Nikon's Ai compact wide — the manual-focus 35mm f/2.8 for the F mount, light everyday prime.
The Ai Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 is the Automatic Indexing version of Nikon's compact wide prime, released at the end of the 1970s during the Ai transition. It continued the affordable moderate-aperture 35mm line with open-aperture metering on Ai bodies, serving as a light everyday wide.
This is a manual-focus Nikon F lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 and a fixed 35mm focal length, carrying the Ai aperture-indexing ridge for open-aperture metering. It is a retrofocus design operating with normal reflex viewing. Only verified figures are stated; construction specifics are omitted rather than guessed.
The rendering gives a natural wide field with good sharpness on stopping down and modest distortion. It suits street, travel, documentary and general shooting where a compact and light wide is wanted more than a large aperture. Its size makes it an easy companion lens.
On the used market the Ai 35mm f/2.8 is common and cheap, a low-cost way into manual Nikkor wides. Check the elements for haze and fungus, inspect coatings for marks, confirm the aperture blades are dry, and verify the Ai coupling. It adapts cleanly to mirrorless and is a practical, pocketable manual wide.