NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.4

Reviewers found good central sharpness wide open, with the corners and edges trailing until about f/2.8 to f/4. Heavy vignetting at f/1.4 and some longitudinal colour fringing are the main optical weak points, and most testers concluded that the older 35mm f/1.8 S is the better lens for flat, edge-to-edge detail.

What earns it recommendations is the combination of price, size and rendering. Background blur is judged smoother and more pleasant than the f/1.8 S, close focus at 0.27m is useful, and AF is quick and quiet enough for stills and video. Build is plastic-heavy and there is no focus-mode switch, both expected at this price.

Owners like it as a light everyday prime for the Zf, Z6III and Z5 II, and many describe the rendering as softer and more 'filmic' than Nikon's clinical S-line primes. The low launch price, and frequent discounts since, are mentioned often.

Common complaints are dark corners in uncorrected raw files, purple and green fringing on high-contrast edges wide open, and the absence of an AF/MF switch. A few owners who also had the 35mm f/1.8 S kept the S for landscape work.