Nikon NIKKOR Z 35mm F 1 8 S Review | 54 Data compared

The Nikon Z 35mm f1.8S is a highly capable mild wide-angle prime lens designed for street photography and general-purpose use on Nikon’s full-frame Z-series mirrorless bodies. In terms of performance, it earns a strong recommendation for its exceptional sharpness, delivering resolution and contrast that match or exceed the legendary Zeiss 28mm f1.4 Otus. The lens excels at close-up shooting and retains remarkably high contrast even in difficult contra-light situations. Physically, it is a great match for compact Z-mount bodies, offering fast and reliable autofocus alongside the same robust weather-sealing found on Nikon's professional line. Furthermore, its customizable multi-purpose control ring and minimal 0.7% focus breathing make it an appealing option for videographers. Despite its high-end "S" line classification, the lens exhibits a few notable drawbacks that prevent it from achieving a top rating. Its strongest optical flaw is longitudinal chromatic aberration (loCA), which shows up clearly in high-contrast scenarios when shooting wide open at f/1.8. Additionally, the background bokeh can become quite distracting in farther distances, which is a disappointment for a prime lens of this aperture. From a usability...

The Nikon Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S is an optically excellent, mildly wide-angle prime lens designed specifically for the mirrorless Nikon Z system, achieving a top score of 38 points when tested on the 45.7MP Nikon Z 7 camera. Its standout pro is its exceptional sharpness, which is highly uniform edge-to-edge between f/4 and f/8, alongside strong central resolution at wider apertures. Additionally, it offers superb control of lateral chromatic aberration with no evident fringing, features a near-silent autofocus stepping motor for video, and includes a customizable control ring. However, the lens suffers from notable cons, most significantly a heavy vignetting of –2EV at its maximum aperture, which lingers as a persistent corner shading of around –0.7EV even when stopped down from f/4 to f/16. It also displays a slight geometric barrel distortion of 0.5%. Furthermore, despite being the highest-scoring native Nikon 35mm lens tested, it is physically quite large (86x73mm, 370g) and gets outperformed in peak sharpness, vignetting, and distortion by older third-party DSLR alternatives like the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 A and Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di.

The DPReview evaluation highlights the Nikon Z 35mm F1.8 S as a versatile, weather-resistant, and highly sharp lens for full-frame Z-mount cameras, offering excellent performance for street and low-light photography with fast autofocus. While it provides exceptional cross-frame consistency and minimal distortion, the lens exhibits visible longitudinal chromatic aberration (LoCA) in high-contrast areas and, at times, distracting "onion ring" bokeh patterns. Additionally, the focus-by-wire system may frustrate videographers seeking precise, repeatable manual focus control.

The NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S lens for Nikon’s mirrorless Z mount is a lightweight, wide-angle prime lens highly praised for its outstanding optical quality, which cuts like a razor even at extreme edges and corners. Despite its plastic construction, the lens body is fully weather-sealed. Weighing just over 13 ounces, it serves as a featherweight alternative to heavy f/1.4 lenses, making it a reliable staple for long shooting days like weddings. Optically, the lens excels with its 9 rounded aperture blades that provide pleasing bokeh, two extra-low dispersion elements, and three aspherical elements to minimize distortion. Additionally, it features Nano Crystal and Super Integrated Coatings to suppress flare and ghosting, and the autofocus delivers spot-on accuracy even when shooting wide-open in low light. However, the lens does come with some noticeable drawbacks, particularly its slow stepper focus motor which underperforms compared to the ultrasonic or hypersonic motors of its competitors. It is also considered relatively expensive for an f/1.8 lens, and the overall plastic build quality leaves something to be desired at its higher price point. The autofocus motor...

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8S as an exceptional, weather-sealed prime lens featuring 11-element construction and offering outstanding central and edge sharpness. Praised for its fast, near-silent autofocus, minimal flare, and negligible focus breathing, the lens is considered ideal for both street photography and video, ultimately earning an "Editor's Choice" award. While the review lists no hard "cons" in its final verdict, it notes vignetting at wider apertures, which is easily corrected and, along with well-controlled chromatic aberrations, does not detract from its high-performance reputation. This 35mm lens is lauded for its robust build, smooth bokeh, and excellent, consistent performance across its range. For the full, detailed review, visit ePHOTOzine.

The OpticalLimits Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S Review concludes that this lens is a very capable, professional-grade prime, though it falls slightly short of the stellar expectations set by other Z-mount primes. On the positive side (pros), the lens boasts exceptional build quality with weather-sealed polycarbonate and metal components, a silent stepping autofocus motor, and highly suppressed lateral chromatic aberrations and image distortion (around 1% barrel distortion natively). Its sharpness is highly impressive, offering very good resolution in the broader image center at f/1.8, which sharpens to excellent levels when stopped down to f/2.8 and peaks across the full frame at f/5.6. Furthermore, its background bokeh is smoother than average, rendering clean out-of-focus highlight discs in the center of the frame thanks to a 9-blade rounded aperture mechanism. However, the reviewer highlights several notable drawbacks (cons). A major optical limitation is its heavy vignetting, which reaches a highly noticeable 2.6 EV light falloff in the corners when shooting RAW at f/1.8 and requires relying heavily on software auto-corrections. Corner sharpness is also somewhat mediocre wide open and struggles to match...

The Nikkor Z 35mm F1.8 S is a mid-tier, weather-sealed prime lens that delivers strong optical performance on Nikon full-frame cameras. Originally released in 2018, it features a robust polycarbonate barrel with eight seal points, a custom focus ring, and a 62mm filter thread. Autofocus is driven by a fast stepping motor (STM) that reliably tracks subjects and eyes for stills, though it produces a light clicking noise during shifts. In video mode, it pulls cinematic transitions but experiences some minor focus breathing and occasional camera-induced micro-pulsing. Optically, the lens is exceptionally sharp in the center wide-open, with low linear barrel distortion and high flare resistance. It also offers excellent close-up capabilities, focusing down to 25cm with a 0.19x magnification ratio. However, the lens falls short of the extreme contrast and near-apochromatic rendering found in its 50mm sibling. Its biggest drawbacks include severe corner vignetting that requires maximum correction, alongside visible longitudinal chromatic aberration on high-contrast edges and busy, textured bokeh balls. Furthermore, mid-frame contrast is weaker at F1.8, only matching the exceptional center sharpness once stopped down to F4....

The Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S is an exceptionally balanced, professional-grade everyday prime lens that pairs seamlessly with bodies like the Nikon Z6 III and Z8. It is highly versatile for street, travel, and documentary photography because it captures ample environmental context alongside its subjects. Optically, the lens delivers excellent sharpness wide open at f/1.8 with high micro-contrast, minimal chromatic aberration, and a natural, non-clinical rendering style. Furthermore, its stepping focus motor (STM) provides fast, silent, and highly reliable autofocus tracking, making it a dependable daily walkaround option that can handle low-light environments like cafes and restaurants with complete ease.

The Photography Life review of the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S highlights its excellent balance of rugged, weather-sealed build quality and high-end optics, making it a versatile prime for travel and street photography. Key advantages include outstanding sharpness when stopped down (f/2.8–f/8), low distortion, and a close 25 cm minimum focusing distance. Conversely, the review notes that sharpness at f/1.8 is slightly weaker compared to other S-line lenses, particularly the 50mm f/1.8 S. The lens is also criticized for its minimal physical controls, lack of built-in vibration reduction (VR), and a relatively high $900 price point.

The Nikon Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S is a highly versatile, high-end prime lens designed for the mirrorless Z mount system, offering a natural angle of view that closely mimics human vision. In real-world testing, its standout advantage is exceptional, even sharpness across the entire frame—even when shooting wide open at f/1.8—making it completely usable without needing to stop down. Additional optical strengths include superb control of chromatic aberration, smooth and fluid bokeh generated by its 9-bladed rounded diaphragm, and a quick, quiet stepping autofocus motor. Weighing only 370 grams and featuring robust weather sealing, it serves as a lightweight yet rugged companion well-suited for intensive travel, street, architecture, and landscape photography.