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Lenses

Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z Review: Their Most Beautiful Bokeh Yet

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 08/20/2024
08/20/2024
10 Mins read
A Nikon Z6 camera with a lens, placed on a brown camera bag.
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Last Updated on 08/20/2024 by Chris Gampat

The way that it was explained to me, Nikon’s lineup of f1.4 lenses are all about the character. They’re not meant to be the lens equivalent of someone working in finance: rich on the numbers but totally lacking personality. So yes, that means that Nikon’s very good 35mm f1.8 S lens will look a whole lot like the vegetables next to the steak. In contrast, the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z is meant to be more of a side of truffle fries or creamed spinach. Both are good for you, but one was treated with a far less algorithmic way of doing things. This is a much different approach from other brands, which led to confusion when it was first announced. But if I’m being my honest self, this is a lens that I’ve fallen deeply in like with.

The Big Picture: Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z Review Conclusions

While the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z wears the same sad uniform as most of Nikon’s other lenses, it’s what inside that counts really here. The autofocus is fast — but it could be more accurate depending on the camera that you’re working with. The image quality is beautiful while not being overly sharp and emphasizing how nice the bokeh is. It’s also weather resistant — which means that it’s going to be reliable. In fact, overall, this lens is pretty perfect for anyone that’s been really bored of the sterile image quality brands have been putting out.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Combined with the fact that the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z is only around $599.95, there’s not a lot to dislike. We’re giving the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z our Editor’s Choice award and five out of five stars. Want one? Check it out on Amazon.

Buy Now

Pros

  • Nikon’s most beautiful bokeh
  • Weather resistance
  • Fast autofocus
  • F1.4 aperture
  • Small size
  • A lens you want to carry with you everywhere
  • It’s $599.95

Cons

  • Nothing

Who Should Buy the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z?

Who should get this lens?

  • Street photographers: The focal length is perfect. But Nikon’s autofocus isn’t always the best if you’re using smaller cameras.
  • Photojournalists: We consider standard photojournalism to be a medium-speed affair. This will more than do the job.
  • Event photographers: This is an essential lens in this case.
  • General everyday photographers: You’re going to really enjoy the bokeh from this lens.

Innovations: What Makes the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z Unique?

This is an odd one. While brands usually make their faster aperture lenses be higher end uptions, this one isn’t the case. Instead, it’s rated more on the character of the lens. However, the focusing motors and build quality are pretty much right up there with Nikon’s other lenses. It’s just not what the Japanese consider to be optically stellar. But Americans, Europeans, and anyone begging for character will appreciate this so much more.

Gear Used

We tested the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z with the Nikon Z6 III. Both were loaner units provided to us by Nikon. We also used our own Profoto B10.

Hardware

While the image quality from the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z brings me lots of joy, I’ll be frank and say that the outside doesn’t understand modern fashion — or even timeless for that matter. It’s a modestly sized black lens with a control ring and a rubberized focusing ring for grip. That’s all when it comes to the exterior. There’s a 62mm filter thread on the front, which means that this lens is fairly small.

Luckily, this lens has weather resistance too. Like much of Nikon’s other lenses, the lip goes around the mount and then has a rubber gasket for sealing. Overall, it feels kind of like a normal Nikon lens.

Protect Your Camera Gear

For years, here at The Phoblographer we’ve done tests on cameras, lenses, bags, computers, lights, and more. And we know that your warranty doesn’t always cover the damage. Plus, accidents can happen on set.

As you can see in the photo above, the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z can get wet in the rain. But did you know that damage from this isn’t covered by your warranty?

This is why we’ve created a Photography Care Program in partnership with Full-Frame Insurance. Now, photographers across the United States looking for extra security can get various protections to cover their craft. The Photography Care Program provides peace of mind; now you’ll know you can bounce back from a photoshoot gone awry, on-site or inside. We’re making it super easy to get it done, too! Better yet, there is coverage outside of the US and Canada when the photographer is traveling for short periods of time for business.

We’re able to do this through our partnership with Full-Frame Insurance, a company specializing in Small Business Insurance. Are you a Freelance Photographer? We’ll cover you. What about a freelance multi-media journalist? We’ve got you. The Photography Care Program will protect you.

Transform your focus from worry to creativity with the Photography Care Program. Whether it’s a light stand tumbling down, a telephoto lens shattering, or an unforeseen mishap, you don’t have to face the financial burden alone. Experience the freedom to capture stunning shots, knowing you’re protected. Whether you’re an amateur or a professional, secure your peace of mind – and protect your photography gear – with our affordable Photography Care Program today.

Focusing

In good lighting of outdoors in the day, the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z focused very quickly on subjects. The same goes for when scene detection isn’t being used and the subject matter isn’t moving. Of course, this is with the new Nikon Z6 III — which the company says has really great autofocus performance. However, they also state that one shouldn’t expect Z8 level of performance. And that surely shows.

In low light is where the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z seemed to suffer for me — though I could probably partially blame that on the new Nikon z6 III. The two people of color in the images above are illuminated by the same light as me. But they’re lighter-skinned than I am, and therefore easier for the Nikon Z6 III to lock onto. But me, with the same lighting and darker skin, are harder to find.

This is the kind of stuff that I expect from Sony and Canon. Admittedly, we didn’t have a higher end camera body to test this with. However, only the Nikon Z9 has the autofocus capabilities to actually find darker people in low-light situations. We’d know, we’ve tested it. That means that even the Z8 would have its brain broken by the color of my skin in low light.

For transparency, we also turned off the exposure preview mode — so the camera shouldn’t have any problems here.

Ease of Use

There isn’t much to the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z. You screw it onto the camera, point, focus, and shoot. That’s really all that there is to it. To switch to to manual focus, you have to do so via the camera. That could be a bit annoying — but more often than not, it works just fine.

Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z Image Quality

The Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z is said to not have the company’s more clinical image quality offerings. Instead, Nikon says that this lens is supposed to have nice character. And for the first time, perhaps ever, I agree with them on that. There’s something about the bokeh from the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z that makes me want to keep staring at it — especially when shooting in black and white. And while the lens is sharp, it’s nowhere as sharp as the brand’s S-lineup. Yet at the same time, we’re not really sacrificing on build quality.

Trust me, I really like that.

Let’s Talk About Art

In this section, we let the Phoblographer’s Reviews Team talk about the art behind their photos. This is done in an effort to stop talking about tech so much. In a world where all products are nearly the same, what matters is what we’re doing with the images.

To recap what so many of you know, I’m a born and raised native New Yorker. Growing up in Southern Queens, I never truly felt like I was in the right spot. So I lived in Brooklyn for a decade before moving to Northwest Queens where I’d wanted to be since I was 21 years old. This area is arguably the most diverse place in the world. Walk along Roosevelt Ave and you’ll hear more languages and dialects than you can count.

With that brings racism and misunderstandings. New York is a haven city for migrants. So when they can’t find work, they do what they can — much to the dismay of what others state. Where the mass media and common vernacular call Roosevelt dirty and afflicted, they’d also praise diversity without acknowledging the diverse peoples. I see people who need help and who’ve been rejected by various societies but that have to still pay taxes, eat, etc. My images show the economic disparity and moments we should look twice at.

For example, how can people be sleeping outside of a church? Why doesn’t the church do more to help the community instead of just taking their money?

The images also show other emotional moments. There’s a man who’s too warm and heads indoors by heating lamps. Among the images are moments of contrasting classes, tensions, funny faces, beautiful clothing, and more.

The Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z helped me do this with its field of view, fast autofocus performance, weather resistance, and the look that it delivers. Part of that look is due to the bokeh — which tells a story while still looking gorgeous.

Extra Image Samples

The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.

Unedited

Edited

Edited With Phoblographer Presets

If like these looks, consider buying our presets for Lightroom and Capture One. Check out our shop here.

Declaration of Journalistic Intent

The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:

  • At the time of publishing this review, Nikon is not an advertiser with the Phoblographer. This doesn’t affect our reviews.
  • Note that this isn’t necessarily our final review of the camera. It will be updated, and it’s more of an in-progress review than anything. In fact, almost all our reviews are like this.
  • This review, and none of the reviews on the Phoblographer, are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
  • Nikon loaned the product and accessories to the Phoblographer for review. There was no money exchange between Nikon and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Nikon and several other manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
  • Nikon knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know. We were the first publication to inform about the issue with the Leica M10R and how it renders the color orange.
  • Nikon shipped the product to the Phoblographer and is paying for the return shipment. This is a standard practice in the world of reviewers.
  • The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. We’ve also steered away from Micro Four Thirds and APS-C as they’re dying formats. This is a conclusion that even the other members of TIPA agree on. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
  • At the time of publishing, the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z is the only autofocusing option on the market for Nikon Z mount with weather resistance. We typically steer away from options that don’t have resistance or that lack innovations.
  • In recent years, brands have withheld NDA information from us or stopped working with us because they feel they cannot control our coverage. These days, many brands will not give products to the press unless they get favorable coverage. In other situations, we’ve stopped working with several brands for ethical issues. Either way, we report as honestly and rawly as humanity allows.
  • At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.

More can be found on our Disclaimers page.

Tech Specs

Taken from our original news post:

  • 62mm filter thread, which means this lens is pretty small.
  • 3.4 inches long
  • 415 grams, that’s about as heavy as a soccer ball.
  • Clickless control ring
  • 11 lens elements in 9 groups
  • 9 aperture blades
  • 2 aspherical elements
  • 10.6-inch close-focusing
  • Dust and drip-resistant. But you still will most likely need insurance coverage.
autofocus Bokeh build quality character image quality low light nikon nikon 35mm f1.4 nikon 35mm f1.4 z nikon z6 iii weather sealing
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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