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Nikon
85mm f/1.4 D AF
© 2009 KenRockwell.com
Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-D (77mm filters, 18.5 oz/524g.) enlarge. This one came from Adorama. I'd also recomend Amazon. It helps me keep adding to this site when you get yours from these links, thanks! Ken.
NEW: 85mm Lens Specifications Compared 23 June 2009
NEW: 85mm Lens Central Sharpness Comparison 23 June 2009
NEW: 85mm Lens Corner Sharpness Comparison 23 June 2009
June 2009 More Nikon Reviews
Introduction
This is a very, very good lens. It is made with the same sturdy mechanics as the 28mm f/1.4D AF and 20-35mm f/2.8D AF.
It is especially well suited to the new Nikon D3, in fact, this is the lens with which the Nikon D3 is shown in many of Nikon's promotional photos.
Specifications
It has nine elements in eight groups.
Close focus is three feet or 0.85m.
It has a 77mm filter thread, is 3.1" (79mm) diameter by 2.9" (74mm) long.
It weighs 18.485 oz (524.1g). Nikon specifies 20 oz. (560 g).
It has a nice, curved nine-bladed diaphragm that gives a circular, not polygonal, opening from f/1.4 through about f/5.6. It stops down to f/16.
A nice metal screw-in metal HN-31 hood is included.
There is an AF/MF selection ring on the lens barrel, just like the other AF Nikkor lenses of similar vintage and quality. This lens was introduced in the mid 1990s.
Nikon Product Number: 1933, in catalog as of spring 2008.
Performance
It has no distortion.
AF speed is very fast on my F100. It's about the same or a hair slower than the extremely fast 85mm f/1.8D AF.
Autofocus accuracy seemed pretty good, making use at f/1.4 reasonable for sharp results.
Bokeh seems good, too, for backgrounds.
Compared back to Performance top
Nikon 85/1.8 K, Nikon 85/2 AI-s, Nikon 85/1.4 AI-s, Nikon 85/1.8D, Nikon 85/1.4D and Vivitar 85/1.4. enlarge (actual size at 106 DPI).
See:
NEW: 85mm Lens Specifications Compared 23 June 2009
NEW: 85mm Lens Central Sharpness Comparison 23 June 2009
NEW: 85mm Lens Corner Sharpness Comparison 23 June 2009
Recommendations
This is a tough call because the 85mm f/1.8D AF is also so good, so why spend three times as much for 2/3 stop?
It has better bokeh than the f/1.8 version, is built much more like a tank, takes today's standard 77mm filters and seems to have better AF accuracy than the f/1.8 model allowing you to make good use of the maximum aperture.
On the other hand, I don't have an 85mm f/1.8D AF because it's not much faster than my 80-200 f/2.8 and I'm out of room in my bag. In this case, f/1.4 certainly is a lot faster than f/2.8, so that makes it more of a temptation.
Personally, I don't do much available light hand held shooting with an 85mm. Remember that you loose a stop or two of low-light ability compared to a 50mm or 28mm f/1.4 because of the longer focal length. You can shoot successful at slower speeds with a wide angle lens.
If you want a fast 85mm it's a winner.
Deployment
I'd keep a Nikon 77mm NC filter on it for protection on digital cameras, or when shooting color print film, or B&W film indoors.
I'd use a 77mm Hoya Super HMC 81A filter with Fuji Velvia 50 or other color slide film.
I'd use a Hoya 77mm yellow filter outdoors with B&W film.
PLUG top
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If you find this as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.
If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks!
If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00.
The biggest help is to use these links to Adorama, Amazon, Calumet, Ritz and J&R when you get your goodies. It costs you nothing and is a huge help to me. eBay is always a gamble, but all the other places have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally.
Thanks for reading!
Ken
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