85mm Decision Time - 1.8g or 1.4d

Msmoto

Agree, IMO the f/1.8 is certainly as good, possibly better than the f/1.4.....my opinion only. DxO Mark gives a "score" of 44 to both. The f/1.4 has sharpness of 30 Mp, the f/1.8 27 Mp. But CA for the f/1.4 is 7µm vs. 4µm in the f/1.8. Thus the same overall score I presume.

Ironheart

Life is short, buy the 1.4G lens
It's on my bucket list for sure

Msmoto

I suppose if I had some more bucks I would do the f/1.4, but the money saved with the f1.8 allows a "free" Sigma 20mm f1.4.....

Sports

Too many people enjoy the waiting game for expected new products, and those should definitely wait for the Sigma 85mm Art ;-)

Killerbob

I had the f/1.8 but wanted that bit of smoother bokeh and faster lens, hence I upgraded to the f/1.4 and have not looked back. Recently I was shooting a series of indoor sports events and the 85mm was a joy to work with. It is a super fast, tack sharp, and beautiful lens to shoot with - I simply think it is perfect...

nukuEX2

I had the f/1.8 but wanted that bit of smoother bokeh and faster lens, hence I upgraded to the f/1.4 and have not looked back. Recently I was shooting a series of indoor sports events and the 85mm was a joy to work with. It is a super fast, tack sharp, and beautiful lens to shoot with - I simply think it is perfect...

for me it was the cost...

Msmoto

@Killerbob

Can you post an image of each of the lenses showing the difference in bokeh? Or a link to the images?

Thanks

Killerbob

Sorry I can't... I switched quite instantly, and only had the f/1.8 for a week or so. The comparison pictures were just that, nothing I would keep, and only taken for comparison reasons.

AmericanLoonie

Just picked up a cheap Hoya Duto and have been using it on my 1.4D, and I'm loving the results. It makes that creamy bokeh the creamiest without sacrificing subject sharpness–painterly to the extreme.

haroldp

I started using the 105mm DC 2.0 as my main portrait lens on an F100 with film and still use it. DC gives some control over bokeh but mine is always set at '0'.

If your primary use is portraits, you should consider it.

135 is long for my taste as a portrait lens, I like a slightly shorter perspective.

I also usually stay at F2 since dof at 1.4 can be challenging.

Portrait subjects hopefully don't move too quickly so focus speed should not be an issue.

My only other portrait lens that I consider the equal of the 105mm DC 2.0 is a 90 F2 Leica summicron (s4 pre asph) that has a completely different rendering. For some reason I end up using the Leica in outdoor lighting and the Nikon under lights.

I have not seen any wrong answers in any of the posts on this thread, you should find out what works for you.