The Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G Lens is a great lens for portraiture and for use in low light. Prime lenses are typically sharper than zoom lenses and this lens is no exception. For the price it is difficult to find a sharper portraiture lens that has the same low light capabilities.

One of the sharpest prime lenses Nikon has ever produced. Sharp even at f1.8. Very nice bokeh as one would expect. This is a worthy successor to the venerable "D" version of this lens. A new classic 85 portrait lens in F mount.

Image quality and overall sharpness; wide-open sharpness; size; bokeh; weight; cost

Build quality could be better

Traditionally, in 35mm-format (i.e. Nikon FX) photography, along with 105mm, the 85mm focal length is considered to be ideal for portrait photography. Perhaps 105mm is better for "head and shoulder" type images while the 85mm can cover a bit more.

With an f/1.8 portrait lens this sweet, who needs f/1.4?

Prime lenses are an invaluable part of a photographer's arsenal. While their fixed focal lengths mean they can seem lacking in flexibility, they more than make up for this with increased optical quality.

This is an FX lens which works on DX cameras too. It's not heavy but it's solid enough. It's often used as a portrait lens but can be used for whatever you like. The benefit for FX users is the very shallow depth of field and consequent subject isolation hence portraits.

Updated and optimized for digital, this fast aperture compact medium telephoto FX-format portrait lens offers crisp and natural image reproduction for stills and HD video.

Although 50mm is considered to be the standard focal length for full-frame cameras (because it covers the same field of view as that of the human eye) the 85mm focal length is ideal for capturing isolated details in a scene.

Great portrait lens...

Beets the 1.4 in everything but build quality, great color & contrast; The only category the 1.4 beets it in is having a 1.4 aperture.

Consequently, the new model now offers a silent wave AF drive, which makes it compatible with the complete range of current Nikon DSLRs. Even though the largest pressure to update the lens may have come from DX customers, a 85mm prime traditionally is a classic portrait focal length on full frame...