The Nikon 35mm F1.2 S is the Undisputed Best 35mm Z Lens

Spread the love

When we first checked out the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S lens, we were sent a pre-production unit, and we were excited by the early results. After about a month of testing and real-world use, we have some thoughts about the fastest 35mm you can buy for Nikon’s Z mount cameras.

The Big Picture: Nikon 35mm f1.2 S Review Conclusions

In our initial pre-production review, we wanted to reserve our final thoughts until we got a chance to live with the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S and have a production-ready model in hand. Now that we’ve worked with this lens in various shooting environments, we can unequivocally say that this will be a must-have lens for working pros specifically. The Nikon 35mm F1.2 S offers photographers images with tons of character on top of fast autofocusing capabilities and amazing low-light performance. While it may not be your go-to for casual shooting, this lens is an unapologetic workhorse, nee work beast, and we’re here for it.

This lens was forged in the fires of Mordor to give portrait photographers, wedding photographers, editorial, and commercial photographers a rugged tool that can produce beautiful images with a character that also happens to take advantage of high-resolution sensors like the one in the Nikon Z8. For this group of professionals, the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S is the 35mm lens to rule them all.

Ease of Use

As we mentioned in our initial review, we noted that using the lens is as simple as being able to screw the lens onto the body and going out to take photos. That’s pretty much it, but if you’re looking for more details, here they are: You get custom buttons on the lens, a very large focusing ring, and a smaller aperture ring. The custom buttons can be assigned to anything in your custom setting menu. I kept things simple and defaulted to focus lock and auto-exposure lock.

Focusing

Three people in formal attire pose together, two wearing stoles with GREETINGS and AKWAABA. — Sample image taken with the Nikon 35mm F1.2 Z S by Alberto Lima for ThePhoblographer.com

Here’s truly where the rubber meets the road. Yes, this is an F1.2 aperture lens. We can wax poetically about the bokeh this lens can produce – it is absolutely gorgeous – but for me and the work I do, a lens (and camera) is only as good as its ability to focus on people of color; the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S crushes it.

Woman in a red lace dress smiling and standing in a colorful event setting with others in the background. — Sample image taken with the Nikon 35mm F1.2 Z S by Alberto Lima for ThePhoblographer.com

During my review, I used this lens to cover an event in an old school’s auditorium in the Bronx, where the lighting was tricky, to put it mildly. Not once did I find the lens having to hunt for more than a few fractions of a second, even when my subject walked into the throw of a projector – creating harsh shadows and hot spots. When working only with available light and the camera’s settings, I was able to consistently get keepers that were also very aesthetically pleasing. Best of all, I wasn’t restricted to only shooting wide open. At this point, you might ask, why not just bring a strobe or other light source? Because this event was in a house of worship, I typically leave strobes and flashes at home – they can be distracting and otherwise upset the reverence of the event.

Sample image taken with the Nikon 35mm F1.2 Z S by Alberto Lima for ThePhoblographer.com

Now, it wasn’t perfect by any stretch. When testing the lens in this environment, I found it had trouble tracking faces moving toward the camera (as seen in the image above). This was one of those situations where it struggled but again netted more hits than misses, and in this line of work, that’s exactly what you’re looking for.

People with umbrellas crossing a rainy city street, adjacent to modern glass buildings. — Sample image taken with the Nikon 35mm F1.2 Z S by Alberto Lima for ThePhoblographer.com

On the streets, the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S was rock-solid. Consistently achieving focus and doing so nearly as fast as you pointed it to your subject. It’s fast to the point of being nearly automatic, and truthfully, at this price point, it better be. Thankfully, this is a situation where you get exactly what you’re paying for.

Hardware

Person holding a Nikon Z camera with a large lens, both covered in raindrops, over a wet pavement. — Nikon 35mm F1.2 Z S paired with a Nikon Z8 in the rain. Image credit: Alberto Lima for ThePhoblographer.com

In our initial review, we stated that the Nikon 35mm F1.2 was right at home in below-freezing temps, and now, as the weather has started to warm up, we can confirm that it also holds its own in the rain. In my testing, this lens could withstand about an hour and a half of walking through steady rain. In fact, I gave up long before the lens ever would. We truly would not expect any less with a lens of this caliber and price.

We can wax poetically about the bokeh this lens can produce – it is absolutely gorgeous – but for me and the work I do, a lens (and camera) is only as good as its ability to focus on people of color; the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S crushes

Who Should Buy the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S

One of the biggest questions we ask ourselves at ThePhoblographer is, who is this for? With the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S, the answer is immediately clear once you spend any time with it—this is a professional-grade lens made for professionals. It isn’t for content creators or Instagram photographers; they cannot take advantage of all this lens offers. This lens was forged in the fires of Mordor to give portrait photographers, wedding photographers, editorial, and commercial photographers a rugged tool that can produce beautiful images with a character that also happens to take advantage of high-resolution sensors like the one in the Nikon Z8. For this group of professionals, the Nikon 35mm F1.2 S is the 35mm lens to rule them all.

Extra Sample Images

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

Person smiling while holding a pink DJ controller in a room with shelves of figurines and books.

Man in a Valar Morghulis shirt holds a colorful box in a room with purple walls and shelves of collectibles.

A black dog with wide eyes peers over a table edge beside a person wearing a red sleeve.

City street scene with wet sidewalks, bus stop, pedestrians, and modern buildings under a cloudy sky.

A vibrant pink DJ controller with various buttons and dials on a white table in a studio setting.

Person DJing with headphones, a laptop, and a mixer in a room with white doors and a purple chair.

A DJs hands on colorful turntables and mixers in a room, with a laptop and bottle visible in the background.

Dark room with neon lights and a statue wearing a horned helmet surrounded by posters and ornaments.

Urban street with posters on building, parked car, delivery truck, and wet pavement on a rainy day.

Smiling man holds a Jimi Hendrix book, wearing a Valar Morghulis shirt, in a room with comics and red lighting.

Canon PowerShot G1 camera on magazines with cheesecake and crowd photos on a wooden surface.

Silver camera on a table near headphones, with lens extended and a memory card nearby.

Person in maroon dress smiling and dancing in a decorated hall, with people and colorful banners in the background.

A woman in a red dress holds a scroll, walking among people in a colorful, decorated room.

Two women standing together, one in a pink suit and the other in a patterned dress, smiling in front of a decorated podium.

Two women smiling, standing in front of a Seventh-day Adventist Church podium decorated with flowers.

Two women smiling and embracing in a decorated room with floral arrangements and colorful patterns.

Two women smiling and standing together in front of a decorated table, with a Seventh-Day Adventist sign behind them.

Two women smiling in front of a podium at Seventh-day Adventist Church, with floral arrangements and tapestry.

Three people smiling, one in a pink suit, the others in dark suits with colorful sashes, standing together indoors.

Edited

Person walking with umbrella past No Parking sign on a rainy street, city building backdrop.

Person smiling, holding a Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze item, wearing a Valar Morghulis shirt in a purple-lit room.

Smiling person in a Valar Morghulis shirt holding a Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze book, standing in a warmly lit room.

Man in sunglasses holds Jimi Hendrix record, wearing a Marvel-themed shirt, surrounded by collectibles.

Woman with closed eyes in a black dress, sitting indoors near plants and a window.

Tall skyscraper with modern architecture, viewed from street level, against a bright sky.

Person walking in the rain with an umbrella and suitcase on a wet city street.

Street view of a modern glass office building with people walking and carrying umbrellas on a rainy day.

Galactus figurine holding Earth surrounded by other collectibles on a shelf, lit by blue and purple lights.

A black digital camera on a wooden shelf next to a green cylindrical object.

City street scene in the rain with people under umbrellas and a large billboard on a modern building.

Top view of a digital camera with buttons and a screen, placed on a table.

A vintage Canon film camera with an extended lens on a desk, next to electronic equipment.

Vintage Canon PowerShot G1 camera on a table with photos and a slice of cheesecake.

Canon PowerShot G1 camera on magazines, with a cheesecake slice nearby.

A Canon Powershot G1 camera on a dark fabric surface, with a lens cap attached by a strap.

Three people at a church event, wearing formal attire and colorful stoles, with floral decorations in the background.

Three people pose together, two men wearing sashes, and a woman in a pink suit, in front of a colorful backdrop.

Two women smiling and posing together in a church, with floral arrangements and colorful fabric in the background.

Two women standing together, smiling in front of a church podium decorated with flowers and a patterned cloth.

Two women smiling in front of a church podium decorated with flowers.