Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 105mm f/1.4E ED Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

This is an absolutely brilliant lens. First of all, it's just plain absurd to be able to have f/1.4 at the 105mm focal length, but that aside, it's not a case where the lens is useless wide open. It's an f/1.4 lens that you can actually use at f/1.4 because it is very sharp even wide open. Close it down a bit and it becomes even sharper.Being an "E" lens, it means that a number of older cameras will not be able to control the aperture, leaving the lens stuck wide open on those cameras. Personally, it makes me a bit sad that there's no way for me to use this lens fully with any film camera, but if it's going to be stuck at an aperture, I suppose I prefer this lens to be stuck wide open than closed down if I ever did decide to go down that route.As you can probably imagine with a 105mm f/1.4 lens, the size and weight are no joke. This is fairly large lens that will, at times, intimidate people on the other side of it. This is something that many people don't really think about and with people used to modeling or having photos taken of them, it may not affect them, but it might take a bit for some family members to get used to it. And as far as carrying it around for street photography—yes, I've actually tried this—be prepared to be met with suspicion like you're some sort of stalker. All joking aside, it is definitely a large lens and if you're one to be involved in long photo sessions or carry your camera around for long periods of time, I would definitely take the weight and size of it into consideration. I've found that having a sling strap has helped a lot in this regard.Probably because 105mm makes for a really good portrait length, people assume that this is a portrait lens and while it is an excellent lens for that purpose, I wouldn't necessarily pigeon-hole it like that. Its technical proficiency makes it useful for all sorts of shooting. Ironically, there is a contingent of people that dislike lenses like this for portraits simply because they feel that the sharpness starts to work against them by bringing out all of the details—read: flaws—in the skin. I can empathize with this to a degree and I agree that sharpness should not be the be all/end all of how a lens should be evaluated. That having been said, I will point out that you can soften features in post if you have a sharp lens, but if you don't have a sharp lens, you can't exactly bring detail back.On this topic, the most obvious competitor to this lens would be Nikon's own 105mm f/2 DC, which is an older autofocus design with Nikon's "De-Focus Control". The 105mm f/2 DC is an excellent lens in its own right and is a very sharp lens as well. The two lenses, however, are quite different and simply render images in a different way so even though the newer lens was likely released as a replacement, I wouldn't really consider it a a spiritual successor to the older lens. Don't get me wrong, the DC does not hold a candle to the 1.4E in image quality, but I definitely think that it has some desirable attributes that have not carried over to the 1.4E there will be different situations that each one is better suited for. I imagine part of this is due to the way we judge lenses has evolved since the advent of all of these sites that will rub laboratory tests and assign numerical performance values. While there are many technical attributes, we can measure objectively, we would do well to keep in mind that a lot of photography is subjective and there are aspects of the character of lenses that can be difficult to quantify. So if you already own the 105mm f/2 DC, I would say try out both before making a decision to "upgrade". Having gone into that, as an exercise in technical excellence, the new 105mm f/1.4E is a stunning specimen of modern lens design.Attached to a D810, the lens focuses very well and I have not needed to perform any auto-focus micro-adjustments. The speed of focusing is not super fast—there's a lot of big glass to move around—so I don't know how well it will work out for something that is looking for a lens to shoot indoor sports or some other fast action. I have tried shooting some moving animals from time to time and it's been hit or miss, but it's entirely possible that this is due to my technique given the fact that I don't really do that kind of shooting.All in all, I am very happy to have added this lens to my arsenal and it's been a solid workhorse for me since I got it. I would encourage anyone to give it a shot. In an increasingly competitive market, I really do believe that Nikon hit it out of the park with this particular release. Now if they'll just release a new 50mm and 135mm...---------------------Update: I recently took the lens out to a soccer game and it seems like my initial concerns about the AF speed were largely unfounded as I felt that the lens performed pretty admirably overall. I've uploaded a few of the photos and while there were certainly a few misses, I ended up with a lot more keepers than I had initially anticipated. Granted, soccer is probably not the ideal sport to be shooting with this lens given the relatively short focal length in relation to the size of the field, but I just wanted to give it a real test and I would say that it passed with flying colors.

This is a superb lens in the same class as the 200 f2 I think. On the D850 autofocus is instantaneous - so fast you don’t even notice it focusing, even in less than perfect light. I think the lack of VR actually helps here as there is no delay while it is stabilizing. It is noticeably sharper than the 105 2.8. Colors and bokeh are beautiful. If you love sharp eyes where you can count the eyelashes this is the lens for you. It is a big lens but it balances very well on the D850 so I don’t find the size problematic at all.Is it the best portrait lens? It is a great focal length in terms of flexibility, distance and mobility. I prefer the reach to the 85 which I always end up cropping quite a bit. Personally I prefer the increased isolation of the 200 f2 and I find the 200 has a bit more color pop than the 105. I absolutely love the new 300 f4 FL. It is a great portrait lens - very sharp and fantastic isolation. Also easy to handhold and very mobile. Minimum focusing is a bit restricting and obviously you need to be able to put some distance between yourself and the subject but I have gotten shots I really like indoors. So for a posed shot I think the 200 wins. For a candid where I have the distance and light I would give the edge to the 300. For just about everything else the 105 wins. For added flexibility - ie also doing group or other the 85 1.4 or 58 1.4 (an unfairly maligned lens I think) have more flexibility.If money were no object for an FX lineup I think the 58, 85 1.4, 105 1.4, 200 f2, and 300 f4 can’t be beat for image quality and usability. The 200 is a beast but in situations where the size and weight are problematic either the 105 or 300 can substitute.

I'm a professional wedding photographer, and shoot with a bunch of Nikon primes. For years, I used the Nikon 85mm 1.4G for my telephoto, but always wanted a little more reach. Prior to the release of the 105mm 1.4E, the downside to Nikon's prime tele lineup was that their DC series (105 and 135mm) hadn't been updated since they were released in 90's. When the 105mm 1.4E was released, I was very excited and pre-ordered it. After shooting with it for 3 months in the field, here are some observations:1) This lens is SHARP wide open. It beats the 85mm 1.4G, both in sharpness and contrast. Colors are beautiful, and spot on. Like the 58mm 1.4G, this lens has a look all its own. It can isolate subjects in a very special way, and really makes them pop in images. Nano coating combats flare well, maintaining contrast and color, which is very useful to me, since I shoot during sunset quite a bit.2) Don't be fooled, the 105 is comparable in size to the beastly Canon 85mm 1.2. It's very large (takes a 82mm filter!) and is quite heavy, over 2 lbs. I notice its weight whenever its in my camera bag, compared to the 85mm 1.4G. This is the biggest drawback of this lens to me, because when you shoot 8+ hour weddings, you feel the weight from this piece of glass on your shoulder. It balances fine on my D4s, but feels front heavy on my D810.3) AF speed and tracking is about 30% quicker and more accurate than the 85mm 1.4G in my experience. It's not a speed demon like the 70-200, but it's the fastest I've seen in a Nikon prime.4) Build quality is solid, with the same polycarbonate exterior as Nikon's other nano primes, along with a gasket at the lens mount. I've shot with it in rain and it's been fine. Focus ring is large and nicely dampened.5) Price tag is steep, but if your bread and butter is shooting portraits, and you like the telephoto look, this is the lens for you.Happy shooting!