Nikon unveils AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G ***Official Thread***

See this lens is on the Nikon site with a RRP of

RRP: £199.99 / ROI €243.00
Sales start date: 6th March 2009
 
Would there be any real point in an owner of a 17-55 to pick up a lens such as this? I do love this lens but it can be a tad heavy if I'm wondering about for a while!
 
.... and there you have a reason to get a nice prime lens!
 
$200 ----- £200 DOH that is not good! Wonder what it will actually appear at in the shops ?
 
Maybe £179?

Seems quite a nice lens - I'm still tempted but not pre-ordered this one yet, although the idea of putting a tiny AF-S prime on my little D40 is drool worthy :)
 
Great, I think I can possibly treat myself... possibly.... must resist.... I was saving up to see if I can get a D2x to replace my D200 + grip...... must resist.....
 
Whats the best price anyone has found here?

I got my Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-G for £240 when it came out, not seeing any good prices on the 35 - seems to be RRP everywhere?
 
Probably because Nikon have struggled to keep it at £199 in light of the recent rises.

You may well have to just pay RRP.
 
Would this or the 50mm be better for street? (i dont like using a telephoto for street)

I'm not a street photographer, but the advantage of a wide lens is that it's easier to get sharp handhelds [based on the old 1/focal length rule, it's 'roughly' a stop better than the nifty fifty] and you can hold it at waist height for candids; with a better angle of view and using hyperfocal distance to focus.

I can actually see Nikon's point in this; there are probably an awful lot of folks who'd look harder at a D40 now there's a fast prime for it. As a gateway to body sales at the lower end of Nikon's range, it's a great marketing move.

There's still room to compete - the obvious candidates for update are the 24-120, the 80-400, the 85mm's and the nifty itself. The 300/4 doesn't need VR really, but it'd look better on paper. And of course, there's the f/4 Canon L line, which remain a major draw to Canon users, and the lack of a decent 'budget' FX wide lens to compete with the 24-105 kit lens on the 5D.
 
I'd prefer it to be full frame, but there is already the 35/2 AF-D which works fine.

I don't find the 35/2 suitable for my D40 as its not a lens designed for manual focus (too switchy on the MF ring)
 
I'm surprised that people are surprised by the introduction of this, it seems like a no brainer to me.

The D40/D60 uptake appears to be rather massive and there is a significant glut of reasonably priced auto-focusing lens for all those entry-level owners, Sigma are probably enjoying the fruits of that market more so than Nikon at the moment. Probably a perfect focal length on DX for a nice fast prime, loads of D40 owners I know have the 50mm 1.8 but ideally would like something with AF.
 
I gotta agree with this ^^^. Even though I'm on FF, and would kill for an 85mm F/1.8 AF-S, this move does seem reasonable considering the massive sales of the lower end DX bodies.
 
If this lens is DX only what similar alternatives are FF? Mrs Cowasaki was going to get me this for my birthday but if it isn't going to work with the D700/700x/800 I would prefer something that would.

Any ideas?
 
I know the 50 would work but I was hoping to have something a bit wider but still fast as well.
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L?
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L?

If you want to go wide and fast, you perhaps shouldn't have bought a Nikon. ;)
 
Alright, who's buying one tomorrow then? I'm out now, would have bought one if it had been FF compatible. Now looking around for something else :)
 
There were some images posted on Fred Miranda, only a touch of vignetting on full frame LINK
 
I got one today, I've not much experience in these things but I love it.

Having not had a low F lens before I'm shocked at how careful you have to be to get the right bit in focus, it's very easy for most of the target to be OOF.

Otherwise the IQ seems excellent indeed, took some shots of primroses earlier and they were lovely :)
 
Here's a quick sample pic, taken as a JPG and straight out of the camera with no processing:

DSC_0016.jpg


100% crop

CopyofDSC_0016.jpg
 
Can't find one of these in stock. York has sold out.
 
Mine arrived today :woot: :woot: :woot:

I've only taken quick shots of craft items for a crafty blog and so far so good, FABBY!!!

HTH
 
So what are the best prices that people have paid then?
 
The prices I saw were around the £199.99 or more!!

I paid £199.99 plus postage [another £6.00] for next day courier delivery - well packaged.

I was never quick enough for the nifty fifty in the marketplace and the price of them brand new - well not a whole lot dearer than 2nd hand I thought. I couldn't risk not buying it at that price whilst there was a new delivery! :D

HTH

PS "Park Cameras" where I got mine from!
 
So has anyone else bought one of these?

Any reviews from users??

:)
 
I bought one, and the short answer is: it's great.

The long answer is: excellent colour, contrast, and very sharp, even wide open. Auto-focus is fast. AF-S with M/A mode is big improvement over the D series. I personally never use a distance scale, so I don't miss it. The only issue with this lens, as far as I can see, is the chromatic aberration, with spherochromatism wide open (fairly common in fast primes) and lateral chromatic aberration (easily fixed in cameras equipped with CA Correction, or in raw converters).
 
Excellent, Im seriously considering this to add to my 18-55 and 55 - 200 kit lenses, i just fancy something faster and a different type of lens to learn new techniques etc etc...

however you lost me at chromatic aberration and im not even sure i can pronounce spherochromatism lol! I will google these terms when I get back from work.

It will be for use with my D60, mostly taking pics of the kids and portrait type stuff, but also a bit of everything :D

Cheers!
 
Chromatic Aberration (CA) is where the different wavelengths of light are refracted at different amounts by your lens.

Longitudinal CA causes focusing of some wavelengths in front or behind the sensor, whereas lateral CA causes some wavelengths to focus towards or away from the centre of the sensor.

Lateral CA is quite easy to fix. My D300 will automatically fix it in JPEG mode, as will CaptureNX. Adobe Camera Raw has manual sliders for this. I don't know about the D60.

Longitudinal CA is harder to fix, with high contrast edges producing magenta or green blooms (behind or in front of the focal plane). This can be reduced with highlight edge suppression, or just stopping down the aperture a bit. I can't say it's really bothered me yet, and it's mostly difficult to see in out-of-focus areas.
 
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