Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AFS G Low Light Samples & Review

EDIT: New Nikon 85mm 1.4g photos here: http://www.philadelphia-weddingphotography.com/2010/09/nikon-85mm-14g-afs.html

We just picked up the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-S G lens from a local camera store.  I don't normally review too much gear but I know their are pro photography stalkers...so I'm going to throw them a bone.  If you are here for tattooed wedding photos or tattooed brides click here.

I won't show you charts and graphs on the specs of the Nikon 85mm 1.4 lens but I will tell you that over the last 4 years the Nikon 85 f/1.8 D was our favorite lens. I have no idea what Nikon's Nano coating means.  According to lightroom we've taken between 50,000 and 100,000 photos with the Nikon 85mm f/1.8 lens, so when the new Nikon G Nano Nikkor 85mm 1.4 was announced we were stoked.

So far here are our first impressions.  The lens focuses much faster than the 85mm 1.8 due to the new AF-S motor thingie (technical term) in the lens. It also is 2/3 a stop brighter than the 85mm f/1.8 lens by Nikon.  The brightness is much appreciated.  Since the lens will be one of our primary wedding and engagement photography lenses, it is important that it focuses fast in low light.  It's focus reminded me of the snappiness of the new Nikon 70-200 VRII lens.  It locks onto your subject faster than the old style lenses and is more accurate. The photos below are quick snapshots with bad lighting, if you click on the samples you can see the full res files.  These photos are not touched in anyway - they are straight out of the camera (slightly under exposed and all).  They feature our twins Evan & Caleb playing and learning to walk - as its been a while since we shared photos of our boys. These were shot on our Nikon D700 with relatively slow shutter speeds with horrible tungsten lighting at night.

Some of the photos have motion blur...but you get the idea. I think this will be a great low light lens.








So you are probably asking...I currently have the Nikon 85mm 1.4 D or Nikon 85mm 1.8 D, should I go with this new 85mm Nikon f/1.4 G with Nano Coating?  My answer: if you make money as a professional photographer and estimate that 30-50% of your photos are taken with the 85mm lens, then I would say yes.  If you shoot 85mm Primes less than 30% of the time, then spending a huge chunk of change to get faster focus and less chormatic aberation probably isn't going to make you money.  For prime shooters (like me) the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-S G Nano is a 5 year investment.

EDIT: New Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-S G Photos here