A FAKE rendering of a possible Sony 85mm f/1.8 FE lens (Source: Xitek.).
I keep receiving confirmations from different sources that Sony will launch a new 85mm Zeiss FE prime lens in 2015. It should ship late 2015 at best. I am yet not sure about the aperture but it is defintiley faster than f/1.8 of the Zeiss FE 55m lens!!! Only issues, I have been told it’s also more expensive than the 55mm FE 🙁
Anyway, if you need a budget 85mm E-mount lens do not forget you have the manual focusing Samyang 85mm f/1.4 E-mount on [shoplink 30515 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] or at Amazon (Click here). Very cheap!
Let’s just speculate with the specs and price yet:
[poll id=”200″]
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Way to go Sony ! Now we need a super high quality wide angle prime (I know that a 21mm f/2 is coming but it won’t be super great I believe), and then we are set !
35mm f/1.4, 55 f/1.8, 85mm f/1.4 !
You mean 28/2, right? There is no 21 planned.
The 28/2 is convertible to a 21/2 with the FE Ultra-wide converter shown on the roadmap. What optical compromises that approach leads to remains to be seen.
I would much rather have an 85/1.8 that is smaller and cheaper…
Well it is a portrait lens, it needs to have great bokeh.
We’d just need a 135mm f/1.8 and then the FE system is really complete,
Sony can after start making smaller but slower primes for compacity and less price.
f/stop doesn’t have anything to do with how good the bokeh is. That is a function of lens design. FE 55/1.8 has great bokeh.
It’s partially true, but a faster lens has a more blurry background.
more bokeh does not mean great bokeh though 🙂
Thats true, but we want to have both 🙂
The word “bokeh” refers to the aesthetic quality of the blur. Not how blurry the background is, that’s depth of field.
For example “good bokeh” often refers to smoothly rendered circles of confusion, while “bad bokeh” generally refers to the harsh, distracting, sharply-outlined effect that the circles of confusion can have with some lenses.
It’s also very subjective. I, for one, happen to rather like the bokeh of my 500mm F8 Minolta AF Reflex lens, while many others say that all mirror lenses have terrible bokeh.
But, for an example that most would agree on, look at the silky smooth circles of confusion in the blurry regions of a scene shot at F1.4 with the 50mm F1.4 Zeiss Planar for A-Mount versus the rather crisp, rather distracting highlighted rings around each circle of confusion in the blurry regions of a scene shot at F1.4 with the regular 50mm F1.4 by SONY (or a Minolta copy).
That’s good bokeh.
Here. 50mm F1.4 Minolta RS lens shot at F1.4
And here. 50mm F1.4 Zeiss Planar lens shot at F1.4
Portraiture is not Bokeh whoring with only one eyeleash in focus. Did you know DOF depends on subject distance, focal length and aperture?
Sure but all things being equal !
Anadrol88, how is having a max aperture of f/1.8 NOT going to give you great bokeh? How do you know if it’s great until you actually take photos with it and compare it to the f/1.4 at the same lens-to-subject and subject-to-background distances on the same camera?
In some instances the quality of the bokeh of the f/1.8 might be far better than that of the f/1.4.
I do hope you understand the difference?
I agree, would not even mind if it was a little bit slower than that.
There is… Its called the FE 90mm f2.8. It also has the added benefit of being a Macro Lens…
If it’s going to be 1.2, I’d buy it, to have something special, but 1.4 hm dunno, prolly not unless the bokeh is outstanding. Am sure it’s going to be of the new “pro” sort of lenses with actual aperture ring, half kg of weight, etc, just like the 35/1.4
What do you expect from an 85mm f1.4? :S
Why wouldn’t the Bokeh be outstanding, the difference between 85mm f1.2 and 85mm f1.4 is minimal.
there are many kinds of bokeh, and i.e I much prefer nikon 1.4G or orestor rendering than sigma for that matter
1.2 vs 1.4 is a lot about psychology as well, it’s the difference between willingness to pay extra for something that’s best in class, it’s the difference between taking a lens out for a walk because you have something special and want to make use of it, or leaving it at home
it needs to be outstanding because samyang 85 costs $300 and it’s excellent already, and you wouldn’t miss AF because it’ll suck on A7 series anyway..
This is idiotic. You would only use a lens because it is ‘best in class’?
where did I say that?
now give me a smaller apsc E 90mm (135mm FF equip) F1.8 OSS lens for $499
Got bad news for you… APS-C and mirrorless won’t make a specified 90/1.8 smaller than FF 90/1.8. So Sony may as well make it FF once you specify the physical FL and aperture. See http://camerasize.com/compact/#572.101,326.63,ha,t
don’t need the distance window on the samsung lens, maybe a bit smaller like the fuji 90mm F2 : http://www.magezinepublishing.com/equipment/images/equipment/XF-90mm-f2-5618/large/Fuji-90mm-side_1410873060.jpg
Like a focus distance window adds a lot of size?
I think so
Do not connect those things. He said he don’t need a distance window, but would like a smaller size. Two separate statements about two different comparable portrait lenses (although APS-C only).
That’s the Zeiss 24mm…
Yes you are right, should be like this instead: http://camerasize.com/compact/#326.66,572.101,ha,t
Ahhh why?
You’re right… lol didn’t notice. Anyway, here’s the Sigma 85/1.4 instead then: http://camerasize.com/compact/#326.224,572.101,ha,t
Sigma is a bit bigger than the Zeiss, but yeah, Samsung 85mm is bigger than the Zeiss also.
I am looking forward to this one. Its gonna be perfect amongst 16-35 f.4,0/ 55 f.1,8/ 35 Loxia f.2,0 and the 70-200 f.4,0. So now i need a 15 mm f.2,8 to have everything that i need
How about the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8???? Not good enough?
Rokinon/Samyang 14 mm is a great lens at that prize. But i wish it could be a little sharper, and with better Colour and Contrast in it. But the lens does the job
If its going to be faster than 1.8 it isn´t going to be a vario-tesar so it has to be a distagon 1.4 with aperture ring.
A prime isn’t going to be a ‘vario’ anything…
Right, sorry. A Sonnar I meant.
All these names are nearly only marketing anyway…
The long awaited FE 85mm! No matter F1.8 or F 1.4, I am sure it will be another popular FE lens. If the IQ comes close or matches the FE 55, then get ready for a stampede.
Seriously Andrea, you are surprised a fast 85 cost more than a nifty fifty?
There are hundreds of lenses
Weird, could have sworn I owned a 70-200mm.
I personally would prefer an 85/1.8, not because of the lower price, but the compactness and lower weight. A smaller lens would fit the A7 series much better than a huge and heavy f1.4 lens.
Either 85/1.8 or 85/1.4 would be nice, but I’m not ready to cycle through 3-4 samples again to find a lens without significant skew or decentering.
Well, it’s Zeiss, not sony, so it shold be ok
Happened with FE 35mm and FE 55mm, and it’s made by Sony with Zeiss QC engineer (who obviously does something else at his job)
I hoped it would be an 85 f1.8 OSS, since that would keep the size and weight down. But an 1.4 is also good since that means that there are two 1.4 lenses, the 35 and 85 and they cover 90% of my needs.
But the PRICE for f/1.4!!!!!
Much better to have had a Sony G 85mm f/1.8 lens WITH OSS.
…size, weight and price could be lower for your suggestion.
Since there was so much bad price news in second half of this year. Sony is too greedy for my opinion and losing ground contact. I am disappointed about that.
If they will not change politics during next year, I will sell the expensive AF lenses again. Just keep the A7 body.for use with my mf lenses to continue AF photography with another system.
maybe i skip this and wait for zeiss FE 135mm F/2
Or get this and use it in crop mode
Do I understand correctly that from the roadmap, 24-240, 28mm (with both converters), 35/1.4 and 90mm macro slated for 2014 release WERE NOT actually released and WILL NOT be sold in 2014? 24-240 even looks like it was supposed to be released in 1H2014…
What kind of “roadmap” is that?
I think you need to read the disclaimer in the bottom-left of that roadmap.
Oh, OK. The disclamer should have read “total BS and deception of customers, we make it look like you have more lenses earlier than the reality”.
I’m not sure what is deceptive about putting a huge asterisk next to each lens to indicate that they are under development.
Their placement on roadmap. Can’t you read? Why not be honest and place them in 2015, if you don’t intend to actually release them in 2014?
Apparently, it seems to be you that can’t read.
since photokina we already know that these lenses will not be available in 2014…
Read the disclaimer and stop being a little baby.
I’ve always thought these are announcement dates and not release dates in the roadmap.
Its a roadmap for development and the announcement of new lenses. When the announcements are made they state the approximate dates for the release/shipping of the lenses.
At Photokina they announced these lenses would start shipping March 2015. Announcement dates and shipping dates are not the same thing… you know like how Fuji announced the 16-50/2.8 last year and haven’t started shipping yet? And Panasonic announced a 150/2.8 and not only did they not start shipping but they eventually cancelled it?
But they did not have them in roadmap for this year.
Stop, you’re killing me.
The $300 Samyang 85mm f/1.4 that I have in an e-mount is very good, although manual focus. For the amount that I use it, it is an amazing value. Focus peaking with the a7r makes it easy to use. There is no way I would consider spending over$1000 for a better piece of glass that does the same thing, but then again, I don’t make money with my photography.
The Samyang lens is a real bargain and works very well on the Sony, but this fact was ignored by all the complainers last week at the introduction of the 16-35mm lens. The 85mm was the must have lens for FE mount they cried about last week and now that the 85mm is here the same idiots will complain that another focal length (insert here) is the got to have lens.
And here you are again. Complaining about complainers AGAIN. Cry yourself a damn river lol.
lol I concur. Too many whiners whining about whiners like me whining about the whiners who whine about whiners.
if its going to be as good as the 55mm i would like to own one of these.
as the 55mm is tiny this might also be small – even if its the bigger one.
I like that Sony is looking to go head-to-head with Canikon. This lens looks like it will be good competition for the Nikkor 85mm f1.4.
Because they have never done a good 85mm before?
Yup. I shoot with the 85mm F1.4 Zeiss Planar for A-Mount and my partner shoots with the 85mm F1.4 G for Nikon. I prefer the microcontrast of my lens when you inspect the images at 100%, but I prefer the better control of chromatic abberation in her Nikon lens (specifically purple fringing in the front focused regions and green fringing in rear focused regions).
They’re both VERY good though. And our clients love the images that both of us shoot.
Because, I expect, it’ll be from the same team who designed the 55mm f1.8
Actually only one guy from Sony in his thirties designed the Zeiss 55 !
There’s an article on digitalversus about that.
Zeiss is just a blue sticker…
Yes, Naoki Miyagawa designed it (though I believe were a few others on the team in order to bring it to fruition). I think he’s very good, and if he does the 85mm (which he most likely will) I expect it will be a stellar performer!
If the quality is there, then I’ll almost certainly get one.
But I’d need the incentive to upgrade from my adapted A-mount 85mm, so it would need to be more compact, have OSS, nice bokeh and good control of chromatic aberrations.
That’s a lot to ask particularly at f1.4, but I don’t see the point of upgrading otherwise. Maybe at f1.8 there’s a better chance of a lens that distinguishes itself compared to adapting an existing SLR/SLT 85mm
If it’s a Zeiss, you’re not going to get oss…
i need a 28mm.
now!
Likewise for the 90/2.8!
Great! Sony should put great glass out there and if it is worth the money people will buy it. As far as the roadmap goes, if these lenses truly are only going to be available in March 2015, they should show in 2015, anything else is deliberately deceiving customers.
Stop, I’m being deceived. Waaaaaaaaa
Standard procedure to follow when a new FE mount lens is released: Determine what focal length is missing then complain that that is the most important, got to have lens on the planet. Repeat this process upon release of the next lens, then repeat again ad nauseum.
And if the meanwhile another supplier releases such a lens keep on complaining anyway saying that really Sony owes us such a lens as well, repeat ad nauseum
It makes business sense to listen to what your customers are asking for. A fast 85mm is pretty much a given.
I don’t disagree. It makes all the sense in the world. I am just acknowledging the process which you see on this forum and on other forums of people endlessly repeating the same thing every time a new lens gets released.
I’d rather have a 100/2, same quality and price as the 55/1.8 and slightly larger in size.
The Minolta 100/2 is wonderful on the a7. And it is just slightly larger than the 55/1.8. But its very heavy. Have you seen the schematic of it on Dyxum? Huge glass inside and very complicated to make. Might even be more expensive to make it today over an 85/1.4.
Pretty sure they can do that. Canon sells a 100/2 for one third of the price. Sure it’s old and mostly plastic but it has fantastic optical quality and it’s cheap as peanuts.
If it is a f1.2, dreaming… Otherwise very happy with my Mino AF f1.4. f1.8 would be small and handy, but then, did I say I am happy with the 1.4?! Anyway, the rumor says it is no 1.8, and if the professional FF camera is coming, Sony needs for sure a 85mm f1.4.. But 1.2 would be hammer and put up something really Oh-My-God against the Canon offering..
I wonder the speed. Why not just make it a 2.8. I’d be happy with that. I think I might just pick up an old Minolta Rokkor F2.8 or F2 for now. I’m really digging these manual lenses- loxia…85?
If you don’t mind manual: Samyang 85mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC
I would mind Samyang, personally. Manual is fine.
Maybe because they’ve already announced a 90mm f/2.8?
Plus an 85mm f/1.4 is a common portrait lens found in pretty much every other system. If you’re only going to make it f/2 then that sort of defeats the purpose of a full frame sensor you might as well get an APS-C body.
Point taken. However, I don’t think that if defeats the purpose of a full frame sensor at all. Not everyone uses one so they have the option of shooting below F2. I’m thinking my strategy is going to be all manual focus lenses with this A7. I’m finding I really like that experience given the size, feature set, etc. With that said, I’m not looking for all out speed- I have other systems already for that stuff. I wonder if loxia might release a smaller 85mm. We shall see.
Ok it doesn’t completely defeat the purpose, but it would be a real shame if they only made f/2 lenses for the system and thus offered no advantage in terms of subject isolation compared to say the Fuji X system.
Isolate your subject with composition. Flat, textureless, featureless backgrounds are overrated. Learn how to shoot and then maybe you won’t need gigantic expensive lenses.
So f/1.4 lenses are for people who don’t know how to shoot? Interesting theory…
But the reality is that at a certain distance the amount of background defocus is proportional to your aperture. Having an f/1.4 lens simply extends the range over which you can achieve a certain level of separation. If you’ve ever photographed a wedding you’d know that you can’t always change your composition our subject distance.
If Sony are serious about attracting professional photographers then they are going to need a suite of f/1.4 lenses in the lineup.
what??? the fuji is a f/3.5 equivalent? we don’t need f/1.4, that DOF on FF is unflattering, too little is in focus when used for portraits.
I’m not sure what you are talking about but Fuji have a 56mm f/1.2 lens that is equivalent to an 85mm f/1.8 on full frame.
At further distances you don’t get to little in focus at f/1.4, in any case you don’t have to shout it wide open, it’s just an option when you need it.
It’d be too close to the 90/2.8 if they did that…
I agree, 85/1.4 means big lens, I expected small 85mm around f/2. I am not interested in huge lenses on my A7, than I would have stayed with DSLR. Dissapointed if this rumor is true.
Great news but where the F*** is the 35 1,2 Sony promised back at Photokina?!?!
You mean the 35mm f/1.4 that they said they expected to ship march 2015? I expect that will probably ship around march 2015.
Duplication of A-mount lens lineup at 200% price %)
only that Image quality, built style and pretty much everything except focal distance and aperture are totally different
Not really – the SAL85F14Z is $1700 MSRP. But I really doubt it’s gonna happen anyway – just another dumb rumor made of thin air 🙂
And with narrow apertures, aside from the 35mm f/1.4
Faster than f/1.8 means 85mm f/1.4
So, a direct replacement for the 85mm f/1.4ZA for A-Mount
A further indication that Sony is fully moving to mirrorless
It doesn’t seem that Canon and Nikon take this move seriously… they keep announcing new DSLR lenses
…new DSLR lenses with STM 😉
That is an indication they are at least preparing for mirrorless.
Not really…
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4E FL ED VR
and so on
I would welcome an 85mm 1.4 as long as it can match or exceed the quality of the 55mm 1.8. It should have OSS as well if possible. The $ 1500.00 price tag would be OK for a lens like that.
Sort of interested but not really. Would love a 135mm and a really fast 24 or 25. I understand that the 85mm is certainly a safer bet.
Most do not relize how big this 85/1.4 lens will be, have you seen new 35/1.4 ZA? It’s monster, looks even bigger than 35/1.4 for DSLR. I considered to move for Sony mirroless but it does not make sense now with such huge lenses mounted on small body, do not you see how unhandy and unbalanced this combo will be and how it will impact on shooting? This is another Sony’s mistake, it sould make small, light and fast 85/1.8 and 35/1.8 and 24/2 and not listen to some friks that shout “we want the fastest lenses”!.
I agree that the weight increase going from 1.8 to 1.4 is not worth it for most people, although I personally find the Contax 85 1.4 (600 grams) quite comfortable on the A7R. Leica 75/1.4 ranges from 500 to 600 grams, about the same. Adding an AF motor and put some plastic in, maybe Sony can make a 85/1.4 at about the same weight.
The 35/1.4 FE is not bigger than the modern Zeiss 35/1.4 for sure. It seems about the size of the Contax 35/1.4, which again is 600 grams.
That 35mm f1.4 is a mess – it looks as though they designed it for the a-mount, but quickly converted it to e-mount by adding an extension tube.
So now Sony seem to be hinting at a future where we have a smaller body with e-mount, but all the lenses are bigger and the net effect is a system that actually takes up more space, whilst having worse ergonomics, and no OSS in primes either.
At least Zeiss might be going to provide an alternative concept for the system with the Loxia lenses, and maybe they’ll do a nice compact 85mm f2?
go and have a look at the cz85/1.4 for A mount…not big at all. go sony, bring it!!! 😀
As for every 85/1.4 lens, the aperture diameter is set already and can’t be smaller. The Nikon 85/1.4 is 595g, not heavy, for such a lens. Why should it be a mistake? This is the lens that could bring many Canikons to Sony mirrorless. For me, it’s a very important lens. If the new “pro” mirrorless beginning next years turns out great, I will buy those.
I think it’s a good move especially if they’re going to release a pro camera in the future. A sharp @ 1.4, contrasty 85mm that can shoot into light decently like the nikkor 1.4 and has AF is something that will make me more interested in switching.
They can add a smaller 1.8 or 2 later and there’s plenty of adaptable options in the mean time
The SAL85f14Z is not that big, even with an adapter. But I think it’s gonna be an f/1.8 lens anyway based on the Sony’s idea making smaller lenses for the small cameras, another mini otus 85 probably, if Zeiss will be so kind to share the optic design. F/1.8 still can be considered as a “large” aperture compared to f/2.8.
that would be a weird pricing for the 85/1.4 at $1.5k. if you look at the price of the 55/1.8 the 85 should be more like $3k!
I think a sharp wide open 85mm f2 would have been fine but I will get it if its good enough. I love subject separation but you don’t need 1.2 or 1.4 for that.
The mirrorless competition is pretty strong. Fuji has an excellent 56mm (85mm eq) f1.2 at $850. Olympus has the 45mm (90mm eq) f1.8 at $400. Personally I don’t believe an f2 alone would cut for Sony. That being said, hopefully both will be offered in the future.
You forget that the Olympus one is equivalent to approx. a f/3.6 on FF…
Really not the same bokeh as a f/1.8 with a real FF lens !
True. I also listed the Olympus mainly because I wanted to emphasize the huge price difference of $400 versus potentially $1,500… The Fuji remains a strong contender though with the Fuji X glass being at least as good as the Zeiss glass. I stick with what I said that f2 would not be convincing enough.
rubbish!! an f/2 would@ 85mm would be fine, anything wider would be a waste. a f/1.4 at 50mm is great, at < 50 it's pointless for anything other than astrophotography, but a portrait lens like an 85mm should be f/2 or 2.8
the fuji and zeiss lenses are only about the same because the fuji has a tiny little 16mp sensor!
And of course they need to be f/1.2 to be viable lenses because of the small sensor. The problem is the AF has all the problems of focusing such a fast lens, but at the same time the DOF equiv is only about a f/3.5 so it's a bit of a waste of time.
I would prefer Sony released an 85mm f/2 or f/2.8, anything faster and you're paying for pointless glass weight.
people complaining that it will be big should go and check the size of cz 85/1.4 for A mount. NOT BIG BY ANY MEANS!!! I assume that the e mount version might be even a bit smaller/lighter. Bring it on sony… Hell, even make it a 1.2…Im in in both of the cases 😀
1.8 wont cut it if sony wants the attention of “pros”, as claimed recently…
Any A mount new lens information?
Just update the existing ZA1.4 with SSM and everybody happy. Please don’t paint it white.
where the heck is the wide angle prime????????????? Maybe Loxia will do better…
since AF isn’t a concern on wide angle, why not just get an M or LTM adapter and buy one of dozens of very high quality wide angle primes? It’s only the telephoto that AF becomes more of a concern, focusing a tele takes longer manually than a decent AF system, and is often less accurate than AF can manage.
But there’s absolutely no reason to complain about wide angle primes.
Can’t wait for this lens. I’ve been waiting for it. I’ve been holding out on the A mount version in hope this lens coming out. I’d like a 135 also. I’m not too concerned about 135, as I can just get the STM with no AF.
If we get a 35mm f/1.8 why don t they make a 16-35mm f/2.0 instead of f/4.0
because it would weight 5 kilos…
Would love it 🙂
A or E mount lenses i dont care as i have the LA-EA4 adaptor 😉
that lens roadmap is really deceptive. its almost the end of 2014 and none of all these lenses they show in 2014 are available till march.. who cares about announcement date if it takes 6-9 months to release these lenses.
1.8 is fine..1.4 even better…can’t wait this lens joining my collection.. but might wait a year until price drops 😛
How about something smaller and lighter like f/2.0? I thought the whole point of the E-mount was to shrink the outfit as much as possible. You want a big fast f/1.4? There’s already a fantastic solution for that.
Then buy APSC cameras with 1.4 lenses (like Fuji primes) or Samsung. Gives you same DOF. Why not using the advantage FF has, i.e. have more control over DOF?
Already have the A7r & A7s. Something around the same size as the FE 55mm would be great. I don’t see the point in making a big f/1.4 that will probably be just as big as the current ZA. Rather, update the ZA to add SSM and use with an adapter and make a small f/2.0 FE so you have both size options.
Big lenses are required to get f/1.4. The point is that we have the smaller bodies. If I want to go small with my 85ish then I put on a manual focus Contax G 90/2.8. If I want the best quality in AF then I can get it with a larger lens. Options, options, options. But the high quality, fast, and with AF option is paramount to a good system.
$1499 @F1.2
$1199 @F1.4
$999 @F1.8
$799 @F2
😀
if it more expensive then FE 55mm/1.8 please make it F1.4, weather sealed, OSS and really good quality
Not likely to be OSS now that they have body stabilization coming out.
How about a FE f/1.8 135mm?
Agreed. I too would also prefer an FE version of the SAL135F18z
Shipping late 2015. Sony/zeiss must be having me for a laugh. Why. What seems to be the problem here. It should be out on the market already
Sony is killing FE lens users by this habit of bit-by-bit lens release! Sony must know our patience is not unlimited! It’s very easy to switch to old famous camera-lens makers with huge support of native and foreign (!) lenses and adaptors.