Sony 85mm F/1.8 Real world images:
Sony 85mm f/1.8 lens review:
Maybe 85mm lenses are simpler to design, but I don’t think I have ever come across a bad 85mm lens. If you look at DXOMark lens ratings, 7 out of their top 14 rated lenses are 85mm lenses. I have shot with 85mm lenses for Sony A-mount, for Nikon F-mount and now for Sony E-mount. No matter which brand, my 85mm lens is always one of my favorite lenses and top performers.
While I am primarily an enthusiast, much of my professional work includes natural light individual and couple portraits. Quite frequently, I will shoot an entire session with just the 85mm lens. I haven’t done any such sessions over the winter, but with Spring coming soon, I anticipate again using the 85mm lens frequently.
An 85mm lens is nearly a requirement for any portrait shooter. Sony shooters have three options. Sony was a bit slow releasing a native 85mm lens, so the Zeiss Batis 85mm/F1.8 was the first to the scene in April 2015 with a $1200 price tag, pretty hefty for a 1.8 lens. Sony released their premium professional 85mm lens, the 85mm F/1.4 GM lens in February 2016 with a price tag of $1,800. One year later, they released a “consumer” 85mm lens, the Sony 85mm F/1.8 priced at a mere $600 lens.
In building my own kit, I knew I needed an 85mm lens and have considered each option. Based on my experience with 85mm lenses, I was confident every choice would be good. In this review, let’s just see how good the Sony 85mm F/1.8 really is.
Body and Handling:
The build quality feels like a combination of plastic and metal. Though relatively lightweight at 371 grams, there is just enough weight to give it a bit of heft. But it remains light enough that you can keep it on the camera all day and never feel weighted down.
Sony does not claim weather sealing for the 85mm F/1.8. Nobody would ever say the Sony 85mm F/1.8 is a lens built like a tank, but the build does feel solid. The use of plastic surely helps to keep the weight down which is a positive.
The Sony 85mm F/1.8 includes a basic plastic hood. The only switch is an AF/MF switch. A bonus is the presence of a focus hold button. I re-program the focus hold button to be used for Eye-AF. Thus, it’s presence on this portrait lens is a major positive.
There is no stabilization but the Sony 85mm F/1.8 will work well with the internal stabilization system (IBIS) found on most Sony bodies. The degree to which you can rely on IBIS will depend on your hand holding technique. If you’re using the Sony 85mm F/1.8 for portraits, you will need a fast enough shutter speed to prevent any motion from your subject. Thus, you are unlikely to be using very slow shutter speeds very often .
Autofocus is fast and silent in my experience.
Image Quality
My expectations are high for 85mm lenses. I admit I also have read some reviews extolling the virtues of the Sony 85mm F/1.8. Accordingly, my expectations were very high. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have read the reviews of others. As you will see below, the Sony 85mm F/1.8 is an exceptional performer but my expectations may have been too high.
Vignetting
These uncorrected images from the Sony 85mm F/1.8 demonstrate that vignetting just isn’t a real issue. There is some vignette at F/1.8 but it is correctable and may even be desirable in portraits. By stopping down just to F/2.8, the vignette is negligible.
Flare
Flare is extremely well controlled on the Sony 85mm F/1.8. As you stop down the aperture, you see some flare but it is mild and “artistic flare” as opposed to the ugly flare produced by some lenses. You start to see pretty well defined sunstars by F13. More examples below:
Chromatic Aberration / Purple fringing
I typically include a section displaying purple fringing. Yes, there is some purple fringing in high contrast areas with the Sony 85mm F/1.8 but it is so mild, that it isn’t even worth posting images. In the above back-lit images, I would expect to see a purple haze in the wide open shot. If you look really carefully at the 1.8 image (click for larger), you will see a very slight purple haze right where the sunbeams poke through. But this is very mild, correctable and disappears entirely by F/2.8.
Bokeh
Background blur and bokeh are two different things that are often confused for each other. Bokeh simply refers to the quality of the out of focus highlights. Ideally, they become perfect round smooth clean circles. The Sony 85mm F/1.4 has 11 rounded aperture blades to generate the smoothest possible bokeh. Making due with 9 blades, the Sony 85mm F/1.8 goes the more traditional route but still generates nice bokeh as well as fairly smooth background separation.
A “cat’s eye” effect is seen at the outer third of the frame instead of perfectly rounded bokeh balls. Unquestionable, the Sony GM lenses would give better bokeh but these results from the Sony 85mm F/1.8 are still very nice.
Distortion:
As one would expect, distortion is minimal with vignette being the bigger issue for lens correction:
Sharpness
This is where my expectations were especially high…
Starting with center crops (click for large):
Center crops from closer distance:
Center results are exceptional with the Sony 85mm F/1.8. Sharpness is completely acceptable wide open. I’d even say it meets the “tack sharp” threshold at F1.8 and becomes painfully razor sharp when you stop down just slightly to 2.2.
Looking at the border area:
And borders from closer focus:
Border performance is a half step behind the center performance. Nothing to really complain about. The Sony 85mm F/1.8 is just slightly soft at the borders at the widest aperture. For most uses, the borders are still completely acceptable. As you stop down, the lens gradually sharpens. By 2.2 or so, we get my definition of meeting the tack sharp threshold and by F4, we get razor sharpness. I confess I was expecting even better wide open performance but that’s really nitpicking.
Turning to the more extreme corners:
The most extreme corners are just a tad soft wide open on the Sony 85mm F/1.8. For most uses, especially portraits, the corners are just fine at every aperture. Still, even as you stop down to F2.8 and F4, the corners remain marginal. I tested several times to be certain — there is a visible jump in sharpness between F4 and F5.6. At F5.6, the extreme corners become razor sharp, just like the center.
I am a victim of unrealistic heightened expectations. Simply put, at wide aperture, this is not the sharpest lens I have ever tested. But for a $600 lens, I shouldn’t have expected the Sony 85mm F/1.8 to beat every other lens. It still comes awfully close. Most shooters will use the Sony 85mm F/1.8 for portraits and you can easily use the lens wide open for such purpose. At F5.6, the Sony 85mm F/1.8 reaches a level of sharpness that most lenses will never meet at any aperture.
Overall:
There is absolutely nothing negative to say about the Sony 85mm F/1.8. The build quality is a nice compromise to keep the weight down and the addition of a focus hold button is very useful.
In terms of image quality, there are really no faults. Distortion, vignetting, flare, purple fringing are not significant issues even in uncorrected files.
The Sony 85mm F/1.8 can reach the highest levels of sharpness, fully maximizing the 42 megapixels of the Sony A7rii/A7riii sensor when stopped down to F4 – 5.6 range. Wide open, you still get excellent sharpness. Greedily, I wish it reached optimal sharpness a bit wider but that may be asking too much of a $600 lens.
If you want the absolute best bokeh and the extra 2/3rds of a stop of light, you may want to step up to the Sony 85mm F/1.4 GM. But for most shooters, enthusiasts and professionals alike, the Sony 85mm F/1.8 is a fantastic lens at a very reasonable price. One could argue that the Canon 85mm F/1.8 and Nikon 85mm F/1.8 are cheaper, but they are older inferior designs. The Sony 85mm F/1.8 is priced cheaper than the Tamron 85mm F/1.8 and offers comparable image quality (comparison review coming soon).
Except for the few shooters stepping up to the Sony 85mm F/1.4 GM, I can honestly say the Sony 85mm F/1.8 belongs in the bag of every Sony full frame photographer. Even if you’re not typically a prime shooter, if you ever shoot portraits, then the Sony 85mm F/1.8 should be in your bag.
Rating (1-10): Score: 9
(About my scoring: 9-10 is a superb lens which could have a place in the bag of almost every photographer. 6-8: recommended with caveats. 3-5: A compromised lens that may still be suitable for some shooters and situations. 1-2: Just stick to your phone camera)
If you’re interested in purchasing this lens from Amazon.com, please consider using this link to help support this site. You won’t pay any extra, but this site will earn a small commission to go towards the upkeep of the site.
