Nikon 35mm f/1.2 S Hands-On First Impressions: Optical Excellence

Nikon has created a compelling lineup of prime lenses that feature fast apertures and premium optics. The 135mm f/1.8 Plena anchors the telephoto end and the 85mm and 50mm f/1.2 lenses bring incredibly bright apertures to the normal ranges. It makes sense that the logical foray into the wide-angle is going to start with the new Nikkor 35mm f/1.2 S.
The sticker shock is real but the $2,799 price is somewhat justified by the exceptionally bright optics. I got my hands on a pre-production but very testable sample to try out, and putting my dislike for the 35mm focal length aside, I wandered the streets of downtown Calgary to test it out.
Nikon 35mm f/1.2 S First-Look: A Big Aperture Requires a Big Lens
This is a hearty lens to carry around all day. At 37.4 ounces (1,060 grams) with an 82mm filter diameter, the 35mm is about the same size and weight as the Nikkor 50mm f.1/2. The controls are pretty simple with a very large and smoothly-turning manual focus ring and some customizable buttons. Like all premium S series lenses, the Nikkor 35mm is fully weather-sealed and feels like a high-quality product. As large as it is, the 35mm f/1.2 felt nicely balanced on the Nikon Z8 that I tested it with. At the end of the day, I didn’t feel overly burdened by the combo but this lens will add some noticeable weight and bulk to an otherwise fully loaded camera bag.



Nikon 35mm f/1.2 S First Look: You Get What You Pay For
Nikon is throwing every possible coating technology at this lens with Meso Amorphous coatings, ARNEO coatings, and its Nano-Crystal coating. Who knows what that all means but I can tell you what it does: flare is quite well controlled given the large front element on this lens. Wide-open the lens exhibits excellent contrast and minimal ghosting when pointed toward the sun. Stopped down, the ghosting does become a little more apparent but is still not too distracting. The sunstars are also quite pleasant with distinct tines that dramatically stretch across the frame.




I found the focus to be sprightly and accurate with twin STM motors driving the glass elements. The Nikon Z8 has sophisticated autofocusing and the tracking worked well with the very shallow depth of field that this lens exhibits. Nikon has engineered a well-rounded aperture design with 11 blades to keep the opening as circular as possible. This is a lens capable of very shallow focus so let’s talk about that next.




Nikon 35mm f/1.2 S First Look: The Beauty is in the Bokeh
As you move toward the wider range of lens design, you get more depth of field for a given aperture. Still, a 35mm lens with an f/1.2 opening can deliver soft backgrounds that show off a subject distinctly. I really enjoyed this stark separation when shooting the lens on the street but is the quality of the bokeh pleasant? The answer is a resounding yes.




Specular highlights form pleasant little cat’s eye shapes at f/1.2 and the backgrounds never look harsh. When the aperture is closed down, the highlights are round and even-looking. There seems to be no soap-bubble effect or onion rings present either, which largely contributes to the creamy-smooth transitions throughout the focus range. You can get that ultra-shallow look to the focus when shooting portraits up close but I also appreciated the more natural look to the backgrounds when shooting f/1.2 at farther ranges. Coupled with the fact that the Nikon Z8 can shoot super-fast shutter speeds with its electronic shutter, I didn’t need to use ND filters on bright and sunny days. I found myself enjoying the experience of using this lens despite my common disdain for this focal range.



Longitudinal chromatic aberrations often wreck the joy of using fast glass with very bright apertures. These color tones that infect the out-of-focus areas of the image are very hard to remove with software and can look quite distracting. I tested the lens at its widest aperture to see if there was any color fringing and the results turned out to be excellent. I saw only the most minor of color patterns and nothing was visible that would cause stress. It is clear that this lens has been engineered to deliver the utmost in image quality.
Nikon 35mm f/1.2 S First Look: Optical Excellence
Although we couldn’t test sharpness due to the pre-production nature of the lens, I do not doubt that it is sharp. I endeavored to shoot a lot of images at f/1.2 to see what results I would get and from the sample images, I’m confident that the lens is sharp throughout.
Regardless of whether you like the 35mm focal length or not — and I know most of you do — there is no denying that the new 35mm f/1.2 is optically superb. I did not hate this lens even though I generally dislike the focal length. In fact, I kinda loved it. It’s bound to be a very popular lens and is an optical gem to shoot with if you can manage the expensive $2,799 price.
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