Nikon 85mm f/1.8 D AF Nikkor


I'd get one here.

Introduction

This is a sturdy and affordable portrait lens. It is popular as a portrait lens due to its speed (f/1.8), focal length of 85mm that works like a 127mm lens on a DX body, and its diaphragm with 9 blades producing superb bokeh.

Nikon makes an f/1.4 version of this lens which is both a lot heavier and A LOT more expensive. About three times as expensive! I have used one of the f/1.4 lenses, and it was nice, but I'm glad I own the f/1.8 and can still afford things like a car and a house. Those things are a lot nicer than just two thirds of a stop faster of a lens.

Specifications

The lens has six elements in six groups and takes 62mm filters.

Maximum aperture: f/1.8

Minimum aperture: f/16

The diaphragm has 9 blades producing an awesome bokeh. This is a major reason why this lens is so popular for portraits as this nice, smooth, creamy bokeh creates pleasing out of focus backgrounds enhancing the look of the subject.

Performance

This lens has ZERO distortion or chromatic aberrations. This lens is great on any Nikon body, digital or film, new or old (except for those silly D40, D60 things that won't AF with it).

AF is super speedy and very accurate, which is important when shooting wide open at f/1.8 or in that range.

I don't know what more I can say about this lens. It does everything I ask of it to do and it is of a compact enough size that it can find its way into my camera bag or backpack for any trip.

Examples

Following are some sample photos to demonstrate the power of this type of lens and some general uses which will likely yield good results. If you shoot things like these, then this lens may be a good one to think about adding to your camera bag.