This is in response to a blog commenter who insisted that his 35mm/f2 lens was “dog” and some generally negative feedback about a lens I happen to like a lot.

Is it a perfect lens?  No.  I would love for it to have weather sealing and for it’s focus ring to not spin while AF is working.

However, for what it is, it can’t be beat at the moment.  It’s tiny.  It focuses fast.  It’s pretty damn sharp at almost every setting.  And it works equally well on full and cropped sensors.  I really believe that it will continue to work wonders on a D800, when I get around to picking one up.

I suppose it’s possible that there is some sample variation, but every copy of this lens I’ve used has been about the same.

So without further ado, here’s a full sized image with my 35/2, shot wide open on my D700 (click for full size):

Nikon 35mm/f2 wide open (thanks to model Laura)