The 85mm 1.8 Sony is one of the highest quality lenses you could get for little investment. With that being said, let’s find out if it’s right for you.
Lens Price
This lens is one of my first additions to my very small collection, also the best quality lens for the price in my opinion and of many others. I originally purchased this lens for around 600$ new, this was before i was comfortable buying used gear. Furthermore, i have seen this lens go for as low as 400$ on Reddit’s photomarket and on offer up, (be sure to inspect and ask for detailed photos). At this price i think this would be a good addition to any photographers toolkit.
Lens Use
The price is right but, is this lens right for you?
Personally this lens was worth every penny to me. However, i primarily do portrait work. This lens allows me to get close to my subject without breathing down their neck, this is a huge benefit by the way. As you can see from my portfolio most of my portraits are up close and personal with people and sometimes its easier to get a longer focal length than actually getting closer to someone you just met.
Lens Quality
The build quality of this lens is very sturdy, it has a switch on the side so you can alternate between Manual Focus (MF) and Auto Focus (AF). This comes in handy when shooting through windows. Furthermore, this lens is light, it will not break your back hiking a mountain. As for the image quality this lens is very sharp not as sharp as the 55mm 1.8 Zeiss but it is second in my collection. The main selling point of this image is the bokeh it produces, that is thanks to it’s aperture and its focal length.
Do i buy this lens??
This statement entirely depends on you. Speaking honestly, i only pull this lens out when doing portraits. That being said i shoot a lot of portraits haha. However, im not walking down the street with this lens taking photographs or climbing mountains, not saying that you shouldn’t but most don’t. This lens stays at home unless i know i will be shooting portraits. So if you shoot a lot of portraits or think you can use this lens in other ways by all means purchase it. Compared to all the other lenses in this focal range, this one is the best bang for your buck.
