Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor

Name: Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor
Brand: Nikon
Rating: 9.5 (15 reviews)

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Lens Review
Specifications

85mm	$1,000 average price

Lab Test Results

Sub-frame
Full-frame

Blur
Chromatic Aberration
Vignetting
Geometric Distortion

Blur
Chromatic Aberration
Vignetting
Geometric Distortion

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Buy the Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor

(From Nikon lens literature) High performance fast maximum aperture Nikkor telephoto lens. Internal focusing for fast AF operation. Rounded diaphragm makes out of focus elements appear more natural. Fast ƒ/1.4 aperture is helpful in shooting indoor sports or stage productions.

SLRgear Review
May 4, 2008
by Andrew Alexander

On the Nikon platform, the 85mm ƒ/1.4 has the well-earned reputation as the portrait lens, owing to its combination of focal length and wide maximum aperture size. 58-85mm is traditionally regarded as the ideal focal length for portraits, as it renders the perspective of the human eye very faithfully in the captured image. Nikon has produced lenses in the 85mm range for many years, and in 1995 produced an autofocus version of their already popular 85mm ƒ/1.4 manual focus lens.

We need to get a few caveats out of the way before embarking on our review of the 85mm ƒ/1.4. As it is a full-frame lens, we were eager to get results of the lens from both the sub-frame and full-frame Nikon platforms we use for testing: the D200 and the D3. Unfortunately, we didn't have a whole lot of time with the lens in the lab and our D3 was out of the office, which meant we had to get a little creative in how we got our full-frame results. In a show of goodwill and teamwork that made us all a little teary in the lab, we used a lens adapter to mount the Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.4 onto a Canon EOS-5D.

So while it's not textbook, the results are actually quite accurate. Those who are prone to doubting may wish to take the results with a grain of salt. Comparing the sub-frame results with the full-frame results though, I think you'll see that there are trends which are fairly consistent between the two.

Back to the lens, the 85mm ƒ/1.4 isn't a terribly complicated optic - 9 elements in 8 groups, with nine curved diaphragm blades making up the aperture. It takes 77mm filters, comes standard with a circular lens hood, and (at the time of writing) is available for around $1,000.

Sharpness
Even doing casual research into the performance of this lens, one is impressed upon with its legendary sharpness. However, in our testing, optimal performance for corner to corner sharpness is only achieved when the lens is stopped down to ƒ/5.6. Pronounced corner softness can be observed at ƒ/1.4 through ƒ/2.8 on our subframe D200, and in our full-frame testing, the effect is particularly significant even stopped down to ƒ/4. The maximum aperture of ƒ/1.4 undoubtedly required some concessions on the part of the designers, and given that the vast majority of people who purchase the lens use it for portrait work, the extra corner softness may actually work with the thin depth-of-field inherent in large-aperture shooting to enhance subject isolation.

On the D200 and set to ƒ/1.4, this sample of the 85mm produced a sharp image, but not as sharp as some of the newer Nikkor lenses we have reviewed. This can hardly be surprisingly; the design and technology used in this lens is over 13 years old. That said, it's still quite sharp, at just under 2 blur units in the central region and 3 in the corners. Stopping down to ƒ/2 renders a dramatic improvement, with an impressive sweet spot of sharpness in the central region. By ƒ/2.8 this sweet spot improves to fill almost the entire frame, and by ƒ/4 only traces of corner softness remain. Diffraction limiting sets in by ƒ/11, but the effect is minimal as the lens is stable at 1.5 blur units at both ƒ/11 and ƒ/16.

Mounted on the 5D, the extent of corner softness can be more readily examined: this is really a case where a subframe camera body takes advantage of the best parts of the lens elements. Set to both ƒ/1.4 and ƒ/2, there is a minor sweet spot of sharpness near the center of the image but softness is extremely pronounced towards the corners. Again, this can actually be quite useful in portrait photography, but if your needs require absolute sharpness with the lens used wide open, be aware of this trend. On the full-frame mount, absolute corner-to-corner sharpness isn't visible until ƒ/8 or even ƒ/11 (depending on how picky you are). In practical usage however, ƒ/4 produces extremely sharp images with a generous central sweet spot, and by ƒ/5.6 there are just small pockets of corner softness.

(It's worth taking a look at the sample images to see how sharpness manifests in these images, but keep in mind for the shots taken at ƒ/1.4 that the depth-of-field is so thin at this aperture that only the bottles in our still life are in relative focus.)

In summary, the 85mm ƒ/1.4 produces consistently sharp images when stopped down significantly; shot wide open, expect to see some corner softness, which may or may not work to enhance your image.

Chromatic Aberration
The 85mm ƒ/1.4 showed excellent resistance to chromatic aberration, with the worst results consistently less than 2/100ths of a percent of frame height across all apertures. On the full-frame 5D we registered 3/100ths of a percent of frame height in the worst case, but this is still extremely good performance.

Shading (''Vignetting'')
On the subframe D200, the 85mm ƒ/1.4 presented very little corner shading - wide open at ƒ/1.4 the corners were a half-stop darker than the center, and by ƒ/2, corner shading was minimal (less than a quarter-stop). On a full-frame body however, corner shading is more of a factor. Falloff in the corners when shot wide open was over a full stop (you only need to look at our samples images shot on the Canon 5D to get a sense of the dramatic difference seen here). This corner shading gradually lightens in a linear fashion as you stop down - 3/4 of a stop at ƒ/2, 1/2-stop at ƒ/2.8, and a quarter-stop at ƒ/4. By ƒ/5.6 on full-frame, corner shading is negligible.

Distortion
On the subframe D200, distortion is negligible. Distortion on a full-frame body is only slightly more evident - at 0.1% barrel distortion in the corners, one could categorize it as statistically insignificant.

Autofocus Operation
This D-class Nikkor doesn't use Nikon's AF-S technology, using the mechanical screw of the camera body to focus. Focus speed is dependent on the torque available from the body, so it can slower than many of its newer lenses to autofocus. On our D200, it took about a second to rack through its focal range. Our research suggests that the torque speed of pro-level Nikon bodies is faster, meaning improved focus speed on those bodies.

Macro
The 85mm ƒ/1.4 isn't a good macro lens - it provides a relatively decent minimum close-focusing distance of 85cm (3 feet) but a low magnification ratio of only 0.11x.

Build Quality and Handling
The phrase ''built like a tank'' applies when discussing the 85mm ƒ/1.4. It feels like it's made of solid metal, and tips the scales at almost 20 ounces (~560 grams). On a D200 with battery grip attached, this makes for a solid and well-balanced package, but I found with just the D200 alone, the 85mm ƒ/1.4 made the camera feel slightly front-heavy.

The lens provides excellent fit and finish, with a metal lens mount and metal 77mm filter ring. The exterior of the lens is a deeply texturized metallic finish which is easy to hand-hold. A recessed and windowed distance scale is present, marked in feet and meters, and a depth-of-field scale is marked with an infrared index. The lens is old enough to sport an aperture ring. The lens uses 9 curved diaphragm blades to creature the aperture, which create very uniform results for bokeh.

The focus ring of the 85mm ƒ/1.4 is a one-inch-wide band sporting raised rectangular sections. A quarter-twist of the focus ring takes you through the entire focus range, limited by hard stops at either end. Manual focusing is selected with an older-style push-and-turn button system, which I actually didn't like very much at all: for detail work, I like to autofocus and then switch to manual focus so that I can ''lock-in'' my focus point. It's quite easy to nudge the focus ring as you switch it to manual focus with this system. Of course, the solution is to just use the manual focus selector on the camera body instead.

The lens hood isn't great, and is often singled out as one of the poorest aspects of the overall package. It's a screw-in design, which makes it awkward to attach, and cannot be reversed on the lens for ease of transportation. However, in keeping with the design aesthetic the lens hood is all-metal, which will offer outstanding protection for the front element. It will also be useful for controlling flare, which this lens is unfortunately prone to produce if you put the sun or a strong light source anywhere near the front element.

Alternatives

Nobody really makes a lens to match the application of this lens - 85mm, and as fast as ƒ/1.4 - but there are a few options that roughly approximate its usage.

Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8D AF Nikkor ~$380
Between the 85mm and 50mm lenses, the debate over whether the extra 2/3 of a stop is worth the premium price has probably been going on since before the advent of the internet. Unfortunately we can't support the argument either way based on test data, as we haven't yet tested the 85mm ƒ/1.8. However, the 85mm ƒ/1.4 offers more than just the extra speed: depth-of-field is remarkably thinner, and the build quality is much higher.

Sigma 70mm ƒ/2.8 EX DG Macro ~$380
The Sigma 70mm isn't as fast as the Nikon, nor as telephoto, but is perfectly suitable for portrait applications. Even wide open at ƒ/2.8, the lens is almost tack-sharp on both sub- and full-frame bodies. CA is well-controlled and neither distortion nor corner shading are problems.

Tamron 90mm ƒ/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 SP AF ~$380
The Tamron comparable isn't as fast as the 85mm, however it is tack-sharp by ƒ/4-ƒ/11 on either sub- or full-frame. CA is well-controlled and neither distortion nor corner shading are problems.

Conclusion
The 85mm ƒ/1.4D has been a class-leader for many years, and for many portrait photographers, ''the'' go-to lens. It doesn't take much to get outstanding images out of this lens, and if you want to shoot images with razor-thin depth-of-field, or in extremely low-light conditions, this is one of the few ƒ/1.4 options left. But as Nikon introduces technological innovations in its line of pro zoom lenses, die-hard prime lens shooters must be starting to get itchy for some innovation as well. In the final analysis this is the kind of lens that you already know if you're going to buy and just need the reassurance of a test review to help you part with your money. Sign the cheque or swipe the card - the lens is worth it.

Sample Photos

The VFA target should give you a good idea of sharpness in the center and corners, as well as some idea of the extent of barrel or pincushion distortion and chromatic aberration, while the Still Life subject may help in judging contrast and color. We shoot both images using the default JPEG settings and manual white balance of our test bodies, so the images should be quite consistent from lens to lens.

Still Life shot

VFA target

As appropriate, we shoot these with both full-frame and sub-frame bodies, at a range of focal lengths, and at both maximum aperture and ƒ/8. For the ''VFA'' target (the viewfinder accuracy target from Imaging Resource), we also provide sample crops from the center and upper-left corner of each shot, so you can quickly get a sense of relative sharpness, without having to download and inspect the full-res images. To avoid space limitations with the layout of our review pages, indexes to the test shots launch in separate windows.