ww.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113Thelenswasputthroughits
pacestophotographthe
arduousCatfordCChillclimb
Nikon Z 7, 1/400sec at f/1.8, ISO 3200Althoughsharpestwhen
it’sstoppeddown,centre
sharpnessatf/1.8doesn’t
disappointin theslightest
Nikon Z 7, 1/800sec at f/1.8, ISO 800‘Youdon’tgetluxurieslike
a focus-distancewindow’intotheircameras,butwhenit’spaired
withcamerassuchastheZ 50,which
don’tbenefitfromIBIS,userswillwantto
factorin thathandshakeis morelikely.As
a result,fastshutterspeedsarerequiredto
counteractunwantedblurcreepingintoshots.
Aninternalfocusingsystemis usedtoensure
thefrontelementdoesn’trotateandit hasa
minimumfocusdistanceof 80cm,allowing
userstofocus5cmcloserthanis possiblewith
theNikkorAF-SNikkor85mmf/1.4G lens.
In AFmode,thecontrolringcanbeassigned
toeitherapertureorexposurecompensation
fromthecustom-controlassignmentoption
in themainmenu,allowinginstantaneous
exposurechangestobemadeonthefly.
Switchthelenstomanualfocusandit’llwork
likeanordinaryfocusring.OtherfeaturesI
haven’t yet mentioned include nine diaphragm
bladesthatreproducenatural-lookingbokeh,
andits67mmfilterthreadat thefront.In
theboxyoureceivelenscapsforfrontand
back,aswellasa plasticHB-91 lens hood
anda CL-C1lenscase.Buildandhandling
Nikonhasn’tyetmadean85mmf/1.4orf/1.2
foritsZ-seriescameras,sothere’snothingin
theNikonstabletodirectlycompareit to;
however,wecanlineit upagainsta coupleof
other85mmmirrorlesslensesonthemarket.
Oneof itsclosestrivalsis Sony’sFE85mm
f/1.8,whichis £110cheaper,100glighterand
hasa shorterbarrel.Canonis yettomake
an85mmf/1.8foritsEOSR mirrorless
system,optinginsteadtomakethefinest
85mmprimetheycanin theformof the
RF 85mm f1.2 L USM. This beast of a lensweighsa hefty1,195gandworksoutat
£2,000morethanthelenswe’relookingat.
Thedesignmatchesthestylingof Nikon’s
otherS-Lineprimes.It’sa fewmillimetres
longerthantheZ 24mmf/1.8S andhasa
robustmetalmountwitha rubbersealaround
itsperimetertopreventmoisture,dustanddirt
creepingpast.Allmoveablepartsof thebarrel
aresealedtoguardit againstdustandwater.
TheAF/MFswitchis modestin size,butI had
nodifficultylocatingit frombehindtheZ 7. You
don’tgetluxurieslikea focus-distancewindow,
L-Fnbuttonordisplaypanel,buthavingthe
optiontocontrolexposurecompensationor
aperturefromthecontrolringis greattohave.
It isn’trubberisedlikesomefocusrings,butis
finelygroovedandrotatesextremelysmoothly.
Theplasticlenshoodsecureswitha positive
click,butdoesn’tfeature a release button.Autofocus
Thelensincorporatesa focusingsystemthat
consistsof twoAFdriveunits.Theseare
preciselysynchronisedtodeliverfastand
accurateautofocus.Extensivetestingrevealed
thesteppingmotorgoesaboutitsbusinessin
a smoothandquietmanner.WhenI heldthe
lenstomyearin a quietenvironment,I was
abletodetecta subtle,high-frequencywhir
whenalteringfocusbetweennearandfar
subjects,butthiswasoverriddenbyeveryday
ambientsoundsandwasn’tdetrimentalto
audiorecordedwhileshootingvideo.The
control ring rotates silently, too, so you can