p.2 #1 · How much difference will I honestly notice between the 85/1.8g and 85/1.4d?
Avi B wrote:
The 1.4D has slower AF on non "pro" bodies (ie D4, D3 series, D2 series, D1 series), and it tracks noticeably slower then any 1.8 version.
This is not my experience. I find the 85/1.4D to focus the fastest between the 1.8G and the 1.4G on my D600 which is a non "pro" body. The 1.4G is the slowest of the three, and also suffers from focus shift due to spherical aberration. There is a thread over at DPR discussing one person's experience, and you can see samples of it in the photozone review in the bokeh fringing section. This will make AF fine tuning impossible, since there is no way to fine tune based on aperture. In my experience, the 1.4D easily had the most accurate AF of the three.
Bokeh is obviously more subjective, but I think the 1.4D is the best in this area as well. The 1.8G has 7 aperture blades and this causes more nervous looking bokeh at smaller apertures and non-circular highlights at F2.8 and smaller. I also think there is a certain character to the extreme out of focus areas on the 1.4G that make it look more nervous for lack of a better description.
The primary strength of the G models is corner to corner sharpness even at large apertures. If you absolutely require that, then I would probably go with the 1.8G if you are ok with the bokeh, or the 1.4G if you are not. Otherwise, I think the 1.4D is equal to or better than both of these lenses in every other way. This is based on my own personal experience with the copies I had. IMO, all three are equally sharp in the center 3/4 of the frame. It isn't an issue for me, since I mostly shoot portraits with it, but it obviously could be a deal breaker for some that need critical sharpness from corner to corner.
