I had only had my Nikon Z8 for a few days with one lens, the 50/1.8S, and was hankering for something a little longer, but my budget (my debt, honestly) was not up to another S series. By chance, in a different camera store, I saw a used AF-S 85/1.8G at less than half the price of the Z version, and snapped it up. When I bought the Z8, they threw in a FTZII adapter. Now I know that if I were to do a side-by-side, or read one, the Z out performs the G, but the primary purpose of this focal length is portraiture, and I don’t necessarily want (my subjects certainly don’t want) super-duper high res wrinkles (and I don’t smooth them out later in post). I guess the only thing that is a bit of a downer is the added length of the adapter plus lens. But I’m happy with what I’m getting so far.
Leon
June 20, 2019 12:17 am
picked one up today but have not yet had time to try it out.
I’m expecting great things used on my Z6 which has IN BODY stabilization. That’s what makes it worthwhile as
an available light lens. I may head off to the zoo or Safari Park on Saturday and give it a try there.
I may experiment with moving object focus to see just how ‘quick’ it really is, too. My Z6 has the latest firmware so
the focus is now up-to-snuff in all regards.
I expect this is a keeper. OH! I see an 85 1.8 on the Nikon Lens Roadmap for the Z series. Any bets on final price? I’m guessing it’ll easily exceed 1000$ which puts it out of my reach. Forever!
Manas
September 14, 2018 11:17 pm
Nice article…i really love the headshots of 85mm lens. I have written an article on this king of prime lens. Hope you and your readers will find it an interesting read.
Great review Nasim, and after reading this and many more helpful articles, I bought it just yesterday currently complying colleagues with portraits. Very happy with it now waiting for a chance to try it outdoors and in studio setting.
t
March 21, 2017 3:51 pm
nikon f1.8 must buy then
Colom
August 16, 2016 5:40 pm
I’d purchasing 85 for portrait, spend a Lil extra and get the 85mm 1.4d. Maybe if I shoot street landscape or event with the 1.8g, it’s useful…but for me it’s strictly portrait. The 1.4d takes beautiful portraits and has great skin tones, the 85mm 1.8g is just really sharp but not special. The 85mm 1.4d is one of Nikons best portrait lens ever made, along with the 105mm DC and 135mm dc.
Ian999
August 11, 2016 7:51 am
Nasim, Thanks for the excellent review of the 85mm AFS f1.8 lens. I have read it several times over the past year trying to help me get the best performance out of my copy. This post is just to help others who may be having the same focus problem that I have experienced.
I found that the focus point varied substantially with the light source. In incandescent light I have to add +10 to the daylight AF value in order to be sharp at f1.8. This roughly means that the lens was focusing 4” in front of the desired point and at a 10’ subject distance the depth of field is only about 4” anyway – so everything was just OOF.
I use a D800 with the 14-24, 24-70, 80-200, 70-200 F4. To lighten up my kit I purchased the 35FX 1.8, the 50 AFS 1.8, and the 85 AFS f1.8.
I am a retired engineer and overly analytical. I have tested each lens at great length under Reikan’s FocalPro v2, Lensalign II, green dot etc. The D800 has all the latest firmware updates and I remember noticing the improvement in focus under artificial light after one of the updates. I also reduce the focus variability by 2-3 touches on the AF-ON button before making the shot under normal circumstances.
Bottom line, I found that all of my lenses except the 85 and the 50 focus fine under both daylight and incandescent light. The 50 and 85 both need an additional 10 points under incandescent light.
If it was just the 85 I would ditch it as a bad copy, but with the 50 acting the same way I am not sure. It could be that all the AFS f1.8 designs behave the same way, but my 35 is fine.
I am puzzled but I hope this helps a few others.
BK
June 23, 2016 5:19 am
Hi Nasim,
I have a 10 year old macro 105 f2.8G VR lens that I think of replacing with the 85 1.8G. While I love the 105 for the close focus ability, I no longer shoot macros (I used to take photos of insects.) Would the 85 be a useful FL for general purpose short tele as a replacement for the 105 in terms of better subject isolation, sharpness etc.
Tomas
February 22, 2016 12:38 pm
Thank you for usefull review. After reading your article and I finally decided to buy 85mm “G” version.
Trung
February 20, 2016 6:10 pm
Love your reviews, not only we get technical details, we also get beautiful, useful same images.
I had only had my Nikon Z8 for a few days with one lens, the 50/1.8S, and was hankering for something a little longer, but my budget (my debt, honestly) was not up to another S series. By chance, in a different camera store, I saw a used AF-S 85/1.8G at less than half the price of the Z version, and snapped it up. When I bought the Z8, they threw in a FTZII adapter. Now I know that if I were to do a side-by-side, or read one, the Z out performs the G, but the primary purpose of this focal length is portraiture, and I don’t necessarily want (my subjects certainly don’t want) super-duper high res wrinkles (and I don’t smooth them out later in post). I guess the only thing that is a bit of a downer is the added length of the adapter plus lens. But I’m happy with what I’m getting so far.
picked one up today but have not yet had time to try it out.
I’m expecting great things used on my Z6 which has IN BODY stabilization. That’s what makes it worthwhile as
an available light lens. I may head off to the zoo or Safari Park on Saturday and give it a try there.
I may experiment with moving object focus to see just how ‘quick’ it really is, too. My Z6 has the latest firmware so
the focus is now up-to-snuff in all regards.
I expect this is a keeper. OH! I see an 85 1.8 on the Nikon Lens Roadmap for the Z series. Any bets on final price? I’m guessing it’ll easily exceed 1000$ which puts it out of my reach. Forever!
Nice article…i really love the headshots of 85mm lens. I have written an article on this king of prime lens. Hope you and your readers will find it an interesting read.
photoxperience.in/85mm-lens-review/
Great review Nasim, and after reading this and many more helpful articles, I bought it just yesterday currently complying colleagues with portraits. Very happy with it now waiting for a chance to try it outdoors and in studio setting.
nikon f1.8 must buy then
I’d purchasing 85 for portrait, spend a Lil extra and get the 85mm 1.4d. Maybe if I shoot street landscape or event with the 1.8g, it’s useful…but for me it’s strictly portrait. The 1.4d takes beautiful portraits and has great skin tones, the 85mm 1.8g is just really sharp but not special. The 85mm 1.4d is one of Nikons best portrait lens ever made, along with the 105mm DC and 135mm dc.
Nasim,
Thanks for the excellent review of the 85mm AFS f1.8 lens. I have read it several times over the past year trying to help me get the best performance out of my copy. This post is just to help others who may be having the same focus problem that I have experienced.
I found that the focus point varied substantially with the light source. In incandescent light I have to add +10 to the daylight AF value in order to be sharp at f1.8. This roughly means that the lens was focusing 4” in front of the desired point and at a 10’ subject distance the depth of field is only about 4” anyway – so everything was just OOF.
I use a D800 with the 14-24, 24-70, 80-200, 70-200 F4. To lighten up my kit I purchased the 35FX 1.8, the 50 AFS 1.8, and the 85 AFS f1.8.
I am a retired engineer and overly analytical. I have tested each lens at great length under Reikan’s FocalPro v2, Lensalign II, green dot etc. The D800 has all the latest firmware updates and I remember noticing the improvement in focus under artificial light after one of the updates. I also reduce the focus variability by 2-3 touches on the AF-ON button before making the shot under normal circumstances.
Bottom line, I found that all of my lenses except the 85 and the 50 focus fine under both daylight and incandescent light. The 50 and 85 both need an additional 10 points under incandescent light.
If it was just the 85 I would ditch it as a bad copy, but with the 50 acting the same way I am not sure. It could be that all the AFS f1.8 designs behave the same way, but my 35 is fine.
I am puzzled but I hope this helps a few others.
Hi Nasim,
I have a 10 year old macro 105 f2.8G VR lens that I think of replacing with the 85 1.8G. While I love the 105 for the close focus ability, I no longer shoot macros (I used to take photos of insects.) Would the 85 be a useful FL for general purpose short tele as a replacement for the 105 in terms of better subject isolation, sharpness etc.
Thank you for usefull review. After reading your article and I finally decided to buy 85mm “G” version.
Love your reviews, not only we get technical details, we also get beautiful, useful same images.
*sample images