Been waiting for the rumored 85 1.4 Z lens, but I have no reason to believe its imminent. The 85 1.8S is a great lens but I have never warmed up to its rendering style for portraits. I absolutely want a 1.4 aperture version that is very useful wide open. The adapted 85 1.4G and 105 1.4 have a lot more finesse for portraiture but I am grew tired of the FTZ bulk, switching etc and am considering options. The 85 1.2 of course is the premium option but a bit too heavy and expensive. As of today I am using the megadap for the Samyang 85 1.4 Series II and am quite happy. The eye focus accuracy and consistency is every bit as good as a native lens like the 85 1.8 S but some of the other AF detail can be a smidge behind.
Just tried the Viltrox 85 1.4 using the megadap and yes the AF has major problems adapted to Nikon through a Megadap ETZ21 Pro. But I took the opportunity to test 1.4 and 1.8 aperture settings against the Samyang which has really good results at 1.4 and only a small loss of resolution compared to the Nikon 85 1.8Z at 1.8. The Viltrox with a 77mm front element is the brighter lens, with little vignetting which is a weakness with the Samyang. But resolution at 1.4 was virtually identical. At 1.8 the Viltrox gets very close to the Nikon Z and edges out the Samyang ever so slightly.
This little excercise has confirmed my suspicion that the Samyang series II lenses are sleeper lenses that need more love. I love the light weight of the 85. Creamy bokeh that can rival the 85 1.4G but better resolution wide open. Note that the 85 1.4G is special as is the 105 1.4 but I am willing to compromise for portability, resolution, eye focus etc.I am also using the 35 1.4 Samyang with great results. Somehow Samyang eye focus for Sony also works great on Nikon through the Megadap. Who would have thought?
Would I buy the Viltrox if the AF was as good as the Samyang today? Not without seeing what Nikon comes up with. The other offerings are not appealing for one reason or another. I could stay with the Samyang long term if Nikon does not make a strong 85 1.4. On that point its going to be interesting to see where they land on this. The 35 and 50 1.4's have good but not great wide open performance (the 50 was a bit better). My guess in the end, that Nikon will match the Samyang at 1.4, but offer a bit faster AF which will be the reason to switch at that time (whenever that is.....). Nikon is not going to push aside the 85 1.8S for resolution buy hopefully will tune the 85 1.4 for portraiture which would make it worthwhile. If you are doing general photography, landscapes etc the 85 1.8 is still the deal.
Oct 26, 2025 at 06:25 AM
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