Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Reviews
DESCRIPTION OF THE LENS FOR THE NOVICE OR BEGINNER This lens is light, compact affordable, but produces very impressive results. I highly recommend the use of this lens for portrait, events and for landscape. Despite it being a fixed focal length and not being able to zoom, I highly recommend this lens for beginner Nikon dSLR users who own only the kit zoom lens that came with the camera. This lens allows you to shoot at low light and/or to blur the background of the subject of the photo. This prime lens is a safe, affordable and way to see for yourself how good a prime lens can be as against the kit zoom lens. It also shows what the other Nikon professional prime and professional lenses are capable of should you get serious in this hobby. REVIEW OF THE LENS FOR EXPERIENCED USERS What follows is a quick review is based on my use of this lens for around 2-weeks. It is intended for those already familiar with Nikkor's line of 85mm prime lenses but are wondering how this lens compare with the other Nikkor 85mm autofocusing lenses that Nikon makes. This review is based on my own copy of the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D, 1.8D, 1.4G and 1.8G. AGAINST THE NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8D The Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G is bigger than the Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D but is a bit lighter. Unlike the 85mm f/1.8D, this lens comes with a reversible hood which does a good job in protecting and shading the lens. With the hood reversed, the 85mm f/1.8G becomes much more compact than the 85mm f/1.8D with the hood installed. But with the hood installed, the wider lens barrel and the wider and longer hood makes the 85mm f/1.8G significantly bulkier than the 85mm f/1.8D. Reflecting the bigger-sized lens, the 85mm f/1.8G uses a 67mm filter while the 85mm f/1.8D uses a 62mm filter. As the "G" suffix indicates, the 85mm f/1.8G does not have an aperture ring while the 85mm f/1.8D has an aperture ring (see notes below in the 85mm f/1.4D for the significance of this). The older Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D have always been very sharp at the center and at the corners even when used wide-open but the new Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G is stll a bit sharper still. Despite being bigger and wider, the 1.8G has slightly more vignetting wide open than the 1.8D but this quickly reverses in favour of the 1.8G from about f/2.5 onwards. The two areas where the 1.8G has improved significantly over the 1.8D is in having better bokeh and also having less purple fringing when shooting wide-open. The 1.8G focus speed is a bit faster on a D7000 than the 1.8D on the same body. In addition, the 1.8G autofocus is now consistently more precise and significantly quieter. Priced reasonably, this 85mm f/1.8G lens can auto focus on Nikon bodies that do not have a built-in focusing motors (such as the Nikon D3000, D3100, D3200, D5000, D5100, D40, and D60). For those who use this focal length regularly, upgrading from the 1,8D to the 1.8G is easy to justify. For 1st time buyers of the 85mm lens, I highly recommend choosing the 1.8G over the 1.8D given the minimum price difference between these 2 lenses. AGAINST THE NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D The Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G is of the same width as the than the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D but is shorter and also significantly lighter by 200 grams. Unlike the 85mm f/1.4D, the 85mm 1.8G comes with a reversible hood which does a good job in protecting and shading the lens. Unlike the 85mm f/1.4D which uses a 77mm filter, the 85mm f/1.8G uses a 67mm filter. Wide-open at f/1.8 to f/2.5, the new Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G is sharper at the center, borders and at the corners than the 85mm f/1.4D. At f/2.8 and above, the 85mm f/1.4D improves considerably. The bokeh of the 85mm f/1.4D is still better and creamier but the 85mm f/1.8G is no slouch in this regard. There is also less purple fringing on the 1.8G than on the 1.4D used wide-open. Focus on the 85mm f/1.8G is a bit faster than the 85mm f/1.4D on a Nikon DX D7000 but the difference is small and insignificant. Focus precision between these two lenses are about the same but the 85mm f/1.8G focuses much quieter than the 85mm f/1.4D. The primary advantage of the 85mm f/1.4D over the 85mm f/1.8G is primarily in it being 2/3 of a stop faster and it having an aperture ring. The 2/3 stop advantage is significant for still and video while the aperture ring is very helpful for use in video. The aperture ring is also particularly helpful in still photography when using this lens with an adapter on m4/3 and NEX bodies as it allows the use of precise, easily set and repeatable aperture settings. This is the reason why I still have the Nikkor 85mm 1.4D and 1.8D lenses even after getting the 2 new Nikkor 85mm 1.4G and 1.8G lenses. For portrait photography where the subject is framed at or near the center, I would likely still opt for the 85mm f/1.4D but for anything else where the 2/3 stop advantage is not used, I would likely choose the 85mm 1.8G. AGAINST THE NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G In terms of size, the 85mm f/1.4G is significantly bigger and heavier than the 85mm f/1.8G. Both lenses comes with reversible hood. The 85mm f/1.4G uses a 77mm filter while the 85mm f/1.8G uses a 67mm filter. In terms of performance, the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G is better than the 85mm f/1.8G in all respects. The 1.4G is a bit sharper, has better bokeh, less vignetting at the same aperture setting, even less purple fringing, better flare resistance, better micro-contrast and richer color. It's very tough to compete against the 85mm f/1.4G when it comes to performance. Yet while the 85mm f/1.8G comes up a bit short, it comes in at a close second. At almost 3x the cost, it is not surprising that the 1.4G is better than the 1.8G. Whether one should get 1.4G or the 1.8G will depend on how much one is willing to pay more for the small performance difference. Consideration should also be given to the bigger size and weight of the 1.4G vs the 1.8G. For someone who already has a Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G, would it still make sense to get a Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G? The answer is yes if one needs a smaller, lighter and more compact 85mm. I use this lens with my smaller Nikon DX bodies as well as with my Sony NEX and Panasonic GH2. The 1.8G smaller size and lighter weight would also be a very good match for the rumored upcoming Nikon full frame in a small body, the D600.. this is my Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras reviews
Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Specs
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- Price for both: $539.20
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- This item: Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras $496.95
- B+W 67mm Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Coating (010M) $42.25
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