5 Nikon 85mm Portrait Lenses: $300 to $2,200 (Review)

[VincentSmith]

Explain how a 105 just won a video titled "85"???

[CharlesLi]

Awe no Nikon 85mm 1.8g mentioned. I get that it was outclassed for your purposes but that glass is amazing bang for your buck. My favorite Nikon lens

[marinakyriacou]

Very helpful comparisson. I use the Nikon 85mm 1.8G It was so much cheaper than the 1.4 and i'm really pleased with the result.

[reoflex]

Why no test of the Tamron SP 85mm F/1.8 Di VC USD?

[chainedwanderer]

Nice video, it would have been great to see either the Nikkor 105 f2 DC or the135 F2 DC as well. Those are considered some of Nikon's top portrait lenses, they are a little old but the pros swear by them, seeing how they stack up against more modern glass would have been great. Keep up the good work.

[totoroutes]

Why no field test of the Zeiss Planar 85mm 1.4?

[Apalapse]

The zeiss "pop" is called microcontrast (lens fidelity). It's what gives photos realism and 3d character.

[jacobl]

I have a hard time going much under f2 since the so little detail is in focus for close ups. I'll keep my f1.8 Nikon D at around $300 these days.

[oneallallone]

I am a hobbyist. There is no way I am going to pay into the thousands. I always look into the older generation lenses and the nikon 85mm 1.4d is mind blowing on its on. I also tried the budget rokinon and samyang and are outstanding. They give a warm tone to the pictures. The only downfall is they are manual lenses. Too much time wasted trying to focus.

[caielm.]

I’ve been studying for months what makes a Zeiss lens have that “pop”.
I have asked on every forum, everywhere, even Zeiss themselves.
The way each glass is made, the purity in its crystal like state, being formed so pure in its clarity. Then it hit

Whenever you import each image you take with the Zeiss, it actually imports a picture style that tells the software to bump up that amazing clarity slider. So now you know the secret, use the clarity slider on all your lenses!

[rambofpv]

The rokinon 85 1.4 is a quality lens for the money... it’s miles cheaper than these ridiculously priced lenses and does a great job. I use it with a d800 and love the results. Any issues with a little chromatic abboration are easily fixed in post. Though the flaring is apparent when shooting to light, but please don’t me mean about it

[julianmorgan]

I picked up the Nikon 105. It's insane. Instant incredible, meaningful artistic photos. 105 is the perfect focal length for portraits on a full frame camera. It's really sharp and bokeh is almost perfect. Using it on my Z6II with ftzii adapter. It's a dream!

[dannaalcocer-howey]

Chelsea you have me sold on 105 1.4, I have enjoyed your demonstrations on it

[Narsuitus]

Thanks for the video.

For decades, I used the Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 lens in a 35/85/180mm kit.

In 2016, I replaced the f/1.8 with the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 D AF for less than $800.
One 85mm f/1.4 feature that I really like is the 77mm filter size because it is the same filter size as my other two favorite portrait lenses -- the 150mm f/4 soft focus and the 180mm f/4.5 that I use on my Mamiya RB67 medium format SLR.

[jancovanderwesthuizen]

Rokinon didn't get enough credit here. It may perform a little weaker than the others here but it's *miles* apart from them in price and with that in mind I find it impressive how well it keeps up with the others. Also, their 135mm f2 is jawdroppingly good

[ghffrsfygdhfjkjiysdz]

Just got the zeiss. Couple things i find strange:
1. Focus ring is rather stiff as compared to nikon AI-s lenses. My 50mm f/1.4 and 400mm f/3.5 is like 10x less stiff than zeiss.
2. There is a rubber band on the zeiss around the aperture ring, which i assume is supposed to stay there since it has cutouts for aperture scale and aperture ring lock button, but that rubber thing is very flimsy and is not even glued to that ring.

[darksquirel]

Why not include the 85mm f1.8 from nikon to be another budget friendly option like the rokinon, I'm curious how they match up against each other

[natalievillain]

Thanks for the great content! 🌷☀️What lens did you use to record this video btw?

[magottyk]

I see people commenting why not his lens why not that lens, I myself thought why not the Tamron 85mm. Then I noticed that all the lenses were F1.4 and so those other lenses didn't fit the line up.
But still why not the Tamron 85mm F1.8?

[detever]

What about the Nikon 85 1.8? How do it compare?