Nikkor 35mm f1.8 G alternatives...

This is very nice lens, sharp wide open and bright, but I do not like too much distortion and chromatic aberation so I wonder if there is something better for similar price.

I also have Sigma 17-50 f2.8 and this lens is just brilliant, not just for the price, I like it much more than this 35mm Nikkor, but I need a fast "normal" prime for low light, so I am thinking about Sigma 30mm f1.4 ART.

Could someone tell me more about this lens, is this an upgrade, or just spending more money on marketing trick?

I had two copies of that lens and both of them had focus issues so bad they were returned within a couple days of receipt. That being said, I really wanted to like the lens. The Sigma 30mm felt a lot heavier and sturdier than the Nikon "G" lenses and both copies I tried had very smooth, well damped manual focus rings. Everything about them about felt better than the Nikon version. I loved the 30mm focal length and I wish to this day one of those lenses had worked out for me. I'm convinced I just got bad copies but it turns out I wasn't the only complaining about about the focus issue I would later discover (see the reviews on Amazon for example (my story is there as well)). Long story short, I wound up with a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 instead. I love it, but it's not the same as that 30mm was; it's also a lot more expensive. As much as I love my current Sigma 35mm f/1.4, the 30mm really hit some kind of "sweet spot" that makes me want to give it just one more shot.

I reviewed the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 in this thread if you care to read it.

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I opted for the Tokina 35mm 2.8 and was not disappointed. It was more expensive than the Nikon but is very solidly built.

Thank you...

Tokina is little bit slow, I already have 2.8 zoom, I need something faster, 1.4 will be perfect.

Yes, so many people complain about Sigma AF consistancy.
I wonder if that can be tested on place because I can have 10 minutes to test the lens before buying...
I would have 7 days after to return the lens if it does not work well, but for how long you tested Sigma before you decided to turn it back?

alfaholic said:

Thank you...


Tokina is little bit slow, I already have 2.8 zoom, I need something faster, 1.4 will be perfect.


Yes, so many people complain about Sigma AF consistancy.
I wonder if that can be tested on place because I can have 10 minutes to test the lens before buying...
I would have 7 days after to return the lens if it does not work well, but for how long you tested Sigma before you decided to turn it back?

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I test every new lens I get right out of the box and one of those tests means taking the same exact shot five times with each shot using a different (single) focus-point. Nothing tricky here, I shoot these tests in full daylight, using aperture priority and typical settings like f/5.6 at 1/250 using ISO100 or what have you... Each shot uses a single focus-point in each of the four corners and the fifth shot uses the center focus-point.

With both of the Sigma 30mm lense's as soon I tried using *any* focus-point other than the center focus-point the shots were horribly blurry. I don't mean the shots looked "soft" I mean they were shockingly bad. The AF wasn't "hunting" either I was getting focus-lock very quickly each time. Again, these were easy shots being done in full daylight. The results were consistent and repeatable though the second copy was significantly better than the first. I was convinced within a couple hours there was something wrong but I gave them a couple days of testing before sending them back.

I absolutely suggest you give one of these lenses a shot; I'm convinced I just got a pair of bad copies and a good one would be a wonderful thing. I really can't tell you how badly I wanted one of mine to work out because I really liked everything about it. If you can get even ONE day of serious shooting time to really test the lens, you'll know if it's a good one or not and you owe it to yourself to find out. Here's hoping your experience is better than mine!

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Very interesting method.

This Nikon 35mm f1.8 is problematic at tungsten light, it misses focus very often. That was with D7000, now I have D7100 and things are better. Also, D7000 was never hesitating, but D7100 is searching a bit longer and you can hear it tries to focus before it locks. But, D7000 was off very often, and D7100 is not.
I think that difference is because different AF systems, but the lens is problematic in this conditions.

I like to test my lenses by photographing some text on my monitor. AF system can lock easily because there is so much contrast, so if it misses the focus it is because of the lens.
Also, I test my lenses at low light indoor using center focus point wide open, because it is much easier to see if something is not right.
At f5.6 there is so much in focus, so there is something really wrong with those lenses.

I will sell this 35mm G and try Sigma 30mm, then we will see. I will have 7 days to test it, but for me it is important that f1.4 lens works well at f1.4, that is the reason I want to buy it.

alfaholic said:

Very interesting method.

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Well it's just one thing I want to check; I like knowing that all the focus points will work with the lens because that's a deal-breaker all by itself.

alfaholic said:

I will sell this 35mm G and try Sigma 30mm, then we will see. I will have 7 days to test it, but for me it is important that f1.4 lens works well at f1.4, that is the reason I want to buy it.

Click to expand...

An entire week is plenty of time to figure out if the lens is up to par or not so I'd definitely suggest you try the lens and see what you think. I will tell you when I stuck to using just the center focus-point, all my shots were razor sharp corner to corner, even wide open, with no discernible front/back-focus. Color and contrast were excellent and while I could find some chromatic aberration it was very well controlled overall.
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I found the old 30mm Sigma EX for half the price of the new ART lens, is that lens any good?
I read some horror stories about that lens, I do not know if that is true, but many people say that lens is soft, problematic, autofocus does not work well, and so on...