Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Review
I purchased the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens as the primary lens for use on my new D5000 camera. The lens is amazing (and so is the D5000). The sharpness, contrast, and color fidelity for this lens makes it seem like a much more expensive lens. The lens is very bright and focuses quickly. There is very little to dislike about this lens. But there are a few minor things that need to be mentioned. The lens has a bit of barrel distortion, which is somewhat surprising for a standard focal length prime lens. I included two photos of Montreal's Notre Dame Basillica that shows the effect in the user photo section of this Amazon page. It is simple barrel distortion, and Capture NX2 will automatically correct for it (or for any other Nikon lens distortion or vignetting). Supposedly, there is some minor vignetting with this lens, but I have never been able to see it. In truth, the barrel distortion is usually not visible to me. BTW, Capture NX2 is a wonderful piece of software for working with Nikon NEF files. Between correcting for aberrations of all Nikon lenses automatically, providing easy tools for working with Nikon controls like Auto D-lighting in software, and providing a pleasing assortment of very user-friendly pixel-tweaking tools, this software is the perfect accompaniment to Nikon hardware.
The second limitation with this lens is its inability to shoot macro photographs. The maximum magnification is 1:6.3. I'm not really into macro photography, so this was not particularly important to me. If you are more devoted to macrophotography, though, you should be aware of this limitation. If you like to shoot macro without a tripod, you will also miss the lack of VR on this lens. I can't imagine it would be of any value in any other context with a lens this short, though. So I don't consider the lack of VR to be a flaw in this lens design -- it is an appropriate cost-savings of an unnecessary feature. I would much rather have this lens at 0 than a VR version of it at 0.
The third limitation is that there is no distance scale for the lens' focus. This makes it almost impossible to get an accurate sense of where the hyperfocal point should be using this lens. You just need to "eyeball it" and hope for the best.
Finally, the lens is a "G" type lens, so it does not have any way to set the aperture manually -- you need to use the camera's aperture controls. Personally, I am fine with that approach. But it may be an irritation to some people.
When I bought the D5000, I bought it without the kit lens because I wanted to use this as my main "walking around" lens. I am very happy with that decision. I have acquired the 55-200mm VR kit lens for telephoto, and am about to buy the Tokina 12-24mm f/4.0 DX II for wide angle. But this 35mm is my main squeeze with this camera, and I am delighted with it. If you looked at the Notre Dame pics, you have some idea of how good this lens is in very dark circumstances. Between the low-light performance of the D5000 and this lens, I really feel that there aren't any conditions under which I would want to take a picture but would be limited by my equipment. There are still shots that exceed my skill, but not my equipment.
Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Feature
- Engineered for Nikon DX-format digital SLRs - Optical formula optimized for use with Nikon DX-format digital SLRs
- Aspherical lens element - Minimizes coma and other types of lens aberrations, further improving image integrity
- Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) - Enhances light transmission efficiency and offers superior color consistency and reduced flare
- Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM) - Enables fast, accurate and quiet autofocus
- Close focusing to one foot for creative perspectives and versatility
Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Overview
35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for S
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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 30, 2010 07:33:39
