Nikon 85mm f/1.8 G Review

Nikon 85mm f/1.8 G

This Nikon 85mm f/1.8 G is the sharpest 85mm lens ever made by Nikon, sharper on the D800 than even the extraordinary 85mm f/1.4 G, and Nikon's been making 85mm lenses since 1949. On the D800 in the laboratory, it's also slightly sharper than the original and still current 85mm f/1.8 AF-D. This new 85mm's optics are the best ever from Nikon, but the mechanics are the cheapest: it's the first 85mm Nikon lens ever made with a plastic focus ring or made in China.

Compared to the original 85mm f/1.8 AF-D, this new G lens loses a half-ounce (15g) and adds instant manual-focus override and the ability to autofocus even on the cheapest DSLRs, but loses a lot of metal, replaces the 9-blade diaphragm with only 7 blades, and loses any compatibility with manual-focus 35mm cameras.

This new 85mm f/1.8G is a superb lens; I've been whining about Nikon cheapening the mechanics of each successive line of lenses since the 1980s, even though the optics have always gotten better and better.

Everything works perfectly on every digital Nikon ever made, both FX and DX, from the best D4, D800 and D800E to Nikon's cheapest digitals like the D40, D40x, D60, D3000, D3100, D5000 and D5100.

It's also perfect on decent or recent AF film cameras like the F6, F100, F5, N80 and N75.

The incompatibilities for older or cheaper 35mm cameras are that:

1.) It won't autofocus with the cheapest new AF 35mm cameras like the N55, but if you focus manually, everything else works great. Even if you lose autofocus, these cameras have in-finder focus confirmation dots to help you.

2.) Late 1980s ~ early 1990s AF cameras like the N90s, N70 and F4 will focus just fine. You'll have Program and Shutter-priority modes, but lose Manual and Aperture-priority since you have no way to set the aperture on the camera or on the lens.

3.) You're really pushing it with the oldest AF cameras like the N2020, N6006 and N8008. You'll have no AF and confused exposure modes. Manual focus is fine, along with electronic focus indications.

4.) Since it has no aperture ring, it's just about useless with manual focus film cameras. It will shoot every shot at its minimum aperture.

See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details with your camera. Read down the "AF-S, AF-I" and "G" columns for this lens. You'll get the least of all the features displayed in all columns, since "G" (gelding) is a deliberate handicap which removes features.

Specifications

GLASS : 9 ELEMENTS / 9 GROUPS

DIAPHRAGM : 7 ROUNDED BLADES

MINIMUM APERTURE : f / 16

CLOSE FOCUS : 2.62 FT (79.9 CM)

DEPTH OF FIELD SCALE : Yes

WEIGHT : 350 GRAMS (12.35 OUNCES)

DIMENSIONS : 83mm Diam x 88.5mm L

FILTERS : 67MM

MAXIMUM REPRODUCTION RATIO : 1:8.33

Source : http://www.kenrockwell.com