Nikkor-O 35mm f/2

[richardHaw]

Just overhauled this thing. People claim that this lens was difficult to manufacture back in it's day and now I see why it is indeed more complicated than your standard Nikkor of the same vintage.
the lens was restored back to great working condition and the glass is now pristine except for the rear element where some haze stayed. for some reasons, some junk Nikkors of the same vintage exhibit this. the 50 1.4 and the 300mm f4.5 that i worked on has it. must be the coating getting eaten by fungus or finger oil

i was told that this thing flares badly and it did but it complimented the image instead of taking something away from it. the close focus was also very good.
sharpness is amazing wide-open and contrast is very good. at f/2.8 you do not see much fringing and mechanical vignetting is not really obvious, in fact I do not see much of it when I shot our white wall. maybe the falloff is smooth. I am really liking this lens a lot and i can see why the formula stuck till the late 70s just before the AF version.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The Nikkor-O 35/2 indeed was an endearing and enjoyable lens. I still use my samples on occasion. Image flare could be a challenge though.

[David H. Hartman]

I find the 35/2.0 AI makes an excellent manual focus normal lens for DX. I owned the single coated Nikkor-O version before. I would guess the main difference would be shooting against the sun.

Dave Hartman

[richardHaw]

close focus is VERY good bokeh i feel is not so smooth but has potential

this is how much i can make it flare.

[richardHaw]

Sunstars look good as expected

sharp pik of the lady. again, bokeh not so good.

this lens has big potential for night use

[richardHaw]

most of my shots that I have uploaded here are wide open, except for the sunstars

VERY sharp wide-open. just take a look at the gothic F (image center,cropped).

great performance despite being picked up from the junk box

[BW]

This is the only 35 mm lens I own. I really like this lens with my Df. Nice contrast and warm, saturated colors are the qualities of this lens. Sharp enough wide open, pin sharp down to f16, but a bad propensity to flair when shooting into the sun. Nice for close ups as well

[Wally]

Just got one for a steal and love it! I am expecting my AF-S 35mm/1.4 to stay home more often...

[Roland Vink]

I used the AIS 35/2 some years ago, which has the same (or at least very similar) optical design as the original Nikkor-O 35/2.

I found it to be very sharp. Nice colour rendition similar to other Nikkors of the same vintage. Mild barrel distortion. Never noticed flare but I rarely point lenses into the sun except at sunset. Bokeh was not so good as Ric mentioned.

I was later seduced by the AIS 35/1.4 so sold it. I sometimes also use my AI 35/2.8 (6 element version) which is a nice little lens. If you need a 35mm lens with no barrel distortion, this is the one to get.

Actually, I rarely use the 35mm focal length, I tend to shoot with 50 or 55mm as general lens, and add a 28mm or wider, skipping 35mm. However on a recent trip I decided to give my 35/1.4 a spin and quite enjoyed it.

[Wally]

Does anyone (Bjorn?) have experience with performance of the early 7/5 or 7/6 designs compared to the 6/6 version (K, Ai) Roland has mentioned?
The early 7/5 is taller and less compact than the later K or Ai lenses.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

What lens are you referring to? The Nikkor 35/2 was as I recall an 8/6 design, whilst the 35/2.8 initially had 7/5. The latter was a rather poor performer compared the later versions.

[Wally]

Thanks Bjørn, this was a typo on my side for the Nikkor-O K or Ai type. I was indeed referring to the very early 3.5cm 7/5 designs.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I have compared the early Nikkor-S and the K version of the 35/2.8, and the K is very clearly the superior one.

[Hugh_3170]

Same as my experience.  The early lens distorts most noticeably; the K (well the early Ai as well) has very little or no distortion.  And it is sharper.

I have compared the early Nikkor-S and the K version of the 35/2.8, and the K is very clearly the superior one.

[richardHaw]

haven't followed the discussion for some time since the site was down, good thing that it's back

here it is, shot directly at the sun @ f/5.6 i think.

the close focusing ability of this lens is amazing. it can double as a semi macro lens if you need one.

at night, the fast f/2 can be very useful. but i am eyeing for the f/1.4

DOF can be too thin at times for shooting street photography but whatever...