Customer Ratings & Reviews

This thing is crisp and fast to lock in AF. The bokeh is smooth and gradual when needed and fast and sharp when necessary. I’m shooting with an A7C & FX3. Love it. All G Masters have been amazing so far.

This is exactly what I needed. 85mm screams quality and is perfect for portraits. The only thing I wish Sony would do is fix noise when the lens is focusing, but I can live with that.

Great lens definately recommend took somw great photos

Exceptional build, solid feel, and stunning picture/video quality. If you do portrait work buy this lens. This is a must have for the A7R2. Slap this on an a6500 for a 127.5mm equivalent monster portrait lens.

Amazing lens. Brought my photography to the next level. Love using this for wedding portraits

What an investment!! It's not called the "Bread & Butter" lens for nothing. Very sharp, buttery bokeh..fast AF in portrait as well as video...especially video in particular..your portraits will wow whomever or whatever you're capturing!.

The perfect lense for my camera! The pictures & video come out so clear and sharp! I love it!!!

This is my 3rd lenss from best buy very frendly using

I'm not a pro, I'm a hobbyist. But you hardly need to know what you're doing to get good results - it's almost cheating. For a while now, Sony has received criticism for not providing enough professional lenses to work with. For the E-Mount system, serious photographers have no choice but to pick up the Zeiss lenses such as the Distagon, Plannar, Loxia and the Batis lenses. However, many pros are still loyal to Nikon and Canon's faster primes and zooms. As of the writing of this review, there are now 4 GM lenses to choose from. And I think these may be the lenses that will finally lure professional DSLR loyalists. Build: The 85 f/1.4 GM is beautifully crafted. It's huge and very long with the hood attached. It is also heavy, but feels very balanced on my A7R II. The construction is solid with no room for compromise. Overall, the body is mostly made of metal. The focus ring is rubber coated for easier grip but the aperture ring (YES, AN APERTURE RING!) is metal. The lens cover and hood are both plastics. While the lens cover is standard for all lenses (at least as far as I can tell), the hood is much more solid. The edge of the hood is rubberized and the inside is coated with a cloth-like texture which I think helps capture dust before they get on the surface of the lens. The hood also have a little button or clip to the lens, which I think is a nice touch. To top it all off, this lens is weather sealed. Functions: The lens comes with 2 switches: one to switch between Automatic Focus or Manual Focusing, and the other is to turn off the clicking noise it makes when changing aperture through the aperture ring. I reckon this is very useful for videographers out there who want to eliminate as much internal sound as possible. It also has a custom button the left side of the lens, I assigned it to be my primary Eye AF when using this lens and together with Continuous AF, continuous Eye AF will change your portrait photography because it will allow you to have perfect focus almost all the time at f/1.4! The lens (pros): At the asking price of a whooping $1800, it better be good! And it's very, very, good. With my A7R II, the photos I take are sharp, the bokeh renders to beautifully, the colors are dreamy, and it's very addicting. The functions such as the additional Custom button makes shooting with this lens very easy to get used to quickly. It is quite possibly the best portrait lens in the market today. The lens (cons): The most obvious one is the price. The AF rotors are noisy, like rocks grinding together. It also doesn't have Optical Steady Shot (OSS) for the older A7 bodies or APS-C bodies like the A6100 or A6300 to take advantage of. Final Thoughts: As of today, there are three 85mm native Sony e-mount lenses to choose from. Sony's FE 85mm f/1.8 ($600), Zeiss Batis 85mm f1.8 ($1200), and the Sony 85 F1.4 GM. The price difference between the three is not easy to ignore. As a hobbyist, I was set on getting the Batis 85 until I found an open box of the 85 GM offered at Best Buy. If you have the money, go for it. It's been one of the best purchase I've made in a very long time. Besides, lenses will serve you for a very long time if you take care of them!

I am using this lens on the A7ii. Ok so I actually tried the lens in the field before hastily giving the lens a 1 star. Huge FYI make sure your camera is up to date with its firmware! If you do not the lens will not perform correctly at all. Very slow af and af hunting if its running an old firmware. Some of my thoughts and impressions of the GM 85 1.4 lens. The lens build quality is top notch. The weight of the lens is heavier then the A7ii body. AF is quick and accurate. Yes the focus motor is louder than a cheaper smaller glass lens, for the big size its ok for me. The detail and color I get from this lens is superior - almost no post work is needed. Yes, the bokeh is top quality as advertised. I like the detail and quality in the lens hood. The carry case it comes with is as expected - provides good protection. Thinking about getting this lens? Ask me a question.

Starting with the positives, the G Master FE 85mm F1.4 GM lens delivers exceptional image quality. The lens produces stunningly sharp and detailed images with excellent contrast and beautiful bokeh thanks to its wide maximum aperture of f/1.4. This makes it a fantastic choice for portraiture, allowing for subject isolation and a dreamy background blur. The lens features a solid build quality, constructed with high-quality materials. It feels robust in hand and is designed to withstand the demands of professional use. Additionally, it is weather-sealed, providing protection against dust and moisture, which is crucial for outdoor photography. However, compared to the newer GM lenses, the G Master FE 85mm F1.4 GM lens does have a couple of drawbacks. First, it is relatively slower in terms of autofocus performance. While it still offers good autofocus capabilities, it may not match the lightning-fast speed of its successors. This can be a consideration for photographers who frequently shoot fast-moving subjects or require swift focusing in challenging situations. Another aspect to note is that the lens may produce a slightly audible noise during autofocus operation. While not excessively loud, it may be more noticeable compared to the newer GM lenses that feature quieter and more refined autofocus systems. For some users, this may not be a significant issue, but it's worth mentioning for those who prioritize silent operation. Despite these minor limitations, the Sony G Master FE 85mm F1.4 GM Full-Frame lens remains a great choice for photographers who value exceptional image quality and appreciate the characteristics of a wider aperture prime lens. Its optical performance, build quality, and ability to create stunning portraits make it a solid option for professionals and enthusiasts alike. In conclusion, while the G Master FE 85mm F1.4 GM Full-Frame lens may be slower and louder compared to its newer GM counterparts, it remains a fantastic lens with outstanding image quality and a solid build. If you can overlook the slightly slower autofocus and audible noise, this lens offers exceptional performance and is well worth considering for those who prioritize image quality and the creative possibilities of a wide aperture prime lens.

I use this lens with a Sony A7RM4. I bought this when my newest grandchild arrived. This fast f1.4 lens allowed me to take great shots. I had been using primarily zoom lenses, but there are too many compromises. They are too heavy or too slow and none have an f1.4 which is great for portraits. Even though this lens has been out for a few years, I am impressed by the auto focus and sharpness.

Fast, sharp prime lens that I use for portrait photography. Bought this to go with my Sony A7RV, and ive been very happy with it. Does a great job with creating a shallow depth of field when used wide open.

Previously Owned the Sony Fe 85mm 1.8. This is a huge upgrade on the quality of the lens and the the image. The only slight downside of the lens is the noise of the glass moving and slight time to focus.

I have this lens paired with the Sony A7rII camera and the pictures that I have taken with it are something else! A premium, high quality lens that a nit picky photographer will truly enjoy using. This is my first GM lens and the picture quality reminds me of Canon's F1.2L lenses. A couple things that I'd like to mention is that the lens did hunt for focus VERY much. I went through all my settings and didn't realize that phase detect autofocus was off by default from Sony. As soon as it was turned on, the camera focused without an issue, even in low light. So if you're camera is hunting for focus, check your phase detect settings. Another thing I did not care for much is the lens hood. It doesn't fit as well as it should and I don't understand the purpose of having a button release on the hood over the usual click on style hoods. I've never had a lens hood screw itself off (LOL) so I guess its just Sony being fancy and over engineered the hood.

This is my new favorite lens. It is incredibly fast and although some people have complained about a noise it makes while focusing that went away after about two weeks. The sharpness of this lens is absolutely incredible and it is more than worth its weight.

Exceptionally sharp, even wide open at f/1.4. Readers on Amateur Photographer praised its “staggering amount of detail” in 42 MP crops — crisp eyelashes, skin textures, pupil edge definition Peak sharpness approaches f/5.6, with outstanding center performance and good corner detail past f/4 — ideal for portrait work Low distortion & chromatic aberration and others describe negligible lateral CA and only mild pincushion distortion — correctable in-camera or with modest post-processing

I wrestled between this lens and the Zeiss 85 1.8 Batis, but chose this lens and am very satisfied with it. Indeed, this lens is the Superlative Portrait Lens for Sony e-Mount! You might hear of slow focus issues and AF noise, but rest assured: if you want the best Sony can provide for a portrait lens, this is their best current offering. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This lens has stepped up the quality of my shots A LOT! Its clear and produces amazing shots. Definitely more of a portrait lens in my opinion. It’s hard to use in tight areas since there isn’t a way to zoom out, but you probably already knew that if you’re looking at this lens. Image quality is top notch! I use it with my Sony a6000.

If you have kids this is the lens you need!! This is the lens for portrait photography. We bought this after paying for our yearly family photography session and now we will be able to do our our photos all the time and is perfect with have young kiddos!