Nikon Nikkor Z 35 mm f/1.2 S review

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Nikon Nikkor Z 35 mm f/1.2 S

2 March 2026

Maciej Latałło

7. Coma, astigmatism and bokeh

In relation to coma, our expectations were high because of the weight, dimensions, and price of the lens. Here we are a bit disappointed. In the corner of the APS-C/DX sensor everything still looks well; only at f/1.2 can you notice a slight enlargement of the image of a diode. The situation changes a bit as you pass to the corner of the full frame, where optical aberrations of higher degrees make themselves felt. They are responsible for the characteristic wings – an effect still visible even on stopping down the aperture by 1 EV but no longer so pronounced.

Center, f/1.2	Corner APS-C, f/1.2	Corner FF, f/1.2

Center, f/1.8	Corner APS-C, f/1.8	Corner FF, f/1.8

To make our test more comprehensive, we decided to show crops taken from photos of night sky taken from the right-hand upper corner of full frame. This time we show images taken by f/1.2, f/1.8, and f/2.5. This time the deformation of the point-like source of light in a form of a star is visible as well but not so pronounced as in case of a diode, described earlier.

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Corner FF, f/1.2	Corner FF, f/1.8	Corner FF, f/2.5

Astigmatism, understood as an average difference between horizontal and vertical MTF50 function values, amounted to 13.2%, a value considered to be medium. Still, we should emphasize the fact that the aberration, described here, makes itself felt only by f/1.2 and f/1.4; by f/2.0 it disappears almost completely.

Considering the fact that the optical construction of the tested Nikkor is simply larded with as many as four aspherical elements, we expected that it would be difficult to ensure nice out-of-focus areas and avoid onion ring bokeh. Still, we admit that the final result is good, with an even spread of light in the rings, onion ring bokeh barely visible, and a brighter rim only slightly accented.

Center, f/1.2	Corner APS-C, f/1.2	Corner FF, f/1.2

Center, f/1.8	Corner APS-C, f/1.8	Corner FF, f/1.8

Center, f/2.5	Corner APS-C, f/2.5	Corner FF, f/2.5

Quite pronounced mechanical vignetting, that makes itself felt even on stopping down the aperture by 2 EV, is also a problem and not exactly pleasant surprise. It's certainly not something you would expect from a lens with record-breaking physical dimensions for its class.