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 p.1 #11 · Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.2 'Lab' Z Mount Released | |
I must say, I'm intrigued. Convincing myself to wait for the next Viltrox sale, and hopefully the Nikkor 35/1.2S will pop up in the refurbished store prior to that, so I can be even more deeply conflicted.
I haven't been a big fan of 35mm as a focal length; I'm more the 50/135 type than 35/85. The 35/1.8S mostly sits around; it's serving as my Z30's Zoom call lens, mostly. I've just never found a time where I wanted 35mm more than I wanted either the aperture of the 50/1.2 or the situational flexibility of the 24-70/2.8 more, so on the shelf it stayed.
I'd watched the 35/1.2S release, with its flood of reviews that seemed split evenly between:
"I'd tried the Z 35/1.4, and 35/1.8S and held my 35/1.4G even tighter after seeing those disasters, but the 35/1.2S has now arrived and I will never remove it from my camera"
and
"I absolutely loved the 35/1.4, both G and Z, and the 35/1.8S was a great lens, but this 35/1.2S has made me realize that I didn't even understand what joy was, and now I will never remove it from my camera"
and
"I've never been a fan of 35mm focal lengths before, but now I am, and I'm not sure I'll ever remove the 35/1.2S from my camera"
So it was clear that the 35/1.2S was the same kind of unicorn that the Plena, 50/1.2S, and 85/1.2S had been, but I still wasn't sold on the focal length, and $3k for essentially a curiosity was beyond my comfort zone. I managed to convince myself to be happy with what I had.
But a month ago, I found a Nikkor 35/1.4 on Facebook Marketplace, essentially new in box, for the same price Nikon's been asking during their refurbished sales. I knew the 35/1.4 to be... "controversial", we could say, with its busy-busy bokeh, its 1960s-era flare performance, and yet sharpness that trashed the 35/1.4G at every aperture. I figured at that price, it's a no-risk choice. I picked it up.
And I'm not sure I'll ever remove it from my camera. Something about the flare, halation, chromatic flaws, and the ⅔ extra stop makes it a whole different world than the 35/1.8S (and having a control ring doesn't hurt, either). I don't fully understand how or why, but what I'm producing with this "Nikon's junk drawer" lens is really pleasing to my eye. And I set my sights on the 35/1.2S, when it finally shows up refurbished (or here on FM's used market).
So, my question is... given my satisfaction with the 35/1.4, do I grab the Viltrox 35/1.2 and live happily ever after, or am I likely to end up trying the 35/1.2S later and realizing it's time for a garage sale and a new lens mortgage?
(Bonus points if you can answer the other question: How could I rationally expect anyone here be able to answer the first question?)
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