Nikon AF-S Nikkor 105mm f1.4 E ED - Reviews

(4.8)

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14.8.2017

This is just an initial thoughts video of the Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E ED. I have only had the lens for a few days and not used it a great deal but having been a photographer for a number of years, generally I have a bit of knowledge in this area. The camera I am using is a D800 and the lens I will compare to is the 85mm f/1.4 Milvus.My first thoughts about the Nikkor 105mm f/1.4 are positive generally. The lens is big but not too heavy, weighing just under 1kg (985g), which is lighter than my 85mm Milvus (1210g) and the new Sigma 85mm art (1130g). Of course it is much heavier than the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4, (595g).To look at the Nikkor 105mm (94.5 x 106 mm) looks big,with a friend who owns the Sigma 85mm Art saying that he thought the lens looked big and was surprised when I said it was smaller than his Sigma (94.7 x 126.2 mm) . The reason for this is probably the lack of length compared to his Sigma. Compared to the 85mm Milvus (90 x 110 mm) it is chunkier but also slightly shorter, with the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4g (8.64 x 8.38 cm) being quite a bit smaller. Personally I didn't find the size of the Nikkor 105mm to be too big for the D800 (with battery grip), I am not sure I would want to put it on a D5600 but then again it would be a waste of a lens on that camera anyway.The filter thread of the Nikkor 105mm is 82mm, which is a little annoying (I have had to buy a B+W 0.9 ND for shooting wide open on sunny days). Most of my lens filters are designed for 77mm, so can't be used but at least it is better than the Sigma's 85mm Arts 86mm filter thread, which must be annoying.The build of the Nikkor 105mm is solid, in the same league as the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G but personally it does feel like Nikkor has tried to cut weight slightly. Compared to the Zeiss 85mm f/1.4G it feels very plasticy, though this isn't surprising as the only lenses that beat the Milvus for feel are Zeiss's Otus line.The Nikkor 105mm I bought has been very accurate but the lens I tested originally back focused, this shouldn't be a big issue, with manual correction but it is always useful to have accurate focus out of the box. The Nikkor 105mm doesn't have gearless AF as Nikkor originally claimed and the gears are plastic but it does feel quite (close to my Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII) and it does focus quite quickly. Personally I would have preferred the lens to have a proper silent wave motor but it isn't a big issue. The other thing I would have liked to see is VR, which would have been really very useful at this focal length and is something the Tamron 85mm f/1.8 has.Optically, the Nikkor 105mm f/1.4G is very good. It is sharp and generally has very good bokah (though some have said the bokah is a bit swirly). There is a bit of vignetting but nothing particularly bad and the lens handles chromatic aberration well generally.Comparing to my Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Milvus, generally I do prefer the Milvus slightly in certain areas. Both lenses are very sharp (very comparable). The Nikkor 105mm has a slight advantage with its extra focal length for bokah but the Milvus is very smooth and creamy, so I can't say really which is better without more testing. The Nikkor is definitely better when it comes to Vignetting, which is the Milvus main optical down fall. Chromatic aberration is very good on both lenses and isn't something I have noticed much of.Where the Milvus pulls away from the Nikkor is contrast, particularly micro contrast, which has always been Zeiss's trump card. The Zeiss can just give a little bit more of a 3D pop, where as the Nikkor feels a little bit flatter (which is a trait of the 85mm f/1.4G as well).The 105mm focal length has an advantage over the 85mm when it comes to compression and you can see the difference when shooting portraits. Of course conversely the disadvantage is you have to shoot slightly further away to get a similar shot, which can be an issue when shooting in confined spaces. Comparing to 135mm, I would say 105mm has the advantage, the 135mm more compression but you are getting quite far from the subject and you can't really use it much indoors, though I am sure there are some who would disagree with me (when buying the 105mm f/1.4E ED, I was thinking of getting the Zeiss 135mm f/2 Milvus (my dream lens) but practicality won out.Overall I am very pleased with the lens, it is very good. Personally I still love my Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Milvus more but it doesn't have auto focus which is a huge advantage of the Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E ED and it does give better compression, which is also an advantage it has over the other 85mm lenses.Whether I would recommend the Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E ED is a bit mixed. If you are going after your first high end portrait lens, I would probably say 'no' just because it is much more expensive than all the other 85mm f/1.4 lenses (except the Otus) but if you are experienced and are looking for something slightly different or have a manual 85mm (which I do) I would very much recommend the Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E ED.