First Impressions: AF NIKKOR 35mm f/2.0 D

I’ve been weighing in on the AF NIKKOR 35mm f/2.0 D for nearly as long as the 50mm f/1.8 D. It’s only a tiny bit longer than the 50, but it’s built is a little more robustly. It has more in common with the other D lenses, except that it lacks a bayonet hood mount. Thus I bought it with the Vello equivalent of the Nikon HN-3.

I was surprised to see it shipping with the latest version of the rear lens cap, and no US prefix in the serial number despite its being an official US warranty model. So, this truly is the most up-to-date iteration of this long-lived lens. 

In the hand it feels solid, and the manual focus is like silk. No play (and no viscous damping) in the direct coupled focus ring, unlike the geared G lenses which are difficult to focus manually due to gear lash. Sure, their clutched coupling allows you to adjust focus while you still have the shutter button depressed halfway. But by the time you rock the focus ring back and forth, you’ve missed the shot. G lenses are great, but more evolutionary than revolutionary, and not necessarily a replacement for their ancestors.

The hood is great, comparable to the real HN-3 in terms of quality. But ironically, the narrower Kalt 52mm metal hood I purchased for the AF 50/1.8 works fine too, even with a filter. 

Having followed the great reviews and coming to fully appreciate the versatility of an autofocus 35mm lens that’s so small, light and fast has made this purchase a no-brainer. Especially now that I’m shooting full frame.

I’m fairly sure this will be my new Go-to AF lens.

It’s Like Buying a New Lens

How cool is it that I can still buy a brand new HB-18 hood for my AF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 D? Pretty cool. Back in the day, these were accessories. Today, the G lenses all come with hoods, undoubted subsidized by the cost savings of not having to include an aperture ring.

The hood is circular, so no problems given that the filter threads rotate on zoom. But, it’s also large enough to mount a 77mm filter with a step-up ring. And that’s pretty awesome now that I’m converting over to 77mm filters.

First Impressions: AF 50mm f/1.8 D

Finally, FINALLY! It’s been five years, and I’ve finally scored one of the best values in NIKKOR lenses.

I’ve been pining over this since I first started on my DSLR journey in 2010. There was no point in buying this since I already had the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4. But now, with the full-frame D610, it makes sense. It’s the smallest, lightest, autofocus 50mm lens, with a direct-coupled, windowless focus ring, and an aperture ring which allows for macro lens reversal. 

It took me a while to get used to its silver markings; I had forgotten that at some point Nikon had switched over to silver from the more traditional white. This is not the same caliber as the other D lenses, like the 20mm D, which has some heft. By contrast, this is light as a feather, and that's a bit disconcerting at first. It feels like it would be right at home on a Holga. But one turn of its direct-coupled focus ring, and it grows on you quickly. With only a filter thread for mounting a hood, it harkens back to the more traditional MF 50mm lenses. But its silver markings give a nod to the now. It’s in a class of its own, and a world apart from the AF-S 50mm f/1.4 G.

Kalt 52mm Metal Lens Hood

As my new AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8 D does not have a dedicated bayonet hood, I decided to order this very inexpensive metal hood from Kalt.

My last experience with this brand was many years ago, when I purchased 35mm film canisters from them. I still use them to this day. It’s a well-established brand for generic accessories. I figured, for $9.95 I could’t go wrong.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this hood is just terrific. Extremely well-machined from aluminum, black anodized, and carrying a simple silver tampo marking: 52mm. Is it flocked inside you ask?. No, even better; machined ribs, and 58mm filter threads at the open end. But most importantly, I can fit the original lens cap inside. Or, I can just add a 58mm cap to the end.

If fits the 50mm AF-D perfectly, and is in fact, smaller in diameter than the lens itself, making it quite compact.

And, at 52mm, it also works perfectly with my Nikon 50mm f/1.8 E, Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL II and even my AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8 G when used in DX crop mode.