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Nikon 85mm f1.4 as closeup / macro?

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I have both the Nikon 85/F1.4 and and the Tamron 28-75 and the 85 minimum focus is 3 feet, and the Tamron 1 foot. I think that will answer your question that the 85 is not very good for macro work or any close work.
 
Are you kidding. My biggest complaint about the 85/1.4 is its focus distance. On FX it cant even get close enough to do a tight face shot.
It is probably one of the worst picks for close up work.
--
John
 
You'll need extension tubes or close-up diopters to get the 85mm to focus close enough for macro work. Even then I think you'll be dissappointed. I tried extension tubes on my 85mm f/1.8 and the results were less than spectacular.
--
Steve

 
Hi!

I sometimes use mine with extension tubes for macros (though I am doing this less, now that I have the Zeiss 100/2 "Makro"). Without the tubes, the minimal focusing distance is only 2.8 ft. (0.85m):

Without extension tubes, at minimal focusing distance:
Nikon D70 ,Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF AF
1/60s f/4.5 at 85.0mm



Nikon D50 ,Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF AF ,Kenko extension tubes
1/30s f/1.4 at 85.0mm



These flowers were about 8 mms. across:
Nikon D200 ,Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF AF
1/4000s f/1.6 at 85.0mm iso100 Kenko ext. tubes



Best Regards,

RB

http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile
 
Wow nice work I take back what I said about this lens for macro. The question that remains however is why wouldnt you just use one of several superb macro lenses that are meant for this work. It's not as if the 85/1.4 is a cheap lens.
--
John
 
trickortreat said:
Wow nice work I take back what I said about this lens for macro. The question that remains however is why wouldnt you just use one of several superb macro lenses that are meant for this work. It's not as if the 85/1.4 is a cheap lens.
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I initially tried the 85 1.4 with extesion tubes (a little) mostly out of curiosity.

Then, I sold my 60 AF-D macro and was without a macro lens for about a year, so out came the extension tubes!

RB

http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile
 
Jim Hammond said:
RB, you sure have a lot of equipment. I've seen your D3/Zeiss100 shots but didn't know that you had all these other bodies and lenses.
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Hi Jim!

Well, the d50 is my wife's and I bought the D200 a few years ago when the meter suddenly broke on my D70 (I keep thinking about doing an IR conversion on it)!

Even having the Zeiss, sometimes it comes in handy having that f/1.4. This was taken in a poorly lit restaurant last month:

Nikon D3 ,Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF AF
1/100s f/1.4 at 85.0mm iso3200


Jim Hammond said:
You've got me beat and I do it for a living-.
Click to expand...
Well, you've got me beat in output!

I particulary like your "nature at home gallery". I hope thatyou don't mind me posting a link to it so that others can see some really lovely images:
http://jhstudio.zenfolio.com/nature

Given my photographic talents, I probably couldn't afford my nice collection if I was doing photography for a living!

I was at an event last night just taking a few (well, more than a few..) pictures for my own entertainment, when the pro that I knew who was shooting the job with his D300 asked me how I lked the D3/200VR combo I was using.

The guy is really grooved at shooting events and likely will have better pictures for his client than I would've shot.

But, I really enjoy having good equipment, and, as I used to say to my wife, "Honey, it's cheaper than having a boat."
Plus, I need all the help that I can get!
Jim Hammond said:
Good work- BTW
Click to expand...
Thanks!
More importantly, I'm having fun!

Best regards,
RB

http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile
 
Nice shot of the guitarist. It's not easy to pull that off at f1.4. Looks like a Les Paul w/ PAF soapbar pickups. I'm guessing he's a blues player. The B&W makes it especially appealing and I do believe that the Nikkor 85mm 1.4 will do a great job up close with enough extension. I recently reversed my 50mm 1.4 on the D300 to get a close shot of a praying mantis. It worked even better than the Tamron for this. My Nikkor 105mm wouldn't focus in reverse but I'm not sure about the 85mm since the thread size is so large. For $15 you can do this with most prime lenses, especially the older nikkors which are still cheap on eBay and most will work with a 52mm reversing ring.



D300, 50mm 1.4 AI, 1/160 at f16
--
http://www.jhstudio.zenfolio.com
 
The 85/1.4's reputation is well deserved. The images it renders are stunning when used properly and I would highly recommend it.

However for macro I would stick with a macro lens and one can get an excellent used 60/2.8D macro for 300. For some of the good older MF macro's I bet one could get for less.

--
John
 
Kevin Nguyen said:
I could get the 105 VR, but if I have to decide between true 1:1 Macro vs having a fast f1.4 lens, I think I will make more use of the f1.4
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Kevin,

if you can survive without AF, I'd suggest you to sell the 85/1.4 and buy a Zeiss 100/2 ZF.

This way you'll have a macro lens that can be used for portraits. And the ZF 100/2 is considered as the best of the ZF lineup ...

If you only need to focus closer with your AF 85/1.4D, I suggest you a Canon 500 D two-lens achromatic close-up filter (77 mm). Its quality is excellent and it has been used by the German photographer Michael Weber on several Nikkors, including AF 85/1.4 and 85 PC (see http://www.imagepower.de/IMAGES/imgEQUIPMENT/500D.htm ). This accessory allows increasing magnification up to about 1:3.5 (with AF 85/1.4D at minimum focusing distance).

Regards,

Riccardo
 
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