Its Nikon isn't it ? Built well and built to last - Superb optics

Pricey if bought new but then quality never comes cheap.

Well, what do I say ??? This is just a SUPERB lens in every respect. I find it very clean and sharp at most settings. Perhaps a tiny bit soft wide open but that's a bonus for close up portraiture. Great in low light situations with that fast maximum aperture - focusing is quick and easy. I love its chunky feel Too heavy ?? no way !! I always have an MD12 on my FM2n's anyway and the balance is just fine. I see the odd bad review of this lens and don't understand why - Usually its from 'equipment freaks' - they can be a little like Hi-Fi freaks - you know the type - "never mind the music, listen to the equipment" Know where I'm coming from ??? Get out and TAKE SOME PICTURES !!!!!!!!!!!

Customer Service

Never needed it

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Other Nikon lenses, bodies

fat chunky size adds good handling. super smooth, easy focus. contrast.

the non rounded aperture blades doesn't help with making highlights like candles look nice. if you look close they look like doughnuts, and the 9 aperture bladesin the OOF background can be counted.

as a wedding photographer i have a large assault of lenses. all 2.8 1.8 and this new addition 1.4. it's an amazing lens. it easily performs better then all the other lenses i own. nikon 50 1.8 80-200 2.8AFS tokina 28-80 2.8 17-35 2.8 nikon sigma 15 2.8 fisheye i've tested this lens out before i bought. i shot all kinds of objects at apertures between 1.4-4 (for me a lens has no use if it can't perform @ almost open aperture) what can i say. portraits are beatiful, short DOF, just like i want it. one eye in focus and the rest just flows out of focus. pff, this lens is SUPER SUPER SHARP even @ 1.4 when a tripod is used and very sharp when handheld. use it @ 1.4 for breathtaking shots, stop it down f2 to get some more contrast. i've used it for landscapes at times. i used a 72-77 adapter and hooked the 85 1.4 AFD lens hood on it.

Customer Service

to many branches. too long to answer the phone.

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85 1.8 AFD (1.4 blows it away) 180 2.8 AFN ( pretty close, still the 85)

Sharp, fast, excellent build quality!

Some might say weight but I love it on my F3hp!

I got this one used and i never regretted!This is by far the sharpest Nikon lense I have used.In fact its so fast that when you use it for portraits you might find blemishes on peoples faces that you have never noticed before!

Customer Service

None!As I said excellent quality!

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None

Sharpness and Color Balance

Price

Dear Reader I own many high-speed medium telephoto lenses and Nikon has done a great job with the 85mm 1.4 on all accounts. Listed below are my findings, Color: B+ Sharpness: A Flair: B Build: B This is a great lens and a true value. It can hold its own against the following: Canon 85mm 1.2L Contax 85mm 1.4 Leica 80mm 1.4 Minolta 85mm 1.4 This is a no-fault optic that has stood the test of time. Thank You Russ

Customer Service

Very Good

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Canon 85mm 1.2L Canon 85mm 1.8 S.S.C. Canon 85mm 2.0 Serenar

Tack sharp. Low F/stop. quality built.

none

There are lenses and then there is this lens! I have some high quality lenses including a 45mm Zeiss for my Contax G2. This lens easily is as good as that lens. At least in a 4x6 print. My most displayed prints come from this 85mm lens. I put in some Fuji NPH 400 and take pictures of people and it is utterly amazing the quality that comes out. Certainly the DOF is small at 1.4 so be prepared for that and the focus may be a little soft at that end also, but still looks great for a portrait.

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Kiron 105mm f/2.8 Macro Zeiss 45mm f/2 for G2 Tokina ATX pro 28-80 zoom

Sharpness and speed

Weight.

The best portrait lens I''ve ever used. Tack sharp and easy to focus in low light.

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Nikon 105 f2.5 AIS

-sharpness -bright

-size and weight but it looks good doesn''t it?

This baby is so sharp that it sometimes gets annoying!

Customer Service

Once cleaned cause i got it second hand no problems overall.

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None

For professionals: Very fast and sharp lens (excellent resolution) even quite open, therefor easy to focus, high quality construction (rugged). Minimal depth of field at wider apertures offers fine possibilities for portraits and nudes

Large, heavy and expensive (as you might expect from a lens of this type)

Incredible high performance, I have taken many pictures with it, professional and private. A very useful lens, together with its 35/1.4 AIS-brother my top favourite tools on my F3. Would combine these two with 24/2 and 180/2.8 ED to build a high end manual focus system.

Customer Service

Not necessary with this lens yet, but overall experience was excellent (not cheap, but superb service)

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In my opinion it outperforms even the 85/1.4 Carl Zeiss T* and also the Rollei version while it matches the 80/1.4 Leica

This is a sharp lens. Well corrected for wide open use. Excellent image performance stopped down a bit. Beautiful finish. Smooth focus. Very good closeup performance since it has floating elements. Great for portraits, landscape, sports. Solid construction. Even the screw-in hood is solid metal.

Sharp but flat, low contrast wide open. THis dilutes color saturation. Gets progressively better as stopped down. Aperture ring can be a little hard to reach. Nikon AIS lenses were engineered with lower focus torque and new lubricants to make focusing smoother and faster. Unfortunately, my lens was so smooth it would not hold focus if pointed up or down more than 45 degrees. It would creep back to infinity on its own. I had to tape the focus if on a tripod.

A fine large aperture short tele. Low contrast at wide apertures may or may not impact your use. It can be an advantage or not. Resolution is there wide open. There are better wide aperture 85's out there. I went to Zeiss. But this Nikkor is pretty good. Can be found used at reasonable prices since it is manual focus. Be sure to check the focus action.

Similar Products Used:

Contax SLR, Leica R

This lens is solidly constructed with smooth focusing and brilliant optics. With the passion for AF zooms this lens can be found on the used market at attractive prices. F2.8 zooms are slow compared to F1.4. Zooms that are wide open at F5.6 aren't even in the same league. The 85mm focal length is perfect for portraits. I now have the AF version and although it's also a beautiful lens it just doesn't have the professional look and feel of the manual version.

Very expensive if purchased new so the photographer might as well purchase the AF version. Obviously this lens cannot take advantage of everything the F5 or F100 has to offer but if it can on the used market at a good price it's an excellent investment. Filters are 72mm which can be expensive but expected on a high speed lens.

The 85f1.4 AIS is a gorgeous lens. I sold it, along with others, to buy the Nikkor 17-35. Realizing my mistake in no longer having a fast, prime lens I sold more stuff and bought the AF version. I expect the AF version to really perform handheld at weddings using 400-1000 ISO film, however, the manual version will do the same but without some of the benefits of AF such as focus tracking. This is the only reason I'm giving it a '4' rating.

Customer Service

Never needed any.

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I have a lot of Nikon lenses from the 17-35 up to 600. Nothing compares to the convenience of a high quality zoom, howe