Poor Man’s 200mm f/2

Interesting quote from Thom Hogan regarding the newly announced Nikon 85mm f/1.8 lens:

That said, I’ll go out on a limb here: the 85mm f/1.8G will be a huge seller. Not to D4 users. Not to D800 users. Not to D400 users. Not to existing Nikon DSLR users. Nope, it will turn out to be the lens of choice for Nikon 1 users. At 230mm equivalent, f/1.8, and relatively compact on a Nikon V1 body, it becomes the poor man’s 200mm f/2. What soccer mom/sports dad wouldn’t like one of those?

Great observation, although I’m not sure how many of the “target market” Nikon has in mind for the 1-series would think to buy the FT-1 adapter and an F-mount 85mm lens for that shooting situation. Most “consumer”-level people I know wouldn’t even consider a prime lens; they all view the practicality of zooms as important, and value wide focal ranges. Most don’t understand drastic the difference of a maximum aperture between f/1.8 and f/5.6.

If you think that soccer parents would be well-served by a “poor man’s 200 f/2”, just imagine how many basketball/volleyball/other indoor sports parents would. It would probably revolutionize photography for them. That said, $500 (lens) + $260 (FT-1) would be out of many budgets. Still, it’s a great thing to think about. And what a tiny package for such speed and reach!

The 85mm f/1.8 is a lens I’m going to keep a close eye on. I’ve longed for the 1.4, but can’t bring myself to spend that kind of dough right now. The 1.8 is something I’d definitely consider, if the results it gives look as good as I expect they will. Having it serve double-duty on the V1 would be icing on the cake, but very tasty icing indeed.


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