[mst]

A pleasant surprise:



http://www.opticallimits.com/nikon_ff/717-nikkorafs8518ff



-- Markus

[Rover]

Pleasant yes, but a surprise? <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> I think no.

[Guest]

Thank you very much for the review, Markus! It is immensely useful for me. This looks like a real winner and an ideal companion for my AF-S 50mm f/1.4



Christian

[frank]

Yes, we indeed see improvements to the D version, especially for the wide open resolution. While for the bokeh, I also did not see "surprise", although better than D.

[KasperE]

Comparing the lab scene shots, it is clear that the AF-S has better bokeh in the background highlights, but I also notice that the new lens has a very slightly less pleasant (to my taste) rendering of out-of-focus areas, see e.g. the ruler shots and the crops of the playing cards. In the latter crops, the new lens seems to smear less and a tiny bit of doubling of lines is seen. Not that I would by any means describe this as a problem, and as a happy AF-D owner, I might be biased.



Is there any explanation of this behavior? I also notice that the AF-S seems to have better contrast. Could this cause the slightly reduced smearing?



Best,

Kasper

[Brightcolours]

Apart from the bokeh from the sample shots which could/should be smoother, it looks like a nice lens indeed. It even looks quite handsome.

[Rainer]

The good performance of this lens doesn't come unexpected.

I would have been suprised, had the performance been less than that.



Rainer

[mst]

It seems I had lower expectations than most of you <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



-- Markus

[Guest]

[quote name='mst' timestamp='1330417175' post='16251']

It seems I had lower expectations than most of you <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



-- Markus

[/quote]



Well, regarding the history of recent f/1.8 lenses Nikon released (35mm DX, 50mm FX) and their respective performance, I expected a pretty solid performer. But I was unsure in what ways and to what degree Nikon would limit the capabilities of the 85mm f/1.8 compared to the f/1.4 variant considering the huge difference in price. For instance, I expected them to over-correct the aberration and prioritize sharpness for the cost of having outlines in bokeh. The fact that it is so much nearer to the 85mm f/1.4 than to its predecessor in terms of image character is a surprise for me, and a very pleasant one for sure <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Christian

[frank]

[quote name='TheChris' timestamp='1330419032' post='16252']

Well, regarding the history of recent f/1.8 lenses Nikon released (35mm DX, 50mm FX) and their respective performance, I expected a pretty solid performer. But I was unsure in what ways and to what degree Nikon would limit the capabilities of the 85mm f/1.8 compared to the f/1.4 variant considering the huge difference in price. For instance, I expected them to over-correct the aberration and prioritize sharpness for the cost of having outlines in bokeh. The fact that it is so much nearer to the 85mm f/1.4 than to its predecessor in terms of image character is a surprise for me, and a very pleasant one for sure <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Christian

[/quote]



I am always curious about why Nikon produced a DX rather than a FX 35mm f1.8. If the 35mm f1.8 were a FX, the AF-S (35mm, 50mm, 85mm) f1.8 would form a perfect set.