Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 Lens
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Fantastic Portrait Lens
What I like: - Extremely Sharp (even wide open) - Creamy Bokeh - Size and Weight Complement A7-series - Well made - Focus Hold Button and dedicated AF/MF Switch - Excellent Price - Fast, Accurate Focus What I don't like: - Focus Ring is tactilely unpleasant - Cat Eye Bokeh around center is unpleasing (point light sources) - G-Master f1.4 Bokeh is creamier and rounder The low-down: The sharpness is simply amazing! It's got to be right up there wit... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Amazing Lens! Much better than I expected
I bought this lens to get a little more distance than what I can with my 55/1.8 for receptions, however this lens has surprised me! I was expecting it to be an OK lens, but its performance is excellent both optically and functionally. First, I never thought I would use this for video because it is focus by wire. To my surprise, it manual focuses extremely well! It works much better than my 55 in this respect because the 55 gives inconsistent focu... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great Lens
I'm giving this lens 5 stars because at the current price of just under $600 it's one of the best values in the Sony system in my opinion, but just because its a great value doesn't mean its not optically an excellent lens. 85mm is probably my favorite focal length and I bought the Batis when it first came out. I loved the Batis and I just assumed that the Batis was much better lens than the Sony 85mm F/1.8 since it was twice the price. The Batis... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Defective Lens - Stopped working in the middle of a shoot.
Let me start out by saying that this lens takes very nice photos and is very fast on my A7iii. That being said, last night while on a shoot, I took a bunch of photos and then out of the blue when I powered my camera back on, the screen was black, and the SD card icons were flashing. I could do nothing with the camera. When powering on the camera I would hear a bunch of rapid clicks coming from the lens and then the same thing would happen. The c... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Terrible Chromatic Aberration and even Worse Quality Control
This lens has an awesome build quality?compact, buttery focus ring, hard black shell. It is sharp. Thing is: It has terrible chromatic aberration issues, esp. wide open which is how I usually shoot portraits. The CA cannot be fixed easily post processing in Lightroom. I tried it. Plus, of the two Sony 85 FE 1.8s I purchased and quickly returned, one had debris inside of the aperture and the other had a slight smudge on the inner element, indicati... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Amazing for portraits! Light, solid, affordable! =
I bought this lens to use with my Sony Alpha a9. I needed a tighter portrait lens that was prime, sharp, and light/compact for travels + run & gun shooting.This was the best solution. I shoot fashion, beauty, and artistic portraits and this lens has been AWESOME for that. What I love about this lens is that for a lens of it's class of focal length, it keeps the weight down. There seems to be NO compromise in sharpness. Tack sharp, even at F1.8, I... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Sharp and fast
Im using this mostly for portraits and tightened up headshots. Optically it performs really well, the fast aperture gives you really great range and itz razor sharp at f8 because of it. Even at 1.8 it is still optically sound, making minimal reason to get the f1.4 version unless youre needing some inherit feature of the GM class of lenses. In my opinion the f1.8 actual usage does seem limited for its target application of portraits because the ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great Performer.
I have an a7R III and the a7 II. I purchased the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 lens and the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 Lens, as I was not sure which one would serve my purpose better. I shoot Fashion/Portraits. This is the comparison : 85mm f1.8 vs 85mm f/1.4 1. Silent focus Noisy focus 2. Medium size and weight Twice the size, three times the weight 3. Very fast focus in good light Very fast focus in good light 4. Very fast focus in poor light Slower focus in poor... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Thank you Sony.
It tackles the big three expected from a portrait lens. 1. Good low light performance. 2. Sharp in focus. 3. Pleasing fall off and bokeh. Then it adds surprises. -Dust and and water sealed. -Fast and silent focus. After the martial arts low light performance i a looking forward to trying more sports. That is something I have never, ever said about a portrait lens before. -Consistently accurate focus. -Small and light. Here it is next to a recent ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Still a favorite portrait lens
Bought my second copy of this lens from B&H and after 2 years shooting with it on my a7ii its an easy 5 star rating for me. I bought this one for my new a7r4, that review will be a whole lot harder and a while to come. This Sony 85mm has the same pop as the Zeiss 55, or close enough to make gorgeous portraits. Decent for landscape and all-around prime but my go-to mainly for outdoor portraits and close-ups. Very crisp clear sharp and I was quit... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Exceptional glass for the price
I'm not sure what's going on with some of the other reviews here, but I can only assume they received a lemon of a lens. At f/1.8, this thing is absolutely razor sharp across around 80% of the frame, with a bit of softening at the edges. Stopped down, it's excellent across the frame. Compared to the Batis 85mm, this lens is at least as sharp in my testing. There is some longitudinal CA at wide apertures, but it's no worse than the vast majority o... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Stunning glass. Amazing value!
Coming from a Nikon system background and having gone through the body kit lens - fast zoom and prime growth curve, i was determined to get into the FF Sony ML system with the most bang for buck approach. The FE85mm is just that, it so seems that the Sony mount might have four levels. Level 1- Samyang/Rokinon/Tokina suppliers Level 2- Sigma/Tamron Level 3- Sony Level 4- Zeiss/G/GM Now the 85mm has level 2/3/4 players already and unless Level 1 ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Did I need this lens?
I'm not a professional. I'm using the lens on a A7Rii and already had the 24-70 f4 and 70-300 G and 35 f2.8. Why would I need this? I borrowed the 85 Zeiss Batis and liked the results but the price was more than I wanted to spend on a lens that won't get much use. But since the price point on the sony was so appealing I decided to get it and determine once and for all whether I needed an 85 f1.8. Soon after getting the lens I was asked to photogr... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Not just for portraits
The 85mm f1.8 lens is excellent for portraits, certainly. Great autofocus and smooth operation. But I have found that it is also very useful for events, especially when the light is low, and for general shooting of interesting scenes around the city. It has become one of my go-to lenses when I only want to take one along (the other being the 50mm f/1.8.) It gives you that extra stretch in focal length without so much that you can't shoot from fai... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great 85mm lens
I took this lens to Napa and Sonoma over the weekend and it turned out to be a great lens. I was bouncing between the zeiss 55 and this lens all weekend long. I do like how it bokeh balls look at 1.8 vs the zeiss 55, they look more round vs football. I couldnt post any portraits at 1.8 because my friend would like it but it does make it creamy soft when you look at it. I noticed that on my Sony A7II with face detect on, it would hunt for focus if... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
The Price makes this a Great Len
If this lens was price 200$ Higher I was say Most people should pass on it. With that said for the price is really does make the Batis 85 an over priced lens. I found this lens very sharp and the Bokeh is Nice ( has a similar onion swirl on the edges like that batis) Basicly if you are were looking to buy the 85mm Batis..Just save your money and get this Len it is so similar its kinda crazy. It's No 85mm GM, but I think you will see this lens in ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
A must have
So my job bought this for me (made them order it from BH :) I trust these guys and they are amazing people. Focus hold is super clutch. AF and MF switch is great but if you have something like the a7iii you can set one of your customs as the switch from AF to MF. OKAY! so back to the topic of these lens. Jason Vong made a very very great video showing the difference between this and the F1.4 GM and my friend has the GM if you are super super sup... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Fast, too sharp, and af speed
This complements my FE 35 1.8 perfectly. Both of these lenses are sharp and have almost instant focus. I bought the 85 for portraits and at that it excels. A word of advise for newbies like me. I have lenses with bigger apertures but the thing about that is You really have to be in aperture priority to use them as you end up with such a small field focus At f1.4 so you can end up with soft images. When I am out with the kids with this lens I can ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Not so exciting
Even though it seems to be the trend, I will not give more stars just because the lens is more reasonably priced compared to other mirrorless glass. I am reviewing the glass and its picture quality, not my subjective feelings on its cost. I have tried 2 copies now so this is not a copy specific.. The lens suffers from pretty significant CA... not sure how the many reviewers commented so positively on this. It is heavy on CA wide-open. The lens is... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great Value and Lightweight
One of the many complaints that I have with my a7rii is the size of the body, especially with the larger e-mount lenses. I was excited when this lens was announced because it was a prime focal length that I wanted but didn't need enough to spend Batis or GM money. I have been impressed enough with this lens that if Sony (or Ziess) came out with a similar 35mm, I would have it too. Weather sealed? No, but in reality, neither is my a7rii. Functiona... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Overpriced Paperweight
Taking good photos is next to impossible with this lens due to the purple fringing. Even brown hair is turned purple in bright light. This is an expensive paperweight. If you use Capture One, you can isolate the purple and see everything the lens is ruining. I've tried product photography, landscapes, and portraits with this lens. I've tried apertures from 1.8 to 8.0, and there's always some level of purple fringing, and none within an accep... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Awesome lens for portrait and video work.
I have tested many high end lenses from Nikon and Canon and I have to say this Sony lens is one of the best in terms of sharpness and build quality for this price point. It has great color fidelity when shooting with my Sony a7RIII. I can't believe the video it can capture as well, with great auto focus when the subject moves around, and very quiet. I wish I could afford more Sony prime lenses, but you all know they are proud of their product and... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
What I've been waiting for.
I shoot a lot of local horse shows many of them indoors with very poor lighting. Made the switch to Sony a few years back and gave up my Canon 85 1.8 in the process. Sony released the Batis and G-Master 85's but they are a bit rich for me. Was using a Sony 50mm 1.8 on my A6300 but the reach wasn't there. Tried this lens yesterday at a show. Conditions were terrible. Indoors, dark and damp. I was amazed with the results. Very little AF hunting, sh... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Excellent Lense
I am adding the Sony system to my Pentax that I have been using since my start in photography. I wanted to add to the Sony system but did not want to get into the GM lense series which are quite expensive. When Sony released the FE 85mm 1.8 it was a good way to add a lense to my A6000 at a reasonable cost. The lense has preform beyond my expectations. This is a full frame lens but I have not notice any problems using it on my crop sensor camera. ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
