Review: If you want some Nikon magic that helps you create beautiful images especially of people, and if you want a quality precision piece of equipment that just feels and looks like quality, get this lens. I know it's expensive and I know it's not AFS, but just get it. Don't wait for a new AFS version that might be here shortly. Nikon might change something. The old AIS 85 f/1.4 didn't have the magic so any new formula might not and I promise, you don't want to miss this one in your lifetime. If I had to pick a lens in my kit that I would not do without, this would be it. I've used it to take landscapes and flowers. It's been at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the top of mountains and deep in the Big Cypress Swamp. And, it's always the go-to lens for portraits. Don't settle for the 85 f/1.8. It's not just the one f-stop. It's the magic. This Nikon 85 f/1.4 AFD just creates wonderful images. It's extemely sharp with a superb micro contrast. Add a creamy, buttery out of focus background and you'll see that magic that no other lens can quite give. I don't care who makes it. It's a bit hard to learn because of the extreme shallow depth of field. Someone new coming from point and shoots might have a problem. Wide open at f/1.4 you have to choose the right spot to focus, for example the close eye, allowing the ears and rest of the image to fall out of focus. This creates depth and space that makes a portrait pop out, but you have to learn it. The only downside, and I don't consider this a downside is the lens hood. It's the older screw-on metal type. You can't remove and reverse it. I just leave it on all the time. I love the solid feel. The rest of the lens has that black crinkle pro finish metal that Nikon only uses and their best, most expensive pro-lenses. You get a real aperture ring and the silkiest focus ring in the business. I mean it, buy the "Cream Machine" before it's gone. This is a legend right now.
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