Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm F 1 4G Review | 54 Data compared

The Photography Life review identifies the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G as a professional-grade portrait lens featuring exceptional center sharpness, beautiful bokeh, and excellent flare control via Nano Crystal Coat. It offers superior optical performance and low-light autofocus accuracy compared to its predecessor, allowing for precise subject isolation. Conversely, the lens displays noticeable focus shift between f/2.0 and f/5.6, weaker corner performance at wide apertures, and significant vignetting at f/1.4. It is also noted for having a slower autofocus acquisition speed than the 85mm f/1.4D, with the review suggesting the 85mm f/1.8G as a more cost-effective alternative for some users.

Ken Rockwell characterizes the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S as an optically flawless masterpiece that is sharp across the frame even when shot wide-open at f/1.4, boasting exceptional contrast, 9-blade bokeh, and Nano Crystal Coating. A key pro includes fast internal focusing with manual override, though the lens is heavy, bulky, and lacks vibration reduction (VR). Cons involve noticeable spherochromatism at wide apertures and a high price point that makes it hard to justify over the cheaper 85mm f/1.8G for similar real-world results.

Neil van Niekerk’s review on Tangents highlights the Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G as an exceptional portrait lens featuring significant upgrades over the older f/1.4D variant, including superb bokeh, improved autofocus speed/accuracy, and outstanding flare handling. Key pros include an extremely shallow depth of field for creating soft, creamy backgrounds. On the downside, the razor-thin depth of field at f/1.4 makes the lens unforgiving of movement, posing a handling challenge. Furthermore, the review notes that the significantly cheaper Nikon 85mm f/1.8G offers nearly indistinguishable bokeh, making the high price of the f/1.4G a potential disadvantage for some users.

The Have Camera Will Travel review highlights the Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G as a pro-level F-mount lens offering excellent subject isolation, bokeh, and a compact, sturdy build ideal for portrait and travel photography. Key strengths include its 85mm focal length providing optimal background compression and high-end performance in low-light scenarios. Have Conversely, the review notes significant compromises, particularly soft performance and heavy chromatic aberration when shooting wide open at f/1.4. While these issues can be mitigated by stopping down or post-processing, they are notable cons along with the absence of a manual aperture ring on this G-type lens.

The Cameralabs review of the Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G highlights it as an exceptional portrait lens that offers excellent resolving power and buttery-smooth bokeh. Tested extensively on DX and FX format DSLRs like the Nikon D300, D700, and D800, the lens delivers incredible center and corner sharpness right from its maximum f/1.4 aperture, achieving peak performance when stopped down to f/2.8. It is highly praised for its robust build quality, which features weather sealing—a significant upgrade over its predecessor, the 85mm f/1.4D—along with a standard 77mm filter thread and quiet autofocus operation driven by a Silent Wave Motor (SWM). Overall contrast remains very good even when shooting into bright backgrounds like skies or snow. However, the reviewer points out several notable drawbacks, particularly its prominent longitudinal chromatic aberration (loCA). This creates nasty green and red color fringing in high-contrast situations that requires post-processing to correct. Additionally, the lens completely lacks built-in optical image stabilization (VR), making hand-held shots below 1/125 second on high-resolution bodies quite challenging. The autofocus performance is on the slower side, clocking in at 0.8 seconds from...

The Nikon N AF-S Nikkor 85mm 1:1.4G is a professional-grade, fast aperture short telephoto lens optimized for portraits, featuring a Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for quiet autofocus, Nano Crystal Coat for flare reduction, and excellent bokeh from a 9-blade diaphragm. It is fully compatible with Nikon DSLR bodies, including entry-level models, and features robust, weather-sealed, internal-focusing construction. On the downside, this lens lacks a physical aperture ring, limiting its use on older manual-focus camera bodies. While sharp at f/1.4, it can exhibit some chromatic aberrations and vignetting at maximum aperture, and it is relatively heavy (595g) compared to f/1.8 alternatives.

In this review, William Beem details his initial field test of the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G lens at Epcot, evaluating its real-world utility beyond standard focal lengths. The primary pros highlighted include its outstanding low-light gathering capabilities at f/1.4, allowing him to pull details out of dim "dark rides" that would usually turn into blurry frames on slower lenses. He also highly praises the lens's fast, quiet autofocus performance and its nine rounded aperture blades, which successfully isolate portrait subjects from backgrounds using smooth, cream-like bokeh circles. However, Beem identifies several notable cons and limitations that photographers must watch out for when using this prime glass. The lens suffers from a surprisingly long minimum focusing distance of four to five feet, making it poorly suited for frame-filling macro shots of small objects. Furthermore, shooting wide open at f/1.4 in broad daylight can max out camera shutter speeds and result in overexposed highlight warnings. Lastly, he cautions that its razor-thin, shallow depth of field will not magically eliminate composition errors or highly visible background distractions, like tourists, which still...