Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Nikkor 35mm f/2

Nippon Kogaku · Nikon F · 1965 · Retrofocus, 8 elements in 6 groups

Also known as: Nikkor-O Auto 35mm f/2 · Nikkor-O·C Auto 35mm f/2 · NIKKOR-O.C Auto 35mm 1:2 · New Nikkor 35mm f/2 · Ai Nikkor 35mm f/2 · Ai-S Nikkor 35mm f/2S · AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D · Nippon Kogaku Nikkor-O 35mm f/2

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Nikkor-O Auto (Nippon Kogaku) Nikon F 1965–1971 690101–731412 (280g, Ai conversion kit 34)
741311–778785 (285g, Ai conversion kit 33) 		41,312 + 37,475 = 78,787 across the two blocks (Vink, counted from serials)
Nikkor-O Auto (Nikon) Nikon F 1971–1973 790001–833213 43,213 (Vink, serial-derived)
Nikkor-O·C Auto Nikon F 1973–1975 835001–871141 36,141 (Vink, serial-derived)
New Nikkor ("K") Nikon F 1975–1977 880001–913477 33,477 (Vink, serial-derived)
Ai Nikon F 1977–1981 920001–959840
110001–193574 (the block restarts at six digits) 		39,840 + 83,574 = 123,414 across the two blocks (Vink, serial-derived)
Ai-S Nikon F 1981–2005 210001–333418 123,418 (Vink, serial-derived)
AF Nikkor · 6 elements in 5 groups — a new design, not the 1965 optic in an autofocus barrel Nikon F 1989–1995 200001–238317 38,317 (Vink, serial-derived)
AF Nikkor D · 6 elements in 5 groups — the 1989 autofocus design, with distance encoding added Nikon F 1995–2020 300001–350717 (March 1995 onward)
400001–409397 (2005)
500001–677724 (2006 series, to 2020) 		50,717 + 9,397 + 177,724 = 237,838 across the three blocks (Vink, serial-derived)
  1. Serial blocks and quantities are Roland Vink's. His Qty column is, in his words, "Number of lenses made based on serial numbers collected", and his production dates "may not be accurate". Nikon has published no production figure for any version.
  2. Summing Vink's blocks: about 438,000 manual-focus lenses on the 1965 optic, and about 276,000 autofocus lenses on the 1989 one. The manual line ran forty years, the autofocus line thirty-one, and they overlapped for sixteen.
  3. Launch year: Nikon's own history essay and Vink both give 1965 (Vink dates production from December). Richard Haw's repair article says 1966.
  4. Family-level specifications are the lens as launched: eight elements, f/16 minimum, 280g. The New Nikkor of 1975 added an f/22 stop and the autofocus lenses of 1989 changed everything except the focal length, the speed and the filter size.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • NIKKOR-O: the O is Nikon's element-count letter for eight, and the manual lens has eight elements
  • 52mm filter thread — this lens exists partly to prove a fast wide-angle could keep it
  • The manual versions focus to 0.3m and reach 1:5.7; the autofocus versions to 0.25m and 1:4.2

Nikkor-O Auto (Nippon Kogaku):

  • Barrel reads NIPPON KOGAKU JAPAN; five slotted screws in the mount ring
  • Metal scalloped focus ring
  • Minimum aperture f/16 — f/22 does not arrive until the New Nikkor of 1975

Nikkor-O Auto (Nikon):

  • Barrel reads NIKON — the corporate rename, not an optical change

Nikkor-O·C Auto:

  • ·C added to the name for multicoating
  • Five cross-head screws in the mount ring

New Nikkor ("K"):

  • Rubber focus grip replaces the metal scallops
  • Minimum aperture now f/22
  • The element-count letter is gone: the barrel reads NIKKOR, not NIKKOR-O

Ai:

  • Meter-coupling ridge and aperture-direct-readout scale
  • Mount screws drop from five to three within the run
  • Later lenses have a more angular front edge to the focus ring

Ai-S:

  • Depth-of-field marks engraved on the chrome band
  • Super Integrated Coating from about serial 320xxx
  • Focus throw cut from 190° to 120°

AF Nikkor:

  • Sliding aperture lock
  • Focuses to 0.25m rather than 0.3m, and reaches 1:4.2 rather than 1:5.7
  • 215g against the manual lens's 280g

AF Nikkor D:

  • D on the barrel: the lens reports focused distance to the body for flash metering
  • 205g — the lightest version of the lens ever sold

Serial-range notes

690012–690013
Prototypes, 1965 (Vink counts thirteen from the 690001 start number).
105022
A single Ai prototype, 1979, which Vink records as having been found with a prototype Nikon F3.
320xxx
Ai-S lenses from about here carry Super Integrated Coating.

Specifications

Formula
Retrofocus, 8 elements in 6 groups
Construction
8 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/16
Diaphragm blades
7
Min. focus
0.3 m
Dimensions
63.5 × 61 mm
Weight
280 g
Filter
52 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured
1965–2020
Country
Japan

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Vignetting
clears by f/2.8
Flare & ghosting
present, low harm
Distortion
high
Optical formula — Retrofocus, 8 elements in 6 groups
Schematic cross-section drawn for this site from Nikon's own diagram — 8 elements in 6 groups; curvatures and spacing stylized.
Schematic cross-section drawn for this site from Nikon's own diagram — 8 elements in 6 groups; curvatures and spacing stylized. — Drawn for this site

History

Nippon Kogaku set itself a rule when the Nikon F arrived: every lens for it would take a 52mm filter. A 35mm f/2 for a mirror box is a retrofocus design, which means a large negative group out in front, and a large negative group out in front is exactly what breaks a filter standard. Shimizu Yoshiyuki started on the problem around 1961 and needed three attempts. The lens that reached the market in 1965 has eight elements in six groups, a 63.5mm barrel, and a 52mm thread.

Nikon’s own account of the lens is unusually blunt about what makes it interesting: the optical structure did not change. Five generations of barrel — Nikkor-O Auto in chrome-ringed black, the multicoated ·C of 1973, the rubber-gripped New Nikkor of 1975, the Ai of 1977, the Ai-S of 1981 — all wrap the same eight elements. What changed was coating, the letter on the front ring, the minimum aperture (f/16 became f/22 in 1975), the number of screws holding the bayonet on, and the focus throw, which the Ai-S cut from 190 degrees to 120.

The break comes in 1989. The AF Nikkor 35mm f/2 has six elements in five groups, focuses to 0.25m instead of 0.3m, and weighs 215g instead of 280g. It is not the 1965 lens with a screwdriver coupling added; it is a different lens wearing the same name, and Vink’s database marks it as such. The AF-D of 1995 adds distance encoding to that second design and runs to 2020.

Counting Vink’s blocks gives roughly 438,000 manual-focus lenses and roughly 276,000 autofocus ones — and within the autofocus figure, a single 2006-series block of 177,724, larger than the entire Ai-S run. Richard Haw’s verdict on the original is that it is very good wide open, best at f/4 to f/5.6, and distorts too much for buildings; he also notes that fungus and separation along the cemented edges turn up often enough in the inner elements to look like a manufacturing habit rather than bad luck.

Neither Nikon nor any secondary source consulted gives a list price for any version, in yen or dollars, and the production counts remain arithmetic on serial numbers rather than factory records. The unresolved question is smaller and more specific: what the 1989 redesign was for. Two fewer elements, closer focus and 65g less weight are consistent with cost, with autofocus speed, or with both, and none of the published accounts says which.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo taken with the Nikkor 35mm f/2
Edificio Carrión, Gran Vía — tagged Nikkor 35mm f/2 (Javier Pérez Montes) — Javier Perez Montes, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sample photo taken with the Nikkor 35mm f/2
Fuente de Neptuno — Nikkor 35mm f/2 (Javier Pérez Montes) — Javier Perez Montes, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sample photo taken with the Nikkor 35mm f/2
Catedral de Justo, Mejorada del Campo — Nikkor 35mm f/2 (Javier Pérez Montes) — Javier Perez Montes, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Nikkor 35mm f/2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $190 across 61 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $160–$250). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 2 days: unchanged from $190.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$190$160–$25061
2026-09-06$190$160–$25061

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

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Listings updated 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Sources (4)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.