35mm f/1.8: small play on focus ring

[miguel_martinez4]

<p>Dear photonetters,<br>

Yesterday I bought my first non-kit lens, the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 AF-S. I haven't really shot much with it, but so far it mirrors the behaviour I've read in several places. It seems quite sharp (no tripod shoots to a wall yet, thogh), and suffers from chromatic aberrations easily removed in ViewNX 2.<br>

Anyway, since I bought it in a physical shop and I want to make sure it's a decent sample, I had two questions. The first, and most important, mirrors the thread title. I've noticed that the focus ring has a teeny weeny play forwards and backwards. I'd estimate the movement is about 0.5mm (~1/32 of an inch). Is this normal? I suppose so, this being an entry-level lens. I wouldn't want to buy a lens that had been discarded because of this by another person, though.<br>

The other question is related to ghosts. The first serious shots I took with the lens were taken yesterday at dusk near Tower Bridge in London (kinda like dpreview!). Anyway, in some cases I could see some ghosts of the strongest lights, and I was shooting without a filter. I'll attach an example when I get home. Has anyone seen anything similar? Maybe it was a reflection from the sensor, after all...</p>

<p>Regards,<br>

Miguel</p>

 

[david_carroll4]

<p>If you're concerned about the play in the focus ring (and it's a new lens), bring it back to the shop, explain your concern and ask to see a couple more examples of the same lens. If there's play in all of them, that's the way it is - if you find one with no play, swap your original for this one. Are you using a lens hood?</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Mine has a little play in the focus ring, but not nearly 1/32 inch. However, the focus ring doesn't appear to be directly connected to the elements of the lens, so I'm not sure it's an issue. If it's truly 1/32 inch, I'd at least go to a store and compare yours to their sample. If it's the same, don't sweat it.</p>

<p>ghosting? I haven't seen much in mine, but I haven't shot much directly into lights either. Post your sample, please, and we'll look at it.</p>

[miguel_martinez4]

<p>Thanks for your answers. I suppose checking in the shop is the wisest thing to do.</p>

<p>Regarding the samples, here's one taken today right after exiting the tube, explicitly looking for the effect.</p><div></div>

[miguel_martinez4]

<p>And here's a resized-cropped-signaled shot of what I meant about tower bridge. I actually deleted the worst offender, and the ghost here can easily be cloned or healed in any image manipulating software. It is, however, more noticeable in the original shot.</p><div></div>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>That flare is going to happen, and is actually pretty excellent performance compared to many lenses!</p>

[photo5]

<p>It is my favorite DX prime lens, for $199 new it's a very good deal indeed. I was at Mt.Rainier yesterday hiking and brought it along with me as the primary lens to use for the hike on my D300. As can be seen below, it did not disappoint!</p><div></div>

[andylynn]

<p>That sort of ghosting happens with most/all/any but the most expensive lenses. The lens coatings prevent most, but not all, internal reflection, so the brighter a light you see, relative to the exposure of the shot, the more chance of ghosting. You need to be careful when there's a very bright light source in your image. It's very low in your shots.</p>

[tommyinca]

<p>If it matter, my copy move about 0.25mm. Really, I am OK if the free play is not in the lens bellow (which in turn effects AF accuracy or lens alightment) or in the rotational direction (create a pain to manual focus). The focus ring of this lens doesn't effect either. If I have to pick, I pick one that has better optics. If it not like this lens will have a furture collector vaule at resale :-)</p>

[philip_tam]

<p>Yeah, I can move mine focus ring ever so slightly... 0.25-0.5mm. I actually didn't notice until you mentioned it. The focus ring on all my lenses wiggle at least a little though... the best probably being the 60mm micro which probably wiggles like.. 0.1mm.</p>

[cristian_arghius]

<p>Mine does the same.</p>

<p>You can't get a better focusing ring at that price.</p>