Sony - G Master FE 85 mm F1.4 GM Full-Frame E-Mount Mid-range Telephoto Lens - Black

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.

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.

After much consideration, I decided to take the leap, and purchase the Sony 85MM 1.4 Lens. It was a big investment but totally worth it every penny. This is by far the best lens I have ever had. Paired with the Sony A7r II camera the quality of the images are spectacular. If you are a professional hobbyist like myself or a true professional you will enjoy every photo you take with this camera.

I pre-order this lens when it was announced I really though I was going to be an amazing lens. I finally got it yesterday. I put on my a7ii and is making so much noise as a photographer I'll be embarrassed to use this lens at a wedding when everyone is silen And here I'm making so much noise with my lens I contact Sony so an answer and nothing yet. As of tomorrow April 9th I will be returning this lens and going to the Batis 85mm 1.8

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.

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.

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.