Nikon 85mm 1.4 g review
The Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.4G AF-S was announced in August of 2010. The D version of the same version being a bit long in the tooth - it was released in 1995 - the lens has been viewed by many as being long overdue for an upgrade. Show The lens features a large ƒ/1.4 aperture, and was designed to fit the 35mm film frame or FX imaging sensor. Mounted on a DX-sensor body, the lens produces an effective field of view of approximately 127mm. The lens features an AF-S motor, which enables it to be used on camera bodies which do not have a focusing motor. The lens comes with a round hood, takes 77mm filters, and is available for approximately $1,700. Sharpness The Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.4G produced some interesting results for sharpness when used wide open. Stopped down, it is capable of providing tack-sharp results. When mounted on the sub-frame D300s, the 85mm ƒ/1.4G when used at its maximum aperture of ƒ/1.4 provided images with a slight bulge in the central portion of the frame. Specifically, the corners show just under 2 blur units, and the central section shows just over 2 blur units. We've seen this "sombrero effect" before, but it's not something we expected to see in a $1,700 lens. Mounted on the full-frame D3x, the effect is somewhat magnified, with the corners reaching three blur units. Stopping down changes the nature of the images produced by the lens entirely. At ƒ/2 on the D300s, the sombrero effect disappears, and the image is just under two blur units across the frame; on the D3x, the corners are slightly softer, approaching three blur units. At ƒ/2.8 and smaller, the results between the D300s and the D3x become almost the same. At ƒ/2.8, the image hovers around 1.5 blur units; at ƒ/4 and smaller, the image produced is practically tack-sharp across the frame. Diffraction limiting appears to set in at ƒ/8, but the impact on image sharpness is negligible - it's still just over one blur unit. Even fully stopped-down at ƒ/16, the lens produced images at just under two blur units across the frame. In short, excellent performance when stopped down, but when used wide open (where one imagines this lens will spend a lot of time), softer and less even results than one would expect from a lens of this caliber. Chromatic Aberration We're not surprised to see excellent results for the lens in its tolerance to chromatic aberration - both the D300s and the D3x reduce CA automatically. However this feature is notable for removing chromatic aberration which results in areas of high contrast, typically in the corners of the frame - known as lateral chromatic aberration. The 85mm ƒ/1.4G suffers, as do most ''fast'' lenses, from problems with longitudinal chromatic aberration, where fringes of red and green are found near the plane of focus when the lens is used at wider apertures. We've included two sample images in this review which highlight this issue: Shading (''Vignetting'') The lens only adds a slight amount of vignetting when attached to the sub-frame D300s - just over 1/4 EV in the corners when set to ƒ/1.4. On the full-frame D3x, it's a bit more significant: the corners are almost 3/4 of a stop darker than the center at ƒ/1.4. Stopped down, it's less significant: at ƒ/2 the corners are less than a half-stop darker, and at ƒ/2.8, the corners are under a quarter-stop darker. Distortion On the sub-frame D300s, distortion isn't really a factor; a trace amount of barrel distortion, in the corners. This is exaggerated a bit on the D3x, where we note just +0.2% barrel distortion (again, in the corners). Autofocus Operation The 85mm ƒ/1.4G uses an AF-S designation and is relatively fast to autofocus, racking through its close-focus to infinity distance and back, in just over one second. However, it's worth noting that the implementation of the AF-S standard is not similar to that of Nikon's higher-end lenses. Where lenses such as the 70-200mm ƒ/2.8 AF-S will snap to focus with blisteringly fast speed, the 85mm ƒ/1.4G AF-S is comparatively sluggish. The filter ring of the lens does not rotate while focusing, and the lens is also very quiet during focus operations; as well, full-time manual focusing is available, by just turning the focus ring at any time. Macro Magnification is just 0.12x, making the 85mm ƒ/1.4G a poor macro lens. Minimum close-focusing distance isn't that bad, at just 85 cm (just under three feet). Build Quality and Handling The lens is well-built, with a magnesium body, durable plastic components and a metal lens mount. A rubber gasket shrouds the lens mount, protecting the lens from dust and moisture. The lens barrel is composed of a black semi-roughed finish, and the rubber focus ring shows a ridged pattern that is easy to grip. The lens features nine rounded diaphragm blades to make up the aperture, said to produce pleasing out-of-focus results. The lens bears a distance scale that is recessed and windowed, its markings set in feet and meters. A depth-of-field scale is also present with an indicator for ƒ/16 (however, no infrared index). A switch on the side of the lens allows the user to disable autofocus operations on the lens (marked as "M/A | M"). The focus ring is 3/4'' wide. The ring turns nicely; it is well-dampened, if just slightly stiffer than necessary. There will be no accidental adjustment to manual focus, though this is not to say that the ring is by any means difficult to turn. It just lacks the silky smoothness of higher-end lenses. There are no hard stops at either close-focus or infinity, though there is a slight increase in resistance to let you know you've reached a limit. The lens ships with the HB-55 lens hood, a circular-style bayonet-mounted hood that adds 1 7/8 inches to the lens' overall length when mounted. The lens reverses for storage on the lens. Alternatives Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.4D AF ~$1,100 The biggest comparison will be with the previous version of the lens. It's almost an apples-to-oranges comparison: the D version of the lens had a very different sharpness profile, almost tailor-made for portrait work at ƒ/1.4, where the central region of the frame was moderately sharp, and the corners were soft, perfect for subject isolation. The new version adopts a different profile at ƒ/1.4, where corner sharpness is indeed much improved, but there is the odd 'sombrero effect'. Vignetting is slightly improved, but otherwise, CA and distortion are about the same. The addition of the AF-S motor makes the lens usable on consumer bodies, and much easier to use (the older AF/MF button switch isn't loved by many) but the AF-S motor is much slower. Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8D AF ~$400 If you don't need the extra 2/3 stop of speed, the ƒ/1.8D version of the lens is a viable alternative: it's more or less as sharp as the new 85mm ƒ/1.4G when set to ƒ/2, and frankly, it's got better edge-to-edge sharpness. All other characteristics - chromatic aberration, distortion, corner shading - are similar. The 85mm ƒ/1.8D doesn't have the AF-S motor; it doesn't even have an AF/MF switch. Sigma 85mm ƒ/1.4 EX DG HSM ~$900 I'm pleased to say we just got this lens in the lab, and we'll have the test results shortly. Carl Zeiss 85mm ƒ/1.4 Planar T* 1.4/85 ~$1,300 We haven't yet tested this lens (it's on our list, believe me) but if you can live without autofocus, then this lens is definitely a lens worth considering. Conclusion So this is a tough one. There is a lot to like in the new Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.4G. The addition of nano-crystal coating will help to contend with flare issues that were something of an issue with the previous 'D' version of the lens. The new AF-S motor makes focusing a snap: if you want to override autofocus results, just turn the focus ring. Much easier than the manual-auto focus switch on the 'D' version. Edge-to-edge sharpness is radically improved in the G version of the 85mm ƒ/1.4, when compared to the D version. However, the $1,700-question: is this an improvement? The 85mm ƒ/1.4D was for many, the go-to portrait lens, and in part, this was because of the corner softness produced by the lens at ƒ/1.4. The new version of the lens removes this factor, and unfortunately, doesn't produce super-sharp results at ƒ/1.4 for the trouble. Rather, we see 2-3 blur units across the frame (on the D3x) with a slight 'sombrero' effect. Lastly, longitudinal chromatic aberration is (still) a factor when the lens is used at large apertures, producing red fringing in front of the focal plane, and green fringing behind it. Don't get us wrong. When stopped down to ƒ/4, the 85mm ƒ/1.4G produces very sharp results. But this is a lens that people will be buying to shoot at ƒ/1.4, not ƒ/4. Otherwise, why not just buy the much less expensive 85mm ƒ/1.8D, which is also tack-sharp at ƒ/4? Sample Photos The VFA target should give you a good idea of sharpness in the center and corners, as well as some idea of the extent of barrel or pincushion distortion and chromatic aberration, while the Still Life subject may help in judging contrast and color. We shoot both images using the default JPEG settings and manual white balance of our test bodies, so the images should be quite consistent from lens to lens. As appropriate, we shoot these with both full-frame and sub-frame bodies, at a range of focal lengths, and at both maximum aperture and ƒ/8. For the ''VFA'' target (the viewfinder accuracy target from Imaging Resource), we also provide sample crops from the center and upper-left corner of each shot, so you can quickly get a sense of relative sharpness, without having to download and inspect the full-res images. To avoid space limitations with the layout of our review pages, indexes to the test shots launch in separate windows. Nikon85mm f/1.4G AF-S NikkorNikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S Nikkor User Reviews9.1/10average of 16 review(s) Build Quality8.6/10 Image Quality9.3/10
9 out of 10 pointsand recommended by jtorral (5 reviews) afs, build, image quality, contrats G makes it unusable on older film cameras I just received my 85 a week or so ago and have been happy as heck with it and the D3s. I have a growing collection of 85G images on NI. shoild you care to take a look, here are 3 different links to the 85 over there. When did the Nikon 85mm 1.4 G come out?The Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G was announced August 2010. It's the longest of four prime lenses sporting an f1. 4 focal ratio in Nikon's current range, with the 50mm, 35mm and 24mm completing the line-up. What is the 85mm 1.4 lens good for?The 85/1.2 is for astronomy or other things that require no stabilization or are shot on tripods, while this new 85/1.4 is a much more practical lens for hand-held and regular shooting, or shooting anything that moves. How much is the Nikon 85mm 1.4 G?The latest Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S Nikkor price in Pakistan is 174,999 - PKR which was recently updated on November 2023. What is the difference between Nikon 85mm 1.8 D and G?Besides being longer, the Nikon 85mm f1. 8G also has a larger diameter of 80mm compared to the Nikon 85mm f1. 8D's 72mm diameter. The weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. |