To 85 or not to 85 that is the question - Nikkor AF-S 85mm 1.8

Fortkentdad

Senior Member
Should I indulge my lens lust and buy myself a Nikkor 85mm 1.8 or not?

I have the 50mm 1.8 and the 60mm & 105mm 2.8 primes. And a 24-70mm Tamron 2.8. Among others.
My only lens that can shoot 85mm would be my Tamron 70-300 F/4-5.6 or my antique Nikkor 70-210 push-pull F/4-5.6

I am waiting to buy a 70-200 2.8 (probably Tamron) but currently they are running about $1400 CDN.

in the mean time i was eyeing a Nikkor 85mm 1.8 at the store today - left without it. ($465 + 5% GST)

The sale clerk was saying the 70-200 Tamron is a much faster focusing and more useful lens but did say the 85 is very sharp and great boehka. He may have been hoping to get the bigger sale?

But still, $500 would be a good start on my savings for the 70-200mm. Patience is a virture - I need to practice more often.

I'd be using it primarily (pardon the pun) to shoot people - mostly my grandchildren and others. It is a portrait lens after-all.

To you 85mm owners - do you use it much?

And maybe I should just wait even longer and get the 1.4 . . . after I get the 70-200 of course, .... and a good 150-600 and a nice 20mm prime and a ____________ :)
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Should I indulge my lens lust and buy myself a Nikkor 85mm 1.8 or not?
I have both the Nikon 85mm f.18G and the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 VC Di USD. They are both fantastic; hands down, full stop.

Now, that being said...

For my type of shooting I get faaaar more use out of the Tamron 70-200mm.
If I could only have one of these two lenses it would be the Tamron 70-200mm.
The 85mm f/1.8G *does* have great bokeh, but so does the Tamron 70-200mm.
...
 

Bill16

Senior Member
I don't have any G lenses yet, but after using my Nikkor af-d 85mm f1.4 (awesome)lens I am seriously considering one day buying the G version! For those portrait moments I dearly love the 85mm I have, and G version is suppose to be even better!
Except for differences in build, the f1.8 G is suppose to be pretty great too, as my buddy HF has said! But I wouldn't make it an either or decision, as they both have their uses! I vote strongly for both setups, though I'm leaning more towards a Nikon version for myself of the 70-200mm!lol:)

Anyway best wishes no matter what you choose to do!:D
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
julia.jpg


I love the 85mm 1.8
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
I have both lenses. 70-200 sees far more action. And the sales rep was straight with you. The 85mm is incredibly sharp. If you have to have a lens to fill that screaming want, then get it. But you will want both lenses in your arsenal.
 
Last edited:

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
These types of decisions are difficult. You need to weigh the pros and cons of both choices.

The 85mm doesn't have VR. It's much smaller (and lighter) to pack in your bag making it easy to carry around. The 70-200mm has VR but is bigger and heavier. It will be a little more versatile since it is a zoom.

Since both focal lengths are covered by other lenses you already own, it really comes down to which YOU think you will use the most. You mentioned wanting to use the 85mm for family photos. What is the reason for wanting the 70-200mm? Do you use either of your other tele-zooms frequently now?
 

Krs_2007

Senior Member
Thanks for all the quick advice. As tempting as the 85mm is I'm thinking I need to save for that 70-200 mm.

For what it's worth. I use my Nikon 70-200 more than my 85, but there are time I take just the 85. I wouldn't get rid of either of them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
There was this time when I was shooting natural light portraits in a hotel lobby. My normal lens (24-120mm/f4) wasn't able to cut it with the lighting, but the 85mm/f1.8 did the job. For that one scenario, I was glad to have the 85 with me. That said, I get far more use out of the zooms.

If you're looking at the 70-200/f2.8, then that's even less of a problem than my fixed f/4 lenses. The trade off is more weight ... even the f/4 zoom weighs more than the f/1.8 prime, but for the trade off in versatility it's usually worth it.
 

pforsell

Senior Member
From a personal point of view, according to Lightroom my most used portrait lenses are:

* 200mm f/2 VR II
* 135mm f/2 DC
* 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
* 28mm f/1.4 D
* 85mm f/1.4 D
* AIS 105mm f/1.8
* 50mm f/1.4 Sigma

and in that order. So based on my experience my suggestion is to get the 70-200 f/2.8 VR before the 85 prime, and then I'd definitely get the f/1.4, otherwise what's the point?
 
Top