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Home → Reviews → Cameras and Lenses → Nikon Z 35mm f/1.2 S Review

Nikon Z 35mm f/1.2 S Review

By Libor Vaicenbacher 25 Comments
Last Updated On June 18, 2025

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25 Comments
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Ircut
Ircut
July 6, 2025 11:55 am

I bought the 35mm f/1.2 to avoid the tariffs since I’d been thinking about getting something in the range for awhile, and I have to say, if you can put up with its size and expense, it is damn near the perfect environmental portrait lens.

I’ve taken it on a few family outings and it never came off the camera. I’m usually a zoom fiend, but this lens is incredible. And it’s so sharp that on a 45 megapixel camera I can crop heavily and not feel like I’m losing significant quality.

Absolutely incredible lens.

I guess my two lens kit for portraiture is the 35mm f/1.2 and the Plena. Two lenses that elevate whatever they point at.

2
Reply
polizonte
polizonte
June 30, 2025 8:11 am

Great review, images and choice of venue for a photo shoot! I wish I had access to such a lens but it is beyond my mean$. We visited Praha in 2017, with a group to make for a more affordable trip.. Beautiful city, so radically different from all the other European cities we visited during that summer trip. Due to luggage constraints, imposed by the group we traveled with, my Nikon stayed home, allowing me to carry a point & shoot. The photos still preserve our memories.

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Pete A
Pete A
June 23, 2025 5:37 am

Have you ever wondered what a 10 000 mm 𝑓/1.2 would be like?

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/…bservatory

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Lance B
Lance B
June 20, 2025 6:05 pm

Another excellent review, Libor and marries up perfectly with my thoughts on the lens. I’ve had mine for almost 2 months and love it. I also have the 50 f1.2, 85 f1.2 and Plena but this lens is the best of the lot as it can be used for anything, where the others are a little more specialized, except maybe the 50 f1.2. The Verdict states that it is flawless, although I would say that no lens is really flawless, but this lens is as close to being flawless as I have ever seen a lens.

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kingone
kingone
June 20, 2025 2:07 am

Still looks pretty good

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Kurtz
Kurtz
June 19, 2025 3:03 pm

I just got word from my dealer that my 35 got in today. That dealer is truly bleading me dry.

1
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Martin
Martin
June 18, 2025 9:12 pm

Z 35mm f/1.2 S is really my lens! Before I had Z 50mm f/1.2 S which was truly a lens that I highly appreciate. And before that I had Z 35mm f/1.8 S.

For a long time I have longed for a lens with the optical qualities of 50mm f/1.2 S but with focal length 35mm. In my opinion the optical quality is even better with 35mm f/1.2 than 50mm f/1.2.

I was in Budapest and street photography a month ago with 35mm f/1.2, see:
martinbengtsson.com/sw/on…sWHMTDkK4g

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Bryan
Bryan
Reply to  Martin
June 27, 2025 9:03 am

Martin I love your style and photography…I think the 35mm 1.2 is perfect for what you do. Thanks for sharing, lovely photos!

1
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Jeff
Jeff
June 18, 2025 2:21 pm

Coma?

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Bg5931
Bg5931
Reply to  Jeff
June 18, 2025 2:49 pm

Covered on page 2.

0
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Jeff
Jeff
Reply to  Bg5931
June 18, 2025 8:16 pm

Right! And it does eell.

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Pete A
Pete A
Reply to  Jeff
June 18, 2025 4:19 pm

Just a heavy sleeper.

6
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Michael Newsom
Michael Newsom
June 18, 2025 10:05 am

The production of huge optically near perfect lenses makes me nostalgic for my Olympus 35mm film camera and its smaller and optically adequate lenses.

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Spencer Cox
Spencer Cox
Admin
Reply to  Michael Newsom
June 18, 2025 12:42 pm

That’s where the Z 40mm f/2 comes in :)

10
Reply
Pieter Kers
Pieter Kers
Reply to  Spencer Cox
June 19, 2025 5:27 am

I Agree! , not the sharpest wide open, but no color problems and at f/5.6 it renders very sharp with a beautiful 3D expression.

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David
David
June 18, 2025 7:40 am

Nikon will hate you ^^ Anyways, thanks for the review i was awaited the most ! I have the Tamron 35mm 1.4 & the Z 35mm 1.4, there’s a gap between them two in term of bokeh rendering and sharpness wide open (stopped down it’s may in favor of the nikkor).
So the comparison between the 3 lenses is very usefull & convince me to pass on that lens and conserve the Tamron : weight & price issue for similar result expected.
May we will see other differences in night time photography but i doubt.. So Sad that tamron did not produce in the dslr time a 85mm 1.4 as same as their 35mm ^^.

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Dmitry
Dmitry
Reply to  David
June 18, 2025 11:21 pm

I have the opposite situation, and it’s quite interesting. After I purchased the Z35 f/1.4 lens, I decided to sell my Tamron 35 f/1.4. This was not an easy decision, as Tamron is generally optically superior to many competitors, including the Z35 f/1.4. However, despite its optical advantages, Tamron has its drawbacks, such as onion the rings.
Besides, when I thought about weight, it became a crucial factor. The Tamron, combined with the adapter, weighs more than twice as much as the Z35, and this significantly affects user-friendliness. I’ve always aspired to lightness and mobility, especially when I go outside with a camera. Considering that the total weight with Tamron is about 2 kilograms, I began to notice that I take it with me less often. This has become a real obstacle to spontaneous photo shoots and travel, where every gram counts.
Despite all my love for Tamron, its weight and bulkiness forced me to look for lighter and more convenient alternatives. And so, when I tried the Z35 f/1.4, I realized that this is exactly what I need. This lens is not only lighter, but also provides excellent image quality, making it an ideal choice for everyday photography.
Also, if I need maximum sharpness and smooth sideways movement, then I have the Z50 f/1.8S for that. This lens also has its characteristic onion rings, but its lightness and compactness make it a great addition to my arsenal. With the Z50, I can easily work in a variety of conditions without feeling tired from the equipment. It allows me to experiment with depth of field and create really impressive images that are pleasing to the eye.
I have learned to appreciate not only the quality of optics, but also the comfort of use.

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David
David
Reply to  Dmitry
June 19, 2025 2:09 am

I’m agree with you about the weight/comfort of use about the Nikkor Z35mm1.4 : it’s a joy to use ! What is a dilemma is about the bokeh in the nikon Z 35mm 1.4 : it is rendering really nice in the center & middle portion of the photo, but all the corner are really odd…. I’m surprised you talk about onion rings in the bokeh of Tamron 35mm 1.4, i’m agree that the tamron 35mm1.8 have strong one, but the Tamron 1.4 no, and it give really smooth bokeh transition and it is still the best 35mm option in F mount, i had the sigma 35 art, the nikkor 1.4g, the heavy beauty sigma 40mm 1.4 (but too big finally ; in weight & volume), and even the Samyang 35mm 1.4 (beautiful rendering but manual focus).
One thing to notice also, i found the Af quicker on the tamron even with the FTZ adpater.
It would be really interesting to compare the both anyway.

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Dmitry
Dmitry
Reply to  David
June 19, 2025 9:48 am

The Tamron 35 f/1.4 has an onion ring effect. It’s weak, but it’s there. I’m not too bothered by it, but I’m a “specialist” in finding them. Most people don’t notice them until you point them out. The Tamron’s bokeh is the best among all lenses with a focal length of 35 mm and a maximum aperture of f/1.4.
But the weight! 2 kilograms for a fixed-lens kit. I bought the lightweight Z40 f/2 and Viltrax 40 f/2.5 as an alternative, but I sold them along with the Tamron after purchasing the Z35 f/1.4.
The Z35 f/1.4 has issues with bokeh due to the curvature of its field of view, resulting in low sharpness measurements when testing at the edge of the frame. However, in reality, if objects are within the ГРИП, there is no significant loss of sharpness.
However, in the scenarios where I use it, it only interferes with about one in ten shots. The remaining nine are good or even excellent. Most importantly, it has a 3D pattern.
But statistics are stubborn. When I go outside for a walk or visit a place, I rarely take a set of Tamron 35 f/1.4 and Z7. Yes, this lens is close to the resolution of the sensor and optically excellent for a 35mm lens. But the total number of frames is significantly lower than when I used the rather large and heavy Z28-400. And the saddest thing is that this hyperzoom, which is very compromising in terms of its optical characteristics, allows me to take many more excellent frames per unit of time.

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