Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX AF-S lens review

The Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX Nikkor has to be one of the best value lenses available from any manufacturer and deserves a place in any Nikon use’s camera bag.

Designed to be used on DX (APS-C) format digital SLRs it provides an equivalent to the traditional 50mm f/1.8 standard lens on full-frame or 35mm format as with the 1.5X crop factor it is a 52.5mm f/1.8.

With a built in AF-S focussing motor, the lens can be used on all Nikon DX format DSLRs’ and provides fast and accurate focussing.

Great for low light work - D7000 + 35mmf/1.8G DX

The fast f/1.8 aperture allows for at least 2 full stops faster shutter speed than the kit 18-55/18-105mm etc lenses so allows you to either use a faster shutter speed or lower ISO setting compared to the kit lens.

Close up depth of field reduced even further at f/1.8

F/1.8 also allows you to create a limited sharp area in your photographs with the foreground and background softening gently – this really emphasises your subject and is particularly appropriate for portraits and flowers.

Talking of flowers, the lens focuses right down to 0.3 metres so although not a macro lens you will get a good size image of a rose head for instance.

Lovely de-focussed background used at f/1.8

Used in FX mode on a D800

Lovely background and excellent flare performance

Performance is excellent wide-open and improves further stopped down to f/2 and again slightly at f/2.8 – there is no sharpness gain after that so only stop down beyond f/2.8 if you need the extra depth of field.

Nice close-up results used on FX too

The lens is made of polycarbonate but with a metal lens mount and is supplied complete with front and rear caps, HB-46 lens hood and CL-0913 lens pouch.

Length from the lens flange is just 52.5mm, diameter 70mm, weight just 205g and filter size is 52mm.

So, for under £150 we have a high performance fast aperture standard lens for DX format.

But, you said for ANY Nikon owners bag – and yes, the lens will work on FX format SLRs too. If you leave your FX format camera to ‘auto DX crop’ then when you mount the lens the camera will reduce the image size and you will get the same effect as using a DX camera.

Set Auto-DX Crop to off however, and you now have a high performance  35mm f/1.8 lens for your FX SLR for under £150!

Used in FX mode on a Nikon D800 at f1.8

The 35mm f/1.8 DX image circle is sufficient to cover almost completely the full FX image size – yes there is darkening in the corners and this will become more pronounced as you stop the lens down or shoot subjects further away – but for short to medium distances, wide-open or nearly wide open this is an excellent choice for FX users too.

Please click here to visit the Parkcameras.com webpage for the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX lens.

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