- Small Wonder - Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX
I needed a lens to bring with me when I go out, but not out specifically out to take photos. My usual lens of choice is a 70-200 2.8 VR. It's a great tool for capturing portraits, but you and not it, end up looking like the tool when you bring along for casual nights out with family and friends. I considered a superzoom; something in the range of a 18-200 3.5-5.6. Superzooms are, after all, the Swiss Army knives of lenses. The concept is enticing: One relatively small device performing the jobs of many devices. However, a Swiss Army knife merely performs a variety of disparate tasks in a manner that doesn't completely suck. It fits in your pocket. It's sort of there for you when you need something sort of like it. Not what I am looking for in a knife or a lens. So I settled on the Nikkor 35mm 1.8G to ride along with my DX shooter on days not entirely devoted to photography. I ended up using it for much more. In fact, I keep it permanently affixed to one of my two DSLRs and bring it out even when the purpose of my trip is primarily to photograph. Read on to see my thoughts on the pros and cons of this lens, in addition to some sample photos.
PROS
1. It's small. You can put it on your camera, place your camera in a small bag, and go! No backpack full of gear. No funny looks from fellow restaurant patrons.
2. It doesn't have an Achilles' heel; no flaw that you will continuously need to plan around when shooting (when not wanting to think too much about photographing). Focus speed is adequate and issues like barrel distortion are easily correctable with software.
5. You can coax some low-light and shallow depth of field photos out of it, and get beyond typical bar or restaurant snapshots captured with a kit lens or all-in-one superzoom coupled with an onboard flash. You know, the ones with the "washed-out" foregrounds and dark backgrounds. Often, you can work without a flash when this lens is mounted to your camera. Even if you decide to use a flash, the f/1.8 aperture requires much less flash output than (slower) superzooms, saving battery life and capturing images that may have been impossible to grab with a slower lens and an onboard flash (note, however, that Speedlights do indeed add a little more flexibility when using slower lenses). I mentioned that shallow depth of field options exist with this lens and that much is true. However, let me not risk lending false attributes to this lens: while shallow depth of field photos are achievable, your compositional options for such shots are more limited than say, with a fast telephoto prime like the 85mm f/1.8D. But, when you can't have all your gear with you, it's nice to be able to "make do" with the 35mm f/1.8.
- D90 ISO 200 f/1.8 1/2500s
CONS
1. Don't take it to your kids' football games. You'll need a telephoto for that.
2. Don't take it to photograph animals in the wild or at the zoo. Like team-sport athletes, animals are usually too far away for a 35mm prime to be very useful. Caveat: I had a 35mm prime (and only a 35mm prime) with me when leaving a local riverfront restaurant. A passing stranger saw my camera around my neck and asked if I could photograph a sea gull for him. My wife grabbed some rice from our doggy bag to get the birds flying close to us. I snapped away for 10 minutes. One of those photos is now hanging on the side of a building, advertising that passerby's business. My point is that, with a little work, this lens can do a great job at many, many different scenes. Even scenes for which it was not really designed for.
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Sample Photos
Below are some photographs I recently captured with the Nikkor 35mm 1.8G. I find that this lens is great for getting a bit of an artistic look that would be quite difficult to achieve with slower "do it all" lenses. I used the below examples so that the viewer can determine for him/herself whether the qualities of this lens (including rendering of out-of-focus highlights) are suitable for his or her purposes. I find that it meets my needs quite nicely.
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Editor's Note: Check out Andrew's site for more of his photography. He is a good shooter and has a strong sense of what equipment to use in specific situations. I value his insight and straightforward approach. -MZ