Excellent Portrait Lens, Not UV

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fast, sharp, relatively compact, not too pricey

Cons: no major faults

Author's Review
This is an exceptionally sharp lens, which gives the photographer a little more reach than the standard 50-55mm normal lens, and is especially 'kind' for portraiture, allowing selective focus to emphasize the face, while slightly longer focal length flatters the subjects features (no exaggerated nose, etc.).

The intro description on epinions states that this lens is designed for UV, think they've got it confused with the 105mm f/4.5 UV Nikkor AIS, which IS UV capable, and is also out of production, and costs $3,000 to 4,000. The 85mm f1.8, while a fine performer, is not UV capable.

Now, on to the good stuff: This is a wonderful lens, absolutely tack-sharp (Over-used term, but this lens earns it). A little bigger and heavier than your normal 55mm lens, but balances nicely on the N90. A little smaller than the equally nice 85mm f1.4, and at $350-400, not as hard on the wallet. The extra reach gives you ability to select a face from a crowd, a subject in a field, a block in a city without becoming unwieldy or requiring a tripod. The fast f1.8 allows shooting dawn to dusk, without resorting to high speed films.

This and the 24mm f2.8 are constant companions, and cover 90-95% of everything I typically run into. Are the zooms more convenient? Is their image quality equal? The 80-200f2.8ED is a terrific zoom, and on a tripod, would compare pretty well with the 85, but handholding, I'll take the 85, just my preference. For a longer reach, I'll set my sights on the 180 f2.8.

This one's a sweetheart, consistently rated 4.5 to 5 out of 5 by the independent reviewers. Highly recommended!