Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM A-mount lens review by wingedpower
 wingedpower#12102 date: Jan-23-2015 | |
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| sharpness: 5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.2 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | * Sony 70-200/2.8 * Sony 50mm/1.8 * Minolta 50mm/1.7 * Sony 135mm/2.8[T4.5] STF |
| price paid: | 250 |
| positive: | * Light fast lens (plastic construction) * Moderate Tele with wider aperture in a tiny package * Compact size |
| negative: | * Plastic construction (front element wobble) * Lens focus creep when AF not engaged (no dampening) |
| comment: | I got this lens since my brother had this lens and raved about it. And his raves were well founded. This lens is fast, both in terms of light gathering and in terms of focusing. It is lightweight, compact, and performs quite reliably. The lens is also sharp, though I find that it doesn't have the contrast rendering ability of the 70-200/2.8 and while it does blow the background out of focus, it really wants alot of room to work. Like the other Sony Plastic Primes, I found that after about a year of use, there is much wiggle and loosening. I love the light weight benefit of plastic, but I really hate the impact it has on the build quality and durability of the lens. The image quality is very nice, be it for wildlife, portraiture, or even landscape. I find the shallow DOF to be both a blessing and a curse at the working focal length on an APS-C body. I'll update once I've had more time to work with it on an full frame body. The lens is fast and sharp. I find myself using it and the Sony 35mm/1.8 quite a good deal. However, I also find myself worrying about when it will fail. Maybe that's just a plastic vs metal body bias, but the 85mm has focus creep as well, when AF is disengaged. I would buy this lens again if I lost it. For the price, it's a great lens. |
rating summary
- total reviews: 47
- sharpness: 4.69
- color: 4.70
- build: 3.34
- distortion: 4.70
- flare control: 4.40
- overall: 4.37