Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 ai-s focus test

[acgiannopo]

I did a small test of Nikkor's 85mm f/1.4 ai-s sharpness and chromatic aberration wide open and i ended up with an interesting discovery. I took several shots of my Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 ai-s focused on the 1.2 mark trying to do my best in focusing manually using the focus indicators on my Nikon D700. I discovered that evevn though focus indicators indicated that i was in focus through quite a lot of focus throw, only a small fraction of this was tack sharp. While being tach sharp, the lens wide open looked really sharp with a little chromatic aberration. But, even out of focus for a fraction of a mm, the lens looked soft with a lot of chromatic aberration.
The pictures below are screenshots of 300% magnification of a series of shots on LR.

[Jack Dahlgren]

I think these results are to be expected. Viewing images at 300% enlargement will only bring disappointment. Often the first shot I take with a lens is of the lens I just took off the camera, but it is always good to get out and take some photographs in the real world.

[Frank Fremerey]

The DSLRs focussing screens are generally not designed for manual focussing. No trouble if you are on a tripod and can use live view magnification to focus to perfection, a problem though if you are in the field and want to gain critical focus wide open. The first DSLR that made manual focussing really easy IMO was the D500. That is why I replaced the D850 screen with a F6J....

[acgiannopo]

I think these results are to be expected. Viewing images at 300% enlargement will only bring disappointment. Often the first shot I take with a lens is of the lens I just took off the camera, but it is always good to get out and take some photographs in the real world.

I 've used the 85mm many times and i have taken wonderful portraits with it. I am still afraid of using it wide open though, so i usually stop it @ f/2 or f/2.8 to get the best results. It is challenging to manual focus in the field during a portrait photoshoot but a great experience too.