Nikon 85mm Nikkor Digital Cameras Survey A exceptional portrait lens for both digital and film, the Nikkor 85mm f/1. 8D is usably sharp wide open and tack sharp by the time you stop down even just a bit. Relatively small and very light, it feels just right in my hand. Steve McCurry is one of my favorite photographers and I was happy to discover that many of his great shots were taken with this lens. Also, if you shoot on a manual focus body like the F3, you'll like the solid but smooth feel of the focus ring. The 85mm comes with a metal, screw-on hood. My preference is the plastic bayonet mounts, but I find that I don't need the hood that often since this lens doesn't tend to flare. Two minor complaints about this lens: first, the bokeh is not exceptional. That's OK; I'm not a bokeh hound. But when I see the creamy out of focus specular highlights that the 85mm f/1. 4 produces, sometimes I dream about spending the extra money. Second, I wish it were AF-S. But even without AF-S, it focuses faster than you'd expect. Finally, the construction is solid. I've used it heavily for two years in deserts, jungles, and glaciers (ok, and in less glamorous places like around the apartment) and it still looks brand new. In short, my favorite lens. Absolutely worth every penny. I like the 85mm focal length very much. On a Nikon crop-size DSLR, the 85mm focal length is a very useful short-to-medium telephoto length, giving a nice field of view with just enough distance compression to get a pleasant telephoto perspective. This lens' wide aperture gives plenty of control of depth of field, allowing you to isolate your subject and get just the right amount of defocus elsewhere in the frame. I tend to prefer to use it at f/2. 8 or so, although having the ability to go to f/1. 8 is certainly useful at times. A few notes on specific performance issues, some of which seem to be in disagreement with others here: - I would not characterize the lens as very sharp wide open. I've sampled three of these lenses, two "AF" models and one "AF-D" model. The AF-D was the best. Like any lens I've used, it loses sharpness at wider apertures, and I would characterize it as soft at f/1. 8, still moderately soft at f/2. 8, good at f/4, sharp at f/5. 6 and very sharp at f/8. There is a definite difference in sharpness at each aperture up through f/8. This is not necessarily bad. A bit of softness at f/1. 8-f/2. 8 might be desirable for portraits and some other types of photos, and the lens is very sharp where you would usually use it for landscapes and general photography - f/5. 6-f/8 or so. At wider apertures, the contrast between a blurred background and relatively sharp subject remains striking and is a very pleasant effect that will allow you to get exceptional images. - This is not a high-contrast lens, due at least partly to a lack of ED glass. This is appropriate and probably contributes to its reputation as a good portrait lens - skin tones are pleasantly rendered and the overall effect is slightly subtler and gentler compared to Nikon's most contrasty lenses. I can shoot the same scene with this lens and then with my 16-85mm (consumer DX zoom), and colors that leap off the screen with the 16-85 are significantly mellowed with the 85/1. 8. - I don't see any loss of contrast at wider apertures. This is good. The 50mm f/1. 8 loses a lot of contrast wide open, for example (and mine is considerably softer than the 85mm at wide apertures). - I would not say the quality of bokeh is particularly pleasing. It can be distracting at times, and I see color effects in the blurred areas (chromatic aberration), which occurs because different wavelengths of light are blurred differently by the lens (some very expensive lenses are "apochromatic," meaning that they correct for this). This does not in my opinion detract significantly from my images, since the whole idea of defocus is to attract the viewer's eye to the subject rather than away from it and so consequently one does not tend to study an out-of-focus background unless actually evaluating it specifically; but this might be one of the reasons the f/1. 4 lens is a more popular choice among those willing to spend three times the money. This is speculation on my part as I have not tried the f/1. 4. - Focus is very quick and as far as I can tell completely accurate. I do use a simple test chart to test focus with all my lenses and this lens focuses well within its depth of field even wide open. This lens is very good for tight indoor shots as well as outdoor photography. At near-wide-open it can be used indoors with fairly low available light and make very pleasing shots of tight groupings of people from
a reasonable distance. A slower lens will tend to bring the background into the photo more than is desirable, which can be distracting in the final image. It is not a good only lens and perhaps not even the first prime lens one should buy. It is a very good lens to have after all the basic focal ranges are covered, and perhaps after a "normal" prime, and it is a very good lens for taking pictures of people. In addition to this lens I highly recommend Nikon's very affordable 35mm f/2 (2/25/09 note: Nikon has recently announced an even more affordable 35mm f/1. 8 lens for DX which will probably prove to be an even better choice for DX users), which is very sharp indeed and in my opinion a far better lens than the 50mm f/1. 8. I do however prefer the 85mm as a matter of pure personal taste: it is my personal favorite fixed-length lens. I wish I could give it 4-1/2 stars as it is a good, good lens, but can not justify giving a full five. I don't think anybody would regret buying it, however. With a bit of help from the user it is capable of making some truly fine images. Other Lenses: I've had the opportunity to own and use many different Nikon lenses and have posted my impressions of some of them here on Amazon. For those interested, here are short summaries. I have used all these lenses on Nikon DX-sized DSLRs, most recently my current D90. Refer to the full reviews for further detail. Nikon 28mm f/2. 8 AF-D: *** Competent, sharp lens is a good fit as a bargain DX "normal" prime. Slow f/2. 8 max aperture poor. Very inexpensive in used market. Sigma 30mm f/1. 4 HSM: *** Poor foc I have a D200 and while all the hype is around the 18-200 and others, this is one awesome lens for portraits and other closer up type photos. I read a few things that I had to research and thought I'd pass on my experience: - How is this with a D200? (ans: great. fast auto-focus. no compatibility issues) - Do you really get crisp photos and cool bokeh? (ans: absolutely) - Is 1. 8 ok or do you need 1. 4? (ans: I don't have a 1. 4 but the 1. 8 is so competent for the price and I get the crispness and shallow DOF I was looking for) - Is the shooting distance for an 85mm acceptable or do you need a 55mm so you can be closer to the subject? (ans: I really like the shooting distance for the 85mm. I really would not less distance between me and the subject) Enjoy! If you don't need the speed or can't afford the expensive 85mm f1. 4 Nikkor lens or both, then this lens may be the right one for you. It took Nikon a while to produce a superb compact 85mm lens, but this time they finally got it right. Without a doubt, this is a fine portrait lens for photographing head-and-shoulder portraits (The only lens which is optically better is Nikon's legendary 105mm f2. 5 Nikkor lens, and its close optical twin, the 105mm f2. 8 Micro Nikkor. ). Since the 105mm f2. 5 Nikkor lens doesn't have an autofocus version, then this might be the perfect moderate telephoto lens for owners of Nikon autofocus SLR cameras. Regardless, this lens has a well-earned reputation for excellent contrast and resolution. I have used Nikkor lenses for almost 40 years. I have 6 in my bag right now. This is the best lens I have ever used. It is better than the 105 f2. 5, and that should say it all. Fast focus, perfect color, contrast, and razor sharp. The 85 mm focal length is perfect for portraits even with the 1. 5 factor on a D300 [feels almost like you are using the 105 f2. 5!]. On a D700 this lens is stunning in all regards! Combine the 1. 8 f-stop with the low noise of today's Nikons and you are set to capture great images in almost any low light situation. The real point of the lens is, of course, the incredible DOF control you have to make your subject pop. I always use aperture priority with this lens to make sure I am controling the f stop, the results are amazing, even wide open. This prime lens really needs to be in your camera bag if you are a serious Nikon photographer. The fit and finish are pure Nikon. This is not a kit lens, it is a lens built for professional use. One more important thought to remember, this lens will work perfectly on the FX sensor of the D3 and D700 as it is not a DX lens. You will not be sorry you bought this lens, esp at the current price.
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