What body are you shooting with? On my D3s, the 85G does seem a little slow. However, once the focus is locked, it is tack sharp even wide open. On the D800, the AF is pretty darn fast. It's indistinguishable from the 50 1.8G. I love my 85 1.8G. If you don't want it, I'm sure there's a long line willing to take it off your hands.
equestrianguy wrote:
Want to get some feedback from others that have bought this lens to replace the 85mm 1.8D. I have the 85mm 1.8D and was excited when the G was announced. I got mine through B&H and was very excited.
Lens arrives, it's bigger and lighter. Initially the first thing I noticed is that the AF speed on the G is definitely slower than the D. AF accuracy is about the same.
Bokeh seems rather similar between the two and the G is marginally sharper at maximum aperture.
Essentially I'm sitting here confused on whether I should keep the G when the performance of the D is so similar not to mention the build quality of the D is significantly better in my opinion.
Has anybody else noticed that besides it being just a bit sharper that the D seems to have some advantages over the G?...Show more →
I tell you what I have the 85F1.8D here, I will trade you lenses plus some cash on my side so you can "upgrade" to the better D lens.
Lucky man. My youngest (20) just got married last Wednesday. I'm still in shock...
Processing some great captures I got with my 2 D700's (one with the 85G mounted.) Hopefully I'll have some to post up here soon.... They look great after some RAW editing so far for sure!
Enjoy every moment you can with her.... soon she'll be hard to catch for photo shoots!
I own this lens and am quite pleased with it. It is indeed very sharp wide open, and although a little slow when running AF it makes up for it with its optical performance IMO. I have not owned the 1.8D and so don't have anything to compare it too aside from my 70-20@/2.8...
By the way, do not fall into trenchmonkey's trap. His posted samples have made me spend a lot of money. His technique is solid and so are his biceps. Many of us won't be able to match it just because of that.
trenchmonkey wrote: trap years spent laboring in da trenches...please note: I do NOT work for Nikon.
Hrow wrote:
Too bad you don't. I would bring the beer AND buy the popcorn to watch your first staff meeting with their engineers.
I despise, loathe, and abhor the bokeh on the 85/1.8D... ugly, octagonal, and mechanical. Would never buy that lens based just on that one reason. But I'm not an f/1.4 fan, I often find that's just too narrow a DOF, so I'm looking carefully at the samples of the 85/1.8G to see if it's better behaved than its older brother.
I must say I am liking the bokeh out of this new 1.8G lens (based on what I have seen here) much better than what I have seen out of the 1.8D (again on this board). I like my 85/1.4D though so I will probably not switch out anytime soon, but it's good to have options if I need to slim down kit in the future.
Just curious whether or not you were the official shooter for the big day. My second shooter dropped the brand-new 85 1.8G from his TT Skin Belt, and the lens broke apart instantly thanks to its cheap construction.
Thank you Michael. Actually, it was a relatively small affair so yes I was the primary shooter (other than all of their friends shooting cell phone cameras.... lol!)
A small "courthouse judge" wedding (of which I captured on HD video,) and the reception that I was able to give both my D700's a workout at. It turned out really well.
that'd be GREAT, Henry. 
