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Home → Reviews → Cameras and Lenses → Nikon 105mm f/1.4E Review

Nikon 105mm f/1.4E Review

By Nasim Mansurov 92 Comments
Last Updated On January 26, 2024

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Table of Contents

  • Overview
  • Optical Features
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  • Summary
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  • Reader Comments
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92 Comments
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lloyd
lloyd
March 13, 2024 10:09 am

Why do I love the image it produce on D610 compared to D750, 850 or my D5.

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Sergey
Sergey
Reply to  lloyd
June 11, 2024 11:18 pm

Because old one is best for photo results . Me to owned D780 compared to D610 and the same reaction :-)

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Lukas Herngren
Lukas Herngren
November 29, 2021 2:59 pm

Hi! I wonder if you could do a full review of the Nikon NIKKOR 105mm f/1.8 AI-s? Best regards Lukas Herngren!

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Johannes
Johannes
February 7, 2021 10:59 am

Nasim, would you still call the 105 1.4 the best telephoto portrait lens for Nikon shooters, especially adapted to the Z mount?

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tanmay
tanmay
Reply to  Johannes
January 13, 2023 6:16 am

Using with my Z9 now. I have to say it works better than on my D850. Dont expect it to nail focus 100% times for fast moving subjects. But portraits it just works like charm!

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Mike
Mike
December 28, 2019 9:59 am

I know this lens is not intended to do landscape work but I’m impressed at how clearly it separates the layers from foreground to background in your images. In fact, I’m stunned. Were you using any kind of filter on your lens for these photographs ? Thanks for your great lens reviews. I often come here for technical information on lenses that interest me and also for inspiration.

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Nasim Mansurov
Nasim Mansurov
Author
Reply to  Mike
December 28, 2019 12:28 pm

Mike, for some of the images, I used a circular polarizer. That’s really it…

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Christopher Tanner
Christopher Tanner
March 20, 2019 11:44 am

I keep hearing that the Nikon 105mm F1.4 e has an effective focal length of 95mm and is not a true 105mm. Does any know this to be true and if do does this happen with all lenses thus making the 85mm f1.4 less then a true 85mm?

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Nasim Mansurov
Nasim Mansurov
Author
Reply to  Christopher Tanner
December 28, 2019 12:31 pm

Christopher, most lenses, including very high-end lenses “breathe”. Please see my article on focus breathing. Focus breathing heavily depends on focusing distance, but it goes away as you focus towards infinity.

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Rick Benda
Rick Benda
November 17, 2018 9:17 am

Maxim it’s always a jot to read your articles. I’ve got a question. I know it’s late in this article. Right now I have a chance to pick up a Zeiss Milvus ZF2 1.4/85 Nikon Mount for a good price. I was looking at the Nikon 85 1.4 G. The sigma Art 85 1.4 and this Zeiss lens. All would cost the same price. The Sigma looks good but has some little issues. Everything I read on the Zeiss is outstanding. The Nikon has such a good following. I’ve owned Zeiss 1.4s in the past and I loved them. Have you had a chance to look at the Milvus? Am I reading wrong that it’s probably the best 85 out there. Second the manual focus is not a big deal to me but is it a hassle in the studio on a D850 or D800. My mind is swimming with all the options. Thanks for your input.

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Lou
Lou
October 5, 2018 12:48 pm

OK, I just got done shooting my 105 1.4 on my Spyder calibration tool. When I loo then transferred the image to Photoshop since you can look at a higher magnification. I cranked it up to 500X mag and it may have been a tad off. I am not used to looking at images at 500X mag. Should I just go by the 100X mag?

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Lihkin
Lihkin
Reply to  Lou
October 25, 2018 8:34 pm

500X mag? Now I’ve heard everything. ???

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Lou
Lou
October 5, 2018 11:00 am

I picked up a refurbished Nikon 105mm 1.4 about a week ago when Nikon had a discount on their refurbished gear. I shot a few shots and looked at them in LR and either I need to calibrate it of something. It doesn’t seem tack sharp at 1.4 Maybe I will test it on my calibration scale I have in better light.

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Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith
Reply to  Lou
July 4, 2023 8:34 pm

I returned two of these lens due to different issues, one was not sharp wide open, and even at f/2.8…it didn’t seem much better than my 70-200FL at 105mm? The second copy I bought arrived new in its box filled with internal dusts! Not just a spec or two, I mean completely full of dusts inside the lens, looked to be between a lens grouping just under the front element. Shine a flashlight inside yours from the rear mount…while staring in the front, check yours for dust. I was none too happy to get two bad samples with different issues. So I just gave up on it. Funny thing is although slightly better optically than the first, the second copy was also nothing to write home about at f/1.4-f/2…which is where it needs to be for the price. My 28mm f/1.4E, 70-200FL and 500mm f/4E FL are all tack sharp and nearly optical perfection. So I was really hoping the 105mm f/1.4E would be as good as everyone says it was, but guess I had bad luck?

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jj
jj
August 23, 2018 2:07 am

I love the way this lens renders but find it difficult to nail focus when shooting at 1.4 (wide open) on my d850. Before you question me about technique, let me assure you that I have experience here. I’ve been shooting 1.2 and 1.4 lenses using manual focus for years (Nikkor 50mm 1.2AI, 58mm 1.2 Noct, Zeiss 85mm 1.4, etc.). So maybe I have a bad copy, but wide open focus is weak, chromatic aberration is present, and things don’t sharpen up well until f2 or lower…

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David G.
David G.
Reply to  jj
March 24, 2023 5:39 am

Just go into lens calibration in the menu and tune it for your camera.

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polizonte
polizonte
February 2, 2018 2:14 pm

Great review. My first copy back-focused and needed an AF fine tune of -17 to -19, for use with my D810 and D800e; after exchanging it for a second copy, that is spot on with no adjustment, I really like this lens.

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