It’s been a long time since Sony updated the 85mm f1.4 G Master. But now, we’ve got the new Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II. Since then, Sony has made improvements in the way of autofocus speed, clinical clarity, and weather resistance. And that’s really all that you can expect from this lens. It’s wonderful for what it is. However, there’s only so much you can eat a prime rib. That’s to say that everything Sony does is good. So how is this any different?
Table of Contents
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The Big Picture: Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II Review Conclusions
Sony has done a lot of work to make the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II an exceptional lens. They strive to make optics as plain as possible, which requires lots of engineering. And in 2024, that’s fading out of style very fast. But we have to acknowledge that this lens is very sharp and can make beautiful photographs.
But here’s the thing: I don’t know why someone would purchase this lens. The 85mm f1.8 is still a great lens for what it costs. It isn’t built nearly as well as the G Master, though. And the new G Master is very fast to focus. But if I need autofocus speed, then I’ll probably reach for a zoom lens with a constant aperture. Sony and Tamron make a ton of those.
Sony could have created an 85mm f1.2 instead to make this lens really unique. But then they would’ve had to take on Canon’s.
We’re giving the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II four out of five stars. It’s a good lens; but so is everything else that they’ve done — and this isn’t good enough to make me want to upgrade. Want one? Check them out on Amazon.
Pros
- Optically spectacular
- Weather resistance
- Very fast AF performance, Sony says that its 7x faster
- 20% lighter and 13% smaller
- When you shoot with it through glass, it still looks incredible
- The bokeh really makes the subject matter pop, but so did every other Sony lens.
- Very lightweight and you often want to take it everywhere with you
Cons
- I can’t really tell the difference between this and an 85mm f1.8 if I’m not looking at 100%
- Sony’s colors are a bit annoying when it comes to skin tones, especially
- $1,799 is quite the price.
Who Should Buy It?
So, who should get the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II?
- Portrait photographers: this is especially the case if you need the latest and greatest gear. If you’re a photographer who wants a blank slate and then does all your work in post-production, consider this too.
- Sports photographers: the faster autofocus is nice for sports like basketball. However, the 85mm f1.8 is also more than capable for sports photography.
I need to be forthright about this: Sony has a brand of cultists who defend the dirt that they eat. These folks are often more concerned with tech than they are art. And they’re the only people I see buying this lens.
Innovations
The most innovative things about the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II involve Sony discussing the edge-to-edge sharpness and the newer autofocus speeds. Indeed, the autofocus speed is better than even the 85mm f1.8.
Gear Used
We tested the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II with the Sony a7r IV. The former is a Sony loaner unit. The latter is a loaner unit from Lensrentals. Additional testing was done with the Sony a7r III and the Profoto B10. Both of those units are our own. Lots of this review was shot using a Tiffen Cross Section filter, Glimmer Glass, and Pro-Mist filters. Additionally, I used a PrismFX Radial filter.
Hardware
The Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II is, by far, the best built 85mm lens that Sony has made. This lens is weather resistant and built with a level of resistance that’s around the same as Sony’s latest G Master glass. In turn, it’s solid. But Canon, Leica, Panasonic, and Nikon all make more durable lenses.
What photographers using this lens will really admire is the aperture lock, the custom buttons, and the aperture ring. It’s also pretty lightweight and small enough that you’d want to bring it with you everywhere. In the hand, it feels like a very nice lens that you’d want to use all day. Though at the same time, I yearn for more with the ergonomics.
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Ease of Use
The biggest feature related to ease of use is the aperture lock. That’s one of the newer features added to this lens, as it prevents it from switching between being lens-based and camera-based. Most Sony lenses require the photographer to change the aperture via the camera, but some G Master prime lenses have the aperture around the lens itself. Personally, I’ve always preferred to use the aperture around the lens.
Otherwise, this is a standard Sony lens. You couple it to the camera, point, focus, and make a photograph. It’s really that simple.
Focusing
First, the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II has a major autofocus upgrade over many of Sony’s other 85mm lenses. This new one is noticeably the fastest of the bunch. That means that it’s great for sports and candid shoots. But realistically, we see sports photographers wanting a zoom lens instead. Henceforth, most photographers getting the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II are most likely going to shoot portraits. Hopefully, that crowd remembers that they’re shooting a camera and not a full-auto machine gun. With that in mind, the autofocus will be more than good enough for what they need to do.
Sony’s cameras tend to have more problems with focusing on people of color than the other big companies have. I found that to be an annoying problem here, too. And we’ve talked about it a lot in our Sony a9 III review.
Image Quality
Sony is going to do what Sony does. What I mean by that is that they’re going to constantly find a reason to try to one-up themselves. I applaud the capitalist and consumerism-centered need to improve their products. But at the same time, they start to feel kind of soulless. Bearing this in mind, shooting with the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II doesn’t feel like I’m shooting with a camera or a lens. It instead feels like I’m using a computer. The image quality feels just as sentient.
Is it sharp? Yes. Is the bokeh nice? Yes. Are the colors great? Totally. But to get them that way, Sony gives you the blankest slate you can possibly work with. There’s no character, and if you want that, then you have to do it in post-production or use a filter.
And then if that’s the case, what’s the point of getting the lens? Sharpness, too, can be made to look gorgeous in post-production. So this leaves us with the bokeh.
Sony 85mm f1.4 GM II vs the 85mm f1.8
Above, the image on the left is shot with the new G Master while the newer one is shot with the 85mm f1.8. This is an informal test, but it’s also a very practical test. The truth is that lab tests don’t simulate real life. And bearing this in mind, no one will really be able to tell the difference apart when it comes to the bokeh. We also really don’t think that people will care all that much either.
Let’s Talk Art
To avoid being a tech-oriented website, I’m going to discuss the images below and explain why I like them. This will remind you of how important art is.
I’ve been spending a lot of time studying Todd Hido’s work recently. On a recent trip to Pennsylvania, a friend and I was driving around in the early morning. With my white balance locked, I shot images through his car window while also using a mist filter. That’s how I made photographs that balance the feeling of eerie with beauty. But realistically, I could’ve done this with so many other lenses.
The key here, though, is that Sony gives you the ultimate blank slate to do editing. However, I knew that if I were shooting with another camera system, I wouldn’t need to edit.
Extra Image Samples
From day one, The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, lots of folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can make a decision for yourself.
Unedited
Some of these images have been shot using a lens filter. Consult the Gear Used section of this review.
Edited
Some of these images were edited using the Phoblographer’s Photojournalism Capture One presets. If you’d like to purchase them, you can do so in our shop.
