35mm prime lens for Nikon

Mike Kennedy · Jul 17, 2006

I have been slowly building up a stock of Nikon mount prime lenses. Any suggestions for a 35mm?

Mike

David H. Bebbington · Jul 17, 2006

I have been very pleased with my 35 mm F2.8 AIS. This came via e-bay in mint condition for about £50. Big apertures are of course good for low light but cost a lot more!

Regards,

David

ijsbeer · Jul 17, 2006

hi,
IMHO the 24mm f2.8 and the 50mm f1.8 are true workhorses for me.

hope it helps a bit.

RJ

kjsphoto · Jul 17, 2006

The 84 1.4 and 28 1.4 both beautiful lenses and tact sharp.

Kev

Dave Wooten · Jul 17, 2006

I have 3 lenses......the 24 2.8 and the 35 1.4 and 105 2.5, my favorite is the 35 1.4. If I had only one lens, this would be my choice. These are all manual lenses and I have 2 F3 HP bodies...

tony lockerbie · Jul 17, 2006

You are on the right track with primes. The 28 F2.8 and 35m F2.8 are both excellent wide angles available very cheaply. For the 50's it's hard to beat the F2 (or 1.8) and the 2.8 micro.
Everyones favourite in the longer focal lengths is the 105mm F2.5 but if money is no object you should go for the 85mm F1.4 or 105mm 1.8.
Hope this is of some help.
Tony

benjiboy · Jul 17, 2006

35mm f2 AIS would get my vote .

cdholden · Jul 17, 2006

Without knowing your subject and style of shooting, it's hard to answer. Do you shoot landscapes, dangerous/harmless wildlife, street, portraits, macro? Different tasks require different tools.
Chris

PhotoJim · Jul 17, 2006

If you mean 35mm as in a 35mm lens, the 35/2 is one of the best Nikkors available. The AF version is very affordable if you plan to use autofocus bodies down the road, and it works well on manual Nikons. Any multicoated (original AI or newer) 35/2 will be good, as are AI-converted Nikkor-OC 35/2s. (the Nikkor-O lenses are single coated)

If you have lots of $, an AI-S 35/1.4 is a great lens. It's a little big but it's very fast, great for handheld reportage.

The f/2.8 is very affordable and excellent optically.

If you mean 35mm film format, then I agree with cdholden - what do you want to shoot?

Mike Kennedy · Jul 17, 2006

I have no stye of photography. I doccument my surroundings. The beauty and the raw side. Each frame is taken without imposition. Simple as that.

Mike

uraniumnitrate · Jul 17, 2006

I have a 20 and I'm very satisfied! Do the job for me as I use the thing on the street! I can't say that I wish one more! Than I need a bag to carry the thing! A micro would be good somethimes! But....!

narsuitus · Jul 17, 2006

I have the 35mm f/1.4 and the 35mm f/2. Both are great lenses and either will work for documenting your surroundings.

If you are shooting in dim lighting situations, the more expensive f/1.4 is a better selection. The f/1.4 is only available in manual focus. The f/2 is available in auto focus or manual focus.

Daniel_OB · Jul 17, 2006

I do not know are you after manual focusing only?

Anyway
1.4/85 AF is optically one the the best lens (if not the best) Nikon ever produced. The best for portraits of male and female, studio and enviro...
2.8/55 micro is with floating element and is very good for my standard in art photography.
2.5/105 manual excelent for portrait at F2.5 to F4 and also for street photography of "high" quality.

However good lens for Peter do not means good lens for Mike, and for those above I never saw any "bad" comment.

HerrBremerhaven · Jul 17, 2006

The 35mm f2.8 shift lens is an interesting choice. Quite a nice lens when used unshifted, though the pre-set aperture is a little tough to use. Some versions have trouble mounting on some Nikon bodies, though if you have a body with the AI lock-up tab, you can safely mount any vintage of this shift lens.

Given a choice of a very versatile walk-around 35mm, I would go for one of the 35mm f1.4 lenses, either an AI or AIS. Not as light as some other slower 35mm lenses, but quite good results. A lens hood is recommended for this one, though a good idea on most Nikon lenses.

Ciao!

Gordon

copake_ham · Jul 17, 2006

I neglected the 35mm years ago - opting for a 28 to accompany my 50 and 105 (boy, I still would like to get an 85 - as would everyone else it seems given how the price stays so high!).

What I'd like now is the 35 to go with the higher focal lengths and drop down to a 24.

I recently went and tried Nikon (and Bessa replica) RF and a 35/24 combo is very nice on the "low normal" to wide side.

Happy hunting for that 35!

Uncle Bill · Jul 17, 2006

I have a pre AI gear but I have 35 Nikkor O f2, 50 f1.4, 50 f2, and a 105 f2.5 telephoto. I don't know much about the later lenses.

Bill

Bill Mitchell · Jul 17, 2006

Another recommendation for the 35mm PC. Incredible lens! I've used it for over 30 years, now with adapter for my EOS. Get the multicoated one, as the single coated has terrible flare.

willie_901 · Jul 18, 2006

Mike Kennedy said:
I have been slowly building up a stock of Nikon mount prime lenses. Any suggestions for a 35mm?

Mike

I like the Nikkor 35/2 AIS. You should be able to find a nice example for about half of the much admired Nikkor 35/1.4 AI-AIS.

The 35/2 does not flare (compared to the 24/2.8) and is reasonably compact.

35mm prime lens for Nikon

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