Intro

The Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 S now is the third prime lens for Nikon’s full-frame Z-series mirrorless cameras with a bright focal ratio of f1.2 which allows for good background isolation and a smooth Bokeh. And it’s also their third Z-Nikkor with 35mm focal length which makes it popular for environmental portraits and street photography. At f1.2 it gathers a bit over two times the light of the Z 35mm f1.8 S and is still half a stop faster than the Z 35mm f1.4.

Physically, the Z 35mm f1.2 S is very similar in size and weight to the Z 50mm f1.2 S which makes it much larger and heavier than the Z 35mm f1.4 or the Z 35mm f1.8 S. Mount it on a Z 8 and you’ll be lugging 2kg (4.4lb.) around. The Z 35mm f1.2 S is fully weather sealed, comes with two function buttons, and employs three anti-reflective coatings: meso-amorphous, “ARNEO”, and nano crystal.

The Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 S is made in Thailand and listed at 3249 EUR (incl. 19% VAT) / 2797 USD / 2899 GBP. PS – if you’re interested in the other Z-Nikkors in Nikon’s line-up with the same focal length of 35mm or focal ratio of f1.2 check out my in-depth Nikon Z 35mm f1.4 review, Nikon Z 35mm f1.8 S review, Nikon Z 50mm f1.2 S review or Nikon Z 85mm f1.2 S review.

Facts and features

Let’s compare the Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 S to the Nikon Z 35mm f1.4 and Z 35mm f1.8 S. Regarding size and weight I’ve also included comparisons with some other large aperture lenses. As usual I’ve rated the features with a [+] (or [++]), when it’s better than average or even state of the art, a [0] if it’s standard or just average, and [-] if there’s a disadvantage.

Size (diameter x length): 90 x 150mm (3.5 x 5.9in.) which is comparable to the Z 50mm f1.2 S. Adding around 42mm for the lens hood gives a total length of 192mm. The Z 35mm f1.4 is only 75 x 87mm + 48mm lens hood, the Z 35mm f1.8 S is 73 x 86mm + 48mm lens hood. [0]

Weight: 1060g (37.4 oz.) plus 43g for the lens hood. The Z 35mm f1.4 is 415g + 30g lens hood, the Z 35mm f1.8 S is 364g + 30g lens hood. The weight of the Z 35mm f1.2 S seems on the pretty heavy side but is in fact comparable to the Z 50mm f1.2 S or Sigma’s 35mm f1.2 DG DN Art (not available in Z-mount) and lighter than the Zeiss Otus 28mm f1.4 (1.5kg incl. FTZ adapter). [0]

Optics: The Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 S has 17 elements in 15 groups including 4 special dispersion elements and 4 aspherical elements. The Z 35mm f1.4 and Z 35mm f1.8 S have 11 elements in 9 groups. To reduce flare, glare and ghosting from the 30 glass/air surfaces the Z 35mm f1.2 S employs Nikon’s meso-amorphous plus “ARNEO” plus nano crystal coatings. [+]

Minimum object distance / maximum magnification: 0.29m (0.95ft.) with a magnification of 1:4.6 in manual focus which is not much but similar to the other 35mm Z-Nikkors in this comparison. [0]

Image stabilization: None of the lenses in this comparison offers optical stabilization (VR). But Nikon’s full-frame Z bodies provide built-in sensor-shift stabilization over 5 axis – plus an optional electronic stabilization in video mode. [0]

Filter-thread: 82mm – like the other f1.2 Z-Nikkors. The Z 35mm f1.4 and Z 35mm f1.8 S need 67mm filters. [0]

Auto focus: All lenses in this comparison offer autofocus with built-in focus drive. Manual-focus override is by simply turning the dedicated focus ring. The focus ring has the usual variable gearing which allows for very precise manual focus when turned slowly. You can reverse the focus ring direction and switch to linear response with different settings for focus throw in camera. [+]

Display: No, the Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 S does not features the OLED display of the Z 50mm f1.2 S or some other S-class lenses. [0]

Aperture ring and other control elements: Like many Z-Nikkors the Z 35mm f1.2 S and the Z 35mm f1.4 have a slim multi-function control ring at the back of the lens in addition to the dedicated focus ring. The control ring can be assigned to operate the aperture (which is the default), exposure compensation, or ISO sensitivity – or simply switched off. The Z 35mm f1.8 S has no dedicated focus ring but its broad function ring automatically falls back to focusing when the lens is switched to MF. The Z 35mm f1.2 S also has an AF/MF switch and two extra L-Fn buttons which can be assigned many different functions e.g. AF-lock. This is different from the other two f1.2 Z-Nikkors which only have one L-Fn button and makes it easier to operate the button when shooting in portrait orientation. [+]

Lens profile: The new Z-Nikkor comes with a lens profile which can be controlled from the camera. Vignette control offers the usual options of High, Normal, Low and Off. Diffraction compensation and Auto distortion control can be activated or deactivated. On the Z 35mm f1.4 Auto distortion control is always On and cannot be deactivated. [+]

All lenses in this comparison cover full frame/FX or smaller sensors. [+]

Price: 3249 EUR (incl. 19% VAT) / 2797 USD / 2899 GBP which is comparable to the price of the Z 85mm f1.2 S at introduction. The Z 35mm f1.4 currently goes for 610 EUR / 600 USD / 600 GBP, the Z 35mm f1.8 S is at 830 EUR / 700 USD / 899 GBP. The manual focus Voigtländer 35mm f2 APO-Lanthar which I’ll be using for comparing optical performance sells for 1099 EUR / 899 USD / 899 GBP. By the way: Sigma’s 35mm f1.2 DG DN Art (not available in Z-mount) costs 1300 EUR / 1500 USD / 1400 GBP. [0]

The lens comes with a flimsy pouch which has no strings to pull it close. So if you put the lens in your bag it might easily slip out of its pouch and bang around unprotected. This is simply unacceptable for a lens costing north of 2500 EUR/USD/GBP. The lens hood is included and locks in place to avoid accidentally falling off plus it is reversible for transport. [0]

Sealing: All Z-Nikkors in this comparison have a rubber grommet at the lens-mount plus further special weather-sealing throughout the construction. But the Z 35mm f1.2 S lacks the fluorine-coating on the front element which repels water, dust, and dirt and makes cleaning easier. [+]

The score in the “features-department” is 0[-]/8[0]/6[+]. The new Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 S is very big and quite heavy and comes with a not insubstantial asking price. The feature set is OK with full weather sealing and two L-Fn buttons. But the most important property of this lens certainly is the very bright focal ratio of f1.2 which gathers more light and lets you shoot at shorter shutter speeds and/or lower ISO. It also gives better subject isolation and – hopefully – a better Bokeh too.

Above: Voigtländer 35mm f2 APO Lanthar (left), Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 S (right)

Focus

Focus accuracy and repeatability is critical to consistently produce sharp shots. Repeatability (the accuracy of focus on the same subject after repeated focus-acquisition) of this lens is good (measured 95.7% in Reikan FoCal with defocus set to “wide”) with two outliers over a series of 40 shots. There is a bit of focus variation whether the lens focuses from a closer distance or from infinity with the more consistent results achieved from infinity. Hunting was seldom an issue. The lens focuses in 0.66 sec from infinity to 0.47m (1:10 magnification), much slower than the Z 35mm f1.8 S at 0.37 sec. The Z 35mm f1.4 needs 0.60 sec.

The focus ring is 48mm wide. Its surface is rubberized and rotation is smooth and well damped. AF-operation of the lens is audible from the outside but not enough to disturb your seatmate in a theater. If you record video with the built-in microphone the AF-drive produces a whirring noise when you force the lens to focus fast e. g. by using the AF-ON button or manual focusing. If you use Full-time AF the camera reduces focus speed to a level where it emits no sound. This is similar to Nikon’s other f1.2 prime lenses. If you use the control ring on the lens to change the aperture this works smoothly and without noise in video mode.

As you pull focus, you’ll notice no focus breathing at all: When I adjusted the focus from infinity to 0.47m on the Nikon Z 35mm f1.2 S I measured 0% change in magnification. The Z 35mm f1.8 S decreased magnification by -0.7%, the Z 35mm f1.4 by -2.6%.

Next check out my quality results!