Sony 85mm F1.4 GM II Review

People have been waiting for the Mark II version of the Sony 85mm G Master lens for a long time. There has been a lot of conjecture over whether or not it will be an 85mm F1.2 lens to match the 50mm F1.2 GM that I reviewed here and to compete with similar lenses from Canon or Nikon. But Sony has done their internal calculations and determined that the best way forward for them is a less extreme F1.4 design that will instead be a match for the 24mm F1.4, 35mm F1.4, and 50mm F1.4 GM lenses, and the new Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II is a definite match in terms of size, design, and aesthetic to those lenses. This also allowed them to keep the price at a more moderate level at $1799 USD, which will almost certainly result in higher sales. But the market is also pretty saturated at the 85mm focal length on Sony E-mount, so will the 85GM II (as we’ll call it for brevity here) be able to stand out amongst the competing lenses at lower price points? We’ll do our best to explore that amongst other things in our review today. You can watch the video review, read the text review, or just enjoy the photos below.

Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II Review | Does it Stand Out from the Crowd?

Thanks to Sony USA for sending me a review loaner of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV along with the Sony Alpha 1 that serve as my benchmark cameras for Sony lenses.

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The original Sony 85mm GM (standing for Gold Master, Sony’s premium line of lenses), was released very early on in Sony’s mirrorless journey (early 2016), and while it was a very good lens (I reviewed it in 2019 here), it definitely showed some clear flaws even when compared to the competition of the day. Autofocus in particular showed some lack of refinement and was outclassed in my tests by the much less expensive Sony FE 85mm F1.8. After 8 1/2 years it was clearly time for an update, and Sony has returned with a smaller, lighter, faster, and optically superior lens.

The big challenge is going to be the competition. Samyang has released a MK II version of their 85mm F1.4 lens (my review here), and an even more direct competitor now exists in Sigma’s 85mm F1.4 DN (my review here). There are also a number of 85mm F1.8 options, many of which are very good. I purchased the Sigma years ago and value its strong performance, and because I have it on hand, I will do some direct comparisons to that lens.

So has Sony done enough with the 85GM II to set it apart from the competition?

Photos of the Sony 85mm F1.4 G Master II

Photos taken with the Sony 85mm F1.4 G Master II

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GEAR USED:

Purchase the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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Purchase the Sony a7RV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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