you can decide if the additional speed will justify the additional cost. The bokeh is nicer as well in f/1.4 lens but I think speed is usually the main factor in deciding whether to get the more expensive f/1.4 lens.
Here are the summary of pros and cons for this Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S lens:
Pros:
1. AF-S AF-S AF-S (very fast focus, internal focus, and very silent)
2. M/A mode (manual focus override available on autofocus mode)
3. Very fast lens (f/1.8)
4. Very sharp pictures
5. Great for sport/action photography (though you might need more zoom)
6. Great for indoor and low light situation
7. Great for portrait
8. Bokeh is almost as good as many expensive Nikon tele-lens
9. Perfect for low light with no-flash event. However, also check out the following lens for low light photography: 17-35mm f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 17-55mm f/2.8, 28-70mm f/2.8 or the the 50mm nikon prime lenses.
9. Great focal length (35mm). About 50mm equivalent which is a normal lens (If you need more zoom, you can get the Nikon 50mm or 85mm prime lens or 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens).
10. Did I already mention very fast and very silent focus? :)
Cons:
1. Being prime lens, you need to move your feet a lot to adjust/compose
2. Being a G lens (no aperture ring available), this lens will not work on manual focus camera where you need to set the aperture from the lens)
3. No VR. As VR will be useful for taking handheld shots on low light (especially if the object is somewhat static or if the photographer doesn't have steady hands when taking photograph)
4. Not designed for full frame cameras (FX or Film) where there will be siginificant light fall-off.
Bottom line: This lens is so versatile that I think everyone should own this lens in addition to all the lenses that they already have (even if they alredy have the 50mm prime lens). Being a very fast lens, it will allow people to take action shot in low light that otherwise wouldn't be able to be do. And now, with AF-S, there is nothing to dislike about this lens (though in my opinion, this lens might attract even more interest if it has a VR feature).
Happy Photographing!
Sidarta Tanu
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47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For $199 is it just hype?, June 12, 2009
Being a self proclaimed prosumer I'm not exactly a pro, but I am still demanding when it comes to camera hardware (and software for that matter). I mention this because it puts this review in the proper context.
On to the lens...
First off, when a $199 lens comes around from Nikon I have two thoughts, "Right on!" and "Seems pretty cheap for Nikon". I was skeptical but for $199 and all the great reviews why not give it a shot? Well, I did.
Amazon taunted me, B&H teased me, and my local camera shops didn't exactly sooth my fear that it would be months before I could get my hand on one. Putting a pre-order in with all the above mentioned establishments my local store came through first (and for the same 199 dollar price tag).
I get it home, take it out of the box and the first thing that comes to mind is how much heavier it is than some of the kit lenses I have picked up. Yes it's plastic, but the thing has a different level of quality from the other Nikon budget/consumer lenses. You can peruse the other reviews on Amazon and other websites for more specifics but the point is there is a noticeable difference.
I then put the thing on my camera (made sure to put on a filter first) and start snapping away, outside, inside, and everywhere in between. The pictures are fantastic, in low light in particular. The bokeh isn't top notch but for anyone but a pro this likely will be worth the tradeoff being the 199 price tag is a huge selling point here. And don't get me wrong, the bokeh isn't terrible, I've just seen better with more (much more) expensive lenses.
So is it hype? Can a Nikon lens selling at $199 be good enough for the more demanding consumers out there? You betcha, this thing is probably the best and smartest purchase I've made in the last five years. I have three other lenses and I can say without any hesitation the 35mm F/1.8 AF-S will be on my camera 90% of the time - if not more - from here on out.
In closing, if you love photography but don't have the means to drop hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on nicer lenses, get annoyed at the fact that low light photography with the kit lens just doesn't cut it, and want to expand, this is THE lens to get.
I promise you, you will not be disappointed.
Good luck!
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50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great prime lens for a DX Nikon DSLR, May 18, 2009
I bought the 35mm f/1.8G AF-S lens because I wanted a fast, light lens that worked with my camera (a Nikon D40x). Since getting the lens two months ago, I haven't taken it off my camera. I'd recommend this lens to anyone with a newer Nikon DSLR. If you'd like to know more about my experiences with the lens, read on.
I'm not a professional photographer, or even a very serious hobbyist. I don't have a huge budget for camera equipment (my only camera is a Nikon D40x), and mostly use my camera to take pictures of my children.
For the past couple of years, I've mostly used the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. I love this lens: it's very flexible, and works much better than I expected a lens with that wide a range to work. Unfortunately the 18-200mm lens, like a lot of the zooms that work with the D40/D40x/D60/D5000, have some issues. First of all, the 18-200 is kind of slow. For indoor pictures without a flash, it's difficult to get sharp pictures. Secondly, the 18-200 is heavy. It's awkward walking around with a one pound lens strung around your neck.
I bought the 35mm f/1.8G AF-S lens because I wanted a faster, lighter lens. I hadn't tried a fast prime lens in a long time (probably not since I shot on 35mm film), and probably had unrealistic expectations about what a lens like this could do. I was hoping that I could just set my camera to auto and snap pictures. With normal daylight, I could take some very good pictures inside without a flash. However, there are some practical limits to what a fast prime on a low end camera can do; I had a harder time taking pictures in dimmer light (for example, in an aquarium). It definitely works better than an f/4 lens (which is the approximate aperture for most zooms are at this focal length), but it's a subtle difference. (I did get some better results by manually changing ISO and aperture settings, but that's not usually practical when you're trying to shoot a moving toddler.)
On the other hand, this lens is noticeably sharper than the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. I've found it easier to take pictures of people with faces in focus and background blurred than I could with the zoom lens. When I bought this lens, I wasn't even thinking about sharpness, but I'm mostly happy with the results. If you can get the foreground in focus, it will look very sharp.
The one issue I have with this lens is that out of focus backgrounds... look a little strange. Photographers call the look of out-of focus backgrounds "bokeh." Most photographers want out of focus backgrounds to look subtly blurry; you'd want a point of light to look bright in the middle then taper off at the edges. This lens does the opposite: points of light turn look much more like rings with this lens. To me, the backgrounds look like "ghosting" on an old television. This isn't a deal killer, but it can lead to weird results, particularly if you're taking pictures of people against complicated backgrounds. I can definitely take pictures with this lens that I couldn't take without it. However, don't expect a D40 with this lens to perform as well as a Nikon D700 12.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) with the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras.
I have few other complaints about this lens's performance. It feels as light on the camera as I hoped; it's really nice walking around with such a light camera after lugging around a zoom for so long. The camera focuses very quickly and quietly; like most of the AF-S lenses I've tried, focusing is very fast and accurate. Overall, I'm happy with this lens (especially at half the price of Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras). It's not perfect, but it's reasonably priced and very useful.
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