Nikon Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 AI-S Lens Review

When I got it, my Nikon Nikkor AI-S 28mm 𝒇3.5 was mounted on the new-to-me Nikon FE. This wide-angle lens’s excellent character, sharpness, and close-focus performance made discovering this camera a pleasant breeze. No lens is perfect, of course, but this one comes pretty close — at least when it comes to vintage SLR glass.

The 28mm Nikkor AI-S is sharp, relatively distortion-free, it’s a pleasure to use, and it features a close focus of .3m/1’.

In this review, I’ll cover the specifics of this 28mm wide-angle lens, retell its brief history, and share plenty of high-res scans, including an image (with an enlargement) shot on the highest-resolving photographic medium ever created — Adox CMS 20 II.

In this review: Specifications. A brief history of Nikkor 28mm lenses. Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 in use: ergonomics. Build quality. Image quality. Mounting on digital cameras. Where to buy your Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 lens. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

Specifications.

This Nikon Nikkor AI-S 28mm lens has an aperture range of 𝒇3.5-22. It uses seven aperture blades to control its iris with full-stop clicks. Its six optical elements are arranged in six groups.

Nikkor AI-S 28mm weighs 223g/7.9oz and protrudes 49mm/1.9” from the mount. It accepts 52mm filter thread.

This AI-S lens is made for the F-mount and is compatible with a wide range of vintage film (including all the F/FE/FM bodies) and modern digital Nikon cameras. The coupling lugs “bunny ears” on this lens help older cameras register the complete aperture range for exposure calculations. I cover compatibility further below.

The closest focus distance is an impressive .3m/1’, which renders large, non-swirly bokeh balls when exposing with the largest aperture. This lens uses a colour-coded DOF calculator with a red dot for adjusting infrared focus.

Nikon Nikkor AI-S 28mm was manufactured at the Nippon Kōgaku K.K. factory between 1977-1981.

A brief history of Nikkor 28mm lenses.

The Nikkor AI-S variant reviewed here is a direct descendant of the first 28mm Nikon lens for SLRs, Nikkor-H Auto 2.8cm 𝒇3.5. Developed by Zenji Wakimoto and launched in 1959 with their first pro-level Nikon F SLR.

Nikon asked Zenji to create an improved version of their S-mount W-Nikkor 2.8cm rangefinder lens, which proved to be more challenging than simply upgrading the mount. Since rangefinders don’t have a reflex mirror in the way, the rear lens element can extend further into the body — but that was a problem for the Nikon SLRs, which called for a complete redesign. Wakimoto’s solution was six floating elements known as close-range correction or CRC system which, having replaced the W-Nikkor’s retrofocus system, ensured excellent performance at all focus distances for wide-angle lenses on SLR bodies.

Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 in use: ergonomics.

The first thing I’ve noticed about my Nikon lenses is that they focus to infinity when turned clockwise while looking through the viewfinder. This is the opposite direction of all the manual ring-focus lenses I’ve used thus far (including Canon, Minolta, Pentax, Olympus, Soviet lenses, etc.).

The same is true for the aperture ring: the largest aperture/smallest f-number is to the right.

This does not make Nikkor lenses challenging or slow but it did take some time to get used to them, including the 28mm 𝒇3.5.

Another peculiarity is the colour-coded depth-of-field calculator. Lens manufacturers indicate to photographers the range of distances that are in focus for each aperture and distance on the lens in various ways. Most of those ways include displaying a range with lines and writing the aperture number along each line. Nikon decided to draw the lines but skip the numbers and rely on our ability to match the colour of the lines to the aperture text. I don’t like it. It’s a cleaner design but it’s a lot harder to match fading colour paint than written numbers.

Of course, the decision to use colours instead of numbers had its reasons, one of which is another, smaller set of aperture numbers closer to the lens barrel. It would certainly be distracting to have three-plus sets of aperture numbers on the lens. The smaller set of apertures is used to display the selected aperture in the viewfinder display that uses a set of prisms to look down on the lens barrel — which is very convenient.

Despite all that, I found it fairly easy to get used to all the Nikon peculiarities. I didn’t need a manual or any kind of instructions to “get it”, and after three days, I got the muscle memory to feel completely at home with the Nikkor AI-S. I’m still not thrilled about the colour-coded DOF calculator, but to be fair, I almost never use it; its only practical application is a dark scene that needs to be shot with a small aperture.

I particularly like the middle silver ring, with the grip marks made for easy mounting so that neither the focus nor aperture rings are moved in the process. The distance marks are in both feet and metres, which is also helpful. And for those who shoot with infrared film, there’s a tiny red dot left of the focus mark.

Build quality.

Nikon Nikkor AI-S 28mm is a very well-built lens. Its hefty, precise metal construction with the rubber focus grip still looks and feels brand-new. This is one of the nicest SLR lenses across any system I’ve tried.

Image quality.

Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 AI-S is very sharp, particularly in the middle of the frame.

I’ve tested it with Adox CMS 20 II, a film sold as the highest-resolving photographic medium in the world (which would include modern digital sensors) and found the results very impressive.

The above 6x enlargement of the enlargement should give you an idea of what this lens is capable of: and that wasn’t even the result of ideal conditions. The photo above was taken during an overcast day under low-contrast, low-intensity light, forcing me to shoot either wide-open or 𝒇5.6 with a fairly slow shutter, which caused a bit of motion blur. I’m sure that in full sun, it would be much sharper.

Some reviewers noted that this lens isn’t sharp in the corners, though I haven’t found any significant softness in my practical use. There is some vignetting as you could see in the black-and-white photo above, but it’s not significant or distracting.

The lens’ ability to correct geometric distortions is impressive, especially for glass built in the 1970s. There’s no barrel distortion to speak of although some slight moustache distortion can be seen if you pay very close attention to the top line of the glass door and the windows on the side. But you really have to look for it.

I haven’t noticed any significant chromatic aberration with this lens and it seems to control flaring pretty well while maintaining a medium contrast throughout the frame.

By the way, this lens is a lot of fun to shoot at its closest focus distance. It is on the slow side, being an 𝒇3.5, but it is also a wide-angle lens, which, together with the Nikon FE’s near-vibration-free shutter, can be comfortably used with 1/30s for good results. Everything in this article was exposed on either ISO 20 or ISO 50 film at EV 8~14.

Mounting on digital cameras.

Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 AI-S should work with all or most modern Nikon DSLRs without any modifications. Some lower-end bodies may not give you automatic exposures but anything above D7000 should be good to go.

This lens should fit any vintage F-mount SLR (I’ve tested it on my FE and Nikon F).

Where to buy your Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 lens.

Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 AI-S lenses are very easy to find online and quite affordable. I’ve seen them being sold for $50 in near-mint condition alongside their first iteration, the Nikkor-H.

❤ By the way: Please consider making your Nikon Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 lens purchase using this link so that this website may get a small percentage of that sale — at no extra charge for you — thanks!