In article <52djoj$kjk@newton.fgg.eur.nl>, Dieleman@cid.fgg.eur.nl says...
>mteh@expert.cc.purdue.edu (Ming-teh Sun) wrote:
>golem@Capital.Net (David Rosen) writes:
>[snip]
>> The 85:2.0 and the new 85:1.8 produce very
>> similar effects, and the f:2.0 is much more
>> more compact.

>Can someone compare the 85 mm/f2 with the old 85 mm/f1.8?

I have owned both (and other Nikkor 85's), but not both of
these at the same time. My impression of the differences
between them is that the old 85mm f1.8 Nikkor was a bit
higher in contrast at the widest apertures, but it was much
more prone to flare with backlight - both are excellent
lenses, producing fine images wide open. All the Nikkor
85mm's have been good lenses, with not a lot of difference
in performance among them (though near close focus, the
AF f1.8 and the f1.4 MF are better than the other two
85's [I haven't tried the 85 f1.4 AF yet....]).
Hope This Helps