You know what floored me more than the Nikon Z85mm f1.2 lens floored you? It was when I put the Nikon FTZ II adapter on the Nikon Z9 and attached the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 105mm f1.4E ED lens on the other end and saw HEAVEN! I’m not kidding you when I say that it blew the 85 1.2 out of the proverbial water
Today I must have watched at least 5 hours of video reviews on the $500 manual focus TTARTISANS 90mm f1.25 lens and the sample images from all those reviews made come back to THIS review for comparison with the autofocus Nikon Z85mm f1.2 lens and I finally realized why the Nikon Z85mm f1.2 costs that much more and why the images it are on a completely different level. It is for this reason such video reviews done by the professionals exist.
I am getting mine delivered this week Saturday. Here in Shanghai, this Nikkor Z 85mm 1.2 is sold for about 2.5k Euro what is still a lot but much cheaper than in my home country Germany where it cost you more than 3.3k Euro. What an amazing glass!
Beautiful bokeh and rendition. I am drooling over this lens! The bokeh balls @5:55 is also gorgeous and the character/shape of them is really nice. Better yet, this lens also provides almost circular bokeh balls at f2, which is amazing.
I enjoyed the video! This lens appears to be nothing short of amazing. I hope that it does for Nikon what you think it will. As the madness for mirrorless mounted, I was able to score a 105MM for a bargain, especially considering its brand new price. With the 85mm appearing to be superior, I’m really excited for Nikon.
Thank you! Appreciate the support. Yes right now some good prices on the 105 and other f mount lenses and they are still awesome! Can’t wait to see what’s next coming from Nikon
As always, thanks for the review, Bobby. Would be nice to see images (rendering) compared to the other Nikon 85mm Z lens. Also waiting on the 135mm f/1.8 Z at some point. At some point, if the focal length is a need, it will be fun to try them out and compare. As always, thanks for your work.
Favorite lens out of a collection of stellar Z-Series lenses. So that says something. Nikon is the most experienced glass manufacturer of all the remaining Japanese lens makers. Optics like this drive that point home.
@@btonelli Yup, everything is an engineering trade off. It's definitely a chunky beast, but as I understand it (I haven't had one in my hands yet) there is virtually no focus breathing. Which is not something Canon's RF equivalent can say. And Sony doesn't even have an 85mm f/1.2, and may not be able to engineer one with that small E-Mount (which was originally designed for APS-C), or at least one that can match this new Nikkor for optical performance. We'll see...
@@RobertFalconer1967 yes the focus breathing is minimal. I noticed this recording video with it. I think Sony can now especially what I’m seeing with the 50 f1.2. There was talks then they couldn’t do it but they managed to somehow. Should be interesting to see.
WOW!!!! Very impressive! The camera makers are bringing the heat!! This has me looking at my leica sl2s and the summilux 50 sl lens, wondering if i should sell it and go all in with nikon since i have the z9? Seriously, these brands should be paying you!! Great job as usual.
Bobby I'm a lay down you got me! I'm going to the NPS event tomorrow with Nikon NPS Singapore guys coming up to KL can't wait to try it tomorrow. Thanks buddy .
Beautiful!! I find myself gravitating towards the z9 more and more over the SL2s. this lens might just make a full time Nikon shooter! Great review as always!
Good stuff Bobby. Crazy good colors and rendering from that 85 1.2. I still love my 105 1.4 nikkor with my FTZii on my z6ii so I'll stick to that for now. I'm sure optically (and autofocus per your video) the 85 1.2 is superior to the 105 1.4 but I just love that 105 look. Are you planning on selling your nikkor 105 1.4 to offset the 85 1.2 cost? Thanks for this video!
Thanks for watching. The 105 is a fantastic lens and if I owned it it wouldn’t be easy to sell. I borrowed it for some shoots and included it in this video. But I do think if one can get over the size of the 85 it’s definitely a worthy successor
Bobby! Nice video and I hate you for making me lustful of this lens. Damn it’s beautiful. Btw I hope you get to try out a hypothetical Z8 or Z6iii in the future. Looking forward to your review
The only reason I'd buy this is exactly Street Photography, I don't understand why it was the first thing you excluded, hahaa. Nobody needs 1.2 in a studio, the 1.8 is perfect for that but we are all different, haha
"...don't want to see this much bokeh." Nice one! LOL Thanks for the review. Thought I'd buy this lens immediately but am still waiting for the now very long ago ordered 600 tc and with my luck it'd would arrive moments after I paid for this beauty.... Now here we are weeks later and still no 600 and this lens on backorder. I can't win LOL Thanks for sharing your experiences with this lens! Cheers!
I read that you get round bokeh balls at f2 with this lens. Maybe a dumb question, how is the carbon bike standing, did you use a stand that has been removed in post?
The bokeh is quite good even at f2. As for the bike there is someone off camera that let go of the bike for a second while a snapped a few photos then grabbed it before it fell
Nice review Bobby, it's a pitty the bokeh balls are not a bit more circular considering the size of the lens but it's a minor thing as you mentioned. BTW your teeth and skin show green color cast, too much nature over there! Have a good week ahead!
Bobby you said that the Plena was the most beautiful of them all….. now you’re cheating with the 85 1.2😂😂😂😂😂😂 just joking but on this end I can’t for the life of me decide between the two and I have to make the purchase today. I must have watched both your videos endlessly. I think the 85 is more versatile though so I may just go with that.
@@anton_sokolov mind you, I’ve owned all three simultaneously at one point but didn’t test each of them extensively. A photo here on one, a photo there on the other and the third lens saw the same activity of one or two shots. I’ve been that busy. Then I returned all three and used the credit to buy a Leica M50mm 0.95 Noctilux for the Z9, with the Novoflex adapter. So I still need to fill in the gaps in my focal length lineup. Two weeks later and I’m still having a hard time deciding. My final thoughts after coming back from B&H Photo TODAY where I had them physically lay down the Plena, the F105 and the 85 1.2 on a table in front of me are these: The lens with the best build quality is the 105 and it’s the smallest of them all, but the same height with the FTZ adapter. It focuses just as fast as the other two but I didn’t like the swirly bokeh that much, even though the background blur was insane, the images were sharp as hell. It didn’t have as great separation as the 85. But mounted on the FTZ on the Z9 body it looked cool as ever and despite the FTZ adapter it was the most compact of the three. I could see myself taking it out the house everyday, if only the shots were not so tight. The Plena had the best background blur, amazing bokeh, very sharp images, very fast autofocus, but the shots were too tight. But the Plena had a unique advantage in that shots taken from a vantage point above were so creative that if you were to shoot from the top of a building or staircase or escalator at a subject down below the resulting perspective would be thought provoking. I COULD take the Plena out everyday but I COULD run into this sudden issue. Let’s say that a subject that was interesting suddenly walked out of a coffee shop 3 feet away from me and inadvertently created the perfect shot just by being there, then because of the 135mm focal length I would be too close to take the photo, OR wouldn’t have enough time to walk further away enough to get a candid shot before “Elvis left the building”. The build quality of the Plena was the second best of the three and if you ran your fingers up along the barrel from the bottom you would see that most of the lens felt like solid metal covered with plastic but only the last few inches away from the top of the lens was very plasticky. This bothered me a bit but was not a deal breaker because the plastic was durable, the overall build was very high quality. The 85 1.2 on the other hand had images with the best separation and although it’s bokeh was less than the other two, its COMBINATION of separation and bokeh was the best of the three. It was the biggest of the three in size, had the most plastic but was also the heaviest, and ironically although the Plena was smaller than the 85 1.2, it weighed only 30 grams less than the 85 1.2 suggesting that more metal was used in its construction. Remember, the Plena was made after the 85 1.2 so it could be that it was an afterthought in the minds of Nikon to do a better job with the build quality this time around, just my guess. The 85 1.2 focused very fast and upon inspection it became the only choice that mattered in the room. Let me explain: the Plena almost forced you to take full body shots. If you came closer then they were too tight and the separation didn’t exist. You would end up with gorgeous head shots and insane bokeh, suggesting that this was a lens meant for real portrait work. On the other hand the 85 1.2 could also be used for amazing portrait work but you also had enough separation to TELL THE STORY, to include the environment, blurred nonetheless, albeit relevant. And to take all of this one step further I had them put the Canon RF85mm f1,2 on the same table for comparison. This lens had the best design, was the most compact, weighed 35 grams more than the Nikon Z85mm 1.2, but also had the same build quality as the Nikon Z85 1.2, both of them being heavy and solid lenses, but plasticky nonetheless. I know it’s not possible because such an adapter does not yet exist, but if I were able to do so I’d put the Canon RF85mm f1.2 on the Nikon Z9 body and call it a day. The EF version exists but not brand new, only used. I put the Canon RF85mm on a Canon R5 Mark II and it had the smallest profile of anything on that table. I could definitely leave the house everyday with that combo, and do a discreet street shoot with it. But it would mean that I would have to buy a Canon body. So the only choice that remained on the table was the 85 1.2, if the best image quality was your goal, if versatility was actually a tool that could level the playing field in street photography while including a portrait shoot simultaneously. Yet when I owned the Z85 1.2 for that brief period, every time I pulled out the Z9 everyone looked at me, every time I pulled out the Plena NO ONE SAW ME TAKE A PHOTO although those in the immediate three feet around me DID see me pull out the Z9, and the crazy thing is that when I pulled out the Z9 with the Lica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux and stood 3 feet directly in front of the person and facing them while MANUALLY FOCUSING they had no idea, nobody anywhere near or far took notice.
I am just enjoying myself, wish could afford these flagship cameras and lens hope one day after 10 years but that time I would have no interest in photography, so I keep dreaming 😔 Dreams never comes true, when you're really in need at the exact time, please don't motivate me 🙏
Enjoy the gear you have. Some of the greatest photos taken were with gear far simpler than these. While we love to talk gear and see the latest toys, skill, creativity, and passion are more powerful than any one camera or lens.
You know what floored me more than the Nikon Z85mm f1.2 lens floored you? It was when I put the Nikon FTZ II adapter on the Nikon Z9 and attached the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 105mm f1.4E ED lens on the other end and saw HEAVEN! I’m not kidding you when I say that it blew the 85 1.2 out of the proverbial water
Hahahaha 😂 it’s a definite heavenly lens
Do you mean 105mm was better
@@btonelli😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Some excellent example shots here. Thank you. I can’t wait to get shooting with the copy I have on order.
Thanks for the kind words and for watching. Appreciate it
Today I must have watched at least 5 hours of video reviews on the $500 manual focus TTARTISANS 90mm f1.25 lens and the sample images from all those reviews made come back to THIS review for comparison with the autofocus Nikon Z85mm f1.2 lens and I finally realized why the Nikon Z85mm f1.2 costs that much more and why the images it are on a completely different level. It is for this reason such video reviews done by the professionals exist.
Yes the 85 is a fantastic lens
I am getting mine delivered this week Saturday. Here in Shanghai, this Nikkor Z 85mm 1.2 is sold for about 2.5k Euro what is still a lot but much cheaper than in my home country Germany where it cost you more than 3.3k Euro. What an amazing glass!
Congrats! Glad you were able to get it at a decent price. The lens is fantastic
@@btonelli Yes. This lens is clearly for gear sluts :) But this is absolutely ok! What an amazing piece of glass, well done, Nikon.
Beautiful bokeh and rendition. I am drooling over this lens! The bokeh balls @5:55 is also gorgeous and the character/shape of them is really nice. Better yet, this lens also provides almost circular bokeh balls at f2, which is amazing.
Indeed. It’s a stunning lens
I enjoyed the video! This lens appears to be nothing short of amazing. I hope that it does for Nikon what you think it will. As the madness for mirrorless mounted, I was able to score a 105MM for a bargain, especially considering its brand new price. With the 85mm appearing to be superior, I’m really excited for Nikon.
Thank you! Appreciate the support. Yes right now some good prices on the 105 and other f mount lenses and they are still awesome! Can’t wait to see what’s next coming from Nikon
As always, thanks for the review, Bobby. Would be nice to see images (rendering) compared to the other Nikon 85mm Z lens. Also waiting on the 135mm f/1.8 Z at some point. At some point, if the focal length is a need, it will be fun to try them out and compare. As always, thanks for your work.
Thanks! Yes perhaps when a production version comes out I’ll be able to hold onto it longer and test even more lenses
Favorite lens out of a collection of stellar Z-Series lenses. So that says something. Nikon is the most experienced glass manufacturer of all the remaining Japanese lens makers. Optics like this drive that point home.
It’s a beauty that’s for sure. Hopefully Nikon can work on their lens sizes, but beyond that the optics are fantastic!
@@btonelli Yup, everything is an engineering trade off. It's definitely a chunky beast, but as I understand it (I haven't had one in my hands yet) there is virtually no focus breathing. Which is not something Canon's RF equivalent can say. And Sony doesn't even have an 85mm f/1.2, and may not be able to engineer one with that small E-Mount (which was originally designed for APS-C), or at least one that can match this new Nikkor for optical performance. We'll see...
@@RobertFalconer1967 yes the focus breathing is minimal. I noticed this recording video with it. I think Sony can now especially what I’m seeing with the 50 f1.2. There was talks then they couldn’t do it but they managed to somehow. Should be interesting to see.
WOW!!!! Very impressive! The camera makers are bringing the heat!! This has me looking at my leica sl2s and the summilux 50 sl lens, wondering if i should sell it and go all in with nikon since i have the z9? Seriously, these brands should be paying you!! Great job as usual.
Thanks Charles. Unfortunately no one pays 😂 yes, they are definitely bringing the heat now. Good times
Bobby I'm a lay down you got me! I'm going to the NPS event tomorrow with Nikon NPS Singapore guys coming up to KL can't wait to try it tomorrow. Thanks buddy .
It’s big but the image quality and speed is fantastic. Enjoy!
@@btonelli thanks 🙏 buddy
Beautiful!! I find myself gravitating towards the z9 more and more over the SL2s. this lens might just make a full time Nikon shooter! Great review as always!
Thanks Charles! Yes it’s very tempting but if rumours are true, wait to see what happens in the next few months
@@btonelli Nikon rumors or Leica rumors? As someone with a Nikon, with a big interest in Leica, I'm on that wait and see approach
Both actually but Nikon seems to have something brewing according to some sites
I love your product edits and edits in general. Can you do a video showing your techniques?
Thanks Richard! Sure can do. Really appreciate the kind words
good review. ! always enjoy watching ur review!
Thanks! Much appreciated
Good stuff Bobby. Crazy good colors and rendering from that 85 1.2. I still love my 105 1.4 nikkor with my FTZii on my z6ii so I'll stick to that for now. I'm sure optically (and autofocus per your video) the 85 1.2 is superior to the 105 1.4 but I just love that 105 look. Are you planning on selling your nikkor 105 1.4 to offset the 85 1.2 cost? Thanks for this video!
Thanks for watching. The 105 is a fantastic lens and if I owned it it wouldn’t be easy to sell. I borrowed it for some shoots and included it in this video. But I do think if one can get over the size of the 85 it’s definitely a worthy successor
And compared with the 135 plena? Which lens would you choose? Thank you for your videos!
I believe itll be the new age of very fast bokehlicious AF lenses coming out
Agree. Will be fun to see what comes next
Love Nikon ❤️
They make some great cameras and lenses
Nikon going in right direction. Z9 3.10 update came out today
Indeed.👍
Bobby! Nice video and I hate you for making me lustful of this lens. Damn it’s beautiful. Btw I hope you get to try out a hypothetical Z8 or Z6iii in the future. Looking forward to your review
Thanks for watching. Hoping that I’ll get the opportunity to try those cameras if they are actually real :)
The only reason I'd buy this is exactly Street Photography, I don't understand why it was the first thing you excluded, hahaa. Nobody needs 1.2 in a studio, the 1.8 is perfect for that but we are all different, haha
I excluded it due to the size as street photography usually works better with more discrete gear. Everyone will see you with this 85 1.2 haha
"...don't want to see this much bokeh." Nice one! LOL Thanks for the review. Thought I'd buy this lens immediately but am still waiting for the now very long ago ordered 600 tc and with my luck it'd would arrive moments after I paid for this beauty.... Now here we are weeks later and still no 600 and this lens on backorder. I can't win LOL Thanks for sharing your experiences with this lens! Cheers!
Thanks for watching. The 600 has become really in demand. I asked Nikon here and they are trying to fulfill orders but demand is exceeding stocks
Bobby delivers, as always.
Thank you 🙏
I read that you get round bokeh balls at f2 with this lens. Maybe a dumb question, how is the carbon bike standing, did you use a stand that has been removed in post?
The bokeh is quite good even at f2. As for the bike there is someone off camera that let go of the bike for a second while a snapped a few photos then grabbed it before it fell
Man, the background in the video is just "gone" impressive. I will probably be that one craz guy using this for street photography 😂
Haha it’s fun!
@@btonelli People always state I'm doing street photography the "wrong way," but I don't care 😂
Love it! There is no right or wrong way, only the results that matter. If a 600mm gets the job done, awesome! Haha
Very nice lens.
Indeed.
I want this lens so bad
Haha me too!
Nice 👍
Thanks
Nice review Bobby, it's a pitty the bokeh balls are not a bit more circular considering the size of the lens but it's a minor thing as you mentioned. BTW your teeth and skin show green color cast, too much nature over there! Have a good week ahead!
Haha yes too much green here 😂thanks for watching!
Bobby you said that the Plena was the most beautiful of them all….. now you’re cheating with the 85 1.2😂😂😂😂😂😂 just joking but on this end I can’t for the life of me decide between the two and I have to make the purchase today. I must have watched both your videos endlessly. I think the 85 is more versatile though so I may just go with that.
Hello! What’s your final thoughts comparing plena 135, f-mount 105 or 85 1.2?
@@anton_sokolov mind you, I’ve owned all three simultaneously at one point but didn’t test each of them extensively. A photo here on one, a photo there on the other and the third lens saw the same activity of one or two shots. I’ve been that busy. Then I returned all three and used the credit to buy a Leica M50mm 0.95 Noctilux for the Z9, with the Novoflex adapter. So I still need to fill in the gaps in my focal length lineup. Two weeks later and I’m still having a hard time deciding. My final thoughts after coming back from B&H Photo TODAY where I had them physically lay down the Plena, the F105 and the 85 1.2 on a table in front of me are these: The lens with the best build quality is the 105 and it’s the smallest of them all, but the same height with the FTZ adapter. It focuses just as fast as the other two but I didn’t like the swirly bokeh that much, even though the background blur was insane, the images were sharp as hell. It didn’t have as great separation as the 85. But mounted on the FTZ on the Z9 body it looked cool as ever and despite the FTZ adapter it was the most compact of the three. I could see myself taking it out the house everyday, if only the shots were not so tight. The Plena had the best background blur, amazing bokeh, very sharp images, very fast autofocus, but the shots were too tight. But the Plena had a unique advantage in that shots taken from a vantage point above were so creative that if you were to shoot from the top of a building or staircase or escalator at a subject down below the resulting perspective would be thought provoking. I COULD take the Plena out everyday but I COULD run into this sudden issue. Let’s say that a subject that was interesting suddenly walked out of a coffee shop 3 feet away from me and inadvertently created the perfect shot just by being there, then because of the 135mm focal length I would be too close to take the photo, OR wouldn’t have enough time to walk further away enough to get a candid shot before “Elvis left the building”. The build quality of the Plena was the second best of the three and if you ran your fingers up along the barrel from the bottom you would see that most of the lens felt like solid metal covered with plastic but only the last few inches away from the top of the lens was very plasticky. This bothered me a bit but was not a deal breaker because the plastic was durable, the overall build was very high quality. The 85 1.2 on the other hand had images with the best separation and although it’s bokeh was less than the other two, its COMBINATION of separation and bokeh was the best of the three. It was the biggest of the three in size, had the most plastic but was also the heaviest, and ironically although the Plena was smaller than the 85 1.2, it weighed only 30 grams less than the 85 1.2 suggesting that more metal was used in its construction. Remember, the Plena was made after the 85 1.2 so it could be that it was an afterthought in the minds of Nikon to do a better job with the build quality this time around, just my guess. The 85 1.2 focused very fast and upon inspection it became the only choice that mattered in the room. Let me explain: the Plena almost forced you to take full body shots. If you came closer then they were too tight and the separation didn’t exist. You would end up with gorgeous head shots and insane bokeh, suggesting that this was a lens meant for real portrait work. On the other hand the 85 1.2 could also be used for amazing portrait work but you also had enough separation to TELL THE STORY, to include the environment, blurred nonetheless, albeit relevant. And to take all of this one step further I had them put the Canon RF85mm f1,2 on the same table for comparison. This lens had the best design, was the most compact, weighed 35 grams more than the Nikon Z85mm 1.2, but also had the same build quality as the Nikon Z85 1.2, both of them being heavy and solid lenses, but plasticky nonetheless. I know it’s not possible because such an adapter does not yet exist, but if I were able to do so I’d put the Canon RF85mm f1.2 on the Nikon Z9 body and call it a day. The EF version exists but not brand new, only used. I put the Canon RF85mm on a Canon R5 Mark II and it had the smallest profile of anything on that table. I could definitely leave the house everyday with that combo, and do a discreet street shoot with it. But it would mean that I would have to buy a Canon body. So the only choice that remained on the table was the 85 1.2, if the best image quality was your goal, if versatility was actually a tool that could level the playing field in street photography while including a portrait shoot simultaneously. Yet when I owned the Z85 1.2 for that brief period, every time I pulled out the Z9 everyone looked at me, every time I pulled out the Plena NO ONE SAW ME TAKE A PHOTO although those in the immediate three feet around me DID see me pull out the Z9, and the crazy thing is that when I pulled out the Z9 with the Lica 50mm 0.95 Noctilux and stood 3 feet directly in front of the person and facing them while MANUALLY FOCUSING they had no idea, nobody anywhere near or far took notice.
Amazing lens!
Indeed
I am just enjoying myself, wish could afford these flagship cameras and lens hope one day after 10 years but that time I would have no interest in photography, so I keep dreaming 😔
Dreams never comes true, when you're really in need at the exact time, please don't motivate me 🙏
Enjoy the gear you have. Some of the greatest photos taken were with gear far simpler than these. While we love to talk gear and see the latest toys, skill, creativity, and passion are more powerful than any one camera or lens.
Question Bobby I have a z6ii and a z9 wondering if the 85 1.2 is a better investment than upgrading my z6ii? Thanks
Hi. What do you want to upgrade your Z6II to?
@@btonelli considering waiting for a z8 or z6iii
What focus mode do you use for portraits? 3D? Thanks!
Usually I tend to use large or custom size boxes then eye tracking. 3D only for moving subjects
Hoping for a Z8 with this lens to replace the D850.
That would be awesome. Let’s hope that happens
Why are u getting black out On the Z9?
Could be the atomos. Not sure why
@@btonelli I would see Nikon if I were you.
Is this a pre-production lens or production?
Pre-production but good enough for me to show images and zoom in on them etc
Is this pre-production lens?
Yes but at the level good enough to showcase images etc
When will this lens ship do you think?
Not sure.
The shooting results only came from the best primes.
Indeed
"I am not going to shoot everything at f1.2 cos you don't want to see so much bokeh..." there is no such thing as too much bokeh... 🤣
😂 😂 I hear ya! I also agree, but some think it’s too much
“Tact sharp”. I think you mean “tack” as in, “as sharp as a tack”.
Yes I flubbed a word slightly, it happens to us all from time to time. Thanks for watching the video though.
I thought cameras are supposed to focus on irises, not eyelashes.
The iris was as well but due to her dark eyes you can see the details on the lashes
Could you photograph human beings please.
I did but some weren’t comfortable having their face on CZcams which I have to respect.
@@btonelli I apologize. I enjoy your work. You inspire me, thanks!
No prob James. I wish I could photograph more people as well, but have to adhere to their wishes at times
This guy is funny. He spent 1000s of dollars on a lens. Then he photographs a VW.
That’s my car and I happen to like it. If you think making comments like this makes you look good think again.
@@btonelli calm down. its just a bit of banter. I had a golf gti mk5.