Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G Classic Portrait Lens

The price tag might not suit everyone's budget, but this optic's performance is hard to argue with

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  Solid MTF figures

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  Hefty price

Nikon's flagship wide aperture portrait lens receives a facelift, gaining a silent-wave focusing motor and Nano Crystal Coatings to reduce ghosting and flare. Here, Gary Wolstenholme takes a look at how it performs.

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  Good resolution performance, Beautiful out of focus blur, Excellent build quality, Negligible levels of CA, Good resistance to flare and ghosting

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  Maybe a touch pricey, but you get what you pay for

In preparation for the 2010 Photokina in Cologne, Germany next month, Nikon is announcing three new lenses for their FX and DX-format DSLRs. All three are fairly large lenses that use 77mm filters, which is now standard for higher-end Nikon lenses.

So this is a tough one. There is a lot to like in the new Nikon 85mm Æ’/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.

Overall, what gets me excited about this lens isn't so much the fantastic performance, but the signal of commitment by Nikon to put out great glass for professionals and dentists.

A wide aperture short-telephoto lens with a silent focusing motor and Nikon's latest Nano Crystal lens coatings.

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  Good resolution performance, Beautiful out of focus blur, Excellent build quality, Negligible levels of CA, Good resistance to flare and ghosting, Maybe a touch pricey, but you get what you pay for

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  Good resolution performance, Beautiful out of focus blur, Excellent build quality, Negligible levels of CA, Good resistance to flare and ghosting, Maybe a touch pricey, but you get what you pay for

If you were a perverse and malicious being, you would start the summary of this test this way: although the Nikkor AF-S 85 mm f/1.4G costs almost 1700 $, it gives us more or less the same the image quality at the maximum relative aperture as the Samyang 1.4/85, which costs about 300 $.

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  high build quality,, splendid image quality in the frame centre,, very good image quality on the edge of the frame, even on full frame,, slight lateral chromatic aberration,, negligible distortion,, well-corrected coma in the corners of APS-C/DX sensor,, sensationally corrected astigmatism,, slight...

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  significant vignetting on full frame,, a bit too high coma in full frame corners,, distinct longitudinal chromatic aberration.

I have been reading about this lens not being sharp and not working in auto-focus. One user identifying herself as a professional photographer was irate that it had not come precalibrated as it would cost $ to have it done.. What???

I almost always use this lens wide open at f/1.4 shooting portraits and children and have always been amazed at the creamy bokeh and colour rendition. I have used it on the D700 and D810 and if focused and used correctly, it can be super sharp even at 100% magnification on the D810.

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  Super sharp even when wide open, beautiful colours, creamy bokeh

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  Some CA wide open depending on angle, learning curve to use it wide open

First time using this lens was easy. Put it on my brand new D-800, ( last camera was a D-7000 ). Every picture taken was great. The back ground out of focus but the colors of the fall leaves were just what i was looking for. This is a great portrait lens, I'll be useing this lens a lot.

This AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 lens is Superb in Every way, Excellent in Low Light situation. Quality is solid and found the Focus Quick and Accurate. A much for taking Potraits. The Sharpness and bokeh are Obsolutely incredible Razar Sharp. Excellent piece of lens to Own.

Sharp, very fast and quiet.

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  Sharp fast light

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  Some may not like plastic

the best portrait lens ever I have used

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  Consistent Output, Durable, Easily Interchangeable, Fast / accurate auto-focus, Lightweight, Nice Bokeh, Rugged, Strong Construction

I LOVE this lens! Please believe me when I tell you the bokeh is like butta! Very smooth. I use it for weddings and portrait sessions. It's great for beautiful portraits but also wonderful for candids as it focuses very fast. I use it on my Nikon d750 and I'm thrilled.

This lens completes my repertoire of Nikon glass. No barrel distortion, great bokeh and that Nikon quality gives me that peace of mind since I've started using it. What I see is what I get.