Nikon 35mm f1.2 Z S Review

Spread the love We’re able to do this through our partnership with Full-Frame Insurance, a company specializing in Small Business Insurance. Are you a Freelance Photographer? We’ll cover you. What about a freelance multi-media journalist? We’ve got you. The Photography Care Program will protect you.The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications […]

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We’re able to do this through our partnership with Full-Frame Insurance, a company specializing in Small Business Insurance. Are you a Freelance Photographer? We’ll cover you. What about a freelance multi-media journalist? We’ve got you. The Photography Care Program will protect you.The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:This is why we’ve created a Photography Care Program in partnership with Full-Frame Insurance. Now, photographers across the United States looking for extra security can get various protections to cover their craft. The Photography Care Program provides peace of mind; now you’ll know you can bounce back from a photoshoot gone awry, on-site or inside. We’re making it super easy to get it done, too! Better yet, there is coverage outside of the US and Canada when the photographer is traveling for short periods of time for business.We’re going to save our final conclusions for when the review is all done. As of early February 2025, it’s in progress still. Our original findings are done with a pre-production unit.In my tests so far though, this is probably the fastest autofocusing lens that has an f1.2 aperture and is full-frame that we’ve tested. That’s also perhaps because it’s such a wide-angle lens and Nikon’s autofocus is much better than Sigma’s.

The Big Picture: Nikon 35mm f1.2 Z S Review Conclusions

The pre-production unit that we tested was used with the Nikon Z6 III and the Nikon Zf. The Zf is our own unit. the pre-production lens and the Nikon Z6 III are loaner units provided to us by Nikon.

Pros

Not super heavy; though not the lightest.
Probably the fastest focusing f1.2 full-frame lens that we’ve ever tested.
Weather resistance

Cons

Big; much more so than I’d like to carry around every day
Nikon’s asking a bit too much money for this

Innovations

For years, here at The Phoblographer we’ve done tests on cameras, lenses, bags, computers, lights, and more. And we know that your warranty doesn’t always cover the damage. Plus, accidents can happen on set.

Gear Used in our Nikon 35mm f1.2 Z S Review

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Hardware

The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.This is a simple lens to use. Screw it onto the camera, point, focus, and shoot. That’s all there is to it. There is no LCD screen the way that other Nikon lenses have. But if you use scene detection and the full autofocus area for street photography, this lens will be super easy to use.

Protect Your Camera Gear

More can be found on our Disclaimers page.I, like many of you, dream of beautiful lenses that have image quality dripping with nice bokeh. And in so many ways, the Nikon 35mm f1.2 Z S lens is capable of doing exactly that. With a bright f1.2 aperture, full-frame coverage, two autofocus motors for fast focusing, and weather resistance, what’s not to like? If you’re a professional photographer, we think that you’re the one who will be going for this lens the most. This lens joins the family of the Nikon 35mm f1.4 and the Nikon 35mm f1.8 S. And yes, it truly was needed — the 35mm f1.8 is for speed, the f1.4 is for character, and the f1.2 is for the pro. At least, that’s what it seems to be.We’ll fill this in once we receive the full tech specs list.At the moment, I’m not making any final conclusions, but this lens is very sharp and we didn’t see any major traditional problems with this lens’s output. And for nearly ,000 I’d really hope that there are no issues. The bokeh is beautiful; but perhaps I’m most enamored with the sharpness. And that’s odd for even me to say!

Focusing

One of the best things about this lens is that it’s weather resistant and it’s very reliable. We tested it in 19 degrees (in American) and it kept working flawlessly. For anyone looking to get really unique images, this could be the lens to choose for the moment until someone else makes a competing 35mm f1.2.Well, this is the only first party 35mm f1.2 lens with autofocus for mirrorless cameras. Sigma has an option too; but let’s be honest, their cameras are a funnier joke than the American Healthcare System. The Nikon variant uses two motors to make the autofocus fast. But otherwise, there isn’t anything to this lens that’s making it unique. Nikon is taking in the same formula as Sony with just focusing on sharpness rather than what Canon tends to do with finding ways to make their lenses unique.

Ease of Use

And at the end of all this, I think that I’d instead reach for the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Z instead because of the extra little bit of character that Nikon says it delivers. Also, it’s small and lightweight enough that I’d actually want to bring it around with me. But that opinion might change.It took me into my late 30s to realize what so many folks older than me don’t: the grass is truly greener where you water it.

Image Quality

This is a big lens, don’t get me wrong. However, when doing street photography with the Nikon 35mm f1.2 Z attached to the Z6 III in temperatures colder than freezing, it felt comfortable to use even with gloves. Still, it’s not an everyday lens. It’s a lens that when you take it out, you know that you’re doing to work to make something a bit more unique.

Extra Image Samples

Combined with the Nikon Z6 III, the Nikon 35mm f1.2 S wasn’t able to keep up with moving subjects for street photography when shooting wide open. But when stopped down to f2 and f2.8, it had no issues at all. I combined that with scene detection and AF-C in addition to shooting 5 frames a second. And honestly, I came away with so many keeper images for the day. These truly aren’t all portfolio worthy – and I only spent maybe 5 hours with the lens in my hand. But I’m very proud of the images I made and how the performance of the camera and lens didn’t get in the way. More importantly, Nikon’s autofocus abilities worked for people of color with melanin in their skin. I can’t hate on that.

Unedited

Edited (A Preview of Our Early Digital Photography Presets)

For the Nikon 35mm f1.2 Z S, I want to tap into a quote by poet Peter Burghardt. “I waste too much time trying to figure out how I look. The best trend is always a change or a return, settling into reruns and knowing what they’re not.” When I read this quote, it brought me back to earth.

Declaration of Journalistic Intent

There was surely a point where I wish that this lens had zone focusing, but in reality, the lens focuses so quickly that you don’t need it. Instead, you just need a fast enough shutter speed and ISO to get blur-free images.

At the time of publishing this review, Nikon is not a direct advertiser with the Phoblographer. No money was exchanged between us and Nikon for a review. We abide by FTC laws.
We’re initially publishing this review with a pre-production unit. Later, we’ll update it with a production unit, which could even be updated as new firmware comes in.
Nikon doesn’t allow us to post RAW files or pixel peep with the pre-production unit. However, the Phoblographer never pixel peeps anyway or posts RAW files.
This is a continually updated review of the camera. Depending on when you visit the site, you’ll see various changes.
This review, and none of the reviews on the Phoblographer, are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
Nikon loaned the Nikon Z6 III, Nikon 35mm f1.2 Z, and accessories to the Phoblographer for review. There was no money exchange between Nikon and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Nikon and several other manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
Nikon met with the Phoblographer in NYC, where we’re primarily based. The Phoblographer set up our own shooting situation. Nikon paid for breakfast and coffee, and the Phoblographer paid for chai.
Nikon knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know.
The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. We’ve also steered away from Micro Four Thirds and APS-C as they’re dying formats. This is a conclusion that even the other members of TIPA agree on. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
In recent years, brands have withheld NDA information or stopped working with us because they feel they cannot control our coverage. These days, many brands will not give products to the press unless they get favorable coverage. In other situations, we’ve stopped working with several brands for ethical issues. Either way, we report as honestly and rawly as humanity allows. Nikon has always respected the Phoblographer’s opinions and only checks us on facts.
At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.