The Nikon NIKKOR Z DX MC 35mm f/1.7 lens hits that sweet spot between casual shooting and serious close-up work, so you are not constantly swapping lenses just to cover everyday scenes and detail shots. Here's a look at what you can expect.
Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this detailed video takes a close look at the Nikon NIKKOR Z DX MC 35mm f/1.7 lens, showing how it behaves as both a standard prime and a macro option on Nikon’s APS-C Z bodies. Frost walks through the basics first, like its compact size, 220 g weight, and the fact that it is built mostly from plastic but still feels solid with a metal mount and a weather-sealing gasket around the back. You see how the internal focusing keeps the barrel from extending, which is more useful than it sounds when you are close to a subject or working in light rain. He also points out some missing touches, such as the lack of a customizable control ring and a bundled hood, so you know where Nikon trimmed things to keep it affordable. The tone is practical, so you come away with a sense of how the lens fits into real use instead of a spec sheet.
From there, Frost spends time on the autofocus and handling, which matters a lot if you are thinking of this as an everyday lens rather than something you only pull out for macro. Autofocus comes across as quiet, accurate, and reasonably quick, so you can shoot street scenes or family moments without hunting getting in the way. Focus breathing is noticeable, which you will care about more if you film video or reframe a lot while focusing. Frost also highlights that the lens ships without optical stabilization, so you rely on in-body stabilization or higher shutter speeds, particularly when working up close. If you mostly shoot stills in good light, this is manageable, but the video goes deeper into when you might feel that limitation.
Image quality is where the lens starts to look more interesting than its modest size suggests. Frost tests sharpness on a 20-megapixel DX body and shows that the center is already crisp at f/1.7, with a bump in contrast when you stop down slightly to f/2. Corners look decent wide open, then clean up nicely by f/2.8, which is where he suggests you work if you want the best across-frame detail in non-macro shots. When he shifts to close-up work, you see that this lens is clearly tuned for macro use, with impressive sharpness even wide open at close distances and very refined results by f/2, which makes product shots, food, and detail-heavy subjects look polished without heavy editing. The video goes further into how diffraction creeps in at smaller apertures and what that means if you like shooting at f/11 or beyond.
Key Specs
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Focal length: 35mm (52.5mm equivalent on DX)
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Maximum aperture: f/1.7 to 3.2
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Minimum aperture: f/16 to 22
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Lens mount: Nikon Z
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Lens format coverage: APS-C
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Minimum focus distance: 6.3" / 16 cm from sensor
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Maximum magnification: 0.67x (1:1.5 macro reproduction ratio)
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Optical design: 8 elements in 7 groups
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Focus type: Autofocus
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Image stabilization: None
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Filter size: 52mm front thread
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Dimensions: 2.8 x 2.8" / 70 x 72 mm
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Weight: 7.8 oz / 220 g
Frost does not ignore the flaws, and those will matter depending on how you shoot. Vignetting is strong at f/1.7 with corrections off, which can look either annoying or stylish depending on your taste and whether you correct it in post. Coma smearing around bright points of light in the corners at wide apertures means this is not the ideal choice if nightscapes are your main thing, especially when you want pinpoint stars across the frame. On the other hand, if you mostly care about close-up subjects and everyday scenes, the trade-off is easier to accept once you see how clean the macro rendering is and how pleasant the background blur looks in most real-world shots. The video also goes into flare behavior, sun stars, and chromatic aberration so you can judge how it handles trickier lighting than simple daytime use. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Frost.
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