Nikon has just announced what is destined to become a classic environmental portrait lens for the Nikon Z mount: the Nikon NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.2 S. This beautiful high-end prime lens completes the holy trinity of f/1.2 primes, joining the Nikon 50mm f/1.2 S and the Nikon 85mm f/1.2 S.
The Nikon Z 35mm f/1.2 S is not only the third f/1.2 prime from Nikon, it’s also the third 35mm lens, following the 35mm f/1.8 S and 35mm f/1.4. What does the 35mm f/1.2 bring that the other 35mm lenses do not? Let’s see the basic specifications:
- Format: Full-frame
- Focal length: 35mm
- Maximum Aperture: f/1.2
- Minimum Aperture: f/16
- Lens Elements: 17 elements in 15 groups
- Blades: 11, rounded
- Minimum Focus Distance: 0.3m (0.99ft) / 0.2x magnification
- Filter Size: 82mm
- Length: 150mm (5.9in)
- Weight: 1.06kg (2lb, 5.39oz)
Of course, you get the amazing light-gathering ability of a f/1.2 lens. But beyond that, the 35mm f/1.2 S has been fine-tuned for its rendering. It has 17 elements in 15 groups and 11 rounded aperture blades (its f/1.4 and f/1.8 counterparts have 9). It’s also got the Meso Amorphous Coat, Nano Crystal Coat and ARNEO Coat to handle a variety of intense lighting situations, so it should perform very well in situations where you want to shoot into lighting sources to get dramatic portraits.
It’s also highly corrected, with four ED elements (the f/1.8 S has two) including one aspherical element. You may also remember that we already tested the 50mm f/1.2 S and 85mm f/1.2 S in the lab at Photography life, and if the 35mm f/1.2 S follows suit, it should be very sharp. I’m already loving the rendering just looking at some of Nikon’s sample images!
Here is a crop taken from the full-size image above:
Not bad for f/1.2, right? The Nikon 35mm f/1.2 S also has got some crucial features for video, such as a clickless control ring and silent focusing. Nikon also claims that focus breathing has been minimized, which means your field of view should change very little when shifting between two focus planes. The lens has two lens buttons and is extensively weather-sealed.
Of course, the amazing build, performance, and light-gathering ability will come at a cost. It has an expected MSRP of $2,799.95 and a weight of 1.06kg (2lbs, 5.39oz). But for those who crave the delicious bokeh of this ethereal beauty, it may just be worth the price!
If you’re interested in this lens, you can support Photography Life by pre-ordering it with the following link at B&H:
Here is the full press-release:
MELVILLE, NY (February 4, 2025) – Today, Nikon Inc. announced the highly anticipated release of the NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.2 S, a medium wide-angle prime lens with an impressively fast f/1.2 maximum aperture for professional photographers and filmmakers.
The NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.2 S is Nikon’s latest S-Line lens, a series synonymous with outstanding optical performance and handling. The lens emphasizes the main subjects with soft and beautiful bokeh, a dramatic shallow depth-of-field, and the realistic expression of textures. This classic wide-angle prime lens allows for a creative use of the environment to tell a deeper story that meaningfully connects with the viewer.
“Our latest f/1.2 lens truly demonstrates the power of Nikon’s optical expertise, creating a lens that helps the user to portray more of the environment within a single, beautiful frame,” said Fumiko Kawabata, Sr. Vice President of Marketing and Planning, Nikon Inc. “The NIKKOR Z line of lenses continues to expand as we now offer more than 40 impressive optical solutions for Nikon Z Series users.”
The optical characteristics of the NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.2 S are finely tuned to create the perfect combination of sharpness and atmosphere. Soft, delicate organic textures, such as skin and hair, are rendered with a natural authenticity, while reflective objects like jewelry are sharp and free of distracting color aberrations. The NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.2 S is a must-have lens for those shooting events, weddings, fashion, as well as for cinematography.
Sharing a similar design concept to the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S and the NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S, the new lens offers superior rendering capabilities as well as depiction of the scene with a sense of depth, even with its wide angle of view. The optical design includes three ED glass elements and one aspherical ED element, enabling effective reduction of false color aberrations. In addition, the application of Nikon’s proprietary Meso Amorphous Coat, Nano Crystal Coat, and ARNEO Coat minimize ghosting and flare and provide outstanding optical performance.
Primary Features of the NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.2 S
- Enables unique imaging styles through the combination of high resolving power achieved by superior optical performance, smooth and beautiful bokeh that takes full advantage of the shallow depth-of-field at f/1.2, and 35mm angle of view.
- Achieves a sense of depth with smooth bokeh that transitions gently as it moves away from the focal plane.
- A lens structure with symmetry in front of and behind the aperture realizes outstanding optical performance.
- Three ED glass elements and one aspherical ED glass elements enable effective correction of various lens aberrations.
- Adoption of Meso Amorphous Coat, Nano Crystal Coat and ARNEO Coat effectively reduces ghosting and flares for clear rendering even in tough lighting conditions.
- Adoption of a multi-focusing system1 that uses stepping motors (STMs) realizes fast and accurate AF drive for both still images and video.
- Features a design optimized for video, including a clickless control ring, silent focusing and stable exposure, and suppressed focus breathing to effectively reduces shifts to the angle of view when focusing.
- Two convenient L-Fn buttons, to which a wide variety of functions can be assigned, enable smooth adjustment of settings, even during vertical shooting.
- Superior dust and drip-resistant performance2 is ensured by sealing various parts of the lens, including movable parts of the lens barrel.
Price and Availability
The new Nikon NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.2 S lens will be available in late February 2025 for a suggested retail price of $2,799.95*. For more information about the latest Nikon products, including the vast collection of NIKKOR Z lenses and the entire line of Z series cameras, please visit nikonusa.com.Notes:
Specifications, equipment, and release dates are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer.
*1 Multiple AF drive units work together to control the position of multiple focus lens groups with great precision for superior image formation performance regardless of shooting distance.
*2 Thorough dust and drip resistance is not guaranteed in all situations or under all conditions.
*SRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.
I would say that everything about this announcement falls in line with expectation. A big expensive piece of perfection.
I’m currently not able to buy this, but if a surprise 105 f/1.4 isn’t released by the time I have the funds, this will be my next lens!
Dear Nikon can we have some more Pancakes please?
Let’s see…26mm f/2.8. I would go out on a limb and say Nikon is, in a way, testing the market of such pancake lens. If Thom Hogan’s info is correct, there’s a 24mm f/2.8 and a 22mm f/2.8 in the same patent. As it is, The 26mm f/2.8 is a bit expensive for what it does, to me, when I already have the reasonably light and small kit 24-70 f/4 S.
That being said I would rather welcome some compact primes of not-quite-conventional FL like 43mm. Chinese manufacturers i.e. Viltrox, Venus Optics Laowa et al. would likely get there first and quite well too, though.
Let see what future brings us. The next upcoming high quality 35mm f1.2-ish lens will probably be the Viltrox concerning their recent history it coul be priced around 900€ / USD. Their recent products like the 135mm f1.8 / 16mm f1.8 , 75mm f1.2 (DX) are really fantastic optics. The last difference is probably in the coatings, Nikkor/Sony/Sigma/Canon siblings perform a bit better in contrajour situations. I am very happy with the 16mm f1.8 for landscape and astro, not for IR but there the cheapo compact 20mm Viltrox shines.
I can’t wait to test this lens! As soon as the first samples arrive, I should be able to get a quick hands-on experience. I’m already thinking about which exciting event I’ll take it to.
It will be awesome to see your results!
Now the Z 35mm f/1.4 makes more sense. This lens follows the philosophy of the other f/1.2 Z lenses : optical performance above weight. The other Z f/1.2 ‘s have less vignetting compared to similar choices of other brands. As an owner of very heavy Sigma lenses I don’t care for the weight as long as the optics give me something special. But as a carry around lens I would prefer the Z 35mm f/1.4-f/1/8.
I thought the idea of mirrorless, was to maintain the quality, while reducing size and weight. This lens looks a monster.
I believe Nikon once agreed with you.
Remember Nikon 1, and how did that work out in the end? Might as well compromise less second time around.
It’s not as if it is a 35mm Plena with close to zero optical vignetting…boy, now *that* would have been one big lens.
In the early days, that was the norm, but at this point if you’re still waiting for small and light Nikon f/1.2 Z glass, you might be looking for the wrong brand, better look at Sigma :P
That was never the claim of Nikon, even when the Z6 and Z7 were released. Even back then they emphasized optical quality more than size and weight.
I seem to remember camera manufacturers other than Nikon claiming that a mirrorless design enables the design of interchangeable lens cameras systems having smaller size and lower weight, which was true.
However, Nikon (astutely, I think) designed the Z‑mount system primarily to enable the design of higher performance cameras and lenses, which they have achieved.
Jason wrote: “[reducing size and weight] was never the claim of Nikon, even when the Z6 and Z7 were released.”
Indeed, here’s a link to the announcement:
Nikon introduces the new Nikon Z mount system, and releases two full-frame mirrorless cameras: the Nikon Z 7 and Nikon Z 6.
Nikon News, August 23, 2018.
www.nikon.com/compa…ss_01.html
QUOTE
The letter “Z” represents the culmination of Nikon’s relentless pursuit of ultimate optical performance, and a bridge to a new chapter. It is about redefining possibilities to provide image-makers with tools to realize greater creativity.
Right. It was mostly about “better”, not “smaller”. Though it is nice that they managed to make some lenses better, smaller, and lighter than their predecessors, all at the same time (e.g. 14-24/2.8, 24-70/2.8).
I mean, a Z6III + 35/1.4 is definitely higher quality and smaller than a D750 + 35/1.4G all while being cheaper too! This lens on the other hand, actually looks to push quality to the limit while ignore other constraints.
Yeah looks like a weighty monster… reducing size quit being ‘the idea’ a while back now relegated to just ‘an option’… barely.
I want Nikon to make a better line of f/2 lenses that primarily are for lightness and cheapness similar to the 40 f/2 but maybe in the regular 28, 35, 40, 55, 60? idk whatever makes sense.
I have both the Z 40mmf/2 lens and the kilo Sigma Art 40mmf/1.4 lens..
The Nikon needs F/5.6 (its best) to be as sharp as the Sigma is at f/1,.4…
What you want seems to be not that easy or at least not that cheap.
However he Nikon lens is good enough for many uses.
This Z 35mm1.2 lens is the most complicated of the f/1.2 serie and if the m
MTF is correct a fine achievement.
yeah, you’re right, my copy of the 40 is weak… that or I got too used to the 50 1.8s
Nikon did that with 14-24/2.8s, 24-70/2.8s. They are smaller and actually quite a bit better than the F mount counterpart.
However, 35/1.2s is a different beast. It is faster and much much sharper, better corrected than 35/1.4G while does not give up anything in term of rendering.
Nikon 35/1.4 Z is sharper while one may argue that rendering on 35/1.4g is better but 35/1.4Z is also a lot cheaper, a little smaller and 33% lighter. That’s the mirrorless promise.
No, no, no, that claim was an illusion. I not sure who erected the smoke and mirrors 😇 but it wasn’t Nikon.
If the smaller, lighter idea ever had any future, we would have lots and lots of specialised DX lenses, wouldn’t we? Yeah right!
The digital camera manufacturers real goal is to provide something mobile phones cannot. So the focus 😀 is on ways to improve image quality. That means that the opportunity to change mount meant wider diameter for the mount and lenses with edge to edge quality especially at shorter focal lengths.
The heavy lens 1.2 range has a special purpose. It is targeted at professionals and a few cashed up enthusiast collectors of “the best”.
The 35 will sell well to both groups. Everyone else is irrelevant, we can only dream of owning something like the 35 F 1.2 S.
I felt a bit like you do about this lens about the Plena. It’s heavy, large and expensive. Then a relative lent me hers for a day. I immediately realised why Nikon had made such a superb optic. I want one. All my lenses are sensible economic choices. I need at least one fabulously expensive beautiful lens in my collection, but after the Z9 outlay a couple of years ago, I haven’t been able to stretch the budget quite so far again.
It’s too expensive and too hard.
Sigma 35mm f1.2 dn art + adapter will cost me about twice as much.
It’s a good thing we have options!
Oh and also the official page seemed to suggest 4 ED and 4 aspherical elements, one of both is an aspherical ED element.
It also looked like it would be sharpest slightly off-center on the MTF chart – where it matters! Reviews with exact MTF50 numbers are going to be interesting.
Good catch! I meant 3 ED an one aspherical ED! Corrected!
Felt a sense of deja vu with the bokeh of some of the official samples; Sure enough, the trusty 50mm f/1.8 S could maybe produce something very similar with a 4-shot Brenizer method panorama.
But yes, that kind of thing required more post processing, and is not really good for anything that moves at all.
The new lens is looking good.
Now we’re just missing a 24mm f1.2. :-D
14mm f/1.2!
28 f/1.2 !!