Left
85mm f/2
Centre sharpness starts
to pick up at f/2, at which
point the minor amount
of bokeh fringing tends to
be further reducedFar left
85mm f/1.4
When shooting wide
open, there’s less
silky smoothness in
defocussed areasRight
Not all f/1.4 lenses
are big and heavy
Refreshingly compact and
lightweight for an 85mm
f/1.4 lens, it features a
fast ring-type ultrasonic
autofocus system with
manual-priority overridePRICE: £1,479 / $1,596
Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G
It’s lightweight in terms of physical construction, but not when it comes to the price tag
The reinvention of a classic Nikkor, this
AF-S edition has a redesigned optical
path, a fast ring-type ultrasonic autofocus
system, and as a G-series lens it omits the
aperture control ring that’s superfluous on
Nikon DSLRs. It’s also compact, being much
smaller than the Canon and Sigma f/1.4
lenses on test, and little more than half the
weight. The Nikon is about the same size
and even more lightweight than the Tamron
lens on test, despite having an aperture
rating that’s two-thirds of an f-stop faster.
The downsizing is mostly due to the
Nikon’s relatively simple optical path,which is based on ten elements, whereas
the Tamron has 13 and the other two
contenders have 14. Unlike most modern
Nikon lenses, it also has neither aspherical
elements nor ED (extra-low dispersion)
elements. Even so, the Nano Crystal Coat is
pretty high-tech, minimising ghosting and
flare. More typical of Nikon lenses, there’s
a weather-seal ring on the mounting plate
to guard against the ingress of dust and
moisture between the lens and camera.
Sharpness drops off more than with any
of the other lenses on test at the widest
available aperture. However, this can give apleasant, dreamy look to portraiture. Centre
sharpness becomes excellent at f/2.8, and
corner sharpness becomes very good at f/4.
Things then stay on track until the effects
of diffraction impact on sharpness at f/16.
Bokeh isn’t quite as smooth as from the
Canon and Sigma lenses we tested, both
when shooting wide open and also when
stopping down a little. Defocussed lights
towards the edges and corners of the frame
tend to take on irregular shapes when
shooting wide open due to coma, but things
improve when narrowing the aperture by an
f-stop or more.GROUP TEST
Left
85mmf/2
Centresharpnessstarts
topickupatf/2,atwhich
pointtheminoramount
ofbokehfringingtendsto
befurtherreducedFarleft
85mmf/1.4
Whenshootingwide
open,there’sless
silkysmoothnessin
defocussedareasRight
Not all f/1.4 lenses
are big and heavy
Refreshingly compact and
lightweight for an 85mm
f/1.4 lens, it features a
fast ring-type ultrasonic
autofocus system with
manual-priority overridePRICE: £1,479 / $1,596
Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G
It’s lightweight in terms of physical construction, but not when it comes to the pricetag
The reinvention of a classic Nikkor, this
AF-S edition has a redesigned optical
path, a fast ring-type ultrasonic autofocus
system, and as a G-series lens it omits the
aperture control ring that’s superfluous on
Nikon DSLRs. It’s also compact, being much
smaller than the Canon and Sigma f/1.4
lenses on test, and little more than half the
weight. The Nikon is about the same size
and even more lightweight than the Tamron
lens on test, despite having an aperture
rating that’s two-thirds of an f-stop faster.
The downsizing is mostly due to the
Nikon’s relatively simple optical path,which is based on ten elements, whereas
the Tamron has 13 and the other two
contenders have 14. Unlike most modern
Nikon lenses, it also has neither aspherical
elements nor ED (extra-low dispersion)
elements. Even so, the Nano Crystal Coat is
pretty high-tech, minimising ghosting and
flare. More typical of Nikon lenses, there’s
a weather-seal ring on the mounting plate
to guard against the ingress of dust and
moisture between the lens and camera.
Sharpness drops off more than with any
of the other lenses on test at the widest
available aperture. However, this can give apleasant, dreamy look toportraiture.Centre
sharpness becomes excellentatf/2.8,and
corner sharpness becomesverygoodatf/4.
Things then stay on trackuntiltheeffects
of diffraction impact onsharpnessatf/16.
Bokeh isn’t quite as smoothasfromthe
Canon and Sigma lenseswetested,both
when shooting wide openandalsowhen
stopping down a little. Defocussedlights
towards the edges and cornersoftheframe
tend to take on irregularshapeswhen
shooting wide open duetocoma,butthings
improve when narrowingtheaperturebyan
f-stop or more.GROUP TEST