Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM Lens

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I own the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8, so wasnt sure this was a necessary addition. I also heard some complaints about the autofocus noise. But after seeing some amazing sample images, I decided to give it a try. As with the Sony 24-70 f/2.8 GM lens, image quality of the 85mm GM is incredible. Amazingly sharp and beautiful rendering. Two questions that can come up: 1. Is the autofocus noise a problem? In my opinion, no, absolutely not. Based on some other comments, I was expecting something loud and distracting. You can hear it, but it just sounds like a somewhat-louder-than-average autofocus system. I dont think it would have ever occurred to me to be concerned about it. 2. How does it compare to the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8? In overall quality, the two are very close. Both produce exceptionally beautiful images. The Batis is smaller and the autofocus is whisper silent. The colors on the Batis are more bluish, but thats easily adjusted in editing. It has image stabilization, but thats not as critical on Sony cameras as the body itself is stabilized. Its also $600 less than the GM. You will not be disappointed with the Batis. That said, the Sony 85mm GM is the choice if you want the absolute best prime the system has to offer. Ive been in a lot of situations where the extra light from an f/1.4 lens makes a difference. The aperture ring is really nice. The GM has 11 aperture blades instead of 9 on the Batis, which makes for nicer out-of-focus effects. For portraits, I prefer the warmer colors before editing. And to my eye, it is sharper than the Batis. Cannot recommend this lens highly enough. Its a reason to own a Sony a7 series camera.

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As the goods for this lens are well known I will only focus on not so goods for this lens. ON BOKEH So... this is a portrait lens that is meant to have excellent bokeh. However, the bokeh is not top notch. Yes, it is circular enough in the central area and it even does not have as nervous onion ring pattern typical for other Sony lenses like SEL2470F28GM. But as you get to the edges and corners the bokeh gets squashed (not circular anymore) and starts to get a tad nervous inside. There are two lessons from this: 1) Sony has not fully nailed the bokeh across the frame. 2) When shooting make sure that you do not have anything just off focus near the edges and in the corners - either in focus or totally out of focus. That way you will make sure bokeh issues do not spoil your picture. ON OPTICAL STABILIZATION I understand that this is meant to be portrait lens and for portraits one is not likely to use too slow shutter speed. But... This lens may also be good in hand held photography in darker conditions and would have benefited from optical stabilization like is present on 90mm F2.8 and 70-200mm F2.8 lenses. 85mm focal distance is long enough for optical stabilization being more effective than on-sensor one and complementing the on-sensor one well. ATTACHED IMAGES 1) Demonstration of bokeh circles. Look at how bokeh gets squashed in the corners and at the edges - it is no longer circular. 2) Extreme corner bokeh. This is just a corner cut of an image that demonstrates well that bokeh is not circular in the corners. Same is true about the extreme edges.

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This is a great lens and I am sure that it will be on my camera more than my other lenses, although this is not a perfect lens. The image quality produced by this lens similar to Rokinon 85mmF1.4 and Nikon 85mF1.4G. May be it is sharper with more contrast at F1.4. However, this lens is still behind my Zeiss 135mmF1.8ZA which creates more "pop" photos due to higher micro contrast, and specialized Zeiss color, IMO. Ive been happy with Rokinon 85mmF1.4. This lens does not make me happier or makes me say WOW. It just gives me little more convenience in some cases due to its auto focus capability. +SonyFE85mmF1.4 focuses fast than Ronikon (sure). +It also focuses faster and more accurate than Zeiss 135mmF1.8ZA ( with LAE4). During focusing, it also makes less noise than the Zeiss135mm. +It is not quiet or silent like Nikon85mmF1.4G, and it has about the same focus speed. +The confirmation beep from A7 is louder than the noise this lens makes during focusing. But yes, the focus noise is absolutely present. Only deaf photographer does not hear it and say this is lens is quiet when it focuses. When composing a photo, I pay more attention to the composition, focus point, light direction, etc rather than intentionally listening/detecting the noise coming from the lens. Moreover, the focus noise is not up to the level that really distracts or bothers me. If I take photos at wedding, specially in the church, I can always set the lens to manual focus mode and I will not miss anything. The image quality it produces truly made me keep the lens! The focus noise is not strong enough to convince me to give up this piece of art glass. The marketing department from Sony did not do a good job because the product does not make many of its costumer satisfied due to the focus noise, specially when they paid $1.8K for the lens. I believe if there is another similar version with better motor, quiet focus, with a few more hundred dollars, people will pay for that rather than this noisy product. Sony, please focus on the product quality first. I hope the reputation of this lens is more positive, but seems like it isnt. For those photographers who are interested in 85mmF1.4, I recommend to get this lens, relax and shoot. Forgive the focus noise, you will be happier when looking at the photos this lens produced. Good luck!

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Ok so first off, I’ve been shooting with a canon t2i and 85mm1.8 lens for 6 years. I just upgraded to the a7iii a few months ago and wanted a new 85mm lens for it so I ordered this one. When it arrived, it was a lot bigger and a lot heavier than I expected it to be. But once I started using it....this thing blew my mind! It’s incredibly sharp, the bokeh is buttery smooth, and the overall image quality is amazing on this lens! When i autofocus, I do hear a little noise coming from the lens but I only notice it when I’m in a super quiet environment (like my bedroom or something) but once I’m out in the real world (on location or in studio), the noise becomes non existent. The noise only sounds loud because it’s close to your ears when you’re holding the camera to your eye, but people around you won’t even notice it, trust me. So if you’re looking for an 85mm lens, and you don’t mind it being big and heavy with a little focus noise, and the price, I’d recommend this one! It’s worth the money!

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I also have 70-200 GM and 24-70 GM. I didnt think they were that special and was actually disappointed by their mediocre performance considering how much Sony charges for these GM lenses. I previously used Canon equivalent Mark II L lenses. The 85 GM is the first lens that truly deserves its GM label. All the rave reviews are true. Excellent in every respect. But the heavy glass elements do make more than the usual noise while moving.

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Wow, this a legacy lens that will be talked about for years. No CA at all, which is remarkable to see in a fast lens like this one. The character and tone of this lens is beautiful. I appreciate the aperture ring on the lens barrel, in use it is quicker to change while shooting. It does have the noted sound when focusing the lens, but it is not as noticeable as some proclaim. Hell, if it sounded like a chain saw, I would still use it. In comparison with Zeiss 1.4 and Nikon 1.4G, I find this lens to be my first pick to use, while the others are very good.

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This is an expensive specialty lens. It is relatively heavier, has a faster aperture, a slower AF, and is more expensive than the Batis 85. This is not a "travel" lens. It is a great lens for portraits. The images are superb, with great perspective and image isolation. You may want to shoot in Aperture priority and set the minimum shutter speed to say 1/125 sec or higher. At wide apertures, the focus plane is so small, only one eye may be in sharp focus. Using eye focus, it is possible to capture a moving toddler indoors and the hit rate is understandably low. AF Speed: AF speed is relative. Someones too slow AF is someones fast enough AF. Here are test results comparing AF focus between the FE 55 and the GM 85, A7Rii, Firmware 3.2 indoors AF-S, AF-Wide, pre focus off, from 15 feet to 4 feet, in seconds: Ap. 85GM 55FE F1.4 .58 (3) <.3 F2.8 .63 (3) < .3 F4 .67 (3) < .3 F8 .69 (3) .44 (3) F11 .86 (3) .51 (3) F16 1.12 (3) .62 (3) The 85 GM focuses stopped down. The FE55 focuses near wide open. The data show that the FE55 AF is much faster at F11 and F16. I am unable to easily reproduce data in AF-C mode on moving subjects. AF Noise: There is some AF noise in my copy. An "N" of 1. Nothing that I find objectionable. Although the manual focus is focus by wire, I do not hear any focus motor noise in manual focus mode. Early models using early firmware may have had more AF noise. If your model makes AF noise with Firmware 3.2 in manual focus mode, I would return it. I have posted a clip shot in video mode with fast focus changes here: [...] The lens hood is an improvement over the FE55 as it has a press lock. I try to travel light with only a single lens. On the A7Rii my travel choice is the FE 35 2,8. If I wanted an 35/85 two lens travel kit, I would avoid this lens as it is too heavy.

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Beautiful lens! Absolutely worth it. Sharp images, beautiful bokeh and excellent performance in low light. 2 things I recommend to consider is, 1) Space - Make sure you have enough space to cover 85 mm length if aiming for a full portrait and 2) Weight - this lens is bit heavy, so shooting with this lens for entire day wont be an easy task. I have attached 2 images taken with this lens taken at late night with f-stop 2.8.

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This is a solid portrait lens!

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This lens is used on a Sony A7 iii. It delivers the professional results that I require. The images are unbelievable. A casual day of snapshots will deliver amazing portraits with a studio appeal. My first day of shooting resulted in amazing photographs of relics, antiques, and individuals.

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