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Features

Choosing the Right Sony FE 85mm Lens for You

Chris Gampat
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11/23/2021
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Sony 85mm f1.4 G Master lens product images. (8 of 8)ISO 4001-160 sec at f - 2.5

There are a bunch of options when it comes to choosing a Sony FE 85mm Lens. In fact, there are more options than ever before. You can use them for portrait photography, street photography, sports, etc. Passionate photographers can reach for a higher end, premium lens or something a tad more mediocre. It all depends on your budget. Check out our guide to choosing a Sony FE 85mm Lens. And if you’re inclined, also take a look at our Sony FE Lens Guide and our Reviews Index. 

The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Pro Tips on Selecting the Right Sony FE 85mm Lens

Model: Grace Morales

Here are some pro tips on getting the perfect Sony FE 85mm Lens:

  • Editor in Chief Chris Gampat owns the 85mm f1.8. For him, it’s the perfect balance. He reasons that no one will be able to tell the difference between that lens, the G Master, and the others out there.
  • Photographing people? Well, a Sony FE 85mm lens should be used with face detection, which makes it so much simpler.
  • The 85mm focal length is surprisingly good for street photography.
  • The Sony FE 85mm Lens, no matter which one, is pretty clinical. So if you want something with more character, consider the variety of other options out there.

Rokinon 85mm f1.4 AF FE

Lens deals - Rokinon 85mm f1.4

In our review, we said:

“The Rokinon 85mm f1.4 AF FE really excels in terms of image quality. Where Sony produces a very saturated look, the Rokinon 85mm f1.4 AF FE somehow or another is muted but still gorgeous.”

Buy now: $599

Sony 85mm f1.8 FE

sony

In our review, we said:

“It’s sharp, has less saturated colors (only the Loxia is less saturated than this), focuses pretty well with most cameras (the Batis is fastest) and it has weather resistance. But it’s also small and offered at a pretty affordable price point.”

Buy now: $598

Sony Zeiss 85mm f1.8 Batis

In our review, we said:

“There isn’t a single major problem with this lens, and it shares characteristics with many others out there (with the exception of the Zeiss 135mm f2 which has Micro Contrast). You won’t be as excited about the images straight out of the camera, but this lens will help set you up for beautiful photos that your clients will really fall for.“

Buy now: $1,199

Zeiss 85mm f2.4 Loxia

sony

Inour review, we said:

“While still being sharp and contrasty, the Zeiss 85mm f2.4 Loxia lens enjoys fantastic image quality with wonderful focus falloff, great bokeh, sharpness, etc. Plus it’s got great color. You can’t beat it if you’re going for a different look with an 85mm equivalent lens.”

Buy now: $874.95

Sony 85mm f1.4 G Master

sony

In our review, we said:

“This lens has fantastic sharpness, class-leading bokeh, good construction, weather sealing, fast autofocus performance, and lots to offer the high-end Sony shooter. You couldn’t honestly ask for anything more.”

Buy now: $1,798

Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art

In our review, we said:

“The Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art offers tremendous value for just $1,199. It retains the excellent image quality of its predecessor while addressing many of its shortcomings. It’s smaller, lighter, and features markedly improved autofocus performance. In fact, this lens performs on par with the highly-rated Sony 85mm G Master.”

Buy now: $1,149

review Rokinon Sony 85mm sony 85mm f1.4 Sony 85mm f1.4 G Master Sony 85mm f1.4 G Master Series sony 85mm f1.8 Sony 85mm f1.8 FE Sony FE 85mm Lens'
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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