Nikon 105mm f/1.4E…AF speed?

[WildlifePhotog]

Okay I’m totally and utterly confused on this one! Some say it’s fast and accurate and even up to the task of shooting sports? Yet others claim it’s not the slowest lens on earth, but it’s far from fast? So what gives? Why do trustworthy people like Thom Hogan say it’s fast and up to the task of shooting sports with, and others say it’s slow? Will I be totally turned off and shocked by how slow it is, or will it be somewhere in the middle? I’m sort of expecting it to be in the middle between not the fastest and not the slowest? But what the heck gives here? How can some reviews say the opposite of others? I’ve never seen that when it comes to the subject of AF speed in other reviews. Most of the time people agree a lens is fast to autofocus or slow, or at least something like not as slow as X, but faster than Y? But never quite two completely different takes! I’ve just finally ordered the Nikon 105mm f/1.4E after years of having it on my to buy list, lust list. It should arrive soon and I’m thoroughly confused after reading the reviews. So I’ll post just a quick sample of what I mean!

 

[ormdig]

Hi, I see you have the 24-70 and the 70-200 which I also have and have used extensively for sports and events. Both these lenses are near instantaneous in focus acquisition in any light. I bought the 105 in 2016. Compared to the 2 aforementioned zooms it is quite slow focusing. It reminds me of my old 18-200 with my D90 which I used for sports because it was all I had at the time. Prone to hunt for focus under certain conditions, a rather "leisurely focus speed" makes it a challenge for subjects moving quickly towards or away from the camera. BUT, that is the ONLY downside I am aware of for this lens. It is dreamland. Pure magic. It is on my camera at all times unless I have a specific need for a different lens. Critically sharp within the DOF, the image melts like butter into the out of focus area. I have never seen the OOF area become 'busy' even with harsh backlighting. Wide open or stopped down this lens delivers. The more I use it the more I find I can do with it. Portraits, landscapes, architecture, automobiles, animals, you name it. The lens can create any mood just by changing the aperture and shutter speed. Isolate a subject to any degree you want with fantastic OOF areas or get all the detail there is to get. This is a tool that is limited only by your imagination. I have had it for 5 years + and have taken thousands of images with it and always look forward to seeing what it will do for me next. I will tell any one, buy it,

 

[anotherMike]

I think it's leisurely, but it's not so slow to be unusable. Sure, if for some reason you find yourself going from min focus to infinity, you're going to wait, but that's not realistic use with AF.

It's nowhere near the speed of the 24-70 and 70-200 class of F/2.8 pro lenses, nor the exotics, all of which focus quick. But it's not slow either.

Optically it's awesome for people and really good for about anything else. I expect you'll really like it.

-m

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

I think it's leisurely, but it's not so slow to be unusable. Sure, if for some reason you find yourself going from min focus to infinity, you're going to wait, but that's not realistic use with AF.

It's nowhere near the speed of the 24-70 and 70-200 class of F/2.8 pro lenses, nor the exotics, all of which focus quick. But it's not slow either.

+1.

Approximate pre focus where action is expected usually speeds AF up - sometimes significantly.

 

[goldaccess]

I use it on a regular basis for photographing team handball in gymnasiums.
(Successfully, if that needs to be added.)

 

[GarysInSoCal]

I've owned the 105 F1.4 for alittle over 2 years... amazed with it's sharpness and light weight (compared to Sigma Art 105). Although I don't shoot fast action sports, the models I do shoot 'definitely do NOT hold still'. Compared to Nikon's older D-Series (AF-screw drive) optics, this lens is a 'focus speed demon', always nailing focus for me in a split-second.

Models in constant movement, I shoot from F2.8 to F4... those 'more stationary' I usually capture from 1.7 to 2.4. The depth of field on this lens is sooooo extremely shallow that It's very easy to get one eye in focus, and the other out. Focusing speed is fast and tight enough for what I do.


Here's Brooke at the Select Models shoot... shot with the 105 and Nikon D810.

 

[Wahrsager]

You might enjoy this if you haven’t seen it already. I love my copy.

Taking Apart the New Nikon 105mm f/1.4E ED AF-S

We recently tested the Nikon 105mm f/1.4E ED AF-S lens and were mightily impressed. Optically it was better than I'd ever expected. We had idly talked about doing a teardown when stock allowed, but we got an unexpected opportunity yesterday: one of our week-old copies had some significant dust...

www.lensrentals.com

 

[WildlifePhotog]

I use it on a regular basis for photographing team handball in gymnasiums.
(Successfully, if that needs to be added.)

Thanks everyone and fortunately I’m going to be finding out for myself real soon. My package arrives on Tuesday or Wednesday! I’m definitely exited and this lens has been on my radar from day one. I know I’m late to the party so to speak, but never late than never right? The best part is I’m in no position to feel like I need to keep it or that it needs to be super-fast anyway! I already have the very fast 24-70mm VR, 70-200FL, 300mm f/2.8G VRII and 500FL. Those will still be go to lenses for sports and photojournalism assignments. I’m getting the Nikon 105mm f/1.4E as a portrait lens/walk around lens. I’ll probably try it out at a basketball game or volleyball game just for fun. But I’m not going to be forced to rely on it, if it is too slow. I just thought it was quite strange to see people saying it’s fast to autofocus and others saying it was slow. I’d never seen that before so that’s why I asked. Worst comes to worse I’ll return it, but I don’t intend to do that. I’ve been wanting this for years and only put it off because I had more pressing or important needs. But I finally have the cameras and lenses that I need first and foremost, and I had the money…so I thought why not.

I’m thinking of starting to do more portraiture photography to help pay the bills, so I bought this and a couple of Profoto A1’s. I got those Profoto A1’s for $450 each, brand new in the box with USA warranty. The A1’s seemed like the better option over, say two Chinese made Nikon SB-5000’s? I heard the Godox V1 round head flashes did not have as nice of a color cast and were not as reliable over time. I definitely trust Profoto more than Godox for professional use. Now that Profoto released a firmware update for the A1, it’s pretty much exactly the same as the A1x and I don’t require Bluetooth, so I don’t need the new A10. I’ve always wanted to try the Profoto A1’s or the Godox V1, but I never wanted to spend $1000 per speedlight. But I thought $450 was a good/fair price. The Godox are $259 plus they don’t come with accessories, so with taxes and accessories I’d be spending over $300 easily per head/unit. I’d prefer to just spend a little extra and get the original over a knock-off. Anyways I know that was a long tangent, but I thought I’d explain why I finally bought the Nikon 105mm f/1.4E in the first place or in 2022! Thanks everyone and I’ll report back soon with my first impressions!