The more I shoot with vintage manual lenses, the more I love it. I used to dream about getting the 'professional' 1.2 and 1.4 +$2000 lenses. After shooting with some old Pentax and Helios lenses with great results on the X-T2, I honestly don't give a shit about the latest primes. I don't do super large prints or weddings. For me, manual focus lenses are great for portraits, travel, street, and product photography. I can't justify paying such a high price for a tool when the same job can be proudly produced with a cheaper alternative. I'd rather take the few extra seconds and shots to manually focus while saving hundreds or thousands of dollars.
I got a 35f2 yesterday and am very pleasantly surprised. Sharpness , even wide open, is much better than expected. It’s only like 1 millimeter longer than the 50 F1.8d so it’s nice and compact only much better made.
The 35/f2/D is probably the lens i used most in my life... not that sharp but still sharp enough... not a great bokeh, bus still an acceptable one... a good contrast when stopped down... nice color rendition... VERY portable, (probably the smallest nikkor lens?). you can do street, you can do portraits, you can do landscapes... when I talk to people that just started photography as an hobby the often go for the nifty fifty to feel that prime lens flavour and to get away from the plastic kit lens they got with their camera... i ALWAS suggest to get this one instead (both canon or nikon..) so cheap for what you get... it's a keeper!
Ken, the 35mm F2 AF-D Nikkor really got a price bump during the past 5+ years. It does have more meh reviews, but it's a low element design, no asph elements. It does deliver the goods, means microcontrast and 3D Pop, that's all what counts for myself. I am not a pixel pooper, err, -peeper...like someone great said, Pixel Peepers are not photographers! Just right. Stop down to F8, and landscape and architecture is fine with the 35/F2D. I love this lens, bought it back nowadays.
Agree, definitely the 35 to get. They run about $275 used now on eBay, sometimes less. Works on DX and if you ever go to FX, hey you already have the FX version.
Well said. Your in my mind lol. I shoot D800 and have the 50mm afd series. Awesome fast lens for my liking. I shoot only B&W. I'm on the hunt for the 28mm & 85mm afd to fill the void. Cheers
Once upon the time, I was looking for a new lens at B&H and my friend, at the store told me you need to spend like $2,000 bucks!!! For a realy good lens! and I was like get away from me!!! Thanks God ! I choosed the 35mm f/2 D today I bring this lens everywhere, I am in love with it is good for almost everything...
Both not what I was looking for, when I wanted a 35mm lens for my wedding business I got the Nikon 35mm 1.8G ES, awesome lens, super sharp, reasonable price, for me its the right 35mm for my needs. The 35mm 2D is too old with so so optics, the 35mm 1.4 is too expensive and too big, the 35mm 1.8 hit the perfect spot price and size wize and as I said its super sharp!!!
Don't know if optics are so so, but they just aren't as corrected as the G series. That's why they are less sharp and distort specially at night, but also have less element count and better micro-contrast (Which is better appreciated in B&W).
Don’t know if you have ever used one but the optics are great compared to other D lenses I’ve used and it beats the G version in size and focusing speed
I agree with you. I have 3 Nikkor 35mm lenses...1.8, 1.4 and the f2.0. For digital with the D810 and D3x I use either the f1.4 or f1.8 depending on conditions. The f2.0D stays on my F100 for B&W photography it is a remarkable lens for this purpose...rarely shot at a larger iris opening of f5.6-f8.0 where it excels.
Hey John! I also will use the 35 2D on my F100. Any tips i need to know about to use it appropriately? P.S- do i need to set the lens to highest aperture (f22 i guess) in order to use it? I use Aperture Priority mode :)
@@eladbari hey I see this is 2 years old but yes on the F100 aperture priority set it to 22 and use the wheel to change aperture. But you know this already.
i love smaller diameter lenses. e.g. 52mm filter. more beautiful tonality , better fall off gives more 3D look in flash photography...especially portrait..
Thank you so much! Needed a video this honest, you’re awesome Wanted the 35/2D for b&w shots out and about and didn’t want to carry that beast or even pay that price
Always appreciate your videos! Quick question/request: If you're familiar, would you be able to do a video or just make a response about Nikon's CLS for off camera flash? Not how to use it though. It's easy enough to setup with the SB-800, but how it actually works. I'm curious as to how the commander flash actually communicates power settings to the remote units and distinguishes between groups and channels. Thanks!
Theoria Apophasis of course, but do you know how the information is encoded in those subflashes? It seems like a lot of information for just some quick flashes. And what do you mean by overpriced? Between my D750 and used SB-800 (your recommendation I believe) there is no additional hardware or cost.
Hi Ken!! I've got the 35mm f2.5 E series to adapt to my X-T2 and really amazed with it's sharpness and contrast... certainly in love with the E series, got the 50mm pancake and also the 100mm f2.8 after your recommendation, all of them great. That keeps me on the fence for the 28mm f2.8 E, a lens that, if I'm not wrong, you haven't mentioned. What do you think about it??
Shang-Hsien Yang Respecting your opinion about the 35mm f2.5, my copy must be a very good one, because adapted to X-T2 is really nice. Sharp and contrasty evn wide open. Anyway, my goal was to know what opinion Ken has about the 28mm f2.8 E Series.
Budget, purpose, indoor, outdoor, speed, people, places, things, animal, vegetable,mineral, is it bigger than a bread box, Once you answer all of the questions you have CONTEXT. A question. about the best anything requires context. To dig out the truth and the value of that truth requires context. Everything affects everything.
Steve Holt thanks. But how is it compared to a prime lens? I used to have a d810 AND used my 200-500 for birds and wildlife. But with the d500 I've started using my 300 f2.8 and it's such a beautiful lens. That's what in looking for in the wide angle arena.
The 17-55 is on par with the 24-70 as far as range on DX and optical quality. Ken has other videos where he mentions this lens not only being crazy sharp but also working great from 20-55mm on FX too.
What about purple fringing on the f/1.4 at 1.4? Is that an issue with the 35mm f/1.4? I got a 50mm f/1.4 from a guy that has horrible purple fringing if you open it up all the way. I sent it back to him. So now I'm a little leery of the f1.4 lenses if they are going to have this kind of problem. I want a fast lens for astrophotography, which, of course, is all about high contrast, but having purple ringed stars isn't going to cut it.
Well, I put the 50mm f/1.4 lens mentioned above on my D850 body and the purple fringing issue was extremely evident. If it is a sensor issue in the camera, I would think the D850 is recent enough to have had the issue resolved, would it not? Or am I not understanding what you are saying to me? The issue was resolved on the newer camera bodies? I was thinking about other fast lenses for astrophotography use, but that 50mm lens got me pretty gunshy about that plan.
35 f2D is my go to lens and I gotta convince myself to move away from that ... Jack of all for all things casual ... And yeah, I think you should compare and contrast the lenses this way.... May be a series on manual focus lens only would be an awesome one considering that no one seems to understand those beauties like you do ...
The AF-S will be a paper weight in three to four years... I see so many AF-S lenses on Ebay that are Parts Or Repair.. A 35mm 2.8 D will ether be beat to shit, scratched glass or oily blades but still focusing..
"Tale of two lenses" _ now that would start an "Angry Photographer fan cult" , i'm sure. :P Still, i reckon you'd do it.. but not in a formal way. That'd be too much of a format.. I'm with you, though ;) PS: the 35mm f2D is kind of my high-school sweetheart.. I married her a long time ago.. moved on to other experiences..but never really divorced her. It's a keeper. SOLID! (My only grudge -> not having manual focus override.)
Wtf are you even needing AF in a 35mm? Screw drive is plenty fast if do you not need to move huge chunks of glass (large primes). You are not doing sports with a 35mm. I am so addidicted to the colors jumping at me out of the monitor and punching me in the face, everything with more than 7-8 elements sucks.
I have used both of these lenses, and compared to my Zeiss Distagon 35 they are both a joke. (agree with you on this) AF for wide angles is useless as stated. G lenses have a weird and unnatural look. Why use either of these over the Distagon, seriously ? Don't give a damn how much it costs means summicron, not these plastic fantastics.
@@andrewbutton5580 if you wanna shoot people moving- then i think you'll need AF on a 35mm lens. I love my manual Nikkors, but I tend to freeze my subjects to nail critical focus (on the eyes), even on f2.8. So, I hope an AF lens could help make the atmosphere in a shoot more relaxed and not so stiff, so subjects could more, be in motion, and I could nail focus without telling them to stop...
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
I love these AF-D lenses for being so small.
The 35D stopped down a couple of stops produces such a beautiful, lush image. Give it a lot of light and it'll shine :P
I bought the 35mm 2D for my F5 some time ago. Used it on my D7100, and now on my D810.
Love this and all my D series lenses!
The more I shoot with vintage manual lenses, the more I love it. I used to dream about getting the 'professional' 1.2 and 1.4 +$2000 lenses. After shooting with some old Pentax and Helios lenses with great results on the X-T2, I honestly don't give a shit about the latest primes. I don't do super large prints or weddings. For me, manual focus lenses are great for portraits, travel, street, and product photography. I can't justify paying such a high price for a tool when the same job can be proudly produced with a cheaper alternative. I'd rather take the few extra seconds and shots to manually focus while saving hundreds or thousands of dollars.
I just bought the F2 D-AF for myself for Christmas. So glad I got it before the price rises after this video. Love it so far. Thanks Ken!
hugs Jim !
Bought a second hand minty f2 recently for my D750 & D700. The results have knocked the ball out of the park. Thanks Ken 👍
I got a 35f2 yesterday and am very pleasantly surprised. Sharpness , even wide open, is much better than expected. It’s only like 1 millimeter longer than the 50 F1.8d so it’s nice and compact only much better made.
The 35/f2/D is probably the lens i used most in my life... not that sharp but still sharp enough... not a great bokeh, bus still an acceptable one... a good contrast when stopped down... nice color rendition... VERY portable, (probably the smallest nikkor lens?).
you can do street, you can do portraits, you can do landscapes... when I talk to people that just started photography as an hobby the often go for the nifty fifty to feel that prime lens flavour and to get away from the plastic kit lens they got with their camera... i ALWAS suggest to get this one instead (both canon or nikon..)
so cheap for what you get... it's a keeper!
Waiting for a 35 f2 to be delivered today...Can't wait, looks so cute and stubby on a d810 haha
You are going to LOVE this lens!....Enjoy!
Ken, the 35mm F2 AF-D Nikkor really got a price bump during the past 5+ years. It does have more meh reviews, but it's a low element design, no asph elements. It does deliver the goods, means microcontrast and 3D Pop, that's all what counts for myself. I am not a pixel pooper, err, -peeper...like someone great said, Pixel Peepers are not photographers! Just right. Stop down to F8, and landscape and architecture is fine with the 35/F2D. I love this lens, bought it back nowadays.
Agree, definitely the 35 to get. They run about $275 used now on eBay, sometimes less. Works on DX and if you ever go to FX, hey you already have the FX version.
A tale of two lenses series is a grand idea.
Thanks for this video. I want to shoot B&W and I have the 35mm f/2 AF-D. I think I'll be happy with it.
Well said. Your in my mind lol. I shoot D800 and have the 50mm afd series. Awesome fast lens for my liking.
I shoot only B&W. I'm on the hunt for the 28mm & 85mm afd to fill the void. Cheers
Your knowledge is music for my brain dude.
I love the Tamron 35. You're the one that got me hooked on it. 😂🤘
Can I use the 35mm f2 D on my Nikon Z5 wt the ftz adapter?
Once upon the time, I was looking for a new lens at B&H and my friend, at the store told me you need to spend like $2,000 bucks!!! For a realy good lens! and I was like get away from me!!! Thanks God ! I choosed the 35mm f/2 D today I bring this lens everywhere, I am in love with it is good for almost everything...
How about the nikkor 1.8G FX or the tamron 1.8 vc? What’s your opinion on those lenses?
Any opinions of the 35mm dx on a crop body vs the 35mm D? For general street and walk about lens.
is there a difference between 35mm af f2 d and af f2 Regarding image quality
Yep the 35D is outstanding!
werdddddd
what about MF Nikkor 35mm 1.4? thank you.
Both not what I was looking for, when I wanted a 35mm lens for my wedding business I got the Nikon 35mm 1.8G ES, awesome lens, super sharp, reasonable price, for me its the right 35mm for my needs. The 35mm 2D is too old with so so optics, the 35mm 1.4 is too expensive and too big, the 35mm 1.8 hit the perfect spot price and size wize and as I said its super sharp!!!
Don't know if optics are so so, but they just aren't as corrected as the G series. That's why they are less sharp and distort specially at night, but also have less element count and better micro-contrast (Which is better appreciated in B&W).
Don’t know if you have ever used one but the optics are great compared to other D lenses I’ve used and it beats the G version in size and focusing speed
Have both, and its no competition. True, older can be better sometimes, but the the af-s 35mm f1.8 beats the af-d in my oponion.
I agree with you. I have 3 Nikkor 35mm lenses...1.8, 1.4 and the f2.0. For digital with the D810 and D3x I use either the f1.4 or f1.8 depending on conditions. The f2.0D stays on my F100 for B&W photography it is a remarkable lens for this purpose...rarely shot at a larger iris opening of f5.6-f8.0 where it excels.
Hey John! I also will use the 35 2D on my F100. Any tips i need to know about to use it appropriately?
P.S- do i need to set the lens to highest aperture (f22 i guess) in order to use it? I use Aperture Priority mode :)
@@eladbari hey I see this is 2 years old but yes on the F100 aperture priority set it to 22 and use the wheel to change aperture. But you know this already.
i love smaller diameter lenses. e.g. 52mm filter. more beautiful tonality , better fall off gives more 3D look in flash photography...especially portrait..
And all of that is thanks to the filter size? Really?
Thank you so much! Needed a video this honest, you’re awesome
Wanted the 35/2D for b&w shots out and about and didn’t want to carry that beast or even pay that price
Always appreciate your videos! Quick question/request: If you're familiar, would you be able to do a video or just make a response about Nikon's CLS for off camera flash? Not how to use it though. It's easy enough to setup with the SB-800, but how it actually works. I'm curious as to how the commander flash actually communicates power settings to the remote units and distinguishes between groups and channels. Thanks!
it uses subflashes to quench output for CLS ttl metering.
nikons CLS is overpriced and overrated
Theoria Apophasis of course, but do you know how the information is encoded in those subflashes? It seems like a lot of information for just some quick flashes. And what do you mean by overpriced? Between my D750 and used SB-800 (your recommendation I believe) there is no additional hardware or cost.
Of course modern lenses are eyewateringly expensive. They all have 15+ lenses in them that all have to be cast, cut, ground and polished by hand.
Hi Ken!! I've got the 35mm f2.5 E series to adapt to my X-T2 and really amazed with it's sharpness and contrast... certainly in love with the E series, got the 50mm pancake and also the 100mm f2.8 after your recommendation, all of them great. That keeps me on the fence for the 28mm f2.8 E, a lens that, if I'm not wrong, you haven't mentioned. What do you think about it??
I don't think the 35mm f/2.5 Series E is good at all. On the other hand, 100mm f/2.8 Series E is on par with modern lenses.
Shang-Hsien Yang Respecting your opinion about the 35mm f2.5, my copy must be a very good one, because adapted to X-T2 is really nice. Sharp and contrasty evn wide open. Anyway, my goal was to know what opinion Ken has about the 28mm f2.8 E Series.
you think wrong. its a fine little cheap lens.
Theoria Apophasis What would it be good for?
By the way, I don't like the Series E 28mm either. The Vivitar Series 1 28mm f/1.9 renders better in my opinion.
honestly the speed of the f2 af-D is still way more precise and faster than my yongnuo 50mm f/1.8
honestly i am truly proud of owning it and i love it
hmm wish there were some pictures to compare. this is not really helpful
Budget, purpose, indoor, outdoor, speed, people, places, things, animal, vegetable,mineral, is it bigger than a bread box, Once you answer all of the questions you have CONTEXT. A question. about the best anything requires context. To dig out the truth and the value of that truth requires context. Everything affects everything.
Thanks for another good video. Could you consider making an entire series of videos on this Tale of two Lenses theme? :)
I'm not sure if those lenses were laying on the hide of a silverback mountain gorilla or a bathroom floor rug. 🦍🛁
Thanks for posting this, I was wondering about the different 35s after your earlier video
Would love to see the same thing on 20mm lenses. I'm using the D500 and my 24-70 doesn't always get the job done. Thanks Ken!
OhSoCheesy 17-55mm is a killer lens.
Steve Holt thanks. But how is it compared to a prime lens? I used to have a d810 AND used my 200-500 for birds and wildlife. But with the d500 I've started using my 300 f2.8 and it's such a beautiful lens. That's what in looking for in the wide angle arena.
The 17-55 is on par with the 24-70 as far as range on DX and optical quality. Ken has other videos where he mentions this lens not only being crazy sharp but also working great from 20-55mm on FX too.
Are the optics on the 35mm f2D comparable to the 35mm f2 AIS? :) Thanks!
i think they are the same. or very close to it
What about purple fringing on the f/1.4 at 1.4? Is that an issue with the 35mm f/1.4? I got a 50mm f/1.4 from a guy that has horrible purple fringing if you open it up all the way. I sent it back to him. So now I'm a little leery of the f1.4 lenses if they are going to have this kind of problem. I want a fast lens for astrophotography, which, of course, is all about high contrast, but having purple ringed stars isn't going to cut it.
that was a sensor back reflection issue actually, not a lens issue :)
thats since been solved as of some time earlier last year :)
Well, I put the 50mm f/1.4 lens mentioned above on my D850 body and the purple fringing issue was extremely evident. If it is a sensor issue in the camera, I would think the D850 is recent enough to have had the issue resolved, would it not? Or am I not understanding what you are saying to me? The issue was resolved on the newer camera bodies?
I was thinking about other fast lenses for astrophotography use, but that 50mm lens got me pretty gunshy about that plan.
Ken, if i can afford it...would the Zeiss Milvus 35/1.4 be the none plus ultra? Thanks!
i have it, not worth getting
Why?
35 f2D is my go to lens and I gotta convince myself to move away from that ... Jack of all for all things casual ...
And yeah, I think you should compare and contrast the lenses this way....
May be a series on manual focus lens only would be an awesome one considering that no one seems to understand those beauties like you do ...
Please, can you made the same video about 24mm 1.4g and his older versions?
like what? the 24mm 1.8 D??? too far off a comparison
The AF-S will be a paper weight in three to four years...
I see so many AF-S lenses on Ebay that are Parts Or Repair..
A 35mm 2.8 D will ether be beat to shit, scratched glass or oily blades but still focusing..
"Tale of two lenses" _ now that would start an "Angry Photographer fan cult" , i'm sure. :P
Still, i reckon you'd do it.. but not in a formal way. That'd be too much of a format..
I'm with you, though ;)
PS: the 35mm f2D is kind of my high-school sweetheart.. I married her a long time ago.. moved on to other experiences..but never really divorced her. It's a keeper. SOLID!
(My only grudge -> not having manual focus override.)
do one for the the fujis 23mm
Ken if i use my 17-55dx on d810 dxmode, is the dynamic range drop??
noooo, exposure and DR are per unit area / photosites, not TOTAL AREA
Theoria Apophasis just resolution get drop right? but wich is better use dx lens on fx camera fx mode self crop or fx camera dx mode?
best is FX lens on DX camera since its only taking the best of the image projection onto sensor
@Puthut apriyanto, no change in resolution.
Hi Ken, can you make a video on the Tamron 35 mm f/1.8?
i used it, i dont own it, soooo
Wtf are you even needing AF in a 35mm? Screw drive is plenty fast if do you not need to move huge chunks of glass (large primes). You are not doing sports with a 35mm. I am so addidicted to the colors jumping at me out of the monitor and punching me in the face, everything with more than 7-8 elements sucks.
Where do I find a 35mm f2 for $160? They are all close to $300.
yongnuo. amazon.
Do the same video with the 35mm 1.8 FX and 35mm 1.8 DX!
the 1.8DX is a cheap little DX lens.
I'm doing art nude and portraits, i have d750, that retro 35 mm will do for me?
Did you get it? Like it? I have a D750 and am thinking about buying on from a friend for $150 today
is the 35mm F1.8 FX not worth considering?
28 1.8 yes, or 24 1.8...... since you asked , no
dead man tell no tales...........
35 af/2 D... small, light, barely there, excellent color + micro contrast.
If I need fast, I bring my 24 f/1.4 G.
What's this micro-contrast exactly?
@@stephengreico2810 that 3D pop is only true for Black & White? Not to color images?
I have used both of these lenses, and compared to my Zeiss Distagon 35 they are both a joke. (agree with you on this) AF for wide angles is useless as stated. G lenses have a weird and unnatural look. Why use either of these over the Distagon, seriously ? Don't give a damn how much it costs means summicron, not these plastic fantastics.
why???????????????? autofocus, speed, DOF, sports, action, journalism.
Don't need that fluff in a wide-angle. Long lenses yes, wides no.
@@andrewbutton5580 if you wanna shoot people moving- then i think you'll need AF on a 35mm lens. I love my manual Nikkors, but I tend to freeze my subjects to nail critical focus (on the eyes), even on f2.8. So, I hope an AF lens could help make the atmosphere in a shoot more relaxed and not so stiff, so subjects could more, be in motion, and I could nail focus without telling them to stop...