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Archive 2017 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

notherenow
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

There is a cheaper choice in 85mm too.

The A mount 85 2.8 SAM lens is cheap and quite nice and you would only need the LA-EA3.

I liked the lens but sold my LA-EA4 I needed with the A7/A7s and sold the lens too. The AF area was a bit limited for me with the LA-EA4 but as a portrait lens it would be fine. It is still ok for image quality though the native AF FE 85s are better.

Aug 15, 2017 at 03:29 PM

patonima
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Yeah, I'd like to start with a native lens to be able to use it for a while without feeling the need to buy another lens.

Aug 15, 2017 at 03:31 PM

40Driggs
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

I got my 55 1.8 for $500 on this forum, but I got lucky. A cheap 85 might be easier to get and better as a single portrait lens.

Aug 15, 2017 at 03:49 PM

Steve Spencer
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

notherenow wrote:
There is a cheaper choice in 85mm too.

The A mount 85 2.8 SAM lens is cheap and quite nice and you would only need the LA-EA3.

I liked the lens but sold my LA-EA4 I needed with the A7/A7s and sold the lens too. The AF area was a bit limited for me with the LA-EA4 but as a portrait lens it would be fine. It is still ok for image quality though the native AF FE 85s are better.

On the A7rII you can use the LA-EA3 and it works pretty well. It is a good lens for resolution and rendering, but the AF isn't close to the FE 85 f/1.8.

Aug 15, 2017 at 03:53 PM

GabrielPhoto
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

notherenow wrote:
Agreed that we all have different requirements.

If you need 1.4 then the 85 1.8 can not help there either.

I have not used the GM either but am just going of my use of the 1.8 and also most of the reviews I have seen comparing them.

For example DXO rates the GM a fraction better overall than the FE 85 1.8 and Batis 85 but with the FE rated as sharper (I find DXO useful but not the be all and end all).

https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side/Sony-FE-85mm-F18-on-Sony-A7R-II-versus-Sony-FE-85mm-F14-GM-on-Sony-A7R-II-versus-Zeiss-Carl-Zeiss-Batis-85mm-F18-Sony-FE-on-Sony-A7R-II__1818_1035_1680_1035_1536_1035

Lens Rentals also likes it (along with the others).
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2017/06/sharpness-tests-of-the-sony-fe-85mm-f1-8-g/

Note, I didn't say the FE was better though I actually...Show more →
I do find DXO useful even though is based on one copy unlike lens rental but the sharpness test does not show the big difference in subject isolation (3Dish pop) and background blur that the 1.4 has over the 1.8. It may sound like on paper is not much but when I did the test, the differences were easily visible at any size without needing pixel peeping levels.
But in any case, we both agree about different needs for different users. For the product I like to deliver for my clients the GM was my choice but we should all feel lucky of how many great 85mm options we have for sure...hard to go wrong and something for everyone.

Aug 15, 2017 at 04:32 PM

frezeiss
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Nikkor 105 2.5 Ais or 85 1.4 Ais

Aug 16, 2017 at 12:25 AM

frezeiss
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Nikkor 105 2.5 Ais or 85 1.4 Ais

Aug 16, 2017 at 12:25 AM

patonima
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

It seems I really need to lean Manual focusing then

Aug 16, 2017 at 06:39 AM

Gunzorro
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Yes, if your want to experiment around, get good IQ, and have a super-tight budget, you are really best served buying used manual focus lenses. 85mm will be more expensive, but you can get tons of 50-58mm lenses at bargain basement prices, just add a "dumb" adapter. Good brands to search are the Nikon, Pentax and Canon FD series. It opens a whole world of image exploration at bargain prices.

I think you could get some great results with the Sigma MC-11 AF adapter and using Canon EOS lenses. Starting with the 40/2.8, you can buy used Canon EOS lenses at very good prices.

Reports on the new Sony 85/1.8 are excellent, and you might want to consider that for great AF. Pick up a manual focus 50mm and adapter and you'll have a nice little system with 28, 50, 85 to get started.

patonima wrote:
It seems I really need to lean Manual focusing then

Aug 16, 2017 at 08:37 AM

patonima
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Yeah, I think that's what I'm gonna do. I'll buy as soon as possible the Sony 85, keep my 28 and explore 50mm with manual focus

All in all I'm feeling pretty excited already

Can't wait to see my kids back from vacation and snap some cool pictures with them!

Aug 16, 2017 at 08:59 AM

philip_pj
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

I'd plump for the CY 85/2.8, the lens the Sony 85s closely resemble. Hard to beat for portraiture, I've used the 100/3.5 for years, beautiful results, tiny and $300 or little more. Another is the lens McCurry used for Afghan Girl, Nikkor 105/2.5, even cheaper as Nikon made/sold a truckload of them. A4 over 400g, much heavier and little less classy than the Zeiss CY pair.

Aug 16, 2017 at 09:41 AM

justruss
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Faulta wrote:
Get a used samyang 50mm 1.4 AF, soft is really not how you should describe it. It's at least as good as the 28mm f2 wide open, I have both. If that's sharp enough the samyang is a good fit.

I don't know if my 28mm f/2 is just incredible, or the Samyang 50 1.4 AF I tried was soft. But the two were nowhere near the same league wide open.

The 28mm f/2 is shockingly good wide open (in the center!). The Samyang was "dreamy" wide open... in terms of sharpness. But, again, that's just a single data-point with a single copy of both. I'm guessing the Samyang has more variation than many lenses.

Aug 16, 2017 at 10:21 AM

Faulta
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

justruss wrote:
I don't know if my 28mm f/2 is just incredible, or the Samyang 50 1.4 AF I tried was soft. But the two were nowhere near the same league wide open.

The 28mm f/2 is shockingly good wide open (in the center!). The Samyang was "dreamy" wide open... in terms of sharpness. But, again, that's just a single data-point with a single copy of both. I'm guessing the Samyang has more variation than many lenses.

Just look at the image samples I showed from my copy, nothing to complain in terms of shaprness. Keep in mind the dof is smaller with a 50mm 1.4, so there is more out of focus area but that's true for any 50mm 1.4. the 28mm on the other hand, maybe it's my copy, but it's not incredible at all. I started a thread here where I compared it with the 21mm samyang on APS-c and optically it was worse in almost any aspect. Also, with distortion correction sharpness is not very good wide open. The reason for the good center is, that it's more like a 35mm in the center without correction, this magnified area gets pushed inwards so it's less magnified. Therefore it almost always hits sensor resolution. For the edges, the exact opposite applies.
And then there are the ugly sunstars of the 28mm but everyone has their own personal preference.
I'm pretty sure, the op won't be disappointed with the samyang as I was pretty surprise with it's performance after reading a couple of negative reviews. I definitely prefer it over the 55mm at the same price point.

Because we were talking about lens variation, I found a lens rentals article where they tested 8 copies, at least wide open: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/12/an-inside-look-at-the-rokinon-50mm-af-fe-autofocus-lens/
And it's not a lot worse at 1.4 than the 55mm at 1.8 and a lot better than the Canon 50mm 1.4 at 1.4.
They didn't post 1.8 charts but at least my own experience tells me that it's at least as sharp as the Sony once you stop it down to 1.7 or 2.0.
I really don't want to do any marketing for samyang because I have had some bad experience with them but I feel that the 50mm AF is definitely an underrated lens and more people should just try it out like I did. There is actually another thread here at fredmiranda where someone is posting image samples and trading in his 55mm for the samyang

Aug 16, 2017 at 11:18 AM

coase
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

If you're willing to forego autofocus, then the Rokinon 85/1.4 is very nice. I just got the FE 85/1.8 and while it does seem amazing, and has great autofocus, I'm not really seeing a gigantic difference in portraits comparing both of them at f2. The FE f1.8 is very good wide open while the 85/1.4 needs to be stopped down to f2 or smaller to really benefit. It may have slightly better bokeh than the FE.

They are often sold quite cheaply on the used market and focusing with peaking + maginification (I leave this on button 1) is easier than you'd expect.

Aug 22, 2017 at 04:55 PM

patonima
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Thanks for the tip,
I thought focusing a 85/1.4 manually would be a nightmare with such narrow depth of field. Happy to see focus Peaking+magnification makes it possible. I found out that IBIS really helps too with magnification to get the focus right without sweating...

Aug 22, 2017 at 05:00 PM

pasblues
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

If you can get a good copy of the Minolta Rokkor 85mm f1.7, I highly recommend this for a portrait lens. I bought one recently from a Japan seller and it exceeded my expections. I have the 58mm f1.2 which is lovely - and useful as a portrait lens also but I think you were asking for something, maybe, that would give you some compression and reach as well?

Also, if you can get a decent Helios 44-3 and adapter, that's the least expensive option and the quality is stunning. Just got mine today and my knees buckled a little. Yes - leaving money completely out of the equation - the Helios is THAT sharp. Include the money in the equation and there's no reason at all to buy an expensive lens for portraits...unless AF is so critical that your skills and the assignment require it.

I will be putting the Helios up against the 55mm f1.8 Sony I finally broke down and bought. If that Helios beats the 55mm f1.8, then the Sony lens is going up for sale - and I will be sleeping with the Helios next to my nightstand because I love it that much.

Peggy

Edited on Sep 05, 2017 at 01:12 PM · View previous versions

Aug 27, 2017 at 03:43 PM

3catsinky
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

you just purchased on the the best, most detailed sensor cameras on the market, DON'T BE CHEAP! Get the 55 Zeiss, if you need to go tighter, go to ASPC mode and you have close to an 85mm. Buy cheap, buy twice.

Aug 27, 2017 at 05:00 PM

patonima
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Thanks for the advice,
It's true that with this huge sensor and so many mega pixels, I'm amazed by the result of my APSC lenses, I might consider buying also APSC in the future, both modes are great

I would love not to be cheap, but really for a 50mm 1.8 paying $800 for the Zeiss 55mm, I can't justify myself doing it, where I loved my $150 Nikon version and it was that cheap. I'll probably go for the Sony 85 1.8 and use my manual 50mm Minolta until the day where I'll buy the cheap noisy Sony 50mm 1.8. But There's no way I'll play the game of paying that much for the Zeiss. It's just ridiculous. I'm just sad there's no decent Sony version as good as the Sony FE 85/1.8 but not with the Zeiss price tag...

pasblues wrote:
If you can get a good copy of the Minolta Rokkor 85mm f1.7, I highly recommend this for a portrait lens. I bought one recently from a Japan seller and it exceeded my expections. I have the 58mm f1.2 which is lovely - and useful as a portrait lens also but I think you were asking for something, maybe, that would give you some compression and reach as well?

The lens that I'm interested in for myself that I think could also be a great portrait lens - (because not everybody wants a tightly framed portrait shot at super wide...Show more →

Aug 27, 2017 at 07:00 PM

engardeknave
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

Save up for a 55 1.8. They can easily be acquired used for $700. You're going to get it eventually anyway, and you can save yourself a lot of time, money, and disappointment by getting the lens that will fulfill your needs instead of a bunch of garbage lenses that will not.

Aug 28, 2017 at 09:53 AM

akclimber
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · Any Cheap portrait lens for Sony a7RII?

patonima wrote:
I would love not to be cheap, but really for a 50mm 1.8 paying $800 for the Zeiss 55mm, I can't justify myself doing it, But There's no way I'll play the game of paying that much for the Zeiss. It's just ridiculous. I'm just sad there's no decent Sony version as good as the Sony FE 85/1.8 but not with the Zeiss price tag...

But the thing is, the Zony 55/1.8 is actually worth the price, especially used - it's that good 😊 I also have the Sony 85/1.8 and I prefer 85mm focal but I just keep using the darn 55/1.8 I love it so much. Good luck with your decision!

Aug 28, 2017 at 10:46 AM

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