The Best Travel Lens for (Mostly) Outdoor Photography: The Nikon 35mm 1.8s

I’ve tried a lot of lenses, I’ve researched a lot of lenses, I’ve bought a lot of lenses

I’ve researched the lenses of legends, contemporaries; from photographers big on Instagram to ones with just a basic portfolio.

And I’ve settled on a lot of lenses, thinking that this one, at the time, would bring out my most creative potential.

And I was wrong about most of that. Or at least, I was framing it in my mind the wrong way.

The only aspect, technicality, setting, or review that matters for the perfect lens is how much fun you get out of using it.

And that's not a “gotcha!” statement or “new year, new me!” type beat to go into 2024 with: if it makes you want to shoot and it's easy to lug around for a couple of hours, that's your lens. Period.

For me, after six years of being into photography, I can say that that's the 35mm.

Quick gear breakdown

I use the Z mount type of lens for the Nikon mirrorless line, the Nikon 35mm 1.8s lens. Coming in at (currently) 789 Euros, I don't even have a filter on it, just a plain old 35mm. It's fast enough and tough enough. Which is a factor (weatherproof) that matters a hell of a lot more than you’d think for a guy who spends an equal amount of time shooting indoors.

What it can do, what it does well

Technically, a 50mm lens shoots “as close to the human eye” as we see the world. Which is a poetic way of saying, “what you see is what you get” when you're shooting. But when you’re editing or maybe cropping that image? Not so much anymore.

But the 35mm gets a little bit of what's going on around your subject while still allowing the focus of your subject to take center stage. And that's the metaphor we’re going with: you remember music from the 90’s where the singer would look out at the rain from the window in their room and it was kind of close up? Like they had one arm resting on a knee but you could see their whole body, the window, and maybe a pillow nearby?

That's what the 35mm does and excels at capturing. Not melancholy music stills, which it can. But the little moments. The day to day. Or something intimate. But it captures them in a way that still comes out so powerfully beautiful in their simplicity that you couldn't get with more frame space (on say a 24mm) or with the subject dominating the frame (like with an 85mm).

How it travels

Technically among the lenses I own, it's a middleweight, which is saying something (mostly that I don't own anything above 70mm and therefore need some kind of muscle definition).

I can take it with me in any environment, yes any, and do mostly okay holding it in my hand for a pretty long time. And that weight becomes negligible in any sized backpack.

It's small enough that it can fit in my coat pocket (in the winter) and in the summer when I’m carrying it around my neck, it doesn't add anything else to make me sweat (other than, you know, the Berlin humidity).

That said, it's easy to pack, it's easy to carry, it's a no-brainer when I’m deciding what goes in my bags. Which is an important fact for all of us who travel a lot: those two minute courtroom debates with yourself on which piece of gear to take (unless you’re on a multi-million dollar shoot, then you take it all. By the crateful. On a bus. Specifically for gear.).

Why I pick it for my photography and photographic travels

Which leads me into why I pick it and touches on a point I was making earlier: it's light, easy, and I generally know what I’m doing and what I will get out of it when I’m traveling with it. Sure I might have to take a few steps back if I want to really get something in frame the way I like it. But that's only when I’m shooting in the street and see a pretty interesting building that I’ve only just stumbled on.

My photography, right now, is more of the outdoor type with a touch of commercial. So the 35mm can do all that without sacrificing speed or metaphorical space in the frame. Do I need to capture a wrist shot of my watch? Good to go. Do I need to take a picture of a person sitting in the perfect lighting in a Parisian cafe behind the glass window? I can get all of that and nail the mood perfectly. Do I see a neat mountain and say, “Neat, a mountain” and fire away, getting just the right amount of the snow capped peaks and the valley below it? 75% of the time I’m good there. And for the other 25%, I take four steps back (and not off of a cliff, hopefully).

More specifically, it gets the most use doing watch and watch lifestyle kind of shooting, heavier on the former though. Normally, you'd want a macro lens for that (105mm and up) alongside a smaller lens like the 35mm or 50mm.

Getting all of those details of the watch design in one shot, not even using photo stacking, are really amazing to see up close and feature in your photography. And secondly, in the watch community, those shots are kind of a stand out if you can get them right. Those macro shots can also be used in both commercial work done in a studio or ones run through Photoshop with generated background, effects, or illusions to greater effect.

But the 35mm and to an extent an 50mm are the absolute go to for the more lifestyle-centric photos. We get the watch, the outfit, and a part of the surroundings to add to the mood of the shot that you can get with lenses on either end of the range. Especially when, at one time or another, most watch photographers dabble in lifestyle photography or make it a full time part of their portfolio. What you can do and capture as a part of that laid back (or moody) vision, with a 35mm are essential for watch lifestyle photography.

The 35mm helps me capture exactly what I want, with all of the combination of things I've been stressing to this point. Small moments that I think are made all the greater because they are small moments. Small but beautiful. Or at the very least, interesting to look at. And no matter if I’m at an aperture of f2.8 or f5.6, I’m happy with what this lens can do on a technical level.

Efficiency overall and while traveling

From a strictly technical sense, how does it perform?

Like I said, it does everything I want it to do without fuss, which is how I like to shoot and what I like to capture. That isn't a knock on the fancier or more technically advanced lenses out there with the tilt shift or panoramic thing or that 200mm rocket launcher I’ve been eyeing.

Across the full spectrum of its aperture, it handles capturing the subjects perfectly; when I go to edit them, it's not taking 30 minutes just to clean up a mistake.

It does simple work but it does it fantastically. I’m happy with the depth of field it gives, mostly because I’m not shooting portraits or wildlife, but if I need it to do either of those things, it's up to the task.

In the field or on the go, it's the lens that's equipped 99% of the time for me unless I know I need to go big or go home from the start with something like large group photo events. So in terms of my workflow, just knowing it's there and in my kit improves what I’m shooting immensely. If it isn't equipped then in the back of my head I'm scoping out shots that would work with it later if I get the chance to slap it on. It's not as fiddly as a 50mm either where I’m hunting for a bit for focus so I know I can swap it out fast, and start firing without too much worry. And that counts even at f1.8 with an 1/80 shutter speed. I mean, I’d prefer not to but I know I can do it.

The 35mm holds up damn near perfectly for me and my specific type of photography and the things I shoot, whether that be a gray day, a sunny one, or a rainy one. It was with me in Lisbon, it was with me in Salzburg, Austria, to the USA, and even farther away and it hasn’t let me down yet.

I know its limitations, I know if I get more than four people trying to be framed (shooting horizontal or vertical) without suffering from the mood I’m always trying to capture, it's going to be tough. But again, I’m rarely in those situations without my 24-70mm in my bag or already in play.

Does it make my life easier or more creative?

Does it make my life easier? Yeah. More creative? Yeah. Remember that bit about the human eye and seeing the world as is? Most photographers or even people who take a lot of pictures on their phones subconsciously or consciously look out in the world framed with their preferred lens type: I’m always looking at things from the frame of 35mm so yeah. On both points, I'm extremely happy.

Quick analysis breakdown

What I like

Its light.

Its fast.

It's simple.

It does what it does and does it well.

What I don't

If I’m shooting friends or I’m out near a landscape, I do need to back up a bit. But for the things I really like to shoot and am relatively good at shooting, these points don't happen too often.

Thoughts on the brand (Nikon) overall

I like Nikon. It's simple and user friendly to use. I could’ve shopped around for other lenses with damn near equal capabilities but I like to stick with whatever the brand thinks is good. And I think it's good so…

Would I upgrade?

There really aren't many options or applicable versions of the 35mm like there are for the 50mm or an 85mm so, technically no. And even if there were, I’d still say no.

Staying power in my bag

I'm not even dignifying that with a response.

Is it worth a buy?

If you have the scratch for it, I think it's an absolute essential. If you're shooting lifestyle, commercial, and maybe even automotive at a stretch, I’d pick this one no questions.