Great balanced review Dustin! Just acquired the 85mm GM and for the price paid I’m glad to see you hit on some of the len’s redeeming features. After all, this is a professional grade lens. Thanks
What the focus performance characteristics seem to indicate is that the lens KNOWS where it needs to be focus wise (hence the large number of tack sharp images), but the motor is SLOW to accelerate and catch up (hence the bad misses). This probably also accounts for the stumbles and pauses which may be when the focusing group needs to decelerate, stop then go in the other direction.
Can't wait for your review of the Sony 135mm F1.8 GM. You're probably the only one who will test it against the Milvus 135mm (assuming that you'll get your hands on that GM eventually) 😃
Great review. I just visited your website and I fully support what you say and review. Gorgeous work. You are the real deal and I’m going follow more of your work. Thank you for sharing. Phelix. 👍🏾
Great reveiw! I was thinking if i use 85 mm on apsc mode on my sony a7riii it should technically reduce the coma chromatic abberations astigmatism in corners for astrophotography because it should crop the corners .. Is that technically correct to have such expectations ??😅
@@DustinAbbottTWI I am looking forward to that, I have bought in the Sigma Art Lens lineup for the primes with the EOS EF to RF adapter. Next year is the 2020 Olympics I believe it will be in Tokyo and the 2020 Expo in Dubai so they may roll out something worthy. I am still looking for that battery grip for the RP though, it is horrible on battery consumption especially when it is cold outside.
Rest assured Canon are on the way and despite all the anti Canon media, Canon are still market leaders by a country mile. Me? I shoot mainly Fuji, so ain't just another Canon fanboy. Enjoy your photography 😎😎😎
@@mikewhiles4635 Thanks Mike, I have have heard Nikon is developing an Astrophotography camera. I use the fast Sigma Arts 28mm, 50mmm and an IRIX 15mm 2.4.
Dustin, this lens has a major flaw! It doesn't open the aperture to obtain focus with Profoto remote flash trigger and other triggers in the studio, makes it impossible to obtain autofocus. Yes, turning off liveview is the solution, but this is the only lens that has that flaw. And this is the premium lens :)) My experience- doesn't worth the money. Optically - it's exceptional, but usability is not good. Looses focus too often, slow to focus. Real life photos are rather clinical. Skintones rendering - not very person has pink skin. I gravitate to use more often Canon 200 mm 2.8 LII with MC-11. To me Canon has better colors and more organic look, I understand the focal length difference, it's not it. I find Canon is sharper with 42 MP body. Sony GM 85 mm 1.4 did not live to my expectations and most of the time collects dust while I'm enjoying Canons. Having that experience, I would go with Batis 85 1.8 for native Sony 85 lens, not GM :))
Hmmm, that's the first time I've heard this kind of feedback on the lens. At the same time, I fully anticipate that we will see a MK II version of the 85 GM before the year is out.
Dustin, you will not believe this :) I had a dream about MKII version. In my dream it had built in electronic variable ND filter, it had bokeh control (STF and Apodization), it had flaring mode to create beautiful flares like Arri Primes, Sony actually took advantage of modern lithography technologies (2-3 um) and made their processing units small and energy efficient so they can put AI focus chips inside the lens and now every Sony mirrorless body can use AI focusing technology, and, of course it is firmware upgradable for future. All stabilization is also realized inside the lens. Buttons had tactile feedback because they were responsible for different functions and I could access menu by pressing one of them. What an amazing dream I had :)) But then I woke up and went to check used Milvus prices :))))) @@DustinAbbottTWI
Hi Dustin, great review like always. I wonder if you'll ever make a review of the sony 135 GM, i'd love to hear your opinion about that lens. Thank you for your work!
Hi Matteo, I would love to review the 135mm. My challenge is that I don't have a Canadian source for Sony loaners right now, so every time I bring in a lens like this it costs me several hundred dollars in duties. Some of that I can get back, but not until I file taxes once a year.
Another great review Dustin! I own this lens and love it. After that new firmware update for the A7r3, I found the lens focuses way better. And yes there is some noise when focusing but that's the least of my worries. Keep up the great reviews Dustin!
Hi Dustin as always and just like everyone else I wanted to thank you. I do have a question: Was this review before the firmware update? Have you performed a firmware update and has it improved the autofocus performance? Thanks again, and keep up the awesome work!
Dustin did your copy sound like a xerox machine when focusing in photo mode? Trying to figure weather mine is defective or just designed to be quite loud. I don't hear the sound in video mode tho which is strange.
There is a slightly scratchy sound when focusing. It's hard through words to determine how your copy compares, though if you have concerns, you probably should send it in to Sony for evaluation. That's a big investment to not feel confident in.
@@DustinAbbottTWI now I have been looking at the cannon body r3, but already have the A1 kit and the Z9. Kit,I don’t earn a living with cameras but would like too.the (85mm F1:2 cannon) there is something about the rendering on this lens, am I crazy like my wife says.help lol
Hi Dustin, I have been following your reviews with great interest for months now and I have completely entrusted you to buy the GM 85 1.4. Great lens with incredible pastosity in out of focus. But .... But..... One thing that has left me a little perplexed, however, is that unlike your test, my lens has the cat's eye geometry in out of focus just outside the central circle. Near the corners it is very pronounced and in the corners it is incredibly oval. In your opinion what could it be? Greetings from Italy
Understand that my test shows it in relation to other 85mm; it still has it, though to a lesser degree than competitors. Stopping down to about F2 will give you more even circular shapes across the frame.
Dustin I understand but yours don’t suffers from cat eyes while mine very much. And close the diaphragm the situation improves very little....or better, it improves because the blur circles decrease in diameter but the profile remains practically unchanged.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Hi Dustin, great review. An OT question for you though. In terms of Absolute IQ, what would you say is better? the Planar 50mm ZA or the milvus 50mm f1.4? I am trying to decide but can't. Which is better at the widest aperture? centre & corner resolution, renderingetc. ?
Dustin have you compared the GM to the Batis? If I were to get an 85mm I think it’d be one of those. I have the 24-70GM and I live it but all the Batis lenses I have tried have been stellar and there’s something special about Zeiss. Curious on your thoughts. Cheers!
@@greysuit17 I had the Sony 85 F1.8 (very fast AF, faster than the GM) and the samyang at the same time and I have small children who are very unpredictable, impossible to tell the the eye Af performance apart for me. The Sony got returned, it's a great lens but the samyang is better for the much smoother bokeh.
Massive lenses, small bodies, not a comfortable combination. The truth about FF mirrorless cameras. Still Sony have done a great job 🎥🎥🎥Good review - thank you.
That's been true of the GM lenses , for sure, but not really true of third party lenses like those that Tamron and Samyang have designing for Sony. The Sony 85mm F1.8 is nicely sized, too. But yes, full frame (or larger) sensors and wide aperture is going to equal big lenses regardless of whether it is mirrorless or a DSLR.
@@shaolin95 - So foolish, you know nothing about me, I have used and continue to use a range of cameras including both mirrorless and dslr, rangefinder and even film. A suggestion my friend - why not take up fishing instead of trolling - it's meant to be calming for a troubled mind.
@@mikewhiles4635 your original comment was thoughtful. Regarding the troller... His name is Gabrielle, and he badgers Abbott with malignant and unstable comments. It's really peculiar, and unfortunate because he shuts down positive debate. No one wants to participate in a thread when they are exposed to that. And he'll defend his insindiary comments as just an honest retort. It's too bad, the channel is decent, but I'm going to start looking elsewhere as this clown is relentless.
I've had enough of it, too. He's been hidden from the channel. I don't like to shut down anyone, but he never brings anything positive to the conversation.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I am sure that is not an easy thing for you to do. However it's better for you and for your community. The rest of your subscribers will breathe a little easier.
it's better weather sealed ( probably ) than the others. how can you make a statement like that when in reality you have no idea if it's better weather sealed than the Sigma or Samyang. it's just all assumptions that because it's a GM it must be better sealed. and Sony counts on people thinking that witch is why they get away with there high price tags. I really think it's about time that the camera industry sets a standard that a manufacturer has to meet for weather sealing before they can say there lens is weather sealed or resistant, and then a camera company can have a little symbol that shows that there lens meets the standard, just like a motorcycle helmet has for safety. and if it goes beyond the standard than the company can brag about how good it's weather sealed.
While I agree on the standard that you mention, the Sigma is sealed only at the lens mount and the Samyang has four seal points. Sony isn't specific, but does say that there is sealing at more than just the mount. So, at the least the sealing is superior to the Sigma.
Even if Canon, Nikon, Pany went at a lens release pace double that of Sony, they would need 3 years to catch up to Sony today. Meanwhile, Sony keeps developing new lenses so CNP will need to run at a pace more like 3:1 of Sony just to catch up, nearly impossible. CNP brands will need to either (1) cut loose incredible development resources or (2) quickly build out a tier (e.g., high end) for their releases in a shrinking market. Meanwhile, Samyang, Tamron, Kamlan, Zeiss, Voitlander, and Sigma are going deep into Sony development so their resources are tapped so do they really want to jump into an unknown CNP future? - probably limited at best. It must really suck right now to be faced with these issues at Can-Nik-Pany.
Sony definitely has a development lead in the mirrorless front, though Canon's initial mirrorless lenses for the RF mount are by and large best in class.
The thing is, you can easily use many of Nikon and Canon's DSLR lenses on their mirrorless cameras, so it isn't the biggest issue. So something like the Nikkor 105mm is a great lens on DSLR's or mirrorless. Even Panasonic, will get a complete lens line up comparatively quickly because of the L mount allience with Sigma and Leica. Canon have also released some great optics, which really are superb in every area except price and size. Nikon have done the opposite and brought out a number of mid range primes and zoom and the 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 and my guess is you will be hearing about the 58mm f/0.95 release sooner than later. So whilst Sony does have a lens advantage for now. It isn't as big in some ways and with their larger mount sizes, you may be seeing faster lenses (which whilst in reality, really doesn't mean a huge amount, sounds good).
There are diminishing returns. Once a system has a lot of lenses, they just fill in a few gaps here and there. But if Canon/Nikon/Panasonic can get...let's say 12 lenses in the most used focal ranges, they can compete for sure. Especially since you can mount their earlier glass on the new mounts with an included adapter and have native level AF etc.
Best reviewer on TH-cam, period. Insightful. Thorough. Practical. Genius. Thank you Dustin!
That's a lot of nice adjectives ;)
Thank you for your candid, frank and accurate reviews. You are a strong influence on my purchasing decisions!
That's a lot of trust. Thank you.
@dustin abbott gives the the best and most thorough reviews hands down...this guy is brilliant and knows how to capture an audience....great work
Thanks for the nice endorsement.
Hi Dustin, a really good review of the 85 / 1.4 GM - thanks! 👍🏻
My pleasure
@@DustinAbbottTWI Great analysis! Testing the 85GM, I also noticed the distracting sound of the focus motor. The 85 f1.8 is silent.
Great balanced review Dustin! Just acquired the 85mm GM and for the price paid I’m glad to see you hit on some of the len’s redeeming features. After all, this is a professional grade lens. Thanks
I'm glad to help out.
What the focus performance characteristics seem to indicate is that the lens KNOWS where it needs to be focus wise (hence the large number of tack sharp images), but the motor is SLOW to accelerate and catch up (hence the bad misses). This probably also accounts for the stumbles and pauses which may be when the focusing group needs to decelerate, stop then go in the other direction.
That's fair. I'm sure the MK II version of the lens will feature Quad XD motors and will just fly...just like Sony's other recent GM lenses.
You're the best, really, such a great review with important comparisons to other lenses. Thanks so much!
Thank you, Art
Can't wait for your review of the Sony 135mm F1.8 GM. You're probably the only one who will test it against the Milvus 135mm (assuming that you'll get your hands on that GM eventually) 😃
That's the hope
Great review. I just visited your website and I fully support what you say and review. Gorgeous work. You are the real deal and I’m going follow more of your work. Thank you for sharing. Phelix. 👍🏾
Thanks for the nice feedback!
Excellent review as always. I've been itching for this one.
Glad to help out!
Thumbs up! I wish there was someone like you that can give an all-across objective and comprehensive approach to cinema lenses.
I'm sure there is someone out there...but I don't know who they are!
Finally, someone wasn’t paid by Sony and can admit that there is a noise when focusing. People been complaining about it since its first release.
There definitely is, though you don't hear much when making minor focus changes.
Great reveiw! I was thinking if i use 85 mm on apsc mode on my sony a7riii it should technically reduce the coma chromatic abberations astigmatism in corners for astrophotography because it should crop the corners .. Is that technically correct to have such expectations ??😅
This lens is like a fine Swiss watch. Oh, forgot to mention that it takes incredible pictures!
Definitely does.
85gm is my go to portrait lens.
It's a nice one!
Tnx for you review. Honesty and not bias is the way to go. Tnx again.
My pleasure
Sony has their act together, I wished Canon would get there with the mirrorless lineup in regards to the bodies.
I think they'll get there. I'm interested in what happens this next year.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I am looking forward to that, I have bought in the Sigma Art Lens lineup for the primes with the EOS EF to RF adapter. Next year is the 2020 Olympics I believe it will be in Tokyo and the 2020 Expo in Dubai so they may roll out something worthy. I am still looking for that battery grip for the RP though, it is horrible on battery consumption especially when it is cold outside.
Rest assured Canon are on the way and despite all the anti Canon media, Canon are still market leaders by a country mile. Me? I shoot mainly Fuji, so ain't just another Canon fanboy. Enjoy your photography 😎😎😎
@@mikewhiles4635 Thanks Mike, I have have heard Nikon is developing an Astrophotography camera. I use the fast Sigma Arts 28mm, 50mmm and an IRIX 15mm 2.4.
Dustin, this lens has a major flaw! It doesn't open the aperture to obtain focus with Profoto remote flash trigger and other triggers in the studio, makes it impossible to obtain autofocus. Yes, turning off liveview is the solution, but this is the only lens that has that flaw. And this is the premium lens :)) My experience- doesn't worth the money. Optically - it's exceptional, but usability is not good. Looses focus too often, slow to focus. Real life photos are rather clinical. Skintones rendering - not very person has pink skin. I gravitate to use more often Canon 200 mm 2.8 LII with MC-11. To me Canon has better colors and more organic look, I understand the focal length difference, it's not it. I find Canon is sharper with 42 MP body. Sony GM 85 mm 1.4 did not live to my expectations and most of the time collects dust while I'm enjoying Canons. Having that experience, I would go with Batis 85 1.8 for native Sony 85 lens, not GM :))
Hmmm, that's the first time I've heard this kind of feedback on the lens. At the same time, I fully anticipate that we will see a MK II version of the 85 GM before the year is out.
Dustin, you will not believe this :)
I had a dream about MKII version. In my dream it had built in electronic variable ND filter, it had bokeh control (STF and Apodization), it had flaring mode to create beautiful flares like Arri Primes, Sony actually took advantage of modern lithography technologies (2-3 um) and made their processing units small and energy efficient so they can put AI focus chips inside the lens and now every Sony mirrorless body can use AI focusing technology, and, of course it is firmware upgradable for future. All stabilization is also realized inside the lens. Buttons had tactile feedback because they were responsible for different functions and I could access menu by pressing one of them. What an amazing dream I had :)) But then I woke up and went to check used Milvus prices :)))))
@@DustinAbbottTWI
Thank you Mr Abbott
You're welcome.
Should I buy 1 Sony 85mm f1.4 or 3 Samyang 85mm f1.4? 🤔
Ouch. How true.
Hi Dustin, great review like always. I wonder if you'll ever make a review of the sony 135 GM, i'd love to hear your opinion about that lens. Thank you for your work!
Hi Matteo, I would love to review the 135mm. My challenge is that I don't have a Canadian source for Sony loaners right now, so every time I bring in a lens like this it costs me several hundred dollars in duties. Some of that I can get back, but not until I file taxes once a year.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Understand, thanks for your answer. Anyway i'll be waiting for it patiently :D
Another great review Dustin! I own this lens and love it. After that new firmware update for the A7r3, I found the lens focuses way better. And yes there is some noise when focusing but that's the least of my worries. Keep up the great reviews Dustin!
Thank you!
Hi Dustin as always and just like everyone else I wanted to thank you. I do have a question: Was this review before the firmware update? Have you performed a firmware update and has it improved the autofocus performance? Thanks again, and keep up the awesome work!
If you are referring to the 3.0 firmware for Sony, the answer would be yes. That actually came a month or two before this comparison.
Dustin Abbott thanks Dustin for clarifying.
Dustin did your copy sound like a xerox machine when focusing in photo mode? Trying to figure weather mine is defective or just designed to be quite loud. I don't hear the sound in video mode tho which is strange.
There is a slightly scratchy sound when focusing. It's hard through words to determine how your copy compares, though if you have concerns, you probably should send it in to Sony for evaluation. That's a big investment to not feel confident in.
Can’t decide between the 85 gm and the sigma 105... weight is not a problem. What would you suggest?
The GM is the more natural fit, but I think the Simga 105 produces more special images.
Thank you for this
My pleasure!
Have you tried the Canon RF 85mm f1.2? If so, which of them do you prefer?
I haven't yet. I don't own an EOS R body, so I've only covered a few of the lenses.
Buy the Sony 85mm 1.8 and by an Godox 400Pro for the rest off the money!
Good review as always! Thanks 👍
...or a number of other excellent options. There’s definitely a big cost savings if you don’t need the additional performance of the G-Master lens.
I will stick with my zeiss 85 for now however I wish Sony would make a 85 1:2 thanks again love your channel
I wouldn't be surprised to see a MK II version of this lens or an F1.2 version.
@@DustinAbbottTWI now I have been looking at the cannon body r3, but already have the A1 kit and the Z9. Kit,I don’t earn a living with cameras but would like too.the (85mm F1:2 cannon) there is something about the rendering on this lens, am I crazy like my wife says.help lol
Hi Dustin, I have been following your reviews with great interest for months now and I have completely entrusted you to buy the GM 85 1.4. Great lens with incredible pastosity in out of focus. But .... But..... One thing that has left me a little perplexed, however, is that unlike your test, my lens has the cat's eye geometry in out of focus just outside the central circle. Near the corners it is very pronounced and in the corners it is incredibly oval. In your opinion what could it be?
Greetings from Italy
Understand that my test shows it in relation to other 85mm; it still has it, though to a lesser degree than competitors. Stopping down to about F2 will give you more even circular shapes across the frame.
Dustin I understand but yours don’t suffers from cat eyes while mine very much. And close the diaphragm the situation improves very little....or better, it improves because the blur circles decrease in diameter but the profile remains practically unchanged.
I'm wondering what's your personal favorite Sony FE native lens?
My favorite that I own is the Sony Zeiss Planar 50mm F1.4. The one I use the most is the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8
@@DustinAbbottTWI Hi Dustin, great review. An OT question for you though. In terms of Absolute IQ, what would you say is better? the Planar 50mm ZA or the milvus 50mm f1.4? I am trying to decide but can't. Which is better at the widest aperture? centre & corner resolution, renderingetc. ?
Dustin have you compared the GM to the Batis? If I were to get an 85mm I think it’d be one of those. I have the 24-70GM and I live it but all the Batis lenses I have tried have been stellar and there’s something special about Zeiss. Curious on your thoughts. Cheers!
If you watch my 85mm comparison, I do compare to the Zeiss along with four other options.
Dustin Abbott I’ll check it out! Thank you!
Don't discount the Samyang, it is excellent.
HoopDogg80 I’ll look into it. Only thing that worries me about third party lenses is auto focus function.
@@greysuit17 I had the Sony 85 F1.8 (very fast AF, faster than the GM) and the samyang at the same time and I have small children who are very unpredictable, impossible to tell the the eye Af performance apart for me. The Sony got returned, it's a great lens but the samyang is better for the much smoother bokeh.
I think I will stick with my badse
The Batis remains a very nice lens.
9:05 I saw a cat in the view.
Yep[!
Massive lenses, small bodies, not a comfortable combination. The truth about FF mirrorless cameras. Still Sony have done a great job 🎥🎥🎥Good review - thank you.
That's been true of the GM lenses , for sure, but not really true of third party lenses like those that Tamron and Samyang have designing for Sony. The Sony 85mm F1.8 is nicely sized, too. But yes, full frame (or larger) sensors and wide aperture is going to equal big lenses regardless of whether it is mirrorless or a DSLR.
@@shaolin95 - So foolish, you know nothing about me, I have used and continue to use a range of cameras including both mirrorless and dslr, rangefinder and even film. A suggestion my friend - why not take up fishing instead of trolling - it's meant to be calming for a troubled mind.
@@mikewhiles4635 your original comment was thoughtful. Regarding the troller... His name is Gabrielle, and he badgers Abbott with malignant and unstable comments. It's really peculiar, and unfortunate because he shuts down positive debate. No one wants to participate in a thread when they are exposed to that. And he'll defend his insindiary comments as just an honest retort. It's too bad, the channel is decent, but I'm going to start looking elsewhere as this clown is relentless.
I've had enough of it, too. He's been hidden from the channel. I don't like to shut down anyone, but he never brings anything positive to the conversation.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I am sure that is not an easy thing for you to do. However it's better for you and for your community. The rest of your subscribers will breathe a little easier.
it's better weather sealed ( probably ) than the others. how can you make a statement like that when in reality you have no idea if it's better weather sealed than the Sigma or Samyang. it's just all assumptions that because it's a GM it must be better sealed. and Sony counts on people thinking that witch is why they get away with there high price tags. I really think it's about time that the camera industry sets a standard that a manufacturer has to meet for weather sealing before they can say there lens is weather sealed or resistant, and then a camera company can have a little symbol that shows that there lens meets the standard, just like a motorcycle helmet has for safety. and if it goes beyond the standard than the company can brag about how good it's weather sealed.
While I agree on the standard that you mention, the Sigma is sealed only at the lens mount and the Samyang has four seal points. Sony isn't specific, but does say that there is sealing at more than just the mount. So, at the least the sealing is superior to the Sigma.
@@DustinAbbottTWI would you say it is safe to use the sigma 85 with a73 in light rain?
Light, yes, but not much more than that.
@@DustinAbbottTWI thanks dude 🙌
AF motor is slow
Yes and no. There are definitely faster focusing options (like the FE 1.8 version).
had it. sold it. too heavy.
Then you won't want to pick up the Sigma as a replacement ;) The Samyang might fit your needs, though
This channel has been hacked today
Even if Canon, Nikon, Pany went at a lens release pace double that of Sony, they would need 3 years to catch up to Sony today. Meanwhile, Sony keeps developing new lenses so CNP will need to run at a pace more like 3:1 of Sony just to catch up, nearly impossible. CNP brands will need to either (1) cut loose incredible development resources or (2) quickly build out a tier (e.g., high end) for their releases in a shrinking market. Meanwhile, Samyang, Tamron, Kamlan, Zeiss, Voitlander, and Sigma are going deep into Sony development so their resources are tapped so do they really want to jump into an unknown CNP future? - probably limited at best. It must really suck right now to be faced with these issues at Can-Nik-Pany.
Sony definitely has a development lead in the mirrorless front, though Canon's initial mirrorless lenses for the RF mount are by and large best in class.
The thing is, you can easily use many of Nikon and Canon's DSLR lenses on their mirrorless cameras, so it isn't the biggest issue. So something like the Nikkor 105mm is a great lens on DSLR's or mirrorless. Even Panasonic, will get a complete lens line up comparatively quickly because of the L mount allience with Sigma and Leica.
Canon have also released some great optics, which really are superb in every area except price and size. Nikon have done the opposite and brought out a number of mid range primes and zoom and the 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 and my guess is you will be hearing about the 58mm f/0.95 release sooner than later.
So whilst Sony does have a lens advantage for now. It isn't as big in some ways and with their larger mount sizes, you may be seeing faster lenses (which whilst in reality, really doesn't mean a huge amount, sounds good).
There are diminishing returns. Once a system has a lot of lenses, they just fill in a few gaps here and there. But if Canon/Nikon/Panasonic can get...let's say 12 lenses in the most used focal ranges, they can compete for sure. Especially since you can mount their earlier glass on the new mounts with an included adapter and have native level AF etc.