Customer Ratings & Reviews

I'm an amateur photographer who knows the basics of photography, but I definitely don't consider myself an expert. However, like everyone else, I strive to take the best photos possible. I have a Nikon D5300 and the two kit lenses it came with, along with a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. I love the 50mm lens, but found that it was a little difficult to use indoors for family shots because you need to stand further back to capture your subjects, making space a bit of an issue at times. I decided to purchase the 35mm f/1.8 lens for indoor family photo sessions, and I have not been disappointed! In my opinion, the focal length is perfect for taking photos inside the house, and the f/1.8 maximum aperture really helps you to have nice, bright photos using only the natural light in your house (which I prefer to using flash or artificial lighting). I've only had this lens for a couple of days and taken only a few dozen photos, but I love the sharpness and quality of the images. The bokeh is also exceptional and really helps your subjects to "pop." This fast lens really gives my photos that professional look that everyone aims for. Another plus is that this lens is small and light, making it easy to carry and comfortable for longer photos sessions. I'm very happy with this lens and think it's a great addition to anyone's arsenal, regardless of skill level, especially if you take lots of photos indoors.

This is the sort of lens that would have been in a kit with an SLR a decade ago. It provides roughly a normal field of view (the focal length of the lens is the same as the diagonal measure of the image sensor or film). Unlike the kit lens of a DX Nikon, this allows for instant focus over-ride (Nikon calls this M/A mode), and the fast f/1.8 aperture gathers much more light for shooting moving subjects than anything in its price range, and certainly more than any zoom lens. The image circle is only large enough for Nikon's DX sensor format, not 135 film or FX digital, however, due to its relatively large image circle, it will also mount and work properly on the Nikon Pronea series of APS film cameras, if you still shoot one of those. It's small and lightweight, and features a metal lens mount for greater durability, a rubber gasket to keep contaminents out of your lens and body, and no external moving glass as it focuses, so there's no air being pumped in and out of the lens when you focus, making it great for less than ideal enviroments. It also has a 52 mm filter thread, the same as most manual focus and inexpensive DX lenses, so you only have to carry one size of filter and not drive yourself crazy. Although it's sharp, remaining so for the most part until it's wide open, it has some distortion and isn't as rectalinear - meaning straight lines appear straight - as I'd like, which is to be expected at this price point, and can be corrected in software. Bokeh can also be somewhat distracting, as this lens produces even discs. This is an indication of a lack of spherical aberation in the optics, which can be good for many things, but with this lens' tendancy to produce bokeh very quickly at f/1.8, it could be better. I absolutely recomend this lens. If I had to shoot with one lens on Nikon DX forever, I'd pick this one.

This is a great lens but didn't realize it was not for my full frame dslr. My mistake but still performs relatively well even on fx camera.

Works well. Have not used as much as I would have hoped by now but I will update later.

Lens is adequate. Does what should do. Image could be a bit sharper.

Just use the lens the camera came with because this is a waste of money

Great for landscape shots, especially at this price point!

A 35mm is such a great lens to use for so many styles of shoots. Grabs light and very versatile

We enjoy using this lens for shooting portrait style pics of our granddaughter. Works great

Very nice lens, a favorite of mine. I use this often for portraits and A few other shots.

Bad in the house for lowlight focusing issues occur

35mm f/1.8 was perfect lens for indoor everyday portrait shots, and cheapest option without zoom. I wanted a low f-stop bright lens, and previously purchased 50mm f/1.8 lens for my Nikon D90. Then, I realized it is great if you are taking a portrait outside in open space (blurs background so nicely), but not useful when you want to take portrait in indoor... For casual dinner event, you'll find yourself right against the wall to take an ordinary portrait shot. So I needed something I can use closer without causing too much distortion (wide lens can make the subject's nose bigger if you are too close!). I found 35mm to be adequate, but of course, people are used to having zoom lens and around 28mm type lens when you are taking pictures of your friends and family... You still find yourself moving few steps backwards when you are about to take portrait shots. For a perfect lens, you have to cough up some money to buy zoom lens with low f value.

The Entire Camera is Great. Would Recommend it it.

Husband loved it easy to use with his camera and loves the micro

I purchased this lens as an addition to my Nikon D-90 but I could not get it to attach I did not want to exert too much pressure on it & ruin my camera so I returned it to Best Buy & was charged a restocking fee! I went home & immediately called & canceled my Best Buy card.

If you currently own a DSLR kit lens, you maybe wondering why you need to shift to a prime lens that your kit lens zoom range already covers. The simplest answer is this prime lens does things that no kit lens could ever do. But to first convince yourself if you need a 35mm prime lens, take a look at the exif data you've used in your other pictures. Chances are, you have taken a lot of indoor shots and you will see that you took a lot of shots in the 35 to 40 mm range of zoom already. So, a 35mm lens is pretty much in the sweet spot for most your pictures. Next look at how many photographs you took that require the use of a flash. The beautiful thing about an F1.8 stop lens is that it allows you to take a natural light photography, indoors, without using the flash and having an incredibly sharp image all the same. Don't worry that this lens does not have vibration reduction, it doesn't need it. It is so fast at that wide open aperture that camera shake isn't really an issue under most indoor lighting circumstances. Of course this lens won't replace a good telephoto zoom under all circumstances. For example under outdoor lighting conditions for sports or an air show or something like that you'll want a telephoto zoom. But I keep this lens on my camera at all times indoors so I can finally catch those shots of the kids running around being adorable or doing something goofy and not have to worry about flash or overexposed pictures or out of focus pictures because the kit lens wasn't able to keep up or wasn't open wide enough to take a good shot. I'm still debating whether I need to get the much touted 50 mm prime lens, but for sure the 35mm here is a no-brainer.

This lens might be all you need for your camera. I use it with my Nikon D300s, and it is the only lens I have so far. I may eventually purchase a zoom or wide-angle lens, but so far this one is all I need. I'm very happy with the great shots I'm getting, even in very low light. It is not a zoom, wide-angle, or other specialty lens, so don't expect that from it, but you won't find a better prime lens at a lower price or even the same price as this one!

This is a great lens. It's super fast at f/1.8 and incredibly sharp. Shooting at f/1.4 makes it difficult to maintain precise focus (without a tripod and inanimate subject), so the half-stop difference between this and the f/1.4 version really doesn't really matter practically other than this being much less expensive. Great overall.

When i bought my first DSLR, I got this 35mm lens with my zoom, thinking to use it only in some family party or birthdays, closed in the wall of some house, I hate flash so I need a low-light lens. The problem started when I mounted this 35mm on my little Nikon D3100: I can't get it off! Simply it's fantastic. I usually shot people and landscapes, but this lens has become my faithful night friend. It took the place of my other zoom lens (Nikkor 16-85) and now I roam in the evening and also some hours in the night catching spectacular photos of bell towers, old medieval buildings and many other particulars (bricks, windows, ...) that during the day are invisible, because literally covered by people or cars passing by. Not be frightened of darkness, this 35mm can see in a large sort of conditions, where you will never mind of taking a photo. It's light, autofocuses rapidly and also in low light conditions, but if you need grab it ad it will follow (automatically switches to manual focus). Hand held your camera, 1/30 sec is just what you need; white balance and saturation can regulate the colors of your picture or, if you dare, give them that particular amazing effect

This lens is exceptional! The performance is extraordinary for the price. I would have never imagined something like this. Once I picked up this glass, I have rarely put it back down. It has great contrast and insanely sharp images. It's good for low light situations and the bokeh is great as well. If you have an opportunity to get one, do it now, you won't regret it.