Compact, contrasty, excellent color saturation and super sharp (almost too sharp for some portrait work).

Brokeh not as nice as the 1.4D version but my wallet is thicker!

Slides taken with this lens is simply super sharp, contrasty, and stunning. Brokeh is fairly nice but certainly not as nice as the 1.4D version but for less than 1/3 the price, this lens is simply excellent in all other respects. Focusing on an F100 is extremely fast and accurate. This lens is so compact that I carry it all of the time in addition to a 24mm 2.8D, which covers 95% of the focal lengths that I normally shoot at. For those occassions where I need excellent Brokeh for portraits, I simply haul out my 80-200 2.8D, take a shot or two, then pop the 85mm 1.8D back on! By the way, this is my first gray market lens (which I would only purchase from a very reputable dealer like B&H Photo) and I cannot find any differences from its USA counterpart!

Customer Service

Have not had to use them yet!

Similar Products Used:

20mm 2.8D, 24mm 2.8D, 28mm 1.4D, 50mm 1.8, 80-200 2.8D.

1. very compact. 2. fast AF 3. nice bokeh in my testings

1. mine may be a lemon, dust gets in easily. 2. slight focusing error 3. loose manual focus ring

I love & hate this lens. This qualifies very well as a portrait lens and in fact I use it for landscape from time to time. The f/1.8 comes in handy in low light condition such as stage show and indoor activities. The light falloff is well controlled even at f/1.8. Focussing must be done carefully at f/1.8 or things will get thrown out of focus easily. Overall it''s good. HOWEVER, my sample seems to suck in dust quite easily. After half year of use it even got a fibre inside the front element! Though the image quality isn''t effected visually it poses psychological discomfort and I''ve to had it cleaned once by Nikon (btw, lens cleaning isn''t free even it''s within the warranty period, that''s the case in Hong Kong). I did take precaution while changing and cleaning lenses and this has not happened to my other lenses. Well, I suspect it''s just sample variation or I''m just too enthusiastic to locate dust in lenses.

Customer Service

needed once to clean the dust and fibre inside

Similar Products Used:

60mm f/2.8D micro, 28-80mm G, 70-300mm G

reasonable fast autofocus sharp affordable good color rendition

For the money, none.

An excellent portrait lens for the money. Shooting fashion and the results are great using NPS and NPC 160 Fuji Film. Image quality and color rendition are exellent. Highly recommended. I borrowed a friends 85 1.4 D for the weekend and will compare my results with the 85 1.8.

Similar Products Used:

85 1.4 D

sharp (above 2.8) and contrasty, color rendition good

AF focus is not as fast as it should be (I expect it is comparable to 50mm/1.8 but actually frequently hunting) Hood is screw-in in convenient

Good choice for bright condition portrait

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

AF50/1.8 AF 28-105 AF 70-300ED Tokina 19-35

Very sharp, affordable

Has a screw-in hood, would be better with bayonet style.

I initially bought this lens beacause I could not afford a 105mm. Once I saw the results, I was very glad I didn''t spend the extra money. This lens is an excellent portrait lens. I would strongly recommend this lens if just getting into photography for a little side money.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 20mm 2.8D Nikon 28-200mm 3.5-5.6D Nikon 50mm 1.8D

Sharp! Sharp ! Sharp!

None that I can think of!

I just love the images this lens produces! It''s sharp as a tack and it''s feels just perfect on my F100. If your new to photography like myself and you want to take family portraits then this is the lens. I use my 28mm for group shots but for 1-3 people portraits I can''t be more happier.

Customer Service

Nikon in Torrance Ca. are very nice. I lost the cap on my cable release 10 prong connection which I would of gladly payed for it but the service center said we would be glad to give it to you free.

Similar Products Used:

50mm1.8 24mm2.8 28mm2.8

Unbelievably sharp at it's best apertures (2 - 3 stops down from f/1.8). Relatively lightweight.

Flares and reflections are a main downfall for this lens when shooting bright subjects at night. I had a mirror image of city lights above the real lights. Definitely not a lens for night shooting. None of the lenses I have listed below display this tendency.

An excellent lens for daylight shooting as long as you use the hood. Unacceptable for night photography (my main type of photography) if you're shooting cityscapes with bright lights. Flares very easily. I'm rating this very low because of the poor reflection control.

Customer Service

never had to use it for this lens.

Similar Products Used:

24, 50, 75-150, Hassy 120 and 60, Hexar 35mm

Very Sharp and Fast.

NONE

A great addition to your bag. Its is a very, very sharp lens. If you really need the 1.4 version (why?) then you'll have to spend the extra bucks. I think you will be happy with this one.

Customer Service

Not so far

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 80-200 2.8
nikon 60mm 2.8

Got for $215 Used from Local PaperVery Sharp,Nice Working DistanceBright and Easy to focus (1.8)Results are just outstanding, all the contrast and sharpness you need to make a great photoGreat with Hood (leave it on)

Doesn't focus close - not like the Nikon wide angles do. Guess you want the macro for that.Leave the hood on !

Mine is ugly, but glass is great....don't let looks stop you ! Easy to "throw" background out of focus Thinking about the 105 Macro My favorite for casual (non-posed) people pix. At $215 used, I'll keep it !

Customer Service

no problems

Similar Products Used:

None

This lens is very fast, compact and extremely sharp & contrasty. Faultless results in colour and B&W portraiture. Excellent out-of-focus blur of highlights, due to almost-circular diaphraghm.

Relatively slow AF, manual focusing is awkward due to the very underdamped focusing ring. Aperture ring is narrow and difficult to handle too.

A great lens, well worth the price. The comparison with the brother f 1.4 shows a better handling & feel for the faster one, though no visible gain in quality from f 2.8 to smaller apertures. I think this is a must have for anyone strictly involved in portrait, fashion & people photography.

Customer Service

No need for that.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AFD 85 1.4
Kenko 85 2.5 Soft focus
Nikon AFD 105 2 DC