Nikon 18mm f/3.5

I personally buy from Ritz, Adorama and Amazon. I can't vouch for any other ads.

Nikon 18mm f/3.5
(manual focus)
© 2007 KenRockwell.com

I just got one of these in September 2007. I'm waiting for my Nikon D3 to give it a full report. For now, this is all based on shooting on 35mm film and DX digital.

The most intriguing thing about this 18mm lens is that it appears to have less linear distortion than most other Nikkor wide angle lenses. Of course objects in the corners get sucked out towards the corners, the whole point of ultrawide angle lenses, but straight lines stay straighter than they do on my 20mm Nikkors and 17mm Tokina.

It has similar performance to the more compact 20mm f/4 AI and 20mm f/3.5 AI lenses I already own, but of course it's 10% wider.

This lens works great on film cameras and the Nikon D3. It's silly to use it on DX digital cameras, since there are much better and less expensive alternatives, like the 18-55mm AFS II, which won't work on film and FX cameras.

You can get this 18mm f/3.5 used at Adorama for around $300 in 2007, depending on condition.

Optics: It has 11 elements in 10 groups. It has close range correction (CRC).

Filters: 72mm. (The 20mm f/3.5 AI-s and 20mm f/4 AI take common 52mm filters).

Size: It's 2.953" diameter and extends 2.462" from the mounting flange (75.01 x 62.53mm), measured by me. Nikon specifies 3.0 x 2.4" (75 x 61.5mm).

Price: No longer available new. Sells for about $300 used in 2007. It listed for $940 at B&H in December 1993 and $1,080 in December 1996, new.

It gave the usual performance: a soft corners wide open, improving greatly a stop or two down.

California Lifeguard Shack, 26 September 2007. 18mm at f/16, F6, Fuji Velvia 100.

The 18mm has less distortion than the manual focus 20mm lenses. If you keep a straight line, like the horizon, along the top edge, it stays remarkably straight. Few if any Nikon wide angles can make the shot above without the line along the top bowing out.

There is some bulging or barrel distortion in the center. If you shoot a brick wall, the outsides are great, and there is some slight bulging in the middle.

Distortion on the FX and film cameras is complex, and used judiciously, can give some nice results with architecture. It's bowed out in the center, the only part of the image used with DX cameras, but the far sides on film and DX straighten out again. For horizontal shots with vertical lines, put them towards the sides and they are perfect.

California Lifeguard Shack, 26 September 2007. 18mm at f/11, F6, Fuji Velvia 100.

There is one big, dim, red blob opposite the sun. Look very carefully and you can see it on the closest foot of the tower. It's not a problem. There also are a couple of little ones closer to the sun.

California Lifeguard Shack, 26 September 2007. 18mm at f/11, F6, Fuji Velvia 100.

Brilliant point of light may grow 14-pointed stars due to the excellent 7-bladed diaphragm. This is typical for most Nikkor lenses.

This is the same film as above, scanned more darkly. Film shows a lot more than the limited dynamic range of a computer screen. The darker version also shows the ghosts closer to the sun more clearly.

The Nikon 18mm f/3.5 AI-s is a classic lens designed to take the smallest possible filter. That means that Nikon fitted it with the smallest possible filter threads, which means you're always on the hairy edge of vignetting.

Modern lenses like the bigger and better 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S are designed for oversize filters to eliminate the possibility of vignetting, but this 18mm isn't.

Therefore, if used on a D3 or film where you need the full image out to the corners, you'll want to use a Nikon brand filter, which are all thin, or a thin filter from others.

You'll get away with using a conventional 72mm filter, but you might get just a tiny bit of darkening in the corners.

I can use a 72 -> 77mm step up ring, but then the darkening is even more of a potential problem.

If you use this on a DX camera there is never any problem, but it's a waste of this lens to use it on a DX camera since DX cameras only use the center of the image. (see crop factor.)

Wait until my D3 arrives and I'll really let you know, compared also to the 18mm AF and other AFS zooms.

I skipped this lens in 1999 since I got the same or better performance out of my 20mm f/4 lens. On the bad side, the 18mm is big, takes big filters, and costs an awful lot more. For my use, the 18mm was less desirable due to the size, and more expensive, so I didn't use one. We'll see when the D3 arrives.