Nikon 85mm f/1.4 D AF
© 2007 KenRockwell.com

Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-D (enlarge). I got mine here. I'd also recomend checking here. It helps me keep adding to this site when you get yours from those links, too.

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 and weighs 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.

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.

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