Review of the Sony 85mm f/1.8 Lens
The Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 Lens is a compact, lightweight, and high-quality prime lens designed for Sony's full-frame E-mount cameras. Known for its exceptional sharpness, beautiful bokeh, and affordability, it has become a popular choice for portrait photographers, event shooters, and even videographers. Here's an in-depth look at its performance and features.
Build Quality and Design
The Sony 85mm f/1.8 is built with a blend of durability and portability in mind.
Materials: The lens body is primarily plastic, but it feels premium and robust, with a metal mount that adds durability.
Weight and Size: At just 371 grams (13.1 oz) and measuring 82mm (3.23 in) in length, it’s compact and lightweight, making it perfect for handheld use and long shoots.
Weather Sealing: While not fully weather-sealed, it has a rubber gasket around the lens mount to provide some protection against dust and moisture.
Focus Hold Button: Located on the barrel, this customizable button enhances usability for quick adjustments, such as locking focus or triggering Eye AF.
Manual Focus Ring: The wide and smooth ring offers excellent tactile feedback, making manual focus precise and enjoyable.
Optical Performance
Sharpness:
Outstanding sharpness, especially at the center, even when shot wide open at f/1.8.
The corners are slightly softer at wide apertures but sharpen up nicely when stopped down to f/2.8 or f/4, making it ideal for portraits.
Bokeh:
The lens produces a beautiful, creamy bokeh with smooth out-of-focus areas. This is thanks to the 9-blade circular diaphragm, which maintains round highlights and creates a pleasing subject separation.
Color and Contrast:
Excellent color reproduction and contrast, with vibrant yet natural tones.
Minimal chromatic aberration, even in high-contrast scenarios.
Distortion and Vignetting:
Distortion is virtually non-existent, making it perfect for straight-line compositions.
Vignetting is noticeable at f/1.8 but becomes negligible by f/2.8 and can be easily corrected in post-processing.
Flare and Ghosting:
The lens handles flares well, even when shooting directly into strong light sources, thanks to Sony’s multi-coating technology.
Autofocus Performance
The Sony 85mm f/1.8 lens features a linear autofocus motor that provides quick, accurate, and silent focusing, making it suitable for both stills and video.
Speed: Fast focus acquisition, even in low-light conditions, ensures you don’t miss critical moments.
Accuracy: Excellent tracking performance, especially when paired with Sony’s Eye AF technology.
Noise: Near-silent focusing, ideal for video work or quiet environments like weddings or events.
Aperture and Depth of Field
The wide f/1.8 maximum aperture is a highlight of this lens:
Allows for shallow depth of field, isolating subjects beautifully.
Enables faster shutter speeds and lower ISO settings in low-light conditions, enhancing image quality.
Compatibility
The lens is fully compatible with Sony’s full-frame E-mount cameras but can also be used on APS-C models, where it provides an equivalent focal length of approximately 127.5mm. This versatility makes it an excellent choice for portraits and tighter framing.
Use Cases
The Sony 85mm f/1.8 excels in various photography and videography scenarios:
Portrait Photography:
The flattering focal length and creamy bokeh make it a go-to lens for capturing stunning portraits.
Event Photography:
The lightweight design and fast aperture are ideal for weddings, parties, and indoor events.
Videography:
Silent autofocus and smooth focus transitions make it a reliable choice for professional video production.
Street and Lifestyle Photography:
Compact size and excellent sharpness allow for discreet yet high-quality shooting.
Drawbacks
While the Sony 85mm f/1.8 is an outstanding lens, it has a few minor limitations:
Lack of Full Weather Sealing:
Though it has some weather resistance, it’s not fully sealed, which may concern outdoor photographers in extreme conditions.
No Optical Image Stabilization:
The lack of built-in stabilization might be noticeable on older Sony bodies without IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization).
Slightly Softer Edges Wide Open:
While not a dealbreaker, edge sharpness could be better at f/1.8 for non-portrait applications.
Price and Value
One of the lens’s most attractive features is its price point. At under $600, it delivers exceptional optical quality and performance that rivals significantly more expensive lenses. For photographers and videographers on a budget, the Sony 85mm f/1.8 offers tremendous value.
Who Is It For?
The Sony 85mm f/1.8 is perfect for:
Portrait Photographers: Its focal length and beautiful bokeh make it ideal for professional portraiture.
Event Photographers: Lightweight, fast, and reliable for capturing key moments.
Travel Photographers: Its compact size and affordability make it a practical companion for travel and everyday use.
Videographers: The silent autofocus and excellent image quality make it a versatile option for video work.
Conclusion
The Sony 85mm f/1.8 Lens is an outstanding prime lens that delivers professional-level performance in a lightweight and affordable package. Its sharpness, creamy bokeh, and fast autofocus make it a reliable choice for photographers and videographers alike. While it lacks some high-end features like full weather sealing or optical stabilization, these are minor trade-offs for the value it offers.
Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (4.5/5)
A nearly perfect lens for portraits and everyday use, offering excellent performance at an accessible price.
