Nikon NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S Lens

The NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S from Nikon is a highly regarded short-telephoto prime lens widely favored for portraiture. It boasts a flattering focal length and a bright f/1.8 aperture, striking a balance between size, weight, and speed. This aperture provides sufficient light-gathering capability for challenging lighting conditions while maintaining a compact form factor suitable for handheld shooting. The optical design incorporates two extra-low dispersion elements, effectively minimizing color fringing and chromatic aberrations, resulting in exceptional clarity and color fidelity. Both Nano Crystal and Super Integrated Coatings are employed to suppress flare and ghosting, ensuring enhanced color accuracy and increased contrast.

The lens’s multi-focus system utilizes two stepping motors, delivering impressively fast, accurate, and silent autofocus performance. It also allows for full-time manual focus override, catering to the needs of both still photography and video shooting. Additionally, a programmable control ring is available, providing intuitive adjustment over a variety of camera and exposure settings.

Designed for FX-format Z-mount mirrorless cameras, the lens excels in portraiture with its bright f/1.8 maximum aperture, which not only handles difficult lighting conditions effectively but also offers enhanced control over depth of field for subject isolation and selective focus. The incorporation of two extra-low dispersion elements greatly reduces color fringing and chromatic aberrations, resulting in improved clarity and color rendering. The application of Nano Crystal Coat and Super Integrated Coating minimizes surface and internal reflections, significantly reducing lens flare and ghosting.

The multi-focus system employs two synchronized AF drive units, powered by stepping motors, ensuring fast, precise, and virtually noiseless autofocus performance suitable for both stills and video shooting. Full-time manual focus override is available, and the lens adopts an internal focusing design, maintaining its overall length during use for faster focusing speeds.

The programmable control ring, which defaults to adjusting manual focus, can be customized to control aperture or exposure compensation according to personal preference. The specialized electromagnetic aperture mechanism provides greater exposure control stability, particularly beneficial when working with fast continuous shooting rates. The lens barrel is dust- and moisture-resistant, ensuring its reliable performance in challenging weather conditions.