NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S Lens Review

This page contains reviews of NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S .

Lens Evaluation

Price	For an 85mm f/1.8, it's a high-end model.
Size	slightly long
Weight	slightly heavy
Ease of use	No function ring or Fn button
AF performance	necessary and sufficient. Breathing is noticeable.
Resolution performance	Good regardless of shooting distance. A little soft when the aperture is fully open.
Bokeh	Smooth and beautiful regardless of shooting distance. Vignetting present.
chromatic aberration	Very good correction
distortion	Very good correction
coma aberration	Very good correction
Vignetting	Moderate influence at infinity
flare resistance	very good.
Overall evaluation	Expensive, but the best option

Evaluation：

The 85mm F1.8 is a lens that can be used for a wide range of purposes.
This lens is excellent in terms of functionality. If you don't need an F1.4 lens and are looking for a 85mm lens that won't leave you wondering, this is a great choice. It has no particular flaws in terms of optical performance, and its bokeh quality and resistance to backlighting are also good. Recently, cheap Chinese lens manufacturers have also started to do well, but I get the impression that ‘genuine products are in a different class’. It is particularly strong in terms of resolution performance when shooting close-ups and in terms of background bokeh when shooting at long distances. A lens that I can strongly recommend.

Foreword

The S-Line fixed-focus lenses were among the first NIKKOR Z lenses to be released. The new F1.8 S-Line joins the previously released ‘NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S’ and ‘NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S’ to complete the ‘three sacred treasures’ of standard focal lengths for fixed focal length lenses. Although the selling price is a little high for an F1.8, it features the high optical performance and robustness that are typical of the ‘S-Line’.

specifications

This lens uses two ED glass elements in its 12-element, 8-group lens construction. The optical design is more advanced than that of the AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G, which was released in the SLR era. It is characterised by its extremely high MTF peak value and its ability to maintain performance over a wide range of frames.

lens mount	Nikon Z mount
Supported sensor size	full-frame
focal length	85mm
Lens construction	8-group 12-element
Aperture	f/1.8 f/16
Aperture blades	9-blade (circular aperture)
Minimum focusing distance	0.8m
Maximum magnification	Approx. 0.12x
Filter diameter	67mm
image stabilisation	-
Teleconversion lens	-
Coating	Nano Crystal Coat
Size	φ 75mm × 99mm
Weight	470g
weather sealing	Support
AF	Stepping motor
Aperture ring	-
Other controls	-
Accessories	Lens Cap 67mm LC-67B Rear Cap LF-N1 Bayonet Hood HB-91 Lens Case CL-C1

Lens Review

Appearance and operability

Boxes and accessories

The box has a design based on black and yellow, which is typical of NIKKOR Z. There has been no change since the launch of the Z system in 2018. The box is a little larger than usual for an 85mm single-focal-length lens. It is about the same size as the 50mm F1.8 S-Line.

In addition to the lens itself, a lens hood, pouch, regular knob-type cap, instruction manual and warranty card are included.

Lens appearance

This is an older-generation lens design for NIKKOR Z lenses. The ‘NIKKOR’ and ‘S-Line’ logos are arranged together on the side, and only the focal length and F-number are listed on the top of the lens. There is no separate control ring, and the surprisingly wide focus ring takes up most of the barrel.

The barrel is made of plastic in front of and behind the focus ring, and metal parts are used around the focus ring and mount. The texture is not bad, and the wide focus ring gives the impression of a ‘sturdy metal barrel’.

At first glance, it looks simple and modern, but it is also known as a ‘clay pipe’ design. The wide focus ring is easy to use, but overall it looks a bit rough.

What is the cause of this appearance?
One of the reasons is that it has no waist. When you think of an 85mm F1.8 lens, you think of a large diameter, large diameter lens, and the tip tends to be large compared to the lens mount. However, the Z mount has a large diameter, so there is no need to make the size larger towards the tip of the lens. As a result, it looks like a barrel. I think it would have been better to make the focus ring uneven.

Only the focal length and F-number are processed, and other displays are printed on the bottom of the lens. The country of manufacture is China.

Hands-on

Size	φ 75mm × 99mm
Weight	約470g

Compared to a standard 85mm f/1.8 lens, it is longer and a little heavier. Considering that it has a large number of lens elements and is dustproof and splashproof for professional use, it is within acceptable limits. It is not incredibly heavy.

Front and back

With a large front lens that is typical of an 85mm F1.8 lens, it is compatible with circular filters of 67mm diameter, which are common in this class. As there is no mention of the front lens being fluorine coated, it is easier to maintain after use if a protective filter is attached in environments where it is likely to get dirty, such as when exposed to water droplets.

The metal lens mount is secured to the main body with four screws. There is a sealing around the mount to prevent dust and moisture. The rear lens is positioned slightly further back from the mount, and the surrounding area is painted black to suppress unnecessary reflections.

Focus ring

Equipped with a wide metal focus ring. It rotates smoothly, but is a little looser than you might expect. The responsiveness can be changed depending on the model, and the operating angle can be adjusted with linear response. For models that cannot be changed, non-linear response is used, and the operating angle can be adjusted with a stroke of about 90-360 degrees depending on the ring rotation speed.

A focus ring this wide feels a little redundant, but it is true that it is easy to grip even when wearing thick gloves. As there are no other controls, there is no risk of accidental operation. However, I personally would have liked to see a separate control ring or Fn button.

Switch

Only the A/M switch is mounted on the left side.
As mentioned above, there is no Fn button, etc.

Lens Hood

A cylindrical lens hood is included. The simple design, which has no particular function, serves to emphasise the rather plain design of the lens barrel. The only saving grace of this design is that the focus ring can be operated even when the hood is attached upside down.

Example of use

Fitted to the Z 8. The balance is good, despite the appearance of the lens. There are no particular problems with the large body. However, it may seem a little large when fitted to the relatively compact Z 7 / Z 6 or APS-C. The body is large to begin with, and the length of the lens is long, so it is not easy to store.

There is plenty of room between the lens and the grip, and the front Fn button is easy to operate. You might think you'll touch the wide focus ring, but there is a slight ‘hump’ around the mount, so you can hook your finger here.

AF・MF

Focus Speed

Uses a stepping motor-driven multi-focus system.
Although it is not as fast as the lightning-quick AF using a linear motor, it is fast enough for the kind of photography that requires this lens. If you use it for close-up photography of moving objects, you may find it lacking.

Breathing

Focus breathing refers to the change in the angle of view depending on the focus position.If the change in angle of view is significant, the field of view will expand or contract during focusing, potentially causing distractions and affecting autofocus stability. Ideally, it is better to have no focusing breathing. In order to check the effects of breathing, we took the following photos with the lens stopped down to the minimum aperture, at the minimum shooting distance and at infinity.

The official description says ‘suppresses focus breathing’, but there is at least a significant difference in the angle of view between the minimum shooting distance and infinity.

AF accuracy

There were no major problems when used in combination with Z8.

MF

As mentioned above, the focus ring rotates smoothly with a little slack.
Depending on the model, the responsiveness can be adjusted, so it is possible to use it with the operability of your choice.

Resolution Chart

Test conditions

Camera body:Z 8
Interchangeable lens:NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S
Pearl Optical Industry Co.
‘[HR23348] ISO12233-compliant 8K resolution test chart (for still cameras)’
Olympus HYRes 3.1 analysis software
The lighting environment is constant indoors.
Tripod, self-timer 10 seconds, electronic shutter
RAW output
ISO
RAW development in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
・Sharpness: Off
・Noise reduction: Off
・Chromatic aberration correction: Off
Focus on each point to be analysed and take a picture
(image plane curvature is difficult to measure at close range, so check at infinity)
Note that this is a test at close range (infinity may be even better).
If you adjust the sharpness when developing JPEG or RAW images, the values may improve. Please note that the values given here are the ‘minimum values’.

Test results

Even at close range, where aberrations are prone to fluctuate, good results are obtained across the entire frame from F1.8. This is an area where inexpensive third-party AF 85mm F1.8 lenses are not good at, and the NIKKOR is particularly dominant in terms of performance in the periphery and corners. There is no significant improvement even when the aperture is stopped down, but you can get practical, good images across the entire frame from F1.8.

Centre of frame

Compared to the distant view, the aberration is slightly more noticeable, but even so, you can still get sharp, high-contrast results from F1.8. At least with the Z 8, which has 45 million pixels, there is no significant improvement even when you stop down.

Middle of frame

The results are almost the same as the centre. The image quality is not inferior at all, and even when comparing images cropped in part, it is difficult to tell whether they are from the centre or the periphery. Even when the aperture is narrowed, there is no improvement, and the image is sharp from F1.8.

Four corners of frame

There is almost no depression in the corners.

Test values

	Center	Mid	Corner
F1.8	4063	4008	3474
F2	3865	3694	3744
F2.8	4361	4302	3725
F4	4322	4227	3847
F5.6	4362	4073	3482
F8	4576	3790	3501
F11	4184	3623	3167
F16	3369	3225	3058

Sample

far-field resolutionComparison of competing products

Comparison with third-party medium telephoto lenses that can be used with the Z-mount (for reference only, as the test model is a Sony camera with 61 million pixels)
All of the products tested produced good results for distant subjects, but at close range, the central resolution of the lenses at maximum aperture decreased, and the performance of the periphery and corners decreased significantly. Only the NIKKOR produced stable results at close range. If you often take photos of subjects at short distances and want to get sharp results at maximum aperture, we strongly recommend the NIKKOR.

Test environment

Date of shooting: 23 August 2024, no wind
Camera: Z 8
Tripod: Leofoto LS-365C
Head: SUNWAYFOTO GH-PRO II
Exposure: ISO 100 Aperture priority AE

RAW: Adobe Lightroom Classic CC Development

Sharpness off
Noise reduction off
Lens correction off

Test results

Centre of frame

If you look closely, the F1.8-2.0 is slightly soft in the details. It's not noticeable, but it's not as sharp as the Z MC 105mm F2.8 VR S. There is a slight halo that seems to be residual spherical aberration. Considering it as a portrait lens, it is a perfect balance. However, if you stop down to F2.8, the situation changes completely, and the result is sharp and high contrast even in the details.

Middle of frame

It's very sharp and has good contrast. I can't think of anything else to say.

Four corners of frame

Despite the effects of vignetting, good results were obtained from F1.8. Although there was a slight drop in performance compared to the centre and the periphery, it was still a very good result for a significant crop of 45 million pixels.

curvature of a surface

What is surface curvature?

This refers to the fact that the shooting distance at which the image is in focus differs from the centre to the four corners. For example, even if the image is in focus at a shooting distance of 1m, if the subject is moving back and forth around 1m at the edge of the frame, there is a possibility of field curvature.

Although there are few lenses that have noticeable field curvature, in recent lenses, aberration may increase and become noticeable at close distances. However, there are few opportunities to take photos of flat subjects at close range, so even if there is some image curvature, there is no need to worry.

However, if there is an effect even at infinity, you should be careful. If you are trying to achieve a pan-focus effect, for example in a landscape, there is a possibility that you will end up with an unintentional out-of-focus image. As there is no way to correct this aberration, the only way to avoid the problem is to increase the F-number to widen the depth of field.

Test results

There is no noticeable image curvature from F1.8 at infinity.

Lateral chromatic aberration

What is lateral chromatic aberration?

A colour shift that appears mainly around the edges and corners of the frame. Unlike longitudinal chromatic aberration, the effect of correcting this aberration using the aperture is small, so it is necessary to correct it at the stage of optical design. However, it is possible to digitally correct chromatic aberration using the image processing engine built into the camera body. This makes it possible to correct chromatic aberration, which is difficult to correct optically alone, and recently, there have been lenses that prioritise the correction of other aberrations over chromatic aberration correction. In particular, mirrorless systems tend to rely on post-processing.

Test results

It is not possible to check whether or not Adobe Lightroom Classic CC has applied correction for lateral chromatic aberration in RAW. At least when I checked it with lens correction turned off, there were no major problems across the entire aperture range. There was also no loss of contrast when correction was applied, so it seems that the correction is in good optical condition.

Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration

What is longitudinal chromatic aberration?

Longitudinal chromatic aberration is a colour shift that occurs in front of and behind the plane of focus. If the area in front of the plane of focus is mainly purple fringing, and the area behind the plane of focus has unnatural green colouring in the out-of-focus area, then the main cause is likely to be longitudinal chromatic aberration. This is more likely to occur with large-aperture lenses such as F1.4 and F1.8, and in such cases it is necessary to close down the aperture to improve the situation. It is possible to correct this using development software, but it is more difficult to process than lateral chromatic aberration, so it is best to suppress the aberration optically if possible. However, when suppressing longitudinal chromatic aberration with a large-aperture lens, the product price tends to be higher. Lenses that perfectly correct for longitudinal chromatic aberration have high contrast on the focal plane from wide open aperture, so you can expect a punchy resolution.

Test results

Although it is not perfect, it is kept to a level that is barely noticeable from F1.8. In high-brightness areas, it may be noticeable depending on the situation, but it should still be considered a minor problem.

As for other problems besides axial chromatic aberration, you can see that the focus peak moves to the far side when you narrow down the aperture from F1.8. This is due to spherical aberration, but since the Nikon Z system uses real aperture distance measurement (AF with the aperture closed) up to F5.6, you don't need to worry about the effects of focus shift in principle.

Distortion

What is Image Distortion?

Distortion is the phenomenon where a straight line does not appear straight on a flat surface. It is particularly noticeable in cases where there are many straight lines, such as in man-made objects or when the horizon is visible, and it is divided into two types: barrel distortion, which is similar to the fisheye effect, and pincushion distortion, which causes the centre of the image to appear squeezed.

This is a relatively easy aberration to correct, but it is difficult to manually correct for distortions that have a special shape, such as ‘bamboo hat-shaped’ distortion. In this case, a correction profile that matches the lens is required.

Test results

Even if you place a straight object at the edge of the frame, the distortion will not be noticeable.

Coma aberration

What are coma and astigmatism?

Coma and astigmatism are mainly the failure of a point of light to appear as a point of light in the four corners of the frame. For example, this can be seen in artificial lights, stars and illuminations in night scenes. Even during the day, bright point light sources such as sunlight filtering through trees can also have an effect. As this problem cannot be corrected in post-processing, it is necessary to correct it optically.

Although it can be improved by narrowing the aperture, in situations where shutter speed is important, such as night scenes and astrophotography, it is not possible to narrow the aperture, and optical correction may be necessary.

Test results

Only a very slight effect at the corners of the frame. There is no need to worry about this.

Spherical aberration

There is almost no change in the bokeh quality before and after. A good correction state has been achieved. However, from the test of longitudinal chromatic aberration, it seems that the focus shift has some effect at short distances.

Foreground and background blur

What is a beautiful blur and a noisy blur?

The evaluation of bokeh tends to be subjective, but I personally think that ‘soft, diffused bokeh’ is beautiful, while ‘sudden bokeh or hard-edged bokeh’ is not so good (or is a unique depiction). However, everyone has their own preferences, so there may be people who prefer the opposite. For reference, here are some examples of ‘blurred bokeh’ and ‘hard-edged bokeh’. The difference in the tendency of the depiction is mainly due to the state of correction of spherical aberration, and when the bokeh on either side is soft, there is a tendency for the bokeh on the other side to become hard.

Back Blur

The bokeh is neutral, but the edges are weak and it gives a slightly soft impression.

Front Blur

Compared to the background blur, the edge of the blur appears to be slightly harder. You have to see them side by side to notice the difference.

Bokehball

Effects of Vignetting and Spherical Aberration

If vignetting is strong, the bokeh at the four corners of the frame will be elliptically deformed or partially missing. The only way to solve this problem is to close down the aperture. However, closing down the aperture will make the bokeh smaller and in some cases the shape of the aperture blades may become visible, so it is necessary to compromise on the amount of vignetting depending on the situation.

If the amount of vignetting is small, it is possible to get a circular bokeh from wide open to the four corners. Ideally, a lens with little vignetting is preferable, but to eliminate it, it is necessary to fundamentally increase the size of the lens. There is a need to strike a balance between portability and cost, so some kind of compromise is necessary.

If the correction of spherical aberration is not perfect, there will be a difference in the depiction of the bokeh in front and behind (as shown in the review of bokeh in front and behind). In this case, one side will have a smooth depiction with blurring, while the other side will have a hard depiction like double-line bokeh.

Test results

The bokehball is beautiful, despite the strong effect of vignetting. There is no unsightly bokeh fringing or colouring, and the inside is smooth.

Sample of a boke

Close range

When you think of it as a portrait lens, the rendering is a little stiff, but when shooting close-ups, the large amount of bokeh is not a problem. Even at close range, the contrast of the in-focus area is high, and the subject stands out with sharp rendering.

Short range

The same trend is seen at a shooting distance where the bokeh becomes slightly smaller. The texture changes less, but the effect of vignetting begins to stand out.

Medium range

Furthermore, when the bokeh becomes smaller, it is a little noisy in a background with a high small trust. The bokeh quality is beautiful, so the elements that stand out badly are well suppressed.

Portrait

The following are the results of taking pictures of a tripod that is 170cm tall while changing the distance and aperture.

Even when the subject is shot at a distance that fills the entire frame, the background is beautifully blurred. There is almost no distracting noise, and the image is soft and smooth. The image quality is maintained even in the areas around the frame. This is a point where there is a difference between this lens and relatively inexpensive lenses, and the depiction of this lens is truly worthy of the S-Line.

Vignetting

What is vignetting?

Unnatural drop in light intensity around the frame.
The light intensity is lower than in the central area, and there is insufficient exposure in the four corners of the frame. This mainly occurs with large-aperture lenses and wide-angle lenses.

Although this is a phenomenon that can be easily corrected using software, it is necessary to be careful about the fact that it can cause noise, as the insufficient exposure is covered by post-processing correction (sensitization). In particular, when using high sensitivity for nightscape or starry sky photography, there is a possibility that noise will appear strongly.

Minimum focusing distance

There is a certain amount of light reduction effect, which is not excessive and is typical of F1.8. This is almost completely eliminated when the aperture is stopped down to F2.8.

Infinity

Compared to short distances, stronger light reduction occurs. However, if you stop down the aperture, the reduction will improve rapidly.

Backlight resistance, sunstar

centre

Although not perfect, flare and ghosting are very well suppressed. This is very good for a portrait lens, and further reinforces the impression of the NIKKOR Z being strong against backlighting.

corner

There is no problem at all if the light source is moved to the corner of the frame.

sunstar

From f/5.6, the sunstar is sharp, and when you stop down to around f/11, it becomes a clear, tapering sunstar. It's very beautiful.

Summary

Good points

Robust construction
Dustproof and splashproof
Close-up resolution performance
Long-distance resolution performance
Lateral chromatic aberration is negligible
Longitudinal chromatic aberration is negligible
Distortion is mild
Vignetting is almost negligible
Smooth bokeh quality regardless of shooting distance
Backlight resistance
Sunstar depiction

An excellent medium telephoto lens that delivers the kind of optical performance you would expect from an S-Line lens. It delivers good resolution and bokeh regardless of the shooting distance. This is a lens that places more emphasis on bokeh, and the resolution performance at maximum aperture is softened to a degree that is not too harsh. Considering that this is a focal length that is often used for portraits, I think it is a good balance.

Of course, if you stop down the aperture, the softness will disappear and you will be able to get sharp results right to the corners of the frame, for example in natural landscapes. The F1.8 maximum aperture also suppresses various types of aberration well, so it is also suitable for cityscapes and nightscapes.

Bad points

Expensive for an 85mm f/1.8
Clumsy appearance
Few controls
Focus breathing is noticeable
Typical minimum focusing distance
Slight focus shift at close range

There are almost no optical flaws to be found, and the optical performance is excellent, as you would expect from an S-Line lens. If I had to find a fault, I would say that the controls are few by today's standards, and the bulky design, with its wide focusing ring taking up a large part of the lens barrel, is a negative point. Considering the price, I would have liked to have seen at least an L-Fn button and a control ring added.

Conclusion

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