AF-S FX NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

I have to admit that I am an 85mm lens junkie. I have owned six different 85mm lenses including the storied Canon 85mm 1.2 L II. I have also owned the Nikon 85mm 1.8D. After giving my 1.8D to my son-in-law, I picked up the 1.8G, which is a fabulous lens clearly an improvement on the D version in terms of clarity, color and bokeh. The reviews generally claim that there is little difference between the two lenses and given the price difference, I wasn't tempted. However, when the recent rebates dropped the price of the 1.4G to under $1400, I couldn't resist any longer. So, is the 1.4 a great lens? Absolutely. Is it worth the price difference? That is a much tougher question. Obviously, this lens provides 1.4 and 1.6. If you need the speed then you have to pay the price. In addition, the bokeh at 1.4 is noticeably superior to that at 1.8. So, again if you need the smoothness difference then you have to pay the price. My 1.4 is sharp wide open (amazing) and is sharper than my 1.8 at every common aperture (some reviews differ). The difference may be due to better contrast, but the difference is nonetheless there. However, the differences are not major and are only noticeable on high magnification and close scrutiny. As for bokeh, at 1.8 and smaller apertures (larger aperture designations like 2.8 and 4.0), there are differences, but they are subtle. The fact is that the lenses are more alike than they are different. I can't say emphatically that there are shots that I can get with the 1.4 (other than shots taken at 1.4 and 1.6) that I couldn't get with the 1.8, but I'm willling to pay the difference just in case. However, I can say with a high degree of confidence that whatever that number is, it is much less than 5% of the shots I take at 85mm. So, if you are on a budget and don't require sub-1.8 aperture shots, I could not in good conscience advise you to purchase this gem when the 1.8G is so excellent. As for the comparison with the Canon 1.2, the 1.4G fares very well. Sharpness wide open is pretty close between the lenses (this is a non-rigorous comparison; a serious comparison would require mounting the 1.4G onto a Canon body and shooting both lenses in tandem). The thing that I found to be truly interesting is that the smoothness of the bokeh between lenses is very close despite the 1/3 stop difference. In fact, I give the 1.4G bokeh the nod by half a nose. However, this conclusion--as are most with respect to bokeh--is somewhat subjective and may also depend somewhat on differences in rendering between Nikon and Canon bodies. Regardless, it's good to know that Nikon shooters don't lose much (or anything) by not having the fastest 85mm lens available. The decision of which lens to use is difficult. For raw speed the Canon is faster (1/2 stop); but I prefer the Nikon bokeh and it focuses faster. Moreover, the Nikon provides better-edge-to-edge sharpness wide open. So what lens did a take on a reason hike? It was the Nikon 1.8G which was the preferred lens due to its compact size.

No wonder this is the best DXOMark-ranked lens, it brings out sharpness, clarity, bokeh and colors I never thought possible before. An example, with my D800 an early morning hand-held shot of a flower 1 meter away brings out the tiny little dews on the flower petals even better than some close-ups with my Nikon 60mm macro lens on a tripod (I haven't compared to my Nikon 105 mm macro lens yet). I've been able to achieve outstanding portraits, unobtainable otherwise, with both my D800 and D3200. Just a note: this lens also out-resolves the D3200, with which the 85mm photos in side-by-side comparison with those of the D800, do show a little lesser resolution, albeit still exceptional. Bokeh-wise, this lens lives up to its legendary artistry; with both D800 and D3200, it easily isolates the subject in focus from the rest, front and aft, with silky smooth and absolutely pleasant 3-dimensional-like bokeh. ---Update--- I now have had a chance to compile a shoot-out of about 100 shots (F2.8 and narrower apertures) of different subjects, light conditions and compositions (adjusted for about the same coverage areas) between this lens and my Nikon 105mm lens with both my D800 and D3200. With the same apertures, both cameras picked the same shutter speeds for both lenses in 90% of my test shots, which showed how close they are in terms of light transmission capabilities. Looking at RAW (NEF) files in Photoshop at 100% to compare sharpness-wise, the two lenses are virtually the same with my D3200 shots, but this 85mm lens is a tad better than my 105mm with my D800 shots; in the case of my D800 shots, the results could have been affected by the fact that my 105mm shots were taken with the D800 positioned farther away from the subject (to adjust the compositions for differences in the focal lengths). For bokeh at F2.8, my 105mm (being longer focal length) produces more pronounced bokeh effects. For color brilliance and vibrancy, both lenses are very indistinguishable, except for my test night shots, each seemed to have its own "character" emphasizing slightly different color spots. That concludes my very subjective comparison of Nikon's two best lenses ;-)

A little background. I shot with with Canon and Nikon in the past and have owned several of their 85 mm lenses. The Nikon 85/1.8 and 1.4 and the Canon 84/1.2. I also still own the Korean manual focus 85/1.4 sold as Rokkor or Shamyan (not sure about the brand names). I was hesitant for some time and finally ordered it. Now I regret I didn't oder it before! I do a lot of portrait photography and love to use very narrow depth of field in my work. This lens is one of the best lenses I have ever owned! It is already great and reasonably sharp wide open and gets razor sharp once stopped down a little. Even with a D800 (36 mp) I feel comfortable shooting at 1.4. The AF-S system is not a rocket but very accurate. That is one of the most important things with fast lenses. I lost many good shots with other lenses because it is always a challenge with nail focus. With this lens I get a noticeable higher success rate. It's a large lens but doesn't weight a ton. It feels lighter than the size suggests. Bokeh is beautiful and smooth. Vignetting is also very low for such a fast lens. There is no other 85 that I tried that overall performs so well and reliable. Yes it's expensive but I think it's worth it. Would I recommend it? Yes, but keep in mind, not everyone needs a high end lens like this. If you are on a budget, it makes no sense to spend all your money on one lens only. The Nikon 85/1.8 is a valid alternative for a lower budget. It doesn't reach this lens in terms of sharpness and bokeh, but it's pretty close.

Great stuff

Una delle migliori lenti Nikon in commercio, non ha bisogno di presentazioni!! Costruzione solida, nitidezza e bokeh eccezionali! Altamente consigliato

Excelente producto. Óptica de calidad prime para cámaras de formato full frame. Ideal para trabajar en condiciones escasas luz y a velocidades de obturación rápidas. Una delicia el bokéh que da a partir de 2.8 y hasta 1.4. Especial para retrato. Súper alta nitidez de la imagen. De mis objetivos Nikkor favoritos. Mínima aberración cromática y casi nulos reflejos internos de altas luces gracias a su cubierta de nanocristal. El producto arribó antes de la fecha esperada. El empaque llegó en perfectas condiciones.

Mache damit Portraits, sehr gutes Objektiv.

Extreme sharpness with beautiful bokeh. Exquisite portraiture