Nikon’s taken the wraps of their new AF-S 105mm f1.4E ED prime lens and in doing so, should get portrait photographers across the world very excited thanks to its groundbreaking maximum aperture for a lens of this focal length.
The fastest full-frame lens of its kind, Nikon believes that the ultra-fast f/1.4 maximum aperture combined with the 9 blade diaphragm should produce stunningly smooth bokeh. This should not only deliver images that easily allow you to isolate subjects, but also offer incredibly smooth transitions from the point of focus to the background, resulting in images with a natural-looking sense of depth.
This, and the medium telephoto focal length with a minimum focusing distance of 1m should make this a very tempting lens for portrait photographers.
As we’ve seen on a host of recently announced Nikon lenses, it features an electromagnetic diaphragm (denoted by the ‘E’ designation) that’s designed to provide highly accurate control of the lens’s rounded diaphragm blades to ensure more consistent exposures during continuous shooting.
There’s no image stabilisation however – tipping the scales already at 985g, this would have made the lens even heavier, but the lens has been designed to withstand dust and moisture, while there’s Nikon’s Nano Crystal Coating to reduce ghosting and flare.
Expected to be available in August, pricing set at £2049.99 / $ 2199.95.