With that mindset, I've drooled over the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 since it was introduced. This year I included it on my Christmas list - not at all expecting to get one.
My parents surprised me. I got one.
It's got silentwave, rear-element focus. This is great because the front element does NOT move when focusing, which it does *smokin* fast. Of course it has the proprietary Nikon lens coating as well. It focuses at one foot. Not nearly as good as my 28mm, but significantly better than the 50mm. And - it'll open up to f/1.8. I tend to keep it between f/2 and the sweet spot at f/4
At first I wasn't sure what I would do with it - I already had a 50mm f/1.8 and a 28mm f/2.8. The 35mm falls in the middle.
After some experimenting, I found a great use for it.
Sports.
Believe it or not - I use the 35mm as my primary basketball lens. At f/2, it's sharper than any lens I own. The lens hood (included) means that I get better contrast and I can get by without using a UV filter.
NAU Men's Basketball celebrating a recent tournament win
Josh Lepley - NAU
The 35mm allows me to get an entire 6'5" basketball player in the frame, tip to toe while he's going for a big dunk. Previously, I'd used my 50mm prime, which gave me most of a player's torso and the dunking arm. The 50mm also doesn't have a lens hood, so I generally keep a UV filter on it. That filter gives me gnarly lens flare, and it's another piece of glass through which to shoot.
Overall, I highly recommend this lens. It's fast (in terms of light). It's fast (in terms of focus speed) and it's durable enough to take whatever I can throw at it (so far).
This morning I am leaving with 7 other awesome creatives on the visualCollective trip to Death Valley, CA. We've got 3 models and 5 photographers/cinematographers. I'm tweeting at @visCollective and we're blogging at www.thevisualcollective.com
