Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 lens review with samples (Full-frame and APS-C) 

Chris my man! Its 2019 and I just want to wish you a great new year and hope you enjoyed your holidays! Also, I just wanted to Thank You for all your hard work, your extensive library of thorough reviews, and your persistence and loyalty to youtube and your followers. You definitely do not get the recognition you deserve!! Your Channel should have a million subscribers!! I've been following you for many years now since I first got into photography about 5 years ago which started as a hobby. Time and time again before buying a lens or doing research on lenses, I go straight to your channel. I've gone from nikon, to canon, to Sony. Each had their kit lenses, but for each body I bought at least a couple prime lenses to go along with them, either 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, or 100mm macro. And before purchasing each lens I watched your reviews on each lens! Now I've already made up my mind on purchasing this 85mm for the Sony and am picking it up this weekend, but I just had to watch your video to see what you have to say about the lens, and because its somewhat of a ritual now before getting a new lens, lol. Anyways Chris, thanks again for all that you do. I wish you the best year ever in 2019 and much, much more success. Keep doing what you're doing big guy. Cheers!

Shurely like your reviews - as short, precise and thrustworthy information with no babble talk. Thank´s

I have this lens and bought it when it was $600. Its sharpness sometimes can add more work in post processing, revealing unwanted details. I'm not even exaggerating. Fantastic lens!

What perfect timing this video is! Thanks Christopher!

Thanks for this review and your others. It's always a pleasure to watch.

Many thanks for all those great reviews! You are my go to reference for lens reviews :) God bless you, brother.

Love your reviews. Going to the darkside at the moment. A7III from Canon FF and it's scary with all the lens changes I'm going through. You make the process much easier for me. Thank you!

I have the 16-35 and 24-70 GM lenses, and got this lens thinking i would use it for occational portrait shots, but i'm surprised with how often i use it. I’ts simply great, and highly recommended!

Thank you for this review. I was looking at the three options and it's nice to know I can get good picture quality and a nice throw it in my bag lense at a good price.

Love that you have NT Wright's work! Simple but good review for the 85 1.8

Thank you, Christopher! I have bought this lens recently after watching your review and it's a 100% as you said.

Thanks to your videos i finally convinced myself, i have a Canon m50, a 50mm 1.8 STM, an Andoer adapter for EF/EF-S to EF/M, a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8, all of them coming home from the different Amazon sellers, i decided to go with the m50 for the ease of use and practicality when shooting videos. I am not going to do any professional work, but something that i can't stand, is to feel that i spent a lot of money, and that i ended up half way from where i wanted to get, so thanks to your videos, i made that list, and I'll be waiting to see if i need the 55-250mm stm from Canon.

Great lens. I have it almost welded to my A7III. I also use Samyang 35/2.8 that I bought after you recommendation. Thank you!

Looks great. I think it's one of the sharpest lenses you have tested here.

Love this lens on my a7iii and you don't have to sell a kidney to purchase.

Had this lens two years, got it used on eBay for $350 from someone with *no idea* what he had, and it's an absolute gem.

I'm in a public space, watching this review and started laughing - actually laughing - at "sharper than Jordan Peterson" 🤣😂😂👍

I love this lens on my A6500! IMO, it is an outstanding portrait lens. I do not consider the 85mm focal length too long for a crop sensor camera. It produces an equivalent 127.5mm focal length on that camera. I often use 135mm for portraits on a full frame camera so, this focal length is right in line with my full frame usage. I had been using the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens on the A6500 adapted with the MC-11 but, did not have the full spectrum of auto focus choices, especially continuous Eye AF. The Sony 85mm (since it doesn't need an adapter) is lighter in weight than the Canon + MC-11 package and I love the focus hold button which I have reprogrammed to Eye AF.

Great review - as always - Thanks !

Best reviews on RU-vid !!!

Just picked this lens up yesterday and i have absolutely no regrets

thanks for doing this video...... thanks for sharing!! As always, great info you give. thanks very very much. ;)

Great review as always Chris! Do you have any inclination to test the Sony Zeiss 55mm?

Hey Christopher Frost :) Nice reviews. Can you do a review of a Sigma art lens f1.4 on Sony e-mount bodies? Preferebly the 24mm, 35mm or 50mm lenses on both Full Frame and APS-Cs?

Thank you for insightful information.

Nice review, thanks! How does it compare to the Canon 85 1.8?

Thanks for the review! Are you planning to review the 55mm Zeiss? I recently switched to Sony and would love to hear more about this lens.

Thank you sir as always great review

I'm a Canon guy but I must admit that's a mighty sweet lens, and well worth the price.

Hi, I love your work! Pleas tell me do you tested Tokina 85mm E mount 1.8? Hmm

Hi Christopher... Great review as always. Have you ever done a review with adapted lenses on a Sony camera. I just ordered a used Sony A6500 with which a Sigma MC-11 (Canon EF mount to Sony E mount) is supplied. I have a load of Canon glass that I want to try on the A6500 including a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8. I also have a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens which I want to try with the A6500 and MC-11. I suspect that the 30mm f/1.4 Sigma, 50mm f/1.8 Canon, and 100mm f/2.8 Canon Macro would be a nice 3-lens travel combination...

Just got this lens today, can’t wait to try it out when I get home!

Looks like an awesome deal for the price for us amateurs. Thanks for making this video. 😀

Howdy Chris! Cool video! 💚💜💛💙

great review, thanks!

my fav lens!

the lenses around 85 mm are very often high in the chartlist i heared this 1 is good: Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 ZE

Love your videos!!!

chris thank you for the review ! professional and calming (never thought i say that on lens review :) ) does anybody know if the af performance of this lens is that bad as others have wrote about it? i'm not a proffessional or something like that..

Can you please make a review of the sigma 70-200 f2.8 OS version I really love your videos so helpfull and I want to buy these lens. cheers!!!

“Sharper than JBP” 😆😆 Love your reviews!

I've got the Tamron 28-75 mm on preorder and am tired of waiting; Tamron can do all around photos/video pretty well I was going to get this but the AF was really slow on the video oh no what should I do this lens was pretty decent for stills too. Thanks for the video!

Hey, Christopher! Yongnuo got out a new lens. An auto focus 14mm f2. 8. Can't wait for you to make a review for it. I can't decide if I should go for samyang 14mm f2.8 although it's manual or the yongnuo. Keep up the good work 😁

How do I set the aperture on the 85mm f1.8 lens without an aperture ring on the Sony A9, Thanks.

Thank you, Christopher, it is a pleasure to watch your new testing lens video, may God our Lord bless you and your family.

Hey Chris, why don't you tie up with Amazon or other sellers and add links along with the video.. as always love your content!! Cheers

The lens does appear to be sharp, indeed, particularly on FF. Fairly remarkable.

The Sony 85mm f/1.8 is the best value for money lens. Very good optical performance and bokeh at a reasonable price. A really good choice for those who are interested in portraits.

Love this lens

hello christ , Could you please comparison video between this Sigma Art 85 1.4 and Canon RF 85 1.2 ??

The 85mm isn’t my favourite focal length but this seems to be not so bad. I would like to test this on my channel also, maybe in the future

I want a good prime lens for product, travel, and maybe portrait, and that's why I want to get the 55mm (with really good reviews), however, at its price, I can get both native 50mm (cheap but meh) and 85mm (a pretty decent lens as you say).

5:29 I've actually read "Jesus and the Victory of God" by N. T. Wright... A hefty read for sure!

So many mirrorless lenses, I actually bought a lens very similar to to one that you reviewed, you're review was a Samyang 14mm F/2.8. I purchased the APSC version, 10mm F/2.8 and couldn't be happier. It would be nice to see some more DSLR lenses that work on multiple systems, not everyone has a Sony or Canon. I liked the Samyang review because it was relevant on my Pentax K-3 ii.

That price, that performance, it isn't even a question if you desire a 85mm if that is your choice.

great your video of your rendering and your opinion. Thanks again!!! I hesitate between this one and the 1.4 but the price is not the same. I have a sony a7iii and I have already purchased a 24mm g master or I am super satisfied. I do aqua photography in a waterproof case to shoot a surf session and photos of bikinis in summer on the beautiful beaches of the Mediterranean. I will need a fairly reactive autofocus because it is a little sporty photo thank you again.

I like your videos, but are you going to test the 90mm f2.8 macro G lens? Thanks!

u jost got sony, a new buyer

Hi I am looking to fit this lens to my Canon 750D is this compatible? if not, do I need an adaptor, and which one? Thank You

As always, thanks for the review! And as always - we want the telephoto lenses, 70-300 :))) (at least I do)

what's the difference in the zeiss and g-master compared to the sony fe?

The Zeiss lens is not Sony branded actually. It’s comes under their batis line up. (Unlike many of the Sony zeiss lenses). Anyway great review as always.

Why do mirrorless cameras slow down when focusing on video mode? On DSLRs it makes sense, but I don't understand why on mirrorless.

How is the focus breathing compared with the GM?

Love this lens for portraits on my A6500 or A6400...

Thank you very much for the review of this lens! 😉

Right now my favorite lens on the a7III is the Canon 85 f/1.8 (via the MC-11). I have to wonder what, if any, image quality difference there is between the two? Right now I'm very impressed with the Canon lens -although there are a COUPLE of focus area modes that are not supported by it.

2:50 "Image quality is sharper than Jordan Peterson". Lol. I'm sorry Chris that most viewers probably missed that reference. Thanks for the video!

I bought this lens 5 months ago or so on craigslist for $450 with the hood, a box, and a filter (what a steal!!) This and the 28mm f2 is the reason you shoot on the a7rii, you have so much detail and really bring out all the power of the sensor. I get incredibly disappointed every time I use my zeiss 24-70 F/4 after being so spoiled with this prime image quality

Usually you don't like sony so this is nice to see a highly recommended stamp. 👌 I guess it's more to do with the price of its more expensive lenses which I totally agree. Marketing "gadget features" to push up prices. I also don't like the idea of lenses requiring "upgrades" with a USB

Hi Christopher love your lens reviews they are great! I am a video shooter on the Sony A7sii (weddings) and have been using the Samyang 85mm 1.4 which is great, is this Sony lens a bit better in your opinion and worth the upgrade? Also, how do you find focusing manually with this lens as its focus by wire and I am not used to that but guess I could get used to it ;) I only use manual focusing never auto, would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks Julian

$550 for an 85mm f1.8? That seems reasonable to me.

Can you review the sigma 85mm f1.4 ex dg, the older non-art version?

Another great video. Do you think sony camera have difficulty with true skin tones? PS your crystal pepsi is well out of date. Regards Si.

Thanks Christopher for your reviews, at least your not shouting "HEY GUYS, WHATS UP?" and you speak in a pace you can understand and not at 100 mph :-)

Well I finally got one used and it's great with my sony A7s mk1, but not so much with my A7r2 where it shows some green-blue fringing and less than great sharpness at f1.8 though it's good at f4.

Love your reviews man. But how can you say the AF is slow on this lens? On my A6500 the AF is superfast and accurate!

It is one of the sharpest lens I ever owned, but it's bokeh is not the smoothest unfortunately. It is really really swirly and has a very sharp cat eye shape on the bokeh balls wide open. But it's a great lens for the money no doubt.

Great review, is it compatible with the Sony a6 series? (6000 & 6300)?

How about Tamron EF 70-210mm f4

JB fan here.... cant help but laugh when you mentioned his name.

Hi Chris, would You look at the sony's very interesting 28 mm f/2 prime lens with the adapters that can change the lens to 21 mms or even 16 mm? that is a very very very interesting concept

How is this compare to the more expensive 90mm macro Sony?

Hey Chris, how does this compare to the new samyang 85mm 1.8 apsc that you recently reviewed. Id be using it on a FS5 for video. What would you recommend?

Great lens with A7 iii, but yeah the bokeh is not that smooth. Comparing to Sigma ART or Canon 85mm 1.8 it even looks a little weird sometimes. Other than that it is a really awesome and lightweight lens.

Right now, I use my EF 85mm f/1.8 lens + MC-11 adapter on my A6500. This works pretty well but, this combination doesn't allow eye AF. However, I do pretty well in manual mode with focus peaking. I only use this combination for portraits and almost always shoot wide open. What the Sony 85mm f/1.8 would bring to the table auto focus with Eye AF. I am wondering if this would be worth the approximately $600 investment.

Hello Christopher.. can you please review Sony 90mm 2.8 Macro on Full Frame and APSC? Thanks.

hai chris. do you have any experience using 16-35zeis ? do you plan making review on it ?

The "Sleeper Sony lens".

Can you review the Sony 18-105? I'm getting terribly soft images

Why does my Sony 85mm f1.8 get out of focus when I touch the button on the lens?

Tonight amazon just screwed up and i purchased this lens brand new for 250 bucks. I’m on a cloud. I can’t WAIT TO TRY THIS. They quickly changed it back to 550

Shoutout to the Cardiff photos xD

Isn't the Batis a Zeiss only?

how is the quality of this lens on an a6000 series????? I have the a6000 and a6300.

I have the t6s and I'm looking for an upgrade body would you consider the Sony body with my l lens

How's the bokeh on an aps-c camera? Still as good when it's on the full frame?

Can you make review of the old sel 18200mm pls

Why zoom is not working in my Sony alpha7ii?

Amazing this lens can capture a Crystal Pepsi 2:25 , haven't seen those in the wild in a long time, I thought they were extinct!