Nikon 85 1.8G- Nearly as good as the 1.4 at a third of the price!!

[Nikon_Josh]

I know all the D800/D4 talk is still dominating proceedings and it seems at times I am the only person on the planet excited about this lens...

But the NEW 85 1.8G AFS lens has just been reviewed by Photozone. Photozone are very harsh critics of lenses, but they give this lens a 4.5 out of 5 rating for optical quality! They are saying it's 90 per cent as good as the 1.4 version. Shocking stuff...I will be getting one at some stage, I know that. The Sigma 85 1.4 was the cheap alternative at one point, it would seem this Nikon lens will be a smash hit.

Bokeh and purple fringing are improved, I sold my 85 1.8 AFD due to the awful bokeh and purple fringing.

Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G (FX) - Review / Test Report

 

[jake337]

I know all the D800/D4 talk is still dominating proceedings and it seems at times I am the only person on the planet excited about this lens...

But the NEW 85 1.8G AFS lens has just been reviewed by Photozone. Photozone are very harsh critics of lenses, but they give this lens a 4.5 out of 5 rating for optical quality! They are saying it's 90 per cent as good as the 1.4 version. Shocking stuff...I will be getting one at some stage, I know that. The Sigma 85 1.4 was the cheap alternative at one point, it would seem this Nikon lens will be a smash hit.

Bokeh and purple fringing are improved, I sold my 85 1.8 AFD due to the awful bokeh and purple fringing.

Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G (FX) - Review / Test Report

The 10% difference is in the OOF rendering and build quality I bet. If it's anything like comparing a 35mm f1.4G to a 35mm f1.8G.

Which many may seem worth the extra coin.

 

[Markw]

I really don't think it's too much like comparing the 35/1.4 with the 35/1.8 due to the simple fact that the 35/1.8 is a DX lens. I could see it being more like comparing the 50/1.4G with the 50/1.8G or something similar. But, the 50 really isn't a great option to compare, since it is such a simple design, and has damn-near become perfected over its lifetime.

That said, the 85/1.8G does look smashing. I'd love to pick one up, once my account recovers from the soon-to-be trauma called the D800 withdrawal.

Mark

 

[jake337]

I really don't think it's too much like comparing the 35/1.4 with the 35/1.8 due to the simple fact that the 35/1.8 is a DX lens. I could see it being more like comparing the 50/1.4G with the 50/1.8G or something similar. But, the 50 really isn't a great option to compare, since it is such a simple design, and has damn-near become perfected over its lifetime.

Mark

True. Then it could be like comparing the 85mm f1.8 AF-d and 85mm f1.4 AF-d.

 

[cgipson1]

I know all the D800/D4 talk is still dominating proceedings and it seems at times I am the only person on the planet excited about this lens...

But the NEW 85 1.8G AFS lens has just been reviewed by Photozone. Photozone are very harsh critics of lenses, but they give this lens a 4.5 out of 5 rating for optical quality! They are saying it's 90 per cent as good as the 1.4 version. Shocking stuff...I will be getting one at some stage, I know that. The Sigma 85 1.4 was the cheap alternative at one point, it would seem this Nikon lens will be a smash hit.

Bokeh and purple fringing are improved, I sold my 85 1.8 AFD due to the awful bokeh and purple fringing.

Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G (FX) - Review / Test Report

Thats OK.. you can shoot images only 90% as good as mine than!! No big deal! lol! :greenpbl:

 

[Josh220]

From what I have seen, most people buy the 1.4 because of it's ability to go to 1.4, and they shoot it at 1.4. Thus, the 1.8 would not be a comparable substitution for many.

 

[jake337]

From what I have seen, most people buy the 1.4 because of it's ability to go to 1.4, and they shoot it at 1.4. Thus, the 1.8 would not be a comparable substitution for many.

I used to but now I find myself stopping down as much as possible and finding angles with backgrounds that stretch as far as possible. It's also about the blade design and how many blades the lens has.

See how much you can stop down on a F1.8 lens before the circular OOF highlights are not so circular anymore.

 

[penfolderoldo]

I looked at the Canon 85 1.2 but decided I couldn't justify the huge price tag for the odd shoot i'd use it for so went for the Sigma 85 1.4 and can say it's a fantastic lens, really nice n sharp, well built, and around half the price! A colleague who uses Nikon has just got the 85 1.8G and he reckons it blows the Sigma out the water! :-(

 

[cgipson1]

I looked at the Canon 85 1.2 but decided I couldn't justify the huge price tag for the odd shoot i'd use it for so went for the Sigma 85 1.4 and can say it's a fantastic lens, really nice n sharp, well built, and around half the price! A colleague who uses Nikon has just got the 85 1.8G and he reckons it blows the Sigma out the water! :-(

I have the Nikon 85 1.4 and the Sigma 50 1.4... love them both... both put out excellent IQ, and great bokeh....

 

[jake337]

I looked at the Canon 85 1.2 but decided I couldn't justify the huge price tag for the odd shoot i'd use it for so went for the Sigma 85 1.4 and can say it's a fantastic lens, really nice n sharp, well built, and around half the price! A colleague who uses Nikon has just got the 85 1.8G and he reckons it blows the Sigma out the water! :-(

I have the Nikon 85 1.4 and the Sigma 50 1.4... love them both... both put out excellent IQ, and great bokeh....

I wouldn't say "blows it out the water" but if the small differences are must have ones for an individual then more power to them.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Lenses are like anything, get what you pay for. And it costs a whole lot not to settle for second best of anything. No matter how slight the difference is, that extra bit of build quality and light coming in will cost a lot.

 

[Nikon_Josh]

Thats OK.. you can shoot images only 90% as good as mine than!! No big deal! lol! :greenpbl:

Very good Charlie, I like it!

I think you guys are right on the build quality factor and the bokeh improvement causing the 85 1.4G to cost alot more.

But it does fascinate me when Nikon do this.. they have released a fantastic lens at a third of the price of their flagship model. It really is a great move on Nikon's part for US all as Nikon consumers. It's a bit like the 50 1.8G and 1.4G area, the 50 1.8G seems to be rated as better than the 1.4G in some peoples minds.

The 85 1.8G is in not better than the 1.4G, but it sure is close! The bokeh could be the downfall of this lens though, I will be intrigued to see how it performs in this respect in more detail. As we all know, the Nikon 85 1.4G and Sigma 85 1.4 have incredible OOF rendering.

The other reason I think this is great release from Nikon is because, I think finally Nikon have caught up with Canon's own 85 1.8. Canon's 85 1.8 was always superior in my opinion to the Nikon AF-D version.

 

[cgipson1]

One thing I would be really surprised to see on the 85mm 1.8 is the unbelievably fast focusing that the 1.4 has.... I never thought I would find a lens that focuses more accurately and faster than my 70-200... but the 85 1.4 does!

If the 85 1.8 is anywhere near that.. it will a lens to have! Be interesting to see what happens with it in the next couple of months.. looking forward to some shots!

 

[trizzo]

One thing I would be really surprised to see on the 85mm 1.8 is the unbelievably fast focusing that the 1.4 has.... I never thought I would find a lens that focuses more accurately and faster than my 70-200... but the 85 1.4 does!

If the 85 1.8 is anywhere near that.. it will a lens to have! Be interesting to see what happens with it in the next couple of months.. looking forward to some shots!

This week I had a chance to compare focus speed of 85/1.4 and the new 85/1.8 both attached to D800. From my point of view the 85/1.8 was a bit slower than the 1.4 version. I also asked Nikon expert at the shop and he told me that my feeling is correct. Honestly this feeling is only personal and I do not know how this new lens will act in real life situations.

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