Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 lens review with samples

An interesting new lens from Nikon, at a surprisingly lower price than their Z 35mm f/1.8 S model! I signal that there are probably optical compromises - let's see what's on offer.

Find it here (Amazon affiliate link - thanks for the support!):

All pictures taken by me on a Nikon Z7 camera.

Equipment I use to make my videos (Amazon affiliate links):

Music:
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[psher]

Excellent review - as always! I've had this lens for a couple of weeks now and I must say I'm delighted. It's full of character and renders colour superbly!

[AlexSinclair]

Always love your content! Cannot tell you the amount of videos I've watched for camera systems I don't even own.

[francisgarofalo]

Thank you Mr Frost for another wonderful video.

[nsb]

From an economic point of view, making cheaper 1.4 lenses - I guess there are more to come - is a brilliant move by Nikon. If they made 1.4 S lenses, fewer people would buy the more expensive 1.2 S lenses. If they made 1.8 non S lenses, fewer people would buy the S version. The non S 1.4 lenses however will cost more or less the same as the 1.8S. Nikon doesn't care which one they sell and the customer is still happy to have different options. Well done.

[harukinzaphod]

I bought this lens and I am quite happy with it. I prefer the slightly wider focal length compared to the 40mm f/2 and the lens performance is interesting. It behaves more like a lens designed 20 years ago and has some character. It is certainly not a clinical lens but it does have character that can be exploited.

[victorlim]

Really nice sample images, Chris. Thanks for the review.

[ValtersPelns]

In Latvia both 35mm's costs the same (~700 euros), I went for 35 1.4, its great lens, but do need to keep in mind soft corners and focus could be more precise on moving subjects, I am using Z8 . Much better sharpness, bokeh then 40mm f2. Side by side comparison with sigma art 35 would be interesting, Sigma probably will be sharper, but bokeh will be smoother on Nikon, maybe. :)

[RealRaynedance]

Aside from the distortion it's kind of nice to see something from a first party that's in line with a third-party lens both performance and price-wise.

[prometheuslg]

I have spent the last few weeks with the 35mm 1.4Z and the Sigma Art 35mm 1.4 f mount. The sigma is still sharper. The nikon will get even around f3.2 and probably peaks at f5.6. Corner sharpness is better for the sigma, if it matters to your work. The field of view is very slightly wider on the sigma, but it feels like an in-lens correction on the nikon side to correct the distortion. The sigma has slightly more contrast as well and has a cooler colour rendition. The purple fringing is there indeed in the nikon, but a slider move in LR corrects it. I guess we will soon have a lens correction profile. I personally find the bokeh quite pleasing on the nikon side. I guess it's a question of preference. The biggest benefit of the z lens is the weight. If you add up the sigma, its lens hood and the ftz adapter, it reaches 835g. The nikon is half the weight. For contextual portaits and street photography I think it is an interesting lens option with a different character. If you need a better corner sharpness it might not be the best tool. But the overall experience is pretty satisfying. I ended up selling the Art lens. The weight was starting to take the joy out of the experience.I had no joy in trading it but the reality is that my 50 1.8s and the 105 2.8 s macro are doing the precision job for me. Sometimes you have to make some choices. But Sigma is missing on a lot of business by not getting into the full frame z line up.

[xophaser]

this is nikon old school F-mount type lens, soft on the edge. This is really for porttrait. I own the tamron 35 f1.4, it is big and heavy plus the ftz adaptor. A lot of the photographers are going soft 80s portrait style again. The reflection or glow looks artsy. I even bought a uv filter and tried to smear grease, didn't work too well. But somebody I talked to did it perfectly.

[LockeLeon]

This might be the perfect lens for an eventual Z5 II

[MichaelSeneschal]

Been waiting for specifically your review on this lens since it was announced. Thanks!
I have the 40mm f2 and am considering trading it in for this lens to gain an extra stop of light, and to gain sharpness while shooting at f2.

[spaktc]

Nice review! I think this might make really nice portrait lens, it would have been nice to see some portraits in the video. The type of rendering should suit portraits good.

[selkiemaine]

Thank you. I'd say that, in the real world, this will do 99% of the time.

[tbrown]

Helpful video…..I certainly won’t be adding it to my wish list!

[BusyZyoung]

All I need to know about this lens is here, great review!

[rahult]

Thanks for this review chris, please do review on fuji 8-16 f2.8 as well that's the only lens remaining. please

[TorToroPorco]

Definitely an interesting release by Nikon. It can double as a high speed “normal” lens for the APS-C bodies and at a lower price point than the 35/1.8s . Judging from other reviews it seems to have nicer boke at the equivalent wider apertures. If I didn’t already have the 1.8 lens I would choose this one instead.

[JanKats]

Thank you Chris for this review of the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4. When will you test 'the living daylights out of' the new Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4?

[stefan_becker]

I'm a little underwhelmed with the 35mm and 50mm f1.4 lenses and wish they were even a little better than the f1.8 lenses. And yes, I would be willing to pay a little more for it.