Another 85mm 1.4g VS 85mm 1.8g question

[jcmexico2000]

<p> Hi everyone, now that Nikon has rebates in this 2 lenses, what are people more incline to buy end why., The 85mm 1.4 has a rebate of $ 200.00 (making the price go down to $1499.00) and the 1.8 only has a $50.00 (making the price go down to 450.00 I believe) I been wanting to get the 85mm 1.4 for a while now, but now that the price has come down a little I been reading some reviews on line that say that the 1.8 produces better pictures than the other lens and Im having second toughts now, please help!! </p>

[Dieter Schaefer]

<p>About the only thing the f/1.8 can't give you is the DOF and bokeh at f/1.4; if you need that 2/3 stop or intend to use the lens wide open, then the f/1.8 is not for you. Some time ago, Shun posted some comparison shots taken with the f/1.4 and the f/1.8 - not many could consistently pick the lens that was used.<br>

The f/1.8 is a bargain even at full price; at three times the price one needs to have a good reason to pick the f/1.4 instead.</p>

[wogears]

<p>Unless you <em>desperately</em> need the wider aperture, I'd go for the 1.8, and spend the grand left over on a nice trip.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>at the rebate price the 1.8 is a no-brainer.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>This is one of those old threads Dieter refers to: http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00b5BR</p>

<p>I happen to own both lenses. I got the f1.8 first and it is a great lens. However, somehow I wanted "the best" and got some discount from the gray-market version of an f1.4. Unfortunately, there was no rebate at the time.</p>

<p>The less expensive f1.8 is the easy recommendation. I would get the f1.4 if you just want the f1.4, as I did. Either way, I would get it soon just in case stock runs out due to the current rebate.</p>

[owen_omeara]

<p>I agree with Dieter. I do portrait and figure work as well as still life images and have found the images produced by the 1.8 to be wonderful. I have shot with the 1.4 but I felt that the difference warranted the price. The bokeh with the 1.8 is more than acceptable.</p>

<p>-O</p>

[jcmexico2000]

<p>Thanks for your responses, I just canceled my order for the 1.4g, and ordered the 1.8g Thanks again.</p>

[Two23]

<p>I researched this for over a month, and ended up getting the 85mm f1.8G. I will likely sell it if/when Sigma comes out with an 85mm ART. As for rebates, I bought mine used as I almost always do.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Depth of field is razor thin on an 85mm f/1.4 lens, meaning you'll lose a lot of shots to missed focus unless you take extra care to ensure the focus is right where it's needed. The f/1.4 Nikkor G also suffers a <em>lot</em> from focus shift with stopping down; meaning you can never get totally accurate AF at smaller stops without using Live View. See here: http://www.photozone.de/nikon_ff/606-nikkorafs8514ff?start=1<br>

scroll down to the "Bokeh Fringing" section and mouse-over the different apertures to clearly see the focus shift.<br>

The f/1.8 version shifts a bit, but not nearly so much as the f/1.4.<br>

And an f/1.4 aperture doesn't even give you a brighter viewfinder image with Nikon's viewing optics.</p>

<p>So IMHO the f/1.8 lens would be a much better choice for general use. In other words if you're not going to almost always shoot wide open or squeeze the last bit of light from low-light situations.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>I have used the 85/1.4G a lot since it was introduced and find it to be one of the best Nikon lenses optically. I normally shoot it at f/1.4 but have not noticed any adverse effects on focus due to stopping down. However there is some distance dependent focus shift with some cameras when using the lens wide open. I think this is something that Nikon service can fix but it hasn't been a serious enough problem for me to take it and my cameras to service. While it is true you cannot expect all shots to be perfectly in focus, this lens has been one of the best focusing lenses I've had the pleasure of using, and the image quality is excellent as well, even at f/1.4. I even use it for action at f/1.4 with success, not perfect but most frames in focus, and the image quality and "look" of the image at f/1.4 is worth the reduced focus keeper rate to me. For long distance shots it makes sense to use Live View to ensure correct focus. f/1.8G users sometimes report problems with flare which is something I've never noticed using the f/1.4G. Example of image quality of the f/1.4G wide open (though it's a low resolution image you can get some idea of the "look" of the images from this):</p>

<p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>I researched this for over a month, and ended up getting the 85mm f1.8G. I will likely sell it if/when Sigma comes out with an 85mm ART.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>First of all, we are talking about a non-existing, potentially future Sigma 85mm f1.4? Art lens. (The current Sigma 85mm/f1.4 is not in the Art series.) But regardless of how great some future 85mm lens may be, the current Nikon 85mm/f1.8 AF-S is already excellent. Nobody on this forum can consistently tell the difference between Nikon's 85mm f1.4 and 1.8 AF-S. I have little doubt that any one of Kent's customers, who cannot tell the difference between a D800E and D7100, is going to see the difference from a better 85mm lens. :-)<br>

Therefore, such upgrade is almost certainly a waste of money.</p>

<p>I have the Sigma 35mm/f1.4 Art, which is one of the best lenses I have. However, Sigma's Art series are very heavy lenses because they use a lot of metal in the barrel. IMO having so much metal is not necessarily a good thing. Sometimes when I am already carrying other heavy lenses, I prefer to carry Nikon's 85mm/f1.8 AF-S since the f1.4's front element is big and heavy.</p>

[joel_b.1]

<p>The 1.8 is fantastic. Don't look back. Shun helped me buy mine from his local shop! I've been over the moon about it ever since. </p>

[5711]

<p>as usual shun makes a good point but<br /> here is a fun note i want to add to the metal body lenses.</p>

<p>i broke 1 24-70 2.8 and 2 16-35 f4vr this year.</p>

<p>the 24-70 has a metal body and broke off near the mount.</p>

<p>the 16-35s happily bounced around on the concrete and did not break.<br /> however repair costs were too high as it would had made sense to actually had them repaired.<br /> hopefully next time they won't bounce that happily on concrete after a drop from almost 2meters .. (because<br /> this will never ever happen to me...ever!..irony ... be damned! :) )</p>

<p>85 1.8 is a brilliant lens.<br /> afforadble, super sharp and contrasty. colours have a good punch to them too.<br /> super subject isolation..i love it..even use it for street photography (long shallow corridors with poor light and stuff, awesome..)</p>