Sharpness

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Nikkor 35mm f1.8G lens was attached to a Nikon D5000 body, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. Exposure Delay Mode was activated. Slight colour changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session. The 100% crops represent about 1/300th of the total frame area.

The full frame

The centre is sharpest at f/4 and f/5.6, but images are actually commendably sharp from f/2 through f/11. The f/1.8, f/16 and f22 settings, while considerably less sharp on the pixel level than any other aperture, are still surprisingly usable for small to medium-sized prints. Edge sharpness is best between f/2.8 and f/8, but generally, the same applies to the edges as to the centre. Overall, a very good performance.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/1.8
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22