My Recommendation
The Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 surprised me more than once. At first, it surprised me by simply existing – I didn’t expect that Nikon would announce a 35mm f/1.4 given their popular Z 35mm f/1.8 S, not to mention the rumored 35mm f/1.2 S on the roadmap. Then, I was surprised to see that it was a non-S lens costing less than the Z 35mm f/1.8 S. Finally, I was surprised that it performed this well! It’s not a perfect lens by any means, but it’s plenty sharp and doesn’t have any fatal flaws. Especially for the $600 price, this is a really good lens.
Here’s how I’d sum up the pros and cons of the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4.
Pros:
- Very small and light given the f/1.4 maximum aperture
- Weather sealed and no external moving parts
- Good sharpness, vignetting, and lateral chromatic aberration performance
- Excellent value at $600
Cons:
- Relatively slim design with no A-M switch
- Unusually high distortion for a 35mm prime
- Corner sharpness and coma performance is pretty weak at f/1.4 and f/2
- Lack of high-end coatings harms the flare performance and contrast in backlight
- Focus speed is slower than most Nikon Z lenses
I didn’t expect to be a fan of the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4, but I came away thinking that it’s an impressive lens. No, it’s not impressive in quite the same way as lenses like the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 Noct or other expensive, high-end glass. But in its balance of price, portability, and performance, it really shines. Recall that the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 is about one-third of the price of the Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.4G, yet it’s smaller, lighter, and sharper. That’s a very rare thing to see.
Of course, photographers who need the utmost image quality should still go with one of Nikon’s S-line primes, and the Z 35mm f/1.8 S is the obvious candidate. But frankly, for real-world images, the ability to shoot at f/1.4 often matters a lot more than the image quality differences between these lenses. For Nikon mirrorless photographers who want a strong, versatile 35mm prime lens, the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 will be my main recommendation going forward. What about the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S? It still gets my recommendation, but only for photographers with more specialized image quality needs.
Conclusion
The Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 is available for $599 through any of our affiliates:
- Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 at B&H – See Current Price and Sales
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- Used prices on KEH
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The next page of this review has some more sample photos from the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4, followed by reader comments on the final page. Use the Table of Contents below the star rating to jump to the section you want.
Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4
- Build Quality and Handling
- Size and Weight
- Sharpness Performance
- Other Image Quality
- Value
Photography Life Overall Rating
Table of Contents