Conclusion

The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E ED is an eye-wateringly expensive short telephoto prime lens that delivers amazing image quality. Shooting wide-open at f/1.4 on a full-frame camera like the D810 allows you to easily separate the subject from the background, and although the sharpness isn't quite as good as we'd hoped at f/1.4, you only need to stop down to f/2 to get really sharp results right across the frame. In all other regards the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E ED is also an outstanding performer. Chromatic aberrations are kept to a minimum and vignetting isn't too bad at all, even at f/1.4, while the bokeh effects are simply superb thanks to the fast maximum aperture, 105mm focal length and the 9 circular blades.

Build quality is great for a modern lens, although it is admittedly very big and very heavy, especially when coupled with the D810. Auto-focus was fast and quiet on the D810 body that we tested it with, and there's a certain level of weather-proofing built-in too. But £2,049.99 / €2,419.00 / $2,199.95 is a heck of a lot of money to pay for a telephoto prime lens, though, no matter how good it is, so you really need this to be one of your workhorse lenses to justify that price-tag.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	5
Value for money	3.5