Lens review

Nikon Nikkor AF 35 mm f/2D

8. Vignetting

Remembering the Canon 1.4/35 slip-up with vignetting, we were very curious how the Nikkor would fare in this category.

On the small Nikon D200 sensor at maximum relative aperture, the corner illumination loss was 33% (-1.16 EV) so quite a lot. Fortunately on stopping down to f/2.8 the vignetting decreases to 16% and it becomes imperceptible by f/4.0 (9%).

On full frame we expected a worse result. Luckily, it wasn’t a lot worse. By f/2.0 we lose 46% of corner illumination (-1.76 EV) and by f/2.8 – 30%. On stopping downto f/4.0 the vignetting decreases to the 21% level and by f/5.6 it reaches 15%. Only by f/8.0, though, we stop having any problems with it (10%).

Overall, the conclusions are not favorable for the Nikkor. The vignetting is visible even on a small detector and on full frame it increases significantly. Here the lens has to pay for its compact dimensions.