Nikon AF NIKKOR 85mm F 1 4D IF Recensione | 54 Dati a confronto

The Nikon 85mm f/1.4 D AF ("Cream Machine") is a legendary, ruggedly built, all-metal short-telephoto lens produced from 1995 to 2010. According to Ken Rockwell, it is highly regarded for producing exceptionally sharp, contrasty portraits with pleasant bokeh, a curved 9-bladed diaphragm, and no distortion. YouTube · While offering outstanding optical performance, the lens has a clunky autofocus mechanism requiring a manual switch, unlike newer AF-S models. It also displays some green fringing (spherochromatism) in out-of-focus areas and requires stopping down to f/2.8 to achieve maximum corner-to-corner sharpness.

The Photozone / OpticalLimits review concludes that the Nikkor AF 85mm f/1.4 D is a highly capable portrait lens with exceptional character, despite carrying notable technical flaws. Its strongest pros lie in its center sharpness, which ranges from very good to excellent, and its virtually non-existent distortion. Furthermore, it produces a beautifully smooth, creamy bokeh, and limits vignetting surprisingly well for an ultra-large aperture lens. Chromatic aberrations (CAs) are also moderate and rarely impact real-world shooting. Conversely, the lens suffers from clear performance cons, most notably a lack of sharpness toward the outer borders and corners of the image, alongside significant longitudinal chromatic aberrations (LoCAs). Mechanically, the reviewer notes that the build quality is sturdy but feels outdated by modern standards. Ultimately, because the lens is primarily intended for portraiture where center-to-edge uniformity is rarely required, its soft corners and high subject separation are actually considered a welcome effect, making it a worthy investment for portrait photographers.

Despite its stellar performance, the reviewer identifies several prominent drawbacks, most notably its high initial price of $1,149.95 USD and a relatively distant minimum close-focusing distance of 0.85 meters. Optically, the lens exhibits visible light fall-off and vignetting up to f/2.8, which is generally acceptable for portraiture but remains a notable flaw. The reviewer's primary concern centers on optical aberrations, noting that the lens produces visible longitudinal chromatic aberration (reddish foreground and greenish background fringes) alongside heavy purple fringing in high-contrast environments when shot wide open. Nevertheless, the lens is highly recommended over the cheaper, plastic f/1.8D alternative due to its vastly superior build quality, contrast, and magical bokeh rendition.

The Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 AF-D is a highly regarded, solid metal portrait lens featuring a 9-blade rounded diaphragm and a 77mm filter size, offering a 24° angle of view on FX bodies and 16° on DX bodies. A major advantage of this lens is its exceptional performance, producing sharp images across almost all f-stops and incredibly creamy bokeh that separates the subject with extreme clarity. Its fast f/1.4 aperture also provides excellent low-light capabilities. Furthermore, its robust, non-plastic 1995–2010 build makes it a durable, long-term investment that transitions perfectly to full-frame setups. Conversely, a primary drawback is that this AF-D lens lacks an integrated autofocus motor, meaning it will not autofocus on lower-end Nikon DSLR bodies like the D40, D3000, or D5000 series. To get autofocus, users must use a body with a built-in motor like the D7000 or upgrade to the modern AF-S "G" version, which unfortunately costs nearly twice as much. Additionally, the lens suffers from a minor loss of sharpness in the extreme corners when shot wide open at f/1.4. Finally, when paired with a DX camera...

The DXOMARK evaluation of the Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF, mounted on a high-resolution Nikon D800E body, highlights this classic 1995 lens as a highly capable portrait prime that holds its ground well on modern digital sensors. The lens achieves an impressive sharpness score of 23 P-Mpix on the 36-megapixel D800E sensor, which shows its strong ability to resolve fine optical details. Its light transmission performance is solid, registering at 1.6 T-Stop, ensuring excellent low-light capabilities. Furthermore, geometric distortion is almost completely nonexistent at a mere 0.1%, keeping lines perfectly straight and portraits free from facial warping. However, the review also highlights several optical drawbacks typical of an older lens design when paired with high-megapixel bodies. The lens suffers from noticeable vignetting wide open, measuring at -1.4 EV corner shading, though this decreases significantly as the lens is stopped down. Additionally, chromatic aberration remains a prominent issue, showing distinct color fringing at wide apertures, particularly at f/1.4. Another physical limitation is that it lacks a built-in autofocus motor ("D" generation design), meaning it relies on a camera body's mechanical...