Nikon AF-S 105mm 1.4 E ED

It's difficult not to be excited about the Nikkor AF-S 105mm f/1.4 E ED. Sharpness is outstanding across the frame at any aperture setting (limited by diffraction at small apertures, of course). This extremely high resolution comes combined with a pleasant bokeh, although there can be noticeable axial CAs and corner highlights aren't ideally rendered. Lateral CAs and image distortion are low, but there is also (and unsurprisingly) quite some vignetting wide open. The build quality is outstanding, which of course can be expected at this price level. There is no aperture ring though, which may annoy traditionalists. The AF is very fast on the latest DSLR generation, at least. In summary, the lens well deserves our "Highly Recommended" rating.

Nikon has taken on-board the feedback it received on its 58/1.4 lens: not only did they produce an f1.4 lens at a unique focal length of 105mm which has a 20% better reach over a 85mm lens and gets you better background isolation but they also endowed it with very good image quality to boot: Easy to focus, sharp across the full-frame sensor, and with only little CA. You can easily use this lens wide open and get sharp and contrasty shots right into the corners of a high resolution full-frame sensor. As such its optical performance is almost up there with the Zeiss Otus and it delivers a better Bokeh. It is a bit on the fat and costly side but all-in-all the Nikon 105mm f1.4E earns a Highly Recommended.