A Wonderful Medium Telephoto with the Sharpest Optics Around!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fast, very bright and sharp 85mm telephoto

Cons: Plastic lens barrel, closest focusing isn't close enough...

The Bottom Line: 
If you buy it, you will love it!

Author's Review
Once again, a decision to buy a specific lens was made because I was able to take advantage of the product reviews posted here at epinions. In particular, my curiosity about this lens was heightened after reading Howard Creech's outstanding review of this great Nikon lens. However, please note that there are other authors reviews on this lens here at the site, too. (In particular, see Gregory-v's review of this lens posted here, too).

As Howard Creech states in his review, "the Nikkor 85/1.8D AF is a pro-quality short fast telephoto with tack-sharp resolution, absolute color fidelity, good Bokeh, and excellent contrast at a bargain price." The last part of that statement is especially true when one considers the price of Nikon's 'other' offering in this focal length, the super-stellar 85mm f1.4, which costs upwards of $1200.

Howard Creech is a photographer who knows from whence he speaks and when he comments favorably on a lens, I LISTEN. He contemplates that this lens may just well be the finest short telephoto ever made. If that is in fact true, then this lens is even more of a bargain than a simple price and appearance comparison would lead one first to believe.

I use this lens as a GP (general purpose) lens and also for indoor portraits. It has proven to be remarkably effective indoors, even without flash. Indoors w/o flash is just one of the reasons I fell in love with this lens. I have used this lens indoors at stores, malls and auditoriums where my subjects didn't know I was shooting them and in every case, the images were dead-on sharp, properly exposed, rich with detail and notable for the quality of their contrast. After getting back these photos, I smiled and knew that every dollar spent was well invested.

Howard also points out that this lens gives the normal user of the 50mm Nikon lens additional "stand-off room." Quite true and also dead-on. The over-all size of the lens is not that much greater than a 50mm, does not attract additional attention to the photographer and because of its smaller size, allows the shooter to work in more cramped (and perhaps less well-lit) conditions. This is a lens that a photographer could leave on his/her camera all day (unless they absolutely needed to change to wide angle or longer telephoto)and still get a wide and diverse array of shots.

The construction of this lens is up to the expected Nikon standards for robustness. Autofocus is lickety-split fast and delightful to watch through the viewfinder. My only complaint is that min. focusing distance is a sometimes lengthy 3 feet.

I shoot both print and slide film through this lens and it has never disappointed me. I recently shot several rolls of out-of-date Ektachrome 100 EPP (that had been refrigerated) and was expecting some image degradation and color loss. That fear proved unfounded as the lighting, contrast, and color fidelity were all completely captured by this lens. The slides were so clear and sharp that I knew I could claim no credit for their beauty; all the credit had to be given to the lens and the light meter of the N90s I had taken the shots with.

Owners of the N55, N60, N65 and N80 camera bodies will be especially appreciative of this lens because it does NOT add unbalanced weight to the front of their camera bodies. Folks who own these cameras and shoot the type of street scenes Howard discusses in his reviews will note that the speed of the lens combined with the speed and total accuracy of the AF will permit them to tread where they might have been cautious. The minimal weight of this lens will allow for effortless hand-held photography, even in tight and cramped quarters.

If you are a user of Nikon "prime" lenses and you want to be assured of on-time, on-target photos all of the time, then this is a lens you need to consider seriously. It has all of the attributes required by demanding photographers and is a bargain as well.

I have a Nikon 28-105, f3.5-4.5 telezoom and still decided to buy this lens. The contributors to my decision were Howard's exceptionally detailed and historically significant review and my impressions of how bright this lens was in the viewfinder when I tried it out. In photography, there really is no substitute for the high(er) quality of prime lenses. New users of this lens will continue to be amazed by the overall capability, fidelity and delivery provided by this great piece of glass.

This is Nikon's latest iteration of a legend (Again, see Howard Creech's review here at epinions .com for complete historical background). Owning a legend has never been more easy. Try it on for size, buy it and use it. You won't regret it.

And I'd like to see the smile on your face when you first look through the viewfinder of your Nikon camera with this lens attached. After that, I'd also like to be there when you get your first roll shot with this lens back from the lab.

As the old saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words." Well, what pictures this lens provides.....



Paul Connors