Nikon 35mm f/2.8 - Ai version

[Ian R]

I have just fitted an Ai ring to a K version of this lens which I got cheaply due to being 'unsellable non-Ai'. After spending some time getting to know it I think that its a real little charmer! I did not expect that much but instead of the expected average performance I got some photos that I think have come out well. My findings are that it is usefully sharp at all stops, very sharp at f/5.6 and colour and contrast are as good as I could want. Of course it focuses smoothly, being a 1970's Nikkor, and the lens has no issues even when inspected quite closely. It was only £20 too, so good value. I will be using this lens a lot more.

I was trying to convince myself I needed a modern 35 like the Art or the new Tamron as I only have the 35mm Series E and 35mm is my favourite focal length, however after trying this lens my feelings for buying a new 35mm are mixed and I don't feel that I need the new lens, this older 2.8 optic is very good. Maybe not as good as the latest lenses but I would hope not with the price discrepancy.

To sum up, good sharpness, easy to focus on the ground glass, colour and contrast are fine and so a rating of 7 out of 10, only losing a little to some fringing on high contrast areas.

I add a few examples below, and any user input is appreciated.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

These look pretty good, Ian.

I had the previous model and it was not a very good performer. Happy to see this kind of improvement. And since the first version(s) gave the 35/2.8 a poor reputation, obviously the asking price for the newer models still is agreeable.

[Ian R]

These look pretty good, Ian.

I had the previous model and it was not a very good performer. Happy to see this kind of improvement. And since the first version(s) gave the 35/2.8 a poor reputation, obviously the asking price for the newer models still is agreeable.

You are right about the poor reviews. There must be some truth to them, however with maybe my version these don't apply? A first for me is being able to use it wide open and not getting smeary dark corners. Being able to use wide open freely without undue quality loss is important I think. I kind of wish I had discovered this lens sooner as my 35mm E is not very good at all - not much bite or clarity.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The 35/2.8 Nikkor underwent very significant changes in its optical design. The "K" and subsequent versions were far superior to their predecessors. However, they might have arrived too late on the scene to alter the tainted reputation this lens had at that point.

The 35/2.5 SE Nikon is excellent for IR, but might not be equally well performing for visible light captures.

[Roland Vink]

Nice write-up. Nikon have made many 35/2.8 lenses over the years - it must have been a popular lens with their design team. It started with the Nikkor-S 3.5cm which was released shortly after the Nikon F in 1959. This lens required high levels of accuracy during assembly so production was slow - only about 7400 units were made. It was replaced by the more compact Nikkor-S 35mm in 1962, which was easier to assemble. It was a popular lens and remained in production until 1974 when it was replaced by K version. This version uses a more modern 6-element design. It was upgraded to AI in 1977. In 1979 it was replaced by yet another model, which was produced in AI and AIS variants. About the same time Nikon also released the Series-E 35/2.5. Both lenses use a similar 5 element optical design. The series-E version is designed to be faster, more compact and cheap, so I guess the new AI version has fewer design compromises so is better corrected overall. Some reviews say the previous 6-element design is still the sharpest but I have not compared them.

You can read about the first three versions here: http://www.nikkor.com/story/0038/

Beyond these, Nikon also made a number of other slow 35mm lenses, in the form of the PC 35/3.5, PC 35/2.8 (old style), PC 35/2.8 (new style, same optics but now multicoated) and the last PC 35/2.8 (new optical design with black shift knob)

[pluton]

I have owned two copies of this lens(the 6-element K/Ai version) for many years.  Ian's report sums up my feelings about it well.  I'll add that wide open, it shows some nervous bokeh with certain backgrounds.  The line-doubling seems to disappear by f/4.
The lens has a very nice lack of barrel distortion.  The follow-on 5-element version gained more noticeable barrel distortion.
 

[Ian R]

Thank you for the input - and the link Roland. Instead or having various scattered lenses and having to think about what to take I am making up a much tighter lens selection and moving the rest on. This 35mm lens will be my main 35 I think. Fast enough, sharp enough, not too heavy, easy to use.

[pluton]

Fast enough, sharp enough, not too heavy, easy to use.

"Not to heavy" is the understatement of the year.  It weighs almost nothing.

[Roland Vink]

I have owned two copies of this lens(the 6-element K/Ai version) for many years.  Ian's report sums up my feelings about it well.  I'll add that wide open, it shows some nervous bokeh with certain backgrounds.  The line-doubling seems to disappear by f/4.
The lens has a very nice lack of barrel distortion.  The follow-on 5-element version gained more noticeable barrel distortion.

I'm fairly sure the older Nikkor-S 35/2.8 has smoother bokeh, but it's also softer overall. The newer Ai/AIS version may also have better bokeh but I don't think it's any sharper, and as you say it has some barrel distortion. The K 35/2.8 is the only 35mm prime I know of which is free of distortion (maybe the PC lenses also)

[richardHaw]

that is one of my favourite lenses
i got it from the junk box, the tag said that there is fungus/haze on the rear element but there was none when i checked it so i got a mint 35mm f/2.8 ai for the price of a junk

HAW_8876 by mrBabaero, on Flickr
the secret of this lens is that it has very little distortion for a 35mm so it is perfect for architectural work. the bokeh is also good according to some. it is also sharp wide open and does not really get any better after f/4.
HAW_8896 by mrBabaero, on Flickr
i know this lens because i use it a lot for street. i hate the 35mm focal length for street though, because it forces me to get really close. 50mm is more my thing.

here it is being mutilated for a tear down for my blog www.richardhaw.com

[richardHaw]

got this one just for fun.
i find that the Nikkor-S version is not so bad. it sure is sharp wide open on this guy. the only thing i hate is that this lens tends to have a lot of cleaning marks on the front element on the samples that i saw on the used market. this one has a few but not as bad as the ones i saw.

one reason why i got the older version was because of the focus scale. it has a longer throw and as you can see from the pic below, there are more numbers between 1m and 5m. those numbers are important to me for street

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The "K" version of the 35/2.8 Nikkor is surprisingly sharp and as already stated, very low in geometric distortion. I got a nice one the last time I visited Erik Lund in Copenhagen, and he helped me AI-modify it in a perfect manner. Add the CPU and it turns into a highly useful, sharp and inconspicuous compact optic that even performs great in IR.

[Roland Vink]

got this one just for fun.
i find that the Nikkor-S version is not so bad. it sure is sharp wide open on this guy. the only thing i hate is that this lens tends to have a lot of cleaning marks on the front element on the samples that i saw on the used market. this one has a few but not as bad as the ones i saw.

one reason why i got the older version was because of the focus scale. it has a longer throw and as you can see from the pic below, there are more numbers between 1m and 5m. those numbers are important to me for street

The AI 35/2.8 you have is the newer version - 5 elements in 5 groups. This one has mild barrel distortion and a very short focus throw of only 100°. The AIS version with the same optics has a longer focus throw of 120° (the only case where an AIS lens has a longer focus throw than the AI version)

However if you prefer really long focus throw, look for the K or early AI version. The focus throw is about the same as the Nikkor-S version. This one has 6 elements in 6 groups, distortion is nearly zero and I think it's a bit sharper, although the bokeh may not be quite as rounded.

[John Geerts]

Good examples Ian.

From what I understood from others too,  the K-Ai, is very well regarded (6 elements in 6 groups). Serialnummer range from 773 to 870. Prices on Ebay gone up to 150 euro and more. I got one a few weeks ago in a box with lenses and am surprised by it's quality. The bokeh is beautiful too. It's a definitely a keeper. BTW I rate this Lens higher than a 7. Comes closer to a 8,5-9

Some examples here:   EDIT (Serialnumber 791xxx)

[Bjørn Rørslett]

After Erik had AI-modified my 'K' 35/2.8 (the hard way, by Dremel operation on the aperture ring ...) and the CPU was added, we went for a stroll in Copenhagen. I think the 35/2.8 performed extremely well on my Df and probably will be a standard walk-around item for this camera, perhaps in combination with the 85/1.8 K.

My lens is 795xxx so in the first half of the production run.