everything.

Price. No AF-S, but then you don't ned it.

This isn't a good lens. It's an awesome lens. I have tested this extensively at F1.4, and it is razor sharp. In these zoom-dominated days, F2.8 is considered fast for a lens, and then the lens is not sharp until F5.6, with rotten bokeh. It's a liberating experience and a whole new way of photographing to have such speed, sharpness and great bokeh in one package. You also get the old-style Nikon crinkle paint finish I happen to like and great build quality. It's the best lens I own, period.

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Various, including the Carl Zeiss 85mm F1.4. I rekon the Nikon is better.

Build quality Great manual focus Out of focus area is great Stunning results wide open A great combination with my 28 1.4

I got used to the pull out lens shade on the 105 so I dont really like the shade on the 85. The lens cap can not be put on the lens with the shade on. Both are fairly minor

Outstanding lens! My favorite portrait lens for the past 20 years has been the Nikon 105 2.5. Sorry to say its not any more. The 85 1.4 is just that much better, sharper, faster. You can shoot this lens from f1.4 to f16 and get just beautiful sharp images from corner to corner. (sometimes too sharp for certain peoples faces)

Customer Service

none

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105 2.5 80-200 2.8 180 2.8

Sharp with good colours at full aperture, solidly built

77mm filters aren`t exactly cheap... APERTURE INCREMENTS ONLY FULL STOPS, which should really be cured by nikon!

If you`re into portraiture, you`ll need this lens although it requires quite a bit of cash. I use it a lot in the studio at f1.4 and the pictures come out tack sharp and with nice out-of-focus areas. Use it indoors, outdoors, with flash, flood lights or available light, this lens comes in handy everywhere. It`s built to use with mostly metal parts (except the aperture ring...) and it even resists rain for some time. AF-S is not needed as it won`t make focusing any faster and while we`re at it, the noise level is no drag at all even if it would be more quiet with AF-S. Go buy this piece of glass!

Customer Service

not needed

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85/1.8

Speed, sharpness, a rugged lense, lightweight. If you have kids, buy this lense.

A bit expensive, but well worth it. I don't care for the lens shade.

One of my favorite lenses, On an F100 this lense delivers with speed, crisp detail from edge to edge and beautiful images. It brings out the best but it can expose your worst, I know. A truly wonderful lense.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 105MM 2.8D Macro

* Superb build quality, just a bit below the Leica. * Super fast autofocus that is laways accurate on my F100 and F5 I used to own. * 9 aperture (rounded) blades, compared to Leica's 11 is very similar, but I still prefer the Nikon's out of focus areas more.

* Aperture ring is plastic, like all AF Nikkors * AF-S would be welcomed for smoother and quieter AF, but it would not improve speed. * Price to some, but if you want excellent build quality, faster speed and smoother bokeh, then the price is justifiable.

This is my second review of this lens that I believe has more significance to my first as I have been around and come back. My initial encounter with this lens was nothing short of fantastic, but my desire for super sharp ide angle shots in low light motivated my trading of my Nikon gear for Leica M. Since owning a Leica M6 and various lenses, mainly comparing the APO Summicron 90/2 Asph to this lens has lead me to the conclusion that this Nikon can definately stand up with the best of them, especially considering that the APO Summicron Asph is regarded by many as the sharpest telephoto lens in the world. I am not saying that the Nikon is necessarily sharper, but I prefer the background blur and colour rendition from the Nikon better, and I always hit the focus on the nail with autofocus on my F100, as compared to the 90 on the M6. Simply an awesome lens that is absolutely unbeatable in my opinion.

Customer Service

none required

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AF 105mm f/2D DC Leica APO Summicron 90/2 Asph Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L

Very Sharp Very Fast

Screw on lend hood is a pain. Wish there was a way to put a lens cap on while the lens hood was on.

I have been using this lens for a couple of months and the results are outstanding. Very sharp and very fast. The only problem is I wish the lens hood was a bayonet mount. The standard lens hood is a screw on type and there is no way to put a lens cap on without unscrewing the hood. For the optics I would give this a 5. But the lens hood is a pain, so I would rate this a 4 overall.

Sharp, bright. Professional built & feel.

heavy, expensive. 77mm filters expensive. Need more practice.

Super sharp. Take the 35mm film to the finest limit. Remember to focus on your model''s eyes because the shallow depth of view (if you always operate your camera in P mode).

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AF 50D

Extremely good optical quality, very sharp and brillant. Very good built quality, AF-M switch. Professional line Nikon quality. Fair AF speed (with F-100). By far better than 85/1.8.

Not really. Maybe price.

This is my sharpest lens by far. I especially like the small depth of field and the really beautiful "buket" in the background out of focus. However, this lens needs some practice. Sounds funny? Well, for close-up portraits, it needs some practice to focus precisely on the eyes -- or whatever shall be sharp -- of the subject. Overall, perfect for advanced people photography.

Customer Service

never needed with Nikon.

Similar Products Used:

AF 80-200/2.8 IF-ED (new), AF 85/1.8D, AF 28-70/2.8

Extremely Sharp Rugged Construction 1.4

Price (but its a great lens) Slow auto focus

This is a great prime lens. I like the 85mm focal length as I photography people mostly. The 1.4 is very bright on an F-100 body. The greatest strengh of this lens is sharpness. I have yet to use a Nikkor lens that I have found to be sharper than this one. With its 9 rounded blades you get a very very smooth backgrounds which even look creamy. The main issue I have with the lens is its auto focus speed (I am using an f-100). I like to take photos of people in motion and I find that in auto focus mode this lens just does not keep up with the action even when I am using the MB-15 with my F-100. But I guess I have other lenses that take care of the speed issue. I wish Nikon made a AF-S version of this lens. That would be a killer lens.

Customer Service

None yet.

Extremely fast. Sharpness even wide open (although a narrow depth of field). Quality of build.

I couldn''t find a lens cap big enough for the lens hood (82 mm I think). Trying to put the lens cap on inside the lens hood is a nuisance.

I was influenced by a previous reviewer and bought this lens used to take on a trip to India. I used the lens on my F80 (the only other lens I had was the 17-35 on my F100). I found it was the perfect focal length for candid people shots. With it being so fast I was able to take portraits under any daylight conditions (I shot Sensia II at ASA 160). The results were really stunning. Even wide open, as long as I focused on the eyes, the pictures are amazing. I could not imagine better sharpness, saturation and contrast. Other people have complained about the slowness of the auto-focus. I found it to be completely satisfactory and I never missed a single shot because it was too slow to focus. It is true that it could be quieter but if you are shooting where there is ambient noise like in a street you would be hard pressed to hear it. I had no problems with flare except in one sunset picture. The next photo taken of the sunset had no flare so it must have had something to do with slightly changing the angle. It is true that it is very expensive and I didn''t compare it to the 85 1.8. I may do that and if the 1.8 is just as sharp wide open I would probably sell the 1.4 partly because of money and partly because the 1.4 is significantly smaller. However I''ve learned that my attachment to lenses is not always completely rational and this lens has the indescribable feel of quality.

Customer Service

I have not had problems with Nikon lens; only with my F80 scratching film. It is at Nikon right now.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon lenses: 17-35 AF-S; 35-70 f2.8 AF-D; 60 macro AF; 105 2.8 AF-D; 180 f2.8 AF; 28-105 AF-D.