Nikon Ai-S

1. Overview

The Nikon AI-S 35mm is a Japanese prime lens released in 1981, originally developed for photography. Zero Optik has rehoused the optics into a modern cinema housing with standardized gears and /i Technology. This makes it usable as a full-frame vintage lens with a T1.5 aperture in rental houses.

2. Characteristics

Flare characteristics according to the CINEFLARES datasheet:

• Types: Spherical Spot, Caustic, Ring, Starburst
• Colors: Blue, Green, Amber
• Intensity: Strong

Linked pattern entries:

• spherical-spot
• caustic-flare

3. Creative Use

The lens delivers spherical images with pronounced vignetting, barrel distortion, and strong flares in blue, green, and amber – typical for simple coated lenses from the early 1980s. Backlighting produces caustics, rings, and starburst effects that are difficult to control and give the image a distinctive character. This makes it a tool for projects that consciously want to move away from the clinical cleanliness of modern optics, such as dramas or period pieces. Due to the rehousing by Zero Optik, it can be technically used without problems on modern camera systems and is usually found in the inventory of smaller rental houses or in indie productions that rent complete AI-S sets as an affordable vintage package.

4. Specs Overview

5. Status Tracker

• [x] Datasheet extracted (DOM-direct, 2026-04-20)
• [ ] Overview drafted
• [ ] Creative use researched
• [ ] AI-Illu or manufacturer photo (with attribution)
• [ ] Translations (9 languages)
• [ ] Import via import-lexikon.mjs