A few months ago, I bought a second-hand Nikon 85mm f1.8D lens off eBay. On doing some research, I discovered that this brilliant piece of kit outperforms the 1.4D in distortion & vignetting at its widest aperture. Therefore, rather than forking out 3 times as much money for the 1.4D, I settled for the rather easy-on-the-bank-balance 1.8D instead.

Aside from my favourite lens (50mm f1.8), this is now my second favourite. The only reason is because I use my 50mm a lot more than the 85mm. The 85mm produces the same brilliant result as the 50mm. It works really well in low-light & produces brilliant pleasing bokeh. However, it’s too ‘long’ to be used at a dinner party for example. But works brilliantly for indoor shots like concerts etc. I got some really lovely bokehed shots of the Christmas tree this winter

What really sents this lens apart from the other prime lenses is the quality of images when snapping outdoor portraits. Because of the longer focal length (it’s almost like a mini telephoto), I could easily capture candid moments from a distance rather than shoving the 50mm in the subjects’ faces which I feel instantly disintegrate the ‘candidness’ of a portrait. It’s sharp. It’s quick. I like it. It autofocuses really quickly on my D90. However, that it doesn’t autofocus on the D40 or D60 to bear that in mind.

On the other hand, it can also be used to create interesting indoor shots:

I have to say, it’s only been a couple of months but I can safely say that it is a brilliant buy and I’m loving it more each time I use it. Considering I only paid £100 for it, it’s exceptional value for money for the quality of images I’m getting. Can’t often say that for many lenses…