![]() At only 200 grams (7 ounces) in weight, the lens makes a very light combination on Nikon's consumer dSLRs on a pro body, you wouldn't even know it was there. The lens mount is metal and the 52mm filter threads are plastic. The 35mm ƒ/1.8G DX is a small and light lens, made so by its use of a plastic shell and low number of elements (8 in 6 groups). To its credit, its minimum close-focusing distance is just under one foot. The lens isn't endowed with exceptional macro capabilities: its magnification rating is only 0.16x. Autofocus results can be overridden at any time by just turning the focus ring. Autofocus is fast, about one second to slew through infinity - close-focus - infinity, and is near silent. The 35mm ƒ/1.8G DX uses an AF-S focusing motor, making it compatible with all modern Nikon camera bodies. The distortion isn't complex, and can be easily corrected in image post-processing software. Specifically we note +0.5% distortion in the corners, and +0.25% throughout the image. Consequently it's no surprise that it produces some barrel distortion, and in this case, a bit more than expected. While the lens will inevitably be marketed as ''the standard lens for DX cameras,'' it's still a 35mm lens and effectively in the wide-angle category. At ƒ/1.8 the corners are 2/3EV darker than the center at ƒ/2.8 the corners are 1/3EV darker. The lens shows some light falloff when used at larger apertures (ƒ/1.8 - ƒ/2.8), but at ƒ/4 and smaller corner shading drops off almost completely. It's worth taking a look at the sample photos to see if the CA produced is overly objectionable to you. It's not extreme, just slightly more than we'd like, and it isn't confined to just the corners. Stopping down the lens increases the amount of CA anything above ƒ/4 produces about the same amount. Its best performance is found at ƒ/2 (only a hair's breadth better than ƒ/1.8) where we note very little CA in the corners or across the frame. The 35mm ƒ/1.8DX is optimized to reduce chromatic aberration, more so in the wider (and probably more popular) end of its aperture range. Fully stopped-down at ƒ/22, the lens shows results of around 3 blur units. ![]() At ƒ/16 we see results of just over 2 blur units across the frame. But for practical purposes things are about as sharp as they can realistically get at ƒ/2.8.ĭiffraction limiting sets in ƒ/8, but it isn't until the lens is stopped down to ƒ/16 that there's any real impact on image sharpness. Things get marginally better as you stop down further, reaching an optimal setting at ƒ/5.6. At ƒ/2.8 we see excellent results, under 1.5 blur units in the center and under 2 blur units in the corners. Image sharpness improves slightly at ƒ/2. With the lens set to its widest aperture of ƒ/1.8 overall image sharpness is quite respectable, with a sharp central region of 1.5 blur units, and slightly soft corners approaching 3 blur units. The lens comes standard with a round, bayonet-mounted HB-46 lens hood, and is available now for around $200.įor a $200 lens, the 35mm ƒ/1.8DX provides surprisingly good results.
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