Nikkor 85mm Lens By Stacy Pearsall
July 25, 2012 by Manfrotto
Filed under Beyond the Basics, Lenswork
Lens (mm): 85
ISO: 800
Aperture: 1.4
Shutter: 1/200
Program: Aperture Priority
The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm Lens is promoted mainly toward portrait photographers, but I think it can be used for so much more than just people pictures. There are several generations of the 85mm out there, but no matter which one you get your hands on I believe you’ll like it. There’s the newest Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-S G, the previous generation 85mm f/1.4 AF-D and the older 85mm f/1.4 AI-s. All of them are excellent lenses, but the newest has some extra bells and whistles that its predecessors doesn’t’ have such as instant manual focus override and improved optical performance.
I live in one of the most historic cities in the United States – Charleston, South Carolina. When I’m home, I enjoy being a tourist in my own town. I’ll walk the streets and take pictures of the architecture, plant life, people and unexpected historic brass and iron details found around every corner. To challenge myself and push the boundaries of my lenses, I’ll pick one fixed aperture lens and shoot the entire walk with it. One day, I took the 85mm lens as my primary glass and did a walk-about. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
I found that the lens’s wide-open aperture gave all of my “found” situations a magical sprinkle of fairy dust, or perhaps it was just the lens’s spectacular bokeh.
Lens (mm): 200
ISO: 200
Aperture: 2.8
Shutter: 1/1600
Exp. Comp.: -1.7
Program: Aperture Priority
The Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-S G, has 9 rounded blades in its diaphragm and can open up to f/1.4. We’re talking paper-thin planes of focus here. Don’t worry though; this lens is also razor sharp. Here’s a warning. If you aren’t a master at pinpointing your focus on your subject, you may run into trouble with this piece of glass. When shooting wide open, this lens has very shallow depth-of-field and if you aren’t right on, the sharpness of your subject will be affected. But, as I always say, “Practice makes perfect.” How will you ever improve if you don’t try? Plus, experimenting is where all the fun is in shooting pictures!
Lens (mm): 85
ISO: 200
Aperture: 4.5
Shutter: 1/200
Program: Manual
Lighting: Elinchrom Ranger Quadra
Yes, this lens is promoted to be a portrait lens. If you’re a natural light shooter, you’ll be in heaven for sure. I use this lens for portraiture with and without lights. The four examples above are shot with two Elinchrom Ranger Quadra Heads – one as a main and another as an accent light. If you’re shooting wide open with studio lights, you’ll find it takes very little studio light output to make an exposure.
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