Nikon 35mm f1.4G review

21st December 2011

Written by Thomas

Samples

The following images were taken with the Nikkor AF-S 35/1.4G on a D300. Each image was recorded in RAW and converted with Capture NX 2 at standard settings. Some images have White Balance set to a standard daylight value to make them comparable. No extra sharpening, or tone, color, or saturation adjustment was used. The three crops are typically taken from the f1.4, f2.0, and f2.8 version of each image while the main image shows the shot at f5.6. You can click on each image to access the large original. Please respect our copyright and only use those images for personal use.

The first one is a near-field shot (magnification approximately 1:20) of colorful primroses. Sharpness and contrast even wide open proved again to be very good. And color rendition was lovely: the 35/1.4G produced warmer reds and yellower greens than either the 35/2.0D or the DX 35/1.8G which showed a stronger blue.

Primroses: near-field shot with Nikon Nikkor 35/1.4G on a D300

f5.6, 200 ISO


f1.4, 200 ISO	f2.0, 200 ISO	f2.8, 200 ISO

The next shot shows the performance at (near) infinity. This is important for all landscape shooters.You see the image sharpening up until f2.8, to produce crisp and contrasty images.

Field: infinity shot with Nikon Nikkor 35/1.4G on a D300

f5.6, 200 ISO


f1.4, 200 ISO	f2.0, 200 ISO	f2.8, 200 ISO

The next image shows what you can achieve in close-up situations at or near minimum focus distance. Naturally I stopped down somewhat to f4.0 as dof at a magnification of 1:5 is already becoming critical and field-curvature might also influence a shot of a flat subject. I developed the shot in HDR Efex pro to pull out the fine structures – which also has a sharpening effect. That may not be in line with my standard testing procedures but rest assured: you cannot pull-out and emphasize what was not originally there. So here we go (the slightly cropped original can be accessed by clicking through the main image).

1999: close-up shot with Nikon Nikkor 35/1.4G on a D300

f4.0, 200 ISO; Column: 100% crops from main image

The final shot should give you an impression on the bokeh this lens can produce wide open. The 100% crops are from the sharpest point and two successively further-away points in the overall image and should demonstrate the buttery rendering of out-of-focus elements.