Sony FE 85mm F1.8 lens review: Excellent image quality at a reasonable price

Overview Announced in early 2017, the Sony FE 85mm F1.8 is a short-tele designed for the company's mirrorless full-frame a9/a7 models. It will of course, also serve double duty on the APS-C a6000 series, where it's more or less a 135mm equivalent. Although not a premium G-master model like the F1.4 version announced the year before, it's a lot smaller and lighter and still has some features that might be considered "premium." This includes ED glass, a near-silent, twin-focus drive system (using a stepping motor), a focus-hold button that can be customised, weather sealing and a nine-blade circular aperture. It’s also quite nicely made, with a mainly metal exterior and a large manual focus ring. Admittedly, it follows the trend for a sober, minimalist-looking design, especially with its large, finely ribbed focus ring. It gives an assured grip but it can trap dust, though it's not as susceptible as some, like the early X-series Fujinons. There are no hard stops at either end of