A couple of weeks ago a new-to-me Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 AI’d lens arrived. It is one of the lenses that established Nikon as a major camera manufacturer and is still revered by photographers. The later f/2 version was changed optically and does not have the same quality as the earlier f/1.8, although the AIS capability offers some advantage with more recent camera bodies. (Note: I posted an image from the Nikkor 85mm f/2 here.)

I generally prefer the AIS version of Nikkor glass because most of my cameras use the feature to improve exposure during the making of the image. However, I will always choose optical quality¹ if there is a better version of the lens.

I made the test shot of Lucas at my desk this morning. I had the D750 close at hand, after making a couple of test shots with a Nikkor 105mm f/2 D (Defocus) lens. (I will share this in another entry, later.) The shot was captured wide open (f/1.8). Sharpness is very good, I like the image quality, and the background is nicely out of focus with a lovely bokeh-ball from the living room lamp.

This lens will be fun to take to the field. It will also work on my Nikon film cameras just fine.

The week begins. I have work to do. I am grateful. Life is good.

¹While this is generally true, I certainly have a lot of vintage glass in my collection that exhibit character over sharpness. Therefore, the definition of image quality is somewhat subjective.