Having known Cliff for quite some time now and having personally been through his gear bag (shhh don’t tell Cliff I rummaged)  I know that he’s a big fan of the 85mm so when he told me that he was holding the NEW Nikkor 85mm 1.4G and that he was going to shooting a wedding with it this past Saturday and Sunday I was pumped to see the results. Some “Cliff” notes:

Whenever I had any contrast whatsover in a given situation, this lens locked on and grabbed hold of the subject. The focus wasn’t “jumpy” when trying to lock on. Whenever the lighting situation was flat, and the level of light was quite low, this lens still outperformed the older version hands down. Did I miss? Absolutely. There were some out of focus images, but I was impressed enough to use this lens in critical situation-, like the processional, for example. I cranked the D3s up to ISO 5000 and went available light- which is my usual preference. Now, shooting a processional @ 1.4 is not easy, and I don’t recommend it to everyone, but I really love the look and I’ve even done it with the older version.  My point is simple- it’s faster. It’s also sharper, but I never thought the older version was soft. The nano crystal coat glass and the newly designed elements will increase contrast, decrease CA, and it’s practically flare proof. But really, I was ok with the old lens but it’s FASTER, much! There were occasions when the far reaching focus points on the D3s made the lens a but unsure, but the scene was quite flat. However, once I found a cross sensor point it snapped into focus right away.

As a prolific contributor on the DWF, Cliff has posted a series of images (the first ever from a wedding with this lens)  on the DWF Professional Gear Forum. In his thread Cliff is offering DWF Pro members a chance to ask questions about the lens. Be sure to check it out. You can also swing by Cliff’s blog to see a few extra photos from the wedding and to check out his Fall Bootcamp (it’s almost full).

Not a Professional Member of the DWF? That’s ok trials are FREE if you’re a PROFESSIONAL photographer.

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