Yongnuo 35mm f/2 Nikon Z

35mm for me is the ideal 'standard' focal length on 135 or FX format. I had hoped when I upgraded to a Nikon Z 8 that the budget 40/2 would fill the gap, but it was just a fraction too 'long' for me. Nor did the Z 28/2.8 sit comfortably at the wide end.

Just arrived: a Yongnuo 35/2.

I ordered direct from the company's Website and postage to Germany cost €14 inc import tax. 

Delivery time was 9 days.

This saved me about €75 compared to Amazon or eBay.

First impressions are very good. Build-quality and feel are excellent; size and weight are spot-on for a 35/2.

I did a head-to-head with all of my old Nikkor lenses (I won't bother posting the test images as it's meaningless after resizing for web, plus there are better images in some of the online reviews) and it's easily as good if not better than my Nikon AF-S 35/1.4 G at comparable apertures, noticably better at all apertures than my 1994 Nikkor AF-D 35/2 and a whole lot better than my old 1977 Nikkor K (Ai) 35/2 - all of which were 'fine' at the time I bought them (and I was still using the AF-D 35/2 last month on a D750)...

Apart from the difference in focal length it also appears just as sharp or better than the Nikon Z 28/2.8 and Z-40/2, which I can now dispose of as surplus to requirement (I also bought a Nikon Z 50/1.8S)

I only replaced my old 35/ with the faster 35/1.4 last year after the older lens suffered another oil spill on the iris blades (a common issue with the first release of the AF-D 35/2). This was the third time and while it's a cheap fix, the independent repair shop I use in Dortmund warned me that their repair tech will be retiring soon: he only works part-time now anyway. 

I've been using that lens as my standard prime since I bought it to use with my Nikon F5 back in about 1996 and I've been very pleased with it. 

Optically, I couldn't really see any difference between Nikon's 35/2 and 35/1.4 at comparable apertures, but I wasn't a fan of the faster lens' size or weight.

While not as compact as either the Ai or Af-D 35/2s, the Yongnuo isn't as heavy or bulky as the f/1.4, so is exactly what I wanted...

L-R 1977 Nikkor Ai (K) 35/2; 1994 Nikon Af 35/2D; 2010 Nikon Af-S 35/1.4G; 2024 Yongnuo Z 35/2