One of the best lens reviews I have seen so far. Really a great job Darren !!

I love the content of your reviews! There aren't too many people that I've seen that are concise and clear with VISUAL evidence of their scores. Great work, love the images and video clips. Keep it up.

Your reviews are awesome. Instead of just talking about your experience on this lens with no picture showing you talk about it and then show us with a series of breathtaking images ! Well done, well done!

Exceptional review! Definitely help me in making an informed decision.

Yes! Brother Darren. 1st - Merry Christmas to you and your 👪. I must thank you that your for helping me cementing my decision on 85mm 1.8. On 22nd I bought one piece.

I was already loving this lens when I first got it when I was using it with my D7000 - I immediately noticed the difference in image quality. When I upgraded to the D750 full frame, I fell in love with it all over again! :)

I love your reviews. honest, to the point and no nonsense.

Great Review, love ur work Darren

have this lens. just really like watching the review. relaxing and interesting.

I bought this lens a couple of months ago to go on my D750. Match made in heaven as far as I'm concerned. Great review.

I enjoyed your review ...especially the music!

Really cracking and spot on review mate, off to buy the lens today where is will go straight on my D750. Thank you

I am buying my 85mm 1.8g now. So excited!

damn your sample shots and videos are amazing great video thank you

I do not understand the criticism of the build quality. I have both the 1.4 and 1.8g and agree the 1.8g is 95% of the IQ as the 1.4 but in build quality I think many confuse weight with build strength or durability and called that build quality. The 1.8 uses a very tough thick polycarbonate plastic that is rigid yet resistant in high impact and impulse. Which would survive a fall better; a 85 1.4 or 1.8G. Dropping a 1.4 is more likely due to its added weight and bulk but when it does fall, damage is sure to occur. For rugged day in and day out camera bag inclusion, there is no question which I would prefer as a walking around lens. My 1.4 sits on the shelf most of the time while the1.8g is in my standard kit, 24-70 2.8G, 70-200 2.8 VRII and 85 1.8G. Despite daily rough use in events, street, portraiture, product shooting of all my lenses the one that looks like new and shows none of the wear and tear of the 70-200 or 24-70. To me, that represents build quality; tough resistance to wear and tear, drops and collisions. I think Nikon has done a great job with a number of their 1.8 lenses, the 20, 50 and 85 are all value and performance standouts. I use them on a D800, a long with a lot of lesser used specialty lenses of 1.4 or 1.2 primes and 2.8 zooms. Where I live, the 85 1.8 was $650 and still think it was a bargain.

Thumbnail - Brett Lee doing lens reviews.

Awesome review. Sleek and Professional. Got yourself a new subscriber and many thanks for your efforts

Nice review Darren, I am always sold on that Florida vista. Cheers from Cloudy and Wet London.

I have had my copy for a few months for studio portrait work. Simply loving the lens all away around. This is a super sharp piece of glass that is priced right.

Superb review. Many thanks.👍👍👍

Fantastic vid and review

Thanks, this is the best review of a lens i have found to date, i am a media student and use the Nikor 1.8 50 mm, witch is slightly better but with a shorter reach, this lens is about the same in sharpness as the Sigma 105 mm EX macro witch is slightly cheaper, would be nice to see a review from you on that lens if you can spend the time, thanks again for a real in depth review, the best i have found on You Tube so far. leona

the 2nd nikon lens you reviewed, and you video keeps getting better. thanks ! can't wait till you start reviewing fuji's , since you've done canon, oly , panny now nikon :) thanks again

Your pictures and videos are inspiring. I love it

The Nikon 85mm 1.8 is the lenses I use the most on my D7100. Really is sharp. The build quality is fine for me considering the price point and I really like light weight lenses for carrying around. I use DXO for post processing.

Love your reviews Darren best on KZfaq by far think this has convinced me to ditch the idea of purchasing the 85mm 1.4d

great review, straight to the point, thank you

Love your review and great work! ;)

Thanks for that great review again, although you have split my decision lol. Just wondered if you could recommend either getting this or the sigma 85mm 1.4?

Thanks Darren for convincing me to buy this 85mm 1.8g and not the 85mm 1.4 d. One of the best reviews I've seen.

Great review, I own this lens with my D750 and it's my go-to portrait lens. Even though its a little soft at 1.8 I actually like the dreamy effect at 1.8 but with a little editing in lightroom with contrast it's fairly easy to make the image pop with some more sharpness.

Great stuff Darren! ...Good idea of a lens to mount on Sony A7ii?

Awesome review Darren. I'm still using my 85mm 1.4 lens. I have rented the 85mm 1.4 and I can tell the 1.8 is much sharper at 2.2 -2.8. Correct me if I'm wrong maybe you have a better test result than I do.

Sir, the bokeh in your video is amazing too. Please can you throw some light on that too. Thank you for the review.

Loved it on the D700, love it on the D800 and probably will on every camera that will be released. The 85mm 1.8G is really awesome. Keep it up, Darren, great video as usual.

Great review. Can I ask you what microphone you used? It sounds really good! Thank you!

I am trying to decide between the 50mm 1.4G and the 85mm 1.8G and I feel this review has just made my decision easier. The 85mm 1.4 is so out of reach but this lens seems to be pretty amazing for the price! Great review, thanks for showing so many photos with different angles and perspectives so we could really get a feel for what this 85mm 1.8 can accomplish :)

Hi Darren! Do you recall this lens being quite soft at f/1.8 ? I just bought one but my images are only tack sharp at f/2.8. Thanks!

Great video to be honest , can i ask what is the lens and the camera you have shot with ?

Nicola Stasi Beautiful video and very useful tips to take better photos. I would like to know if this lens, the Nikon 85 mm f/1.8 G, can also be used for other types of photos and not just for portraits. Thank you and good work.

Great video as always my man. Can you tell me what song is being played during the 2-3 min showcase of your photos with the lens?

great review , so i have a d3300 with a 35mm , i dont know too much but i am looking for an upgrade , i use it mostly for haircuts i post up , i hear the 50mm is almost the same , so i found this 85mm and was wondering how well it did with just close ups of hair cuts/head , what do you recommend

I loved the video ,thanks

Hi Darren. I was thinking of buying the Zeiss 85mm 1.8 for my A7II but after using the 85mm 1.8 on it after watching your videoI honestly am having second thoughts. The iq is awesome on the A7ii and since I will use it for portraits mainly autofocus isn't really an issue. Would you share your thoughts on this?

I shoot with a D4s and use the 24-70 2.8g Ed lens a lot. However when I need good crisp portraits. I shoot the 85 f1.8d lens. It’s awesome !

Hi Darren Miles can you upload a real world video for testing out the Nikon D750 in your style being exact to the point and aslo your words on the falring issue which customers showed up...! would be great to see.

Thank you for your video ! Amazing work byt he way ! Am getting the 85 mm1.8G instead of the 1.4g... will put the rest of the cash in a good lighting equipment

Hello Darren, my name is Victor, from Orlando, fl., thanks again for the video. I'm glad I saw your review because I was considering getting rid of my 85mm 1.8g lens as I'm looking to get a Tamron 24-70 f2.8 vc lens. I don't use it a lot, I find I use my 50mm 1.4g more, your thoughts on such a move, if you don't mind? I'm not a professional, though I hope to take my photography to the left level.

Great review!!! I will definitely purchase the 1.8G. If you choose between the 70-200 VR @ 85mm and the 85/1.8G any big difference between them?

because you are a nikon guy, i will subscribe, love your video channel here in UK

Would this lens be good for shooting indoor show jumping at night where the lighting isn't exactly bright please? Thanks

For what I do I would go with the 1.8. If I was a pro I would go with the 1.4. The color rendering and vividness is better on the 1.4 and the contrast on the 1.4 is spectacular. The 1.4 is what I would use for professional use.

I bought this lens finally, based on your review here. 👌 I had been using it on a Nikon F100 (I love Kodak Portra). The D100 has a power drain so I'm hoping to use the lens on my Sony A7Rii. I won't know until I can return to Thailand, now excluded since March 2020. Now searching for the best adapter for this combination.

welcome to NIKON girlfriend THE ANGRY PHOTOGRAPHER

Does this compare well to the 35mm version? Thinking of upgrading to have a slightly better lens for particularly sports

This might be a long shot, but do you (or anyone else) have any experience with the Fujifilm XF 56mm 1.2? Because I’m considering switching back to Nikon and this 85mm could replace the 56mm I have now. I’m especially interested in the sharpness wide open. The 56mm APD (which is the one I own) is pretty sharp wide open and I don’t hesitate shoot it wide open. How does this 85mm compare?

hii, own a 35mm prime, any other option for portrait/pre wedding shoot. Should i go for 80mm 1.8g??

Great vidya!

The 85mm f1.4g is at least 3X as expensive as the 1.8g. I recently bought the 1.8g and get razor sharp images with it and great bokeh. This lens has too much reach to be used as a walk-around lens. Use rather the 50mm or 35mm for walk-around. It is a super portrait lens, however. I found the focus speed to be fast.

I bought one, this week. Just saving up to get a d610 or d750 🌻😀😷😎🌞

Awesome review! I just recently bought this although the f stops are completely manual and turn on the actual lens. I don't think it'll be a problem for me though. One thing I am worried about is that I will have to shoot families or couples a lot further away than I normally would by using my 50mm.

Granted they are different focal lengths, which would you choose between this and the Tokina 100mm 2.8?

Hy Darren, you also made a test-video about the Tokina 100mm f2.8. I would like to buy a longer portrait lens as an addition to my 50mm 1.8 D. What would you prefer in terms of sharpness and bokeh quality - the no brainer 85mm 1.8 or the Tokina 100mm? Thanks for your effort! Greetings from Germany, Maik

Darren I'm torn between two lenses and I need your expertise. I'm looking to purchase a new portrait/macro lens and I'm trying to decide between the Nikon 85mm f/.8 (I'm currently using a Nikon D5200) or the Tamron 60mm F/2. I currently do portrait photography and have begun to dabble with wedding photography. I'm looking for a lens that will give me some more distance between my subjects as I have been using the Nikkor 35mm f 1/4. Your thoughts?

Great Videos Darren. How do you compare this to the 100mm Tokina 2.8, especially for wedding portraits. Thanks for all the information you provide!

Matt Granger also reviewed this lens and he has the Nikon f1.4 and he said the f1.8 is fine for even pro work. I know everyone wants to shoot wide open but you really need to be on your A game because if you miss focus at f1.8 or lower your going to be trying to fix it in post and that's something you really don't want to deal with. I have the Olympus 75mm f1.8 and I was taking some portraits at f1.8 and a few of the portraits people had their heads turned and I missed focus on one eye but got the other eye in focus. So now as a safety net I shoot the Olympus 75mm f1.8 at f2.5 or f2.8. Only shoot wide open unless your on your A game and know what your doing. Its best to have someones face with both eyes looking parallel right into the lens.

Nice video.

Will this lens work well with my Nikon d7100? I looking to shoot with something other than the 50mm and think 85mm would be great, I'm hoping this is my next lens, thanks for any response!

Oooh Nice! Loved the review. A quick question: Approx. how far were you from your subject in the group shot shown @ 7.49? Also, what lens did you use to shoot this review video of yours? Thank you X

is there any sound when focus ?

If you guys liked the soundtrack it’s from Dji’s editer, I’ve downloaded all of that music and I love it all.

I have this lens. Pretty much always on my camera. Bought my GF the 1.4 version since she makes money with her photography, I'm just a hobbyist and couldn't justify it. That 85 /1.4 is built like a tank though.

I had this lens for like half year but i sold it because i think my Sigma 105mm does better job to everything,is a macro lens and amazing fashion and portrait lens as well and its sharp at f/2.8 which has better compression compare to bokeh on this lens,also feels like tank ! Amazing and honest review as always !

I have bought this lens and am very satisfied

Great lens super sharp at f5. 6

Question: Would this work on a D3400 body, and, if so, would you even use it on one? That’s what I have. I’m just getting started. Thanks!

Hi Darren. I know you also reviewed the sigma 85 f1.4. If you had to choose between the Nikon f1.8 or the Sigma 1.4 which would you buy? I know the Nikon is good, but is the sigma worth the extra?

Darren, you repeated more than once "pretty accurate autofocusing", but I have to say that with my D810 it does NOT miss a shot! Anyway, it was your review which convinced me to buy the lens, and now I'm extremely happy with it! :)

So basically you're saying I should buy the 85mm. What shots should I use the 85mm for vs the 50mm. Sorry to pile on. I just want to know before I check out and purchase

I'm on a tight budget n want a lens for very closeup portraits like the half of the face, only the eyes n so on. so I'm considering 85mm 1.8g and the 60mm 2.8g micro. I'm confused to which to go for

Very good review thanks for the samples it did gave me that idea behind this lense ... I think of getting one soon but I have Nikon D3300 will this lens fit ? if thats obvious, I am just a beginner... please let me know

A few years ago l wanted to get one because of the rounded aperture blades. But l came across a used 85 1.8D for $250, so l got the D. Now l wish l would have got the G back then because l was making more money than l make now.

Hey which Lens is good for portraiture on crop sensor camera... Between 50mm f1.8 and 85mm f1.8. Plzz hlp

All your previous reviews were with the Oly system. Why did you go back to FF?

Thanks for the fast respond. I only have the D3300. I have the 50mm 1.8 g is it worth getting the 85mm is it a major difference. I'm a amateur but getting into photography so I'm ignorant to these things. I enjoyed your review. I don't want to purchase the 85 if it's not a major difference. Also I'm on a budget. Thanks again

I just bought a used 85mm 1.8g from Adorama for $274 !!! Optically wonderfully and super light. It didn't come with hood so I bought a used one from KEH for $19. I'd say I got the deal of the century !!!! I found it better than the 1.4g in sharpness wide open but a little cooler - who cares ?

Do you think this lens would be great for motorsport photography? Especially night racing?

Hi, would you recommend this lens for a group of 12 family portrait?

Hey.. I'm in Tampa...and a going to The Arts Institute of Tampa for my B.A in Digital Film Making and Video Production and Just subbed you.

Should I buy an 85mm 1:1.8 G if I have a 50mm 1:1.8 G? thanks, what's the difference

Love the video, thanks. i am shooting a friends family on Bare Foot Beach in April. Would you recommend this lens as a good choice.

What is your opinion on the d800 ?

very nice video... gr8 (Y)

I just bought my prime lens Nikon 85mm 1.8g

Everybody makes a big deal of lenses made of plastics. They have been making handguns that are made with plastic frames. If you are putting your lens to such abuse that you manage to break it then maybe you need to be more careful. This is a great lens that gives you 97% of what the 1.4 does and does it at a much more reasonable price.

Can i use this lens on a Nikon d3200?

I somewhat agree and somewhat disagree with your review of the lens. I think some of my disappointment with this lens is because of my background in using Micro Four Thirds (Olympus) where a lot of the primes perform really well wide open. I short I will say that wide open, the lens is barely usable which for me is an issue. Here are my thoughts: -wide open, it is soft, low in contrast, shows bad chromatic aberrations and flares like crazy -AF is slow and inconsistent (also my copy was back focusing a little bit. had to do focus micro adjustments) -the price is reasonable for a FF lens -the bokeh is beautiful and the colors are nice -once stopped down, it's pretty decent I am hoping that Sigma will release an 85mm ART lens that I could replace this one with.

how would you compare this against the canon 85mm 1.8?

Sir, between tokina 100mm macro 2.8 and nikon 85mm 1.8g, which one I should buy? Considering that tokina has dual feature. Which one has superior portrait picture quality?

"I want to give a 12/10 for value!!!" Well said Darren Miles. How does it compare with a Voigtlander/Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 for Nikon?