In article <4r22el$2se@peabody.colorado.edu>, keivom@rintintin.Colorado.EDU says...

>I bought a 35/f2 AI lens which looks like AIS(it has colored aperture #,
>ie f22 is orange) but doesn't have the little dip that tells the F4s what
>focal length the lens is.

It may be an earlier rubber-ring non-AI version that was Nikon AI'd.

>How good is this lens compared to the 35mm AIS or AF? is it sharp, and
>contrasty and good with flare?

All MF Nikkor 35mm f2's from the very earliest non-AI (which was one of
the original few lenses offered for the Nikon F when it first came out)
to the current AIS are the same optically, except for the addition of
multicoating sometime before AI. I have tried many of them, and while I
have seen some variation, and a bit more flare than is normal for most
current Nikkors, most are very fine lenses, even at wide apertures. I
preferred the MF 35mm f2 performance to the one AF 35mm f2 that I tried
(which was a good lens, but did not seem as crisp as the MF version,
especially at wider apertures).

>i bought it for $90.

'Twas a steal, if in good shape, and a good sample.
Hope This Helps