Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras, 2183, Black

OK, just what is a "normal" lens?There are many definitions and points of view on this topic, and they go back years, but for argument's sake, let's just say that this Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens delivers a picture angle approximating the classic normal angle of view of a 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera or on Nikon FX-format DSLR or a 35mm film camera. That being said, this normal DX-format lens delivers surprisingly good results in a very affordable package.My very first Nikon SLR was a used Nikkormat FTn, bought when I was a college student. It came with a Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 lens, and I started immediately adding new Nikkor lenses, such as the classic 105mm f/2.5 lens, a 35mm f/2.0, a 24mm f/2.8 and others, but it took a couple of years for me to pick up a "normal" lens, a used Nikkor-S 50mm, f/1.4 lens. This was purchased at a Saturday yard sale, and from the first moment that I saw the results, I wondered why it had taken me so long. It was sharp when stopped down to about F/2.0, and it was perfect for lower light situations.I am a proponent of normal lenses, even though Nikon and others have been pushing the concept of using basic zooms as "kit lenses" for the last few years. I have no complaints about the overall versatility of my 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens, which came standard with one of my cameras. But this new 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor lens really shines when it comes to sharpness and low-light capabilities... enough so that it's the one that stays on my camera most of the time.Pros:* Extremely affordable Nikkor prime lens for Nikon AF-S cameras* Perfect for low-light conditions, travel, & general photography* Uses familiar 52mm filters that Nikon has used for so many lenses* HB-46 bayonet lens hood comes standard* Excellent edge-to-edge sharpness* Very good bokeh for selective focus* Great colorCons:* Some color fringing and chromatic aberration when wide open at f/1.8* A bit of barrel distortionFirst Impressions:Made some notes when I first received this lens some month back. It came boxed in typical Nikon fashion, and when opened one finds that the lens has a lightweight but solid feel. The construction is largely plastic, but has a metal mount. It's also nicely balanced to the rear, to the lens mount itself. The lens focuses internally by moving only the rear elements, and the filter mount and front elements don't move at all. It comes packaged with the following:* HB-46 Bayonet Lens Hood* LC-52 Snap-On Front Lens Cap* LF-1 Rear Lens Cap* CL-0913 Soft CaseIn Use:One of the first things that I noticed was just how well balanced this lens felt. It's lightweight, but with the bulk of its weight toward the lens mount, the feel was quite good. The focus switch on the lens barrel has two choices: M/A (manual/automatic) or M (manual). Found that if left in the M/A position it worked just fine either way. The HB-46 lens hood goes on easily in bayonet fashion, and can be reversed easily when it's time to put the camera away. Fortunately this lens uses the `standardized' Nikon s 52mm filters, helpful if you already have an investment in them. The filter ring is stationary; it doesn't rotate, and there was no vignetting problem with two filters stacked, such as the UV and a polarizer.The low-light performance of this lens is good, though at f/1.8 there is a bit of softness, which is to be expected. At f/2.0 there's not much difference, but at f/2.8 the image is obviously improved, with increased sharpness and contrast, and the details are more defined in the corners. At f/4.0 there is more sharpness, and at f/5.6, there is a slight lessening of contrast, but the corner details are slightly better. At f/8.0, the quality is still quite good, and the depth of field is excellent, but there's a decline into some diffraction, with a bit of lower contrast and somewhat reduced sharpness and contrast. Have learned that when shooting in aperture priority mode, it's best to leave it at a default between f/4 and f/5.6, and go from there.This Nikkor lens does produce beautiful colors and contrast, and it focuses extremely fast even under low light conditions. Its 7-blade rounded diaphragm helps to produces a nice bokeh effect. And the close focusing goes down to about twelve inches, so you can get very creative without having to fiddle around.Additional Thoughts:Just because this lens is so reasonably priced is no reason to put a cheap and possibly inferior filter on it. I fortunately have a small supply of the older Nikon 52mm L37C UV haze filters that have been in use for years, but the Nikon 52mm Screw-on NC Filter is its multi-coated replacement. It's a protective filter that also reduces glare for outdoor shooting. If you explore here, you'll find others, such as some from Hoya, Sigma and others. It's a subjective choice, but be sure to get a good one.If you're looking for a specialized portrait lens, forget this one. The 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor Lens lens has a field of view of a 75mm on DX-series bodies, and it has a fast maximum aperture. It's excellent in low lighting situations and great for producing images with beautiful bokeh. The 85mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor Lens is more costly, but when mounted on a DX-format DSLR, it has an effective field of view of 127mm.Summary:If you own a DX-format Nikon DSLR this lens is a great choice. It's compact, very lightweight, balances beautifully on your body, and is a true joy to use. It's an excellent complement to any zoom, and one that most will find being used in preference for general shooting, along with being a perfect choice for low-light situations. It doesn't take long to appreciate the way you can handle your camera in comparison with heavier, longer zooms. This Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX lens is quite affordable and a surprisingly good value, and is highly recommended as a 5-star choice.5/16/2012

I imagine for most people, this will be either the 2nd or 3rd lens they buy (counting the kit lens, if you got one). For me, this was my 3rd lens. The first were the kit 18-55mm Nikon VR lens and the 55-200mm telephoto Nikon non-VR lens. Both of those lenses are very good, and very versatile, but in terms of image quality they can't even remotely touch this one.First things first, it's a prime lens, meaning no zoom. Kind of obvious, but should at least be mentioned for those newer to the hobby. However, that doesn't mean that it can't take pictures from far away, on the contrary, it can take some stunning pictures from a distance, it will just be that you can't zoom in closer on things at a distance. It's actually very good at landscapes, especially late evening sunsets and night time skylines, for instance.Additionally, this lens is so sharp, that you can crop a LOT. Meaning that you can effectively get zoom after the fact by cropping your picture in photo editing software, and the image will still look very good, as long as you nailed your focus in the original picture (obviously the more you crop, the more you notice things being out of focus).Secondly, it doesn't have vibration reduction. However, this is a fast lens, which negates most of the need for VR in the first place. What photo nerds mean by a 'fast lens' that is that it lets in a lot of light, meaning that the shutter can open and close very quickly and still properly expose the image, meaning that blur, both from camera shake and moving subjects are DRASTICALLY minimized. It also thus better at 'freezing' moving objects, that would blur in a slower lens. The only time where VR would be a welcome addition is possibly extremely low light photography, but even then you should be fine without it. To be honest, I'm almost glad it's not on there, because I often forget to turn VR off when I don't need it, and VR does run your battery down faster.Now that those two caveats are out of the way, on to the strengths:This will enable photos that you just can't take with the kit lens. Especially if you're interested in concert photography (or any other form of photography that involves low light, but also movement). In most instances, this lens just takes better looking pictures than the kit lens. But in low light concert photography it will actually take pictures that a slower lens just can't take without extreme blur (or using the flash, which both kills the atmosphere and often times isn't allowed). For instance, a lead singer who moves his head back and forth some on a dimly lit stage. With the kit lens his head will just be a blur, which is sometimes a cool effect, but sometimes it just looks blurry. With this lens, you can get a nice crisp image if you want, or adjust your aperture, or your shutter speed and get the motion blur as well, if you want it. It's nice to have both options.The bokeh. Bokeh is a photography term that essentially just means 'blurry background'. This is what really makes portraits 'pop' as the subject's face can really be set apart from the background. It's also good when you have a busy background that would otherwise be distracting, even if you're not shooting portraits. Just go into aperture priority mode and set this baby to f1.8, get relatively close (a few feet) to your subject and fire away. Your portraits will take on that dreamy professional look. The closer you are to your subject, the more extreme the bokeh effect is (which is why this lens can effectively take landscape shots, because the effect is diminished greatly when you're shooting from a large distance).More control over your depth of field. This is basically the same strength as the previous point, but just more widely considered. With the kit lens, at any given focal length, your f/stop options are going to be pretty limited. Meaning you're basically stuck with the depth of field you have. However, with this lens, you basically always have from f1.8 to f22. This gives you extreme control over how deep your field is (essentially how large the range of 'in focus' is, and how gradually images fade from in focus to out of focus). You can create that nice blurred background we talked about above, or you can have an identifiable background as well. This is especially useful when shooting dogs, for instance, because sometimes (like when they're in profile) you want a very shallow depth of field, to give good bokeh and sharpness, while others you want a little more depth of field (like if they're looking straight forward at you and you want to keep the tip of their nose all the way to their ears in focus. Being able to control your depth of field is really the first step (of many) into going from a snapshot shooter with a nice camera to an actual photographer.Light weight, short length. doesn't seem like a big deal into you lug a heavy 15-300 zoom lens around on your neck all day long. It's also short, which is surprisingly helpful in a crowded environment, like a concert.While this lens is obviously not quite as versatile as a kit or telephoto lens, the images you get will blow you away. Yes, you will have to move around more to get the shot you want and/or crop more. But that's not much of a price to pay for drastically improved image quality. Since I've bought this lens, the 18-55 mm lens rarely comes out of the bag. I still use other lenses, but this is the default go to lens. The one that stays attached when the camera is in my bag, so that if I need to pull it out and snap off a shot in a hurry, this is the one that will be taking it.

It was late but arrived perfectly!! It takes such good photos I am so pleased with my purchase