Released at the end of 2024, this Sirui 85mm 1.4 Aurora was Sirui’s first non-cine fullframe lens aimed at photographers. It is one of the most affordable and compact 85mm 1.4 lenses, but is that enough to pick it over the strong competition? Let’s try to find out in this review!
35mm are the favorite focal length of many reportage, event and wedding photographers. In the last years we saw boundaries being pushed as we can now choose from f/1.2 lenses with autofocus and manual focus lenses that even offer a maximum aperture of f/0.95. I gathered five recent ones of these super fast 35mm lenses with maximum apertures ranging from f/0.95 to f/1.2 and will compare them, to give you an idea which might work best for your needs.
Continue reading Comparison: Super Fast 35mm f/0.95 | f/1.2 Fullframe Lenses
Since its release in 2019 I have been using the Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art DG DN as my main lens for any kind of reportage work. It took until 2025 for another manufacturer to challenge Sigma by releasing a 35mm 1.2 lens with autofocus of their own. Actually, there were two at almost the same time: Nikon with their Nikon Z 35mm 1.2 S and Viltrox with this Viltrox AF 35mm 1.2 FE LAB. As the Nikon lens sells for 3 grand it is out of reach for most people. This Viltrox lens is way more attractively priced, so let’s find out if it is time to retire my Sigma 35mm 1.2 Art DG DN after 6 years of usage.
Having a state of the art 70-200mm 2.8 zoom is something very important for the camera manufacturers, as these are extremely popular lenses – especially among the professional customers. Sadly, Sony’s first generation for the FE system wasn’t exactly a stellar performer and fell noticeably behind Nikon’s and Canon’s offerings. I said it before: Sony is very much aware of what the duds in the lineup are, so also here they released an improved version, the Sony FE 70-200mm 2.8 GM OSS II. Is this finally the 70-200mm 2.8 telezoom Sony customers deserve? Let’s find out in this review.
We summarize our experience with all the native E-mount and a few legacy lenses in the 85-200mm bracket for the Sony A7/A9/A1 series to give you a compact and independent resource for choosing the best portrait lens for your needs.
We also have a general guide to FE-lenses, 9-18mm ultra wide angle lenses, guide to 20-28mm wide angle lenses, 35mm lenses, 50mm lenses and macro lenses.
Unlike most other review sites we have no association with any lens manufacturer apart from occasionally loaning a lens for a review. No fancy trips and meals.
Before any short introduction we tell you how long we have used a lens and if we have borrowed it from a manufacturer. But in most cases we have bought the lenses new from retail stores or on the used market.
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Last update: March 2025, several lenses added, cleaned up
Continue reading Guide to the best Portrait Lenses – Sony A7/A9/A1 series