The Nikon 85mm f/1.8 Lens and a Backyard Party

85mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8

A few weeks ago I was asked to take photos at a backyard party and wondered which lens to mount on the camera.  Should I be "safe" and take a zoom lens or "chance it" and take a prime or be super cautious and take one or more of each?  Which camera to take was the easy part.  It would be the Nikon D600.  Easy because I've only got two to choose from - one Full Frame (FF) and one APS-C - and I knew I wanted a FF sensor for this outing.

85mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8

The choices from my lens collection were the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6, 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 85mm f/1.8, or the 50mm f/1.4.  While the 28-300mm would be very versatile I just don't have a lot of confidence in it on the D600.  Plus, I didn't want to work with a variable aperture as I zoomed.  The 24-85mm is a good lens but, again, I didn't want a variable aperture lens - especially one that started at f/3.5 on the wide end.

85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.8

I anticipated there would be portraits to be taken along with the candids and wanted to be able to separate the subjects from background without a lot of hassle when the need arose.  So I wanted something at f/2.8 or larger.

85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.8

This left the 85 and 50mm and I like both of these a lot.  Since I'd be taking candids much of the time my wish was for a little more camera-to-subject distance than the 50mm would allow so the 85mm is what I mounted and shot with.

85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.8

This lens gave exactly what I had wished for.  It's very sharp wide open, nails focus, and produces very pleasing out-of-focus areas allowing for good separation of subject and background.

85mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8

It's not the fastest focusing lens around and the minimum focusing distance is only 2.62 feet but when used for its intended purpose it is a great lens.  When I bought it a few years ago I was initially disappointed because it didn't focus close enough for what I was shooting and its focus speed was too slow.  So it sat mostly unused and was close to being put up for sale.

85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.8

Then one day about a year ago I used it for some candid people shots around the house and my whole perception of it changed for the positive.  This is what the lens was made for and is fantastic in that role.  Whether shooting candid or posed portraits it is the lens I grab more often than not now. 

85mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8

I'm so glad I didn't sell it and finally came to my senses and put it to use for what it is meant for rather than trying to employ it for what it was not.

85mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8