There are two versions of this lens. One is the old version, which was made in china, and the other, newer one is made in vietnam at tamron's factory. The older version which has "made in china" near the rear element has been the best for me. Quality control at the tamron factory was or is not as good (i've had the same experience with pentax (tamron) zoom lenses made in vietnam and tamron's OSD primes), so multiple copies I tried exhibited uncharacteristically severe longitudinal chromatic aberrations and slight decentering. The older chinese made lens, however, was good and this aligns with the timeframe when this lens received the most positive reviews. This lens will exhibit some focus breathing and very mild chromatic aberration in out of focus areas, but ... MoreThere are two versions of this lens. One is the old version, which was made in china, and the other, newer one is made in vietnam at tamron's factory. The older version which has "made in china" near the rear element has been the best for me. Quality control at the tamron factory was or is not as good (i've had the same experience with pentax (tamron) zoom lenses made in vietnam and tamron's OSD primes), so multiple copies I tried exhibited uncharacteristically severe longitudinal chromatic aberrations and slight decentering. The older chinese made lens, however, was good and this aligns with the timeframe when this lens received the most positive reviews. This lens will exhibit some focus breathing and very mild chromatic aberration in out of focus areas, but nothing severe. CA is gone entirely upon stopping down to f2 and doesn't affect 90% of photos. Autofocus is fast and quiet in AF-C, and only hunts a little in AF-S mode. Bokeh is smooth at every aperture owing to the 9 rounded aperture blades, color rendition is excellent, and flare is minimal and handled gracefully. There is almost no distortion and points of light in the edges and corners retain their shape well from f2.5 on. The lens is decently sharp corner to corner from wide open to f11 and very sharp in the center from f2.8 to f8. If you have a 62mp camera, you may be more critical of its performance. Overall its a good lens, if it says made in china on the back and doesn't look like it spent a week in the amazon, buy it.

The lens is sharp. When comparing it to my Canon, 85mm F/1.8, there is a clear difference. After photographing several inanimate objects (plants, rocks, magazine covers and food items), I noticed the Sony clearly edged out my Canon 85mm prime lens in contrast, clarity with letters and textures and even color saturation and temperature. Had I not had both lenses I would have been been obviously and completely satisfied with my Canon lens. However, having both cameras and comparing the images side by side makes me realize how dated my unedited Canon 85mm F/1.8 images looked on my Canon 6D, compared to those taken with my Sony a7iii camera and lens.I then decided to compare the Sony 85mm with my Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 lens (made for Canon; the non-sports version) with ... MoreThe lens is sharp. When comparing it to my Canon, 85mm F/1.8, there is a clear difference. After photographing several inanimate objects (plants, rocks, magazine covers and food items), I noticed the Sony clearly edged out my Canon 85mm prime lens in contrast, clarity with letters and textures and even color saturation and temperature. Had I not had both lenses I would have been been obviously and completely satisfied with my Canon lens. However, having both cameras and comparing the images side by side makes me realize how dated my unedited Canon 85mm F/1.8 images looked on my Canon 6D, compared to those taken with my Sony a7iii camera and lens.I then decided to compare the Sony 85mm with my Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 lens (made for Canon; the non-sports version) with an MC-11 adapter. I know people are going to say you cannot compare an F/1.8 lens to an F/2.8 lens. And, my opinion is you can if you compare stops with similar stops, which is what I did. I've personally found that most (budget) lenses labeled as F/1.8 don't even get super sharp until you stop down to about F/2.8. And, the Sony 85mm lens, in my opinion, was no exception. When I shot something at F/1.8, it was plausible in the center, but extremely soft along the edges. Comparing each stop beginning at F/2.8, though, I noticed that my 70-200 lens and the Sony 85mm lens were neck in neck and the only difference was when I performed a few head shots, at which point the winner was my 70-200 lens but the differences were so minuscule, I'm talking about hair texture and skin pores being slightly more pronounced. Inanimate objects appeared to be the same. Additionally, the color saturation appeared to be the same with both lenses.So, for those who have a 70-200mm lens, but do not want to carry around a 3.5 pound lens while shooting or for those who are on a budget and want something sharp, light weight and portable, then this lens is ideal.

I found myself in need of a decent portrait lens for my Sony mirrorless camera to do maternity photos for my daughter. As an advanced amateur hobbyist photographer, I pretty much knew that a fast 85mm prime lens would best suit my needs for at least some of my photos that I planned to take. In reviewing all the various options, it quickly became apparent that the Sony FE 85mm f1.8 lens checked off most of the boxes, including price, size, weight, and reputation.The lens features outstanding sharpness, excellent bokeh, and focuses quietly. I am surprised Sony didn't issue this lens as one of their G series lenses. Some of the compromises include lack of a rubber gasket for weather sealing of the lens mount, no aperture control ring like some of their newer G ... MoreI found myself in need of a decent portrait lens for my Sony mirrorless camera to do maternity photos for my daughter. As an advanced amateur hobbyist photographer, I pretty much knew that a fast 85mm prime lens would best suit my needs for at least some of my photos that I planned to take. In reviewing all the various options, it quickly became apparent that the Sony FE 85mm f1.8 lens checked off most of the boxes, including price, size, weight, and reputation.The lens features outstanding sharpness, excellent bokeh, and focuses quietly. I am surprised Sony didn't issue this lens as one of their G series lenses. Some of the compromises include lack of a rubber gasket for weather sealing of the lens mount, no aperture control ring like some of their newer G lenses, and no carry case. At least it does have on the lens barrel a MF-AF switch and a focus-hold button which can be programmed to handle other functions like Eye AF from the camera's menu. It also comes with a lens hood that some big-name lens makers don't always include. Bokeh is very pleasing although circular highlights take on a cats-eye appearance near the edges of the image. Focus is fast and quiet thanks to its double linear autofocus motors. The design and appearance of the lens is simple and clean, and it feels satisfyingly solid in the hands. The size is perfect for most camera bags and the lens balances nicely with all of Sony's full frame Alpha series of mirrorless camera bodies as well as the APS-C models, where it is the focal length equivalent of roughly a 135mm telephoto.If you want the benefits of owning a Sony brand 85mm lens, then the only other options include the more expensive Zeiss Batis lens and the much more expensive Sony GM f/1.4 lens. They are respectively over twice and three times the price of the Sony FE 85mm f1.8 lens, with the GM version much larger and over twice the weight. Given the affordability and host of options, the afforable Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 lens is an easy choice for a lot of photographers looking for the quality of image that only a fast prime lens can offer.