Sony SEL85F18 85mm F/1.8-22 Medium-Telephoto Fixed Prime Camera Lens, Black

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Most cost effective choice for a portrait lens out there for Sonys. The pics from this are very sharp, the focus very quick. If youre trying to decide between this and the Zeiss 85, save some money and choose this lens. Its a great buy!

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I have read people write this is an awesome lens for the price. This is true, but its an awesome lens period, even if it was priced much higher. I actually dont understand why Sony is pricing it so low. It produces fantastic images, has fast autofocus, is small, light, f1.8, and has a programmable focus hold button that the $999 Sony 55mm f1.8 doesnt even come with. This has quickly become my number one lens for my Sony A7III. I tend to gravitate toward the more telephoto side of things and this lens fits my style so perfectly. It is hard to imagine anyone who is going with primes as opposed to zooms for their E mount Sony system not to include this lens as part of their kit. Sure there is the f1.4 GM lens, but its 3x the price and even if youre rich that thing weighs 3lbs!!! 3lbs??? Now dont get me wrong, Im sure it is an amazing lens. Im sure it takes better quality images than this one, and of course its f1.4 which is the real draw to that one, but do you really want to lug around an extra almost 2lbs? Well Im sure some people do, and some people have to as photography is their living. If you can live with f1.8, which is wonderfully wide as it is youll have a much more pleasant time with a lens that is almost 2lbs lighter and you can use the extra $1000 toward a nice vacation, or an additional lens (the 55mm f1.8 is basically free with the money you saved and it only weighs an extra 1/2 lb. Two lens for about half the weight of the single 85mm f1.4. Ill be honest, I do lust after the 85mm f1.4, but I know Id regret carrying around all of that extra weight. A big selling point of the Sony A7III is the size and weight. Adding that giant 85mm f1.4 to it just seems to defeat a lot of the purpose of this system. In conclusion, buy this lens. I dont believe there is a better deal in photography right now than this quality lens at its current price. Maybe the A7III itself is as good a deal as this lens, but this thing is selling for $548 at the time of writing this review. They even put it on sale for $50 off list. I have no idea why, but it makes me love Sony even more. If anyone is still reading or interested Im a long time Canon user. 15+ years with Canon. I sold it all and moved to Sony last month. I still have affection for Canon, but Im a very happy mirrorless convert and this Sony stuff is just incredible and I have no regrets.

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I really loved the FE 55mm F1.8 Zeiss lens for everyday walking around shooting or street photography, but after testing out this 85mm F1.8 Sony lens, I may have a new favorite. Although 85mm primes are always appealing for portrait shots, using it as an everyday lens gives you a new perspective. You can shoot street photography at a distance while still being discreet unlike the huge zoom lens. This lens is very sharp corner to corner hands down, but I find the sweet spot for utmost sharpness is somewhere between F2.0 to F2.8. Shooting wide open might be good for portraits, but if you would like to use it for street photography with gorgeous background compression, stopping it down to F2.8 hits the spot. I definitely recommend this lens to be a must have in every photographers arsenal.

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I dont usually write a review, but I have to write one for this lens. I LOVE this lens. My favorite lens after trying several lenses including GM 24-70. I prefer this lens to all the lens I bought. This lens is sharp, elegant, and awesome to look at the pictures it produces. I am using it on the a6300, and fit perfectly. I am getting the best results ever. I cant wait to upgrade to full frame. I have no negatives for this lens.

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Overall, you wont find a better native lens. Ive tried the GM and Batis. For my work and probably most people, this is a solid lens choice with little advantage given to much more expensive lens. You need an 85mm prime in your bag if you are a full or APS-C shooter. Value - At this time, this 85/1.8 is the best solution for the money. Still pricey though vs Canon/Nikon. AF - Wow. Quiet and fast. This isnt some bottom of the barrel system (IE FE 50/1.8 for $200) Ergonomics - M/AF switch and programmable button on lens (Auto EYE for me) are a big win. Knurled focus ring vs. the Batis rubber (meh) - far better. Not too heavy or front heavy. Build quality - Im suspect of Sonys quality on bigger lenses, but this lens seems adequate in terms of weight and construction.

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Love this lens on my A6500. Its an excellent value given the quality of the lens and images it takes. You can watch lots of great reviews on it on Youtube. Its a 127.5 on a crop sensor camera so you have to adjust by standing a little further back. The image quality on portraits is fantastic and the bokeh is also great. Whether you have a full sensor A7 variant or a crop sensor A6 variant this is a great lens for the Sony E-mount system and an great value.

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First my wife and I had tried a Rokinon prime 85mm F1.4 e-mount lens which had nice quality glass and the pictures were sharp however its exclusively manual, the camera has to be put in without lens mode to take a picture and the camera has no idea what settings the lenses actually on. So we returned it and bought this lens My wife and I are avid photographers, though not professional. Were running this lens on a Sony α6000, which is an APS-C sensor so this full-frame 85mm actually functions like a 120mm or something around there. the reason we got a full frame lens with so that when we upgrade in the future to a full frame camera we will still be able to utilize the lenses. The lens has auto focus, built-in stabilization (only usable with most Sony cameras, not all e-mount cameras), and some other features. The 67 mm lens is a good size and lets in ample light especially with an aperture of 1.8. The glass is very good quality pictures are sharp and the bokeh is smooth and symmetrical. If youre planning on taking pictures of subjects that are moving at any point in time having something where you can use continuous autofocus and stabilization, like this lens had, is absolutely worth the additional price you pay over other manual-only prime lenses. Ive attached some photos so you can see the quality of the lens, theres a variety of dog photos and people photos both stills and in-action. Weve only had it for a short time so I cannot speak to the long-term durability of it however the lens feels very sturdy and all the components feel tight, snug, and smooth. Sony definitely did a good job on this lens. Being able to lower the aperture 1.8 really does wonders for taking pictures in low-light scenarios, being able to keep your shutter speed fast and your ISO low compared to most standard lenses where their aperture only goes to 3.5 or 4.

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I have been using this lens on a Sony a7 body. After about a month with the lens, I want to add my name to the list of owners that are happy with this lens. The lens is sharp from wide open with relatively neutral colors and contrast. It lacks the micro contrast that the Zeiss lenses are known for, but this can be added in post processing to a degree. I actually prefer this approach for portraits and feel that this makes this a better portrait lens than the Batis 85mm. I also think the broken is slightly better, but it is similar in look to the Batis in that regard from the photos I have seen. The 85 GM is a better portrait lens if you need nicer rendering and bokeh, but I think this lens wins for versatility. Autofocus is very fast, even on the older bodies. It might be my fastest lens for focusing, even though my fe 28 and zeiss 55 are very close and focus great as well. The only weakness seems to be in strong backlight, where the lens loses contrast, and with CA in certain situations. Its not perfect, but a really strong performing lens and the best option for most shooters in this focal length in my opinion.

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There are 3 native lens for sony 85mm. Is it as good as the Zeiss 85mm or the gmaster? no, but is it worth saving $500-1200? It was to me. Most will say it is as sharp as the Zeiss, but the Sony 85 is hampered by significantly more CA. The gmaster is likely a bit sharper than both lower models, but its big claim to fame is it doesnt have cat eye bokeh like the other two models. If cat eye bokeh and CA doesnt bother you and you want to save money, this is the lens to get.

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This lens is a joy to use. Fairly compact for an 85mm, especially at f/1.8. It’s pretty sharp across the frame, maybe a little darker and softer at the corners wide open. You know, the usual. But compared to other lenses in this price range, I can’t complain because I haven’t found something better. Especially with build quality this good. And when you’re shooting 42MP RAW, nobody is going to notice a little corner softness unless they’re closely inspecting your large prints in person that they’re not 100% perfect. I even got a few nice star photos with this lens at higher ISO wide open. But where it really shines is portraits, which makes sense when you look at the specs. It’s really great at isolating subjects from the background with creamy bokeh, even in poor lighting conditions. I really like how aggressive Sony is being with these newer FE lenses that are an incredible value. I’m looking forward to more like this in the future.

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