Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.2 S

Completes the trinity of super-fast, high-performance Z series primes

- Matthew Richards

£2,899/$2,797

You pay your money and you take your choice, as the saying goes. But pricing and choices can be difficult to navigate with some of Nikon's prime lenses, especially those with popular focal lengths. When the Z system was in its infancy, the first trilogy of upmarket S-line primes had an f/1.8 rather than f/1.4 aperture rating, such as the Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S, Z 50mm f/1.8 S and Z 85mm f/1.8 S. Image quality and all-round performance were good and they were relatively compact and lightweight, but they weren't as fast as the f/1.4 lenses to which professional photographers are more accustomed.

Perhaps more surprisingly, Nikon recently launched the Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.4 and Z 50mm f/1.4, which are naturally faster but lack S-line credentials and are less exotic than their f/1.8 siblings. And if you're in the market for a lens with a less 'classic' focal length but want something seriously small and lightweight, there are the Nikkor Z 28mm f/2.8 and Z 40mm f/2, both of which are available in 'SE' versions with retro styling to match the Nikon Z f and Nikon Z fc.

So where does the new Z 35mm f/1.2 S fit in? It's comparatively big, heavy and hugely expensive to buy. As such, it follows the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 S and Z 85mm f/1.2 S, completing a trinity of super-fast f/1.2 lenses designed to extract every last drop of performance from Nikon's best Z system cameras, as well as being one of the best Nikon Z lenses in its own right.

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