Carl Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Telephoto Lens

MY FAVORITE LENS!!!!

Pros: Great depth of field; excellent in low light

Cons: Slighty heavy; costly

I have been shooting with Sony dslr's since 2006. I already had three other lenses; standard zoom, fish eye and 300mm telephoto. I shoot primarily with a shallow depth of field sko when I shoot portraits I was using the 300mm. The problem is in studio you can't get far enough away without chopping of some part of the body. I researched lenses on Sony Style and found this lens, ordered it, used it and I'm loving it! By far the best lens out of all four of mine now. It is a great deal heavier than my other lenses and more costly, but it's worth every penny if you're a pro photog or an avid amatuer.

Very Useful Addition

Pros: Fast, flexable, sharp short tele lens.

Cons: A bit heavy, but to be expected.

I've been wanting to add this lens to my kit for quite some time, and finally made the jump. While an outstanding portrait lens, my primary use is for outdoor shots where the 135 f1.8 is too long, the 70-200G isn't quite fast enough, and the 55 is too short. I knew in advance I would not be disappointed with this lens.

Amazing Lens. Period.

Pros: Build, A++++ Sharpness, A++++ Colors,

Cons: Slow(er) AF, Heavy on Sony A900

I've owned this lens for about a week. I moved to the Sony A900 from my Canon 5D Mark II because of the Zeiss line in particular - best build of all lenses made for modern DSLRs in my opinion. I've owned the Carl Zeiss 18mm ZE for Canon, and the nice change is AF vs. the MF lenses made for other mounts. However, considering the comparable speeds of Canon 85mm f/1.4 and f/1.2, ALL the Zeiss lenses made for Sony are slow seekers from 0-infinitey focus. Its fast "enough" for most cases, considering its a shorter lens than lets say the Sony 70-200 G f/2.8 for sports. This is an absolutely tack-sharp lens - and that's not just me saying that. I compare RAW images out of the camera (which are a certain percentage softer than JPEG in-camera images) to my Zeiss 18mm stopped to f/8 and I honestly can say at f/1.8 to f/8 this lens out performs the other Zeiss glass by NOTICEABLE margins. It seems 20% sharper at 100% center focus comparisons. The CA is minor enough, you just don't care unless you are pixel counter in digital. The color is just AMAZING at f/1.4. I was out doing some night photography wide open, and simply wow'ed at how much a) light I was getting (it was like being in high-noon at times with the amount of light I was getting) and the reflections off the ice around some buildings I was shooting was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! The lens is pricey but if you shoot street photography or portraits don't hesitate to pay the Sony tax on this lens in particular. If you use a 1.4 or 2.0x extender you get 170mm on a full-frame A900 or A850 and only drop to f/2.8. So the speed + wide-open f-stop gives you options for shooting even LONGER and getting very a acceptable f/2.8 out of a 170mm lens. Just a thought. I will keep this lens for probably as long as I'm alive.

Magic Wand

Pros: Beautiful Images, sharp focus, details pop, bokeh,

Cons: Costly, heavy

I picked up this lens at the Sony store in Bangkok figuring it would be great to have for the rest of my trip and boy was I right. I'm still a relative beginner so I won't pretend to know what makes this lens great, but it is simply awesome. For me to have this power in my hands feels incredible. It's like a magic wand that makes everything look beautiful (and like I said, I'm a beginner). Portraits pop out heroically with soothing bokeh and great clarity. It focuses fast and feels solid. When using it outdoors, I found that in aperture-priority mode, opening it up to 1.4 sometimes maxes out my a55's shutter speed of 1/4000, so I'd recommend a filter to give more flexibility. One thing to consider is the focal length of 85mm translates to about 130mm with the APS-C sensor, so if you're like me, you'll have to adjust a little bit to position yourself properly for the shot. For that reason, it might not be the best lens for enclosed areas.

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I waited to long to buy this lens

Pros: Fast focus, incredible detail, well balanced on my 700 and 900

Cons: would like to see another focus lock button for vertical use

This has quickly become my primary lens for use on the 900. The clarity of the images is more then I expected. Even in low light the brightness of the image makes is very easy to manual focus. The ability to control DOF makes the lens flexible for still life as well as portraits. Well worth the money.

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Exceptional Lens

Pros: Clarity of image, quick response

Cons: none

I purchased this lens a few months ago, needing a portrate lens, mid-range telephoto, to capture close up candid photos for my work. This lens has way exceeded my expectations, and the clarity of images is the very best... To be able to take close up shots at a distance of 8 to 16 feet is excellently produced by this lens. This is one of two Carl Ziess lenses I use, but it is on my camera at least 50% of the time... Wonderful companion to the Carl Zeiss 24-70 lens.

great for low light

Pros: produce nice and very well balance color images

Cons: most buy the portrait and for low light pictures

Yes this is a good lens to have for low light and portrait the image is very sharp but still not as sharp as the Zeiss 135 f1.8. It does hunt a little bit sometimes and noisy.

Great addition

Pros: Produces great images

Cons: Slow cumbersome AF, price

The capabilities of this lens are far reaching for portraits and candid shots, as well as still life. Its build quality is solid and rugged and it produces great images as well. However it does hunt for focus a little more than one could care for and the AF seems a bit slow, which can cause you to miss a shot. Once focus is locked on you can expect a great image every time as it will prove to be a great asset to your lense arsenal.

By far my favorite lens, no flash needed anymore

Pros: High quality, durable, looks awesome on A900

Cons: None

This is by far my favorite lens on the A900. I was unfortunate that I dropped the A900 with this lens on asfalt when I was getting out of a cab. I simply forgot to zip up the camera bag, and the camera fell out when I was getting off. Luckily I got two very minor scratches on the camera and lens. I was more worried about the lens, but it works fiine. I took it to Sonystyle store for the specialist to check it out. Everything works fine! Whew! I was lucky this time. Oh yeah, and this lens of course completely eliminates flash use indoors. Isn't that something?

If You Only Have One Lens This Is It.

Pros: Very Sharp, Great Bokeh.

Cons: None

A brilliant lens for portraits, low light and midrange telephoto shooting. This beautiful piece of glass is perfect for intimate or low-light portraits, fashion shots and quick candid photographs.

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