Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

If you are like me then you agonize over which lens to buy. I was between this the 85mm 1.4g and the 85mm 1.8g. I purchased it from amazon and was thinking I would return it in 30 days if it didnt wow me! I just recently acquired the 24-70mm 2.8 thinking this would push me over the edge(for practical purposes) and I would send the 85 1.4g back. I ran both lenses through their paces and absolutely LOVE them both!! When it came time to s*** or get off the pot, I could not bring myself to return the 1.4g. Ive kept them both. I will reiterate what others have said about it. This thing produces DREAMY bokeh, and @ 1.4 your focused subjects pop out almost as if they were 3 dimensional. I have owned other 1.8gs the 35mm,and 50mm lenses and think they are amazing, and no need to be at 1.4, but it seems to me(IMO) at the 85mm focal range the 1.4g was worth the step up. I am sure the 1.8g is amazing!! But my personal preference was to have that extra oomph!

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Best lense Ive ever used for portraits. I have the 35mm and 50 mm but this is by far my favorite. The sharpness along with the blurred background makes it a great lense for portraits.

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I have to admit that I am an 85mm lens junkie. I have owned six different 85mm lenses including the storied Canon 85mm 1.2 L II. I have also owned the Nikon 85mm 1.8D. After giving my 1.8D to my son-in-law, I picked up the 1.8G, which is a fabulous lens clearly an improvement on the D version in terms of clarity, color and bokeh. The reviews generally claim that there is little difference between the two lenses and given the price difference, I wasnt tempted. However, when the recent rebates dropped the price of the 1.4G to under $1400, I couldnt resist any longer. So, is the 1.4 a great lens? Absolutely. Is it worth the price difference? That is a much tougher question. Obviously, this lens provides 1.4 and 1.6. If you need the speed then you have to pay the price. In addition, the bokeh at 1.4 is noticeably superior to that at 1.8. So, again if you need the smoothness difference then you have to pay the price. My 1.4 is sharp wide open (amazing) and is sharper than my 1.8 at every common aperture (some reviews differ). The difference may be due to better contrast, but the difference is nonetheless there. However, the differences are not major and are only noticeable on high magnification and close scrutiny. As for bokeh, at 1.8 and smaller apertures (larger aperture designations like 2.8 and 4.0), there are differences, but they are subtle. The fact is that the lenses are more alike than they are different. I cant say emphatically that there are shots that I can get with the 1.4 (other than shots taken at 1.4 and 1.6) that I couldnt get with the 1.8, but Im willling to pay the difference just in case. However, I can say with a high degree of confidence that whatever that number is, it is much less than 5% of the shots I take at 85mm. So, if you are on a budget and dont require sub-1.8 aperture shots, I could not in good conscience advise you to purchase this gem when the 1.8G is so excellent. As for the comparison with the Canon 1.2, the 1.4G fares very well. Sharpness wide open is pretty close between the lenses (this is a non-rigorous comparison; a serious comparison would require mounting the 1.4G onto a Canon body and shooting both lenses in tandem). The thing that I found to be truly interesting is that the smoothness of the bokeh between lenses is very close despite the 1/3 stop difference. In fact, I give the 1.4G bokeh the nod by half a nose. However, this conclusion--as are most with respect to bokeh--is somewhat subjective and may also depend somewhat on differences in rendering between Nikon and Canon bodies. Regardless, its good to know that Nikon shooters dont lose much (or anything) by not having the fastest 85mm lens available. The decision of which lens to use is difficult. For raw speed the Canon is faster (1/2 stop); but I prefer the Nikon bokeh and it focuses faster. Moreover, the Nikon provides better-edge-to-edge sharpness wide open. So what lens did a take on a reason hike? It was the Nikon 1.8G which was the preferred lens due to its compact size.

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Words simply cannot describe how much I love this lens. It is, simply, absolutely stunning. Forget what it costs. Forget the other "make do" lenses. Find a way to own this lens. Seriously, you NEED this lens.

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The Nikon 85 1.4G is the best lens I own. Fast focus on my D750 even handheld @ 1.4 in the city at night. And the bokeh is incredible. I had previously owned the Nikon 85 1.8G, which was good, but the Nikon 85 1.4G is superior. It is tack sharp and an excellent lens to use in low light. Yes, it is expensive, and the 85 1.8G is a good substitute if you cant afford the 85 1.4G, but if you can afford it, then you will be highly rewarded with beautiful photos. I use it on my D750.

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This lens has changed the way I do portrait photography, amazing clarity, unreal bokeh, so much light I have to lower the ISO to less than 50 on a clear day.

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A little background. I shot with with Canon and Nikon in the past and have owned several of their 85 mm lenses. The Nikon 85/1.8 and 1.4 and the Canon 84/1.2. I also still own the Korean manual focus 85/1.4 sold as Rokkor or Shamyan (not sure about the brand names). I was hesitant for some time and finally ordered it. Now I regret I didnt oder it before! I do a lot of portrait photography and love to use very narrow depth of field in my work. This lens is one of the best lenses I have ever owned! It is already great and reasonably sharp wide open and gets razor sharp once stopped down a little. Even with a D800 (36 mp) I feel comfortable shooting at 1.4. The AF-S system is not a rocket but very accurate. That is one of the most important things with fast lenses. I lost many good shots with other lenses because it is always a challenge with nail focus. With this lens I get a noticeable higher success rate. Its a large lens but doesnt weight a ton. It feels lighter than the size suggests. Bokeh is beautiful and smooth. Vignetting is also very low for such a fast lens. There is no other 85 that I tried that overall performs so well and reliable. Yes its expensive but I think its worth it. Would I recommend it? Yes, but keep in mind, not everyone needs a high end lens like this. If you are on a budget, it makes no sense to spend all your money on one lens only. The Nikon 85/1.8 is a valid alternative for a lower budget. It doesnt reach this lens in terms of sharpness and bokeh, but its pretty close.

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This lens replaces one of the all time greatest lenses, the legendary cream machine. The new lens is everything the old one was with fast AFS autofocus. One point that I didnt see raised in the other reviews is the night light performance of this lens. Sagittal coma aberration is almost non existent even wide open, just like the older NOCT 55 f/1.2. If you want to take night shots of neon lit cityscapes, this is the best lens currently on the market. As far as size goes, it is a little bulkier than your typical prime, like having a medium sized grapefruit stuck on your body. It still balances nicely for one handed shots on a D300 though. Like all Nikon pro lenses the build quality is impecable.

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This lens will set you images apart from the rest. The DOF is just amazing, and the speed of the lens is even better. I use it with a D810, and continue to be amazed with the quality of the pictures. You cannot obtain similar quality, sharpness and "feeling" of images with any other lens, hence, giving you unique look. It is designed to squeeze every bit of light.

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This lens is a whole new level of portrait photography. I got inspired to buy this lens from a photographer by the name of Dani daimond. His portraits are mesmerizing. If you see what this lens could do it is insane. Yes it is expensive yes the lens in a bit heavy. But the built quality and the pictures sharpness is worth every penny .

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