Minolta AF 85mm F1.4 A-mount lens review by asiafish
 asiafish#10579 date: Oct-11-2012 | |
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| sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.3 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 100mm F2.8 Macro Sony 16-50 F2.8 SSM Minolta Beercan Sony 18-55 (E Mount) |
| price paid: | 750 (2012) |
| positive: | Bokeh, color, build |
| negative: | Slow and noisy focus |
| comment: | This is my absolute favorite lens for my A77 camera. It is a delight for portraiture, but also really fun as a walkaround lens. No matter what I point it at, the 85mm at or near F1.4 makes it interesting. Bokeh is just creamilicious, the best I've ever experienced. At F1.4 it is VERY difficult to find focus on anything that is moving or even on some stationary objects without a tripod (depth of field is THAT thin), but if you nail it, its sharp beyond all get-out. In fact, I would say that at normal portrait distances there is as much detail as resolved by the 100mm macro, but the narrower depth of field makes most parts of a subject appear a tad softer. By F2.8 it equals the 100 macro, likely on account of the increased depth of field. This is ideal for portraits. Everyone I photograph is delighted with the results, which have a sort of 3D glow. I don't know much about optics, but I cannot imagine anything better than this for portraiture, except perhaps for the same lens on full frame. **Update 1/26/13** I've had my A850 for about a month now and if I thought I liked this lens on APS-C, I ADORE it on full frame. |
rating summary
- total reviews: 56
- sharpness: 4.76
- color: 4.80
- build: 4.88
- distortion: 4.96
- flare control: 4.43
- overall: 4.77