How does the Nikon 85mm/1.4G perform for night photography?

[jdong217]

I only have DX format right now, but I'm realizing that the 85mm converted to DX format would actually work for street life at night.

I have the 35mm/1.8G and it works amazingly for the price, but the length sometimes doesn't work for me. The 50mm seems to short too as on my 17-55 I'm constantly at 55 and moving my feet for night shots and still find I'm short of range.

 

[KmH]

How does the Nikon 85mm/1.4G perform for night photography?

It works very well.

 

[Moe]

[deleted]

 

[analog.universe]

Due to the shutter speed restriction, keep in mind that you'll actually be able to pick up less light handheld with an 85 1.4 than with your 35 1.8. The 35 you can shoot at 1/50, the 85 I'd probably want to be at like 1/120. (If you're really good at handholding, you can certainly get away with slower, but it's the proportions that matter). 1/50 to 1/120 is 1 1/3 stops, and 1.4 is only 2/3 of a stop faster than 1.8. So your aperture advantage is more than consumed by the shutter speed requirement.

That's not to say it's bad at night shots, quite the opposite. But for comparison purposes, know that in practicality you can probably expose brighter with your 35.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

For a longer lens at low light the 70-200 with VRII may serve you well. I'm not an expert nor have i played with mine yet but critics claim 4 stops improvement or such over non-VR.

 

[analog.universe]

For a longer lens at low light the 70-200 with VRII may serve you well. I'm not an expert nor have i played with mine yet but critics claim 4 stops improvement or such over non-VR.

True, and if you're going the route of utilizing VR for low light, something like 105mm 2.8 VR micro-nikkor is much less expensive than the 70-200 zoom.