Introduction

If you’re looking for an affordable short telephoto and portrait lens, an 85mm f/1.8 lens is an excellent choice. But which one should you pick—Nikon, Sony, or perhaps the Viltrox 85mm f/1.8? While all three lenses share the 85mm focal length, we’ll also consider the TTArtisan 75mm f/2, which is close enough to serve as a potential alternative. Let’s compare these lenses side by side to help you decide which one is the best fit for your needs.

I tested the lenses on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf , Nikon Z6, and Sony A7 III)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.

Sample Images

Most of the sample images in this review and many more can be found in higher resolution here.

Specifications

Disclosure

Viltrox kindly provided the Viltrox 85mm lens for test and review purposes. TTArtisan kindly provided the 75mm lens for test and review purposes. My friend corahool.photography loaned the Sony lens and our reader Wolfgang kindly loaned the Nikon lens. Without their help this comparison wouldn’t be possible. All the Sony Sample images are also taken by corahool.photography, you can see more of his work on Instagram by clicking on the link.

Handling

Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S

The Nikkor lens feels very well-built and tightly assembled. The barrel is made of durable plastic. It features an A-M switch for auto and manual focus, along with a large focusing ring that can be customized to control various functions.

Sony FE 85mm f/1.8

The Sony lens is also well-built but doesn’t feel as robust as the Nikkor, giving a slightly more plasticky impression. It includes a control button, a relatively small focusing ring, and an MF-AF switch for manual and auto focus. This was the only lens that didn’t have Nikon Z mount. To use it on the Nikon Z cameras, I used a Megadap ETZ21 Pro Sony E to Nikon Z Autofocus adapter.

Viltrox 85mm f/1.8 II

The Viltrox is the largest lens in this group, both in diameter and weight. Its metal construction gives it a solid, well-built feel. However, it does not include any additional control points beyond its large focusing ring.

TTArtisan AF 75mm f/2

The TTArtisan is the smallest and lightest lens of the four, though it feels dense for its size due to its all-metal construction. Uniquely, it features an aperture ring that allows manual aperture adjustments in 1/3-stop increments, with an ‘A’ position for automatic aperture control from the camera. The increments and the A position clicks very gently, a little too gently, as you can change the setting or push it from the A position unintentionally with the slightest touch of the ring.

All the lenses feature a metal mount plate with electronic contacts. The Viltrox lens includes a USB-C port on the mounting plate for future firmware updates, while the TTArtisan lens has a USB-C port on the rear lens cap, which doubles as a firmware update dock. Firmware updates for Nikon and Sony lenses can be performed directly through the camera.

All four lenses come with front and rear caps, as well as a lens hood. The Nikon lens has the most robust and generously sized hood, while the TTArtisan’s hood is the most basic and flimsy.

None of the lenses include image stabilization. All four lenses are autofocus, utilizing stepper motors, except for the Sony lens, which features a linear motor. In a test of 26–28 images taken alternately from 1 meter to infinity using autofocus, all the lenses performed accurately, except for the Sony lens, which missed focus twice—approximately 7% of the time. The autofocus speed was similar across the lenses, although the Nikon focused slightly faster than the others. I found the Sony somewhat disappointing, as its linear motor did not provide any noticeable advantage in AF speed compared to the rest.

Optical Features

Sony FE 85/1.8	TTArtisan 75/2
Nikkor Z 85/1.8	Viltrox 85/1.8 II

Sharpness (Infinity)

For the infinity sharpness test, we look at three areas of the image, centre, mid-frame, and corner, see highlighted areas in the image below! Furthermore, as the 75mm is wider than the other three lenses and I took all the images from the same spot, the midframe and corner crop of it does not match the other ones.

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 is one the sharpest 85mm f/1.8 lenses around and we can see it here too. Sony is clearly not as sharp and Viltrox is the least sharp. What is a great surprise is that TTArtisan is almost as sharp as (if not sharper than) the Nikkor in the centre and midframe. In the corner the Nikkor is definitely sharper, much sharper than the TTArtisan, Sony is on the third place and Viltrox comes last. This is more or less the pattern at all apertures.

Sharpness (Portrait)

Just a note to remember that all these lenses are pretty sharp, sharper than what you normally need to get very sharp images. This is a comparison though to see how their sharpness compare to each other.

Let’s look at the points of interest for portraits at the portrait distance: the very centre, the centre’s inner periphery  (1/3 rule intersection), and the centre’s outer periphery (1/4th intersection).

Here, at wide open, Nikkor Z is clearly the winner, followed by Viltrox and TTArtisan, Sony comes last.  Stopping down helps Sony to get sharper outside the centre, sharper than TTArtisan but the Nikon is the sharpest everywhere at all tested apertures followed by Viltrox.

Sharpness (Close-up)

Again, all the lenses are very sharp right from wide open. Nikon is the sharpest but at close distances Sony is very close and better than the others, TTArtisan is least sharp of the all.

Lens Distortion

The Nikkor lens exhibits virtually no distortion, or none at all. The Sony lens is also exceptionally well-corrected, showing practically no distortion. The Viltrox lens displays some pincushion distortion, while the TTArtisan lens shows a negligible amount.

In terms of ranking: Nikon and Sony share first place, TTArtisan takes second, and Viltrox comes in third.

Vignetting

Here the Nikon, Viltrox, and Sony are at more or less the same level with the Nikon just a touch better, but that is not so much that you would normally see in practice, TTArtisan on the other hand is visibly worse than the others.

Focus Shift & Aberrations

Nikon and the TTArtisan has the least longitudinal aberrations and Sony has the worst and most pronounced one.

While Sony, Viltrox, and TTArtisan have all only 1 ED glass, the Nikon has used two of them in the lens construction and it shows its effect here as the Nikon is almost free from longitudinal chromatic aberration and best of these four lenses in this category. It is tightly followed by TTArtisan. Sony shows the worst performance here.

Here the Nikkor and TTArtisan show almost no LaCA at 200% magnification, while both Sony and Viltrox show quite pronounced purple fringing in the corners of the image.

Flare Resistance

Let’s have a look at some different scenarios (or cases) and compare the lenses side-by-side in similar situations.

Case One: Open Aperture with the Sun in the Corner plus Elsewhere in the Frame

This is the scenario most likely to occur when using any of these lenses.

With the lenses set to their widest apertures, the Nikon emerged as the best performer, closely followed by the Sony.

Case Two: Sun Near the Rule of Thirds Intersection

In this scenario, the Nikon clearly performed the best, with a notable advantage over the other lenses.

Case Three: Sun at the Long Edge of the Frame

None of the lenses managed to handle the situation flawlessly. However, the Nikon came out on top, while the Sony performed the worst.

Case Four: Sun in the Corner of the Frame

The Nikon handled this test without any notable issues—it’s actually difficult to find any faults. The other lenses, however, struggled significantly, with each showing noticeable flaws. The gap between them and the Nikon was substantial.

Case Five: Sun in the Middle of the Frame

This is the least likely scenario when using these lenses.

None of the lenses handled this situation particularly well, though the Nikon performed slightly better than the others. Let’s call it a draw in this scenarios.

To sum up, Nikon demonstrated the best flare resistance of all the lenses tested, earning its place as the winner in this category.

Coma

All four lenses exhibit coma at their widest apertures. Among them, the Nikon lens shows the least coma when wide open, while the TTArtisan lens demonstrates the most pronounced coma. Nikon’s coma diminishes more rapidly as the aperture is stopped down, followed by Sony and Viltrox, with TTArtisan being the slowest to improve. Overall, Nikon takes the lead in this category.

Sunstars

Portrait lenses with an odd number of curved aperture blades are not typically known for producing well-defined sunstars. However, all four lenses can create somewhat distinct sunstars at f/16, though none stand out as top performers in this category. Among the group, the Nikon lens produces the most distinct sunstars, and it does so starting from a wider aperture. The other lenses perform similarly in this regard.

Focus Breathing

All four lenses exhibit focus breathing to some extent. Among them, the TTartisan lens has the least focus breathing, followed by the Nikon. The Sony and Viltrox lenses perform similarly, showing the most focus breathing in this comparison. However, in practice, the differences are minimal and unlikely to be noticeable during typical use.

Bokeh

Bokeh is one of the most important aspects of portrait lenses, alongside sharpness. Modern lenses generally deliver excellent sharpness, and while some may be slightly sharper than others, sharpness is rarely a concern. So, let’s focus on bokeh!

Since bokeh is subjective, I’ve showcased it in various scenarios so you can decide for yourself. I will say which ones I like at the end.

Bokeh Specular Highlights

Looking at the bokeh balls, none of them shows any onion rings, which is good. What is different to Viltrox’s advantage is that it produces the largest bokeh balls with the least amount of optical vignetting, giving it a clear advantage over the others. At the other side of the spectrum, the TTArtisan produces the smallest balls with the most optical vignetting.

Now let’s look at the background blur at different distances both indoors and outdoors:

Background Blur Close Distance

Medium Distance

Long Distance

All of these lenses produce smooth background blur, and you won’t be disappointed no matter which one you choose. Personally, I prefer the bokeh of these lenses in the following order: Viltrox, Nikon, and TTArtisan/Sony. Which one is your favorite?

Conclusion

Once again, I’d like to remind you that this is only a comparison; each of these lenses has its strengths, and the best choice depends on what matters most to you.

The best overall lens is the Nikkor Z. It offers the highest build quality and superior optical performance, making it the sharpest lens with the best distortion and aberration correction, as well as excellent flare resistance. However, it is also the most expensive lens in this comparison.

The Viltrox, while not as sharp as the others, is still more than adequate for portraits and general photography. To my taste, it has the most pleasing bokeh. However, it does show some optical weaknesses compared to the others.

The Sony lens performs well across all tested categories, with no significant flaws. However, as the oldest lens in the group, it shows its age in some areas. While it holds up as a solid performer, it doesn’t excel in any particular category.

The TTArtisan is the smallest lens of the group, with the lowest price, but don’t let the small size or price fool you. It is offering an impressive sharpness across most of the frame and rivalling the Nikkor in those areas, and some other test categories, though it falls short in corner performance. It is also the only lens with an aperture ring—a feature that may appeal to those who enjoy retro-style handling and manual aperture control. At 10mm shorter than the others, its compact size is noteworthy. Given its affordable price, the TTArtisan offers the best value—you could purchase this super nice lens and another one for the same cost as the Nikkor or Sony.

To summarise: If you prioritise the best overall optical performance and build quality, and budget is not a concern, the Nikkor is the ideal choice. If you prefer the smallest, lightest, and most compact lens with excellent performance and outstanding value for money, the TTArtisan is hard to beat, it is the cheapest lens in this group, but in many areas better than the Viltrox and Sony. For the smoothest bokeh in an affordable lens, the Viltrox is the best option. Lastly, if you are a Sony user and prefer a lens from the brand, the Sony lens remains a reliable choice.

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Alternatives

Meike 85mm f/1.8
Not tested. Don’t know much about it, except that it is very cheap
Buy new: Amazon (Anywhere) for $189 (Affiliate links)

Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G
Not as sharp as the Nikon Z lens tested here, especially at wider apertures and in the corners. Bokeh is more or less on par with the Z version.
Buy new: Amazon (Anywhere) for $476 (Affiliate links)

More Sample Images

Most of the sample images in this review and many more can be found in higher resolution here.

Further Reading

• What camera gear and accessories do I use most frequently?
• Review: Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S
• Review: TTArtisan AF 75mm f/2
• Review: Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8 Z

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Martin

Martin M.H. lives outside Stockholm, Sweden. He is a M.Sc. in Computer Technology but he has been a passionate photographer for over 45 years. He started his photographic adventures when he was thirteen with an Agfamatic pocket camera, which he soon replaced with a Canon rangefinder camera that his mom gave him in his teenages. After that he has been using Canon SLR, Nikon SLR manual focus and Autofocus, Sony mirrorless crop sensor, Nikon DSLR and Nikon Mirrorless. He has photographed any genre he could throughout the years and you can see all kind of images in his portfolio. During the later years though it has been mostly landscape, nature, travel and some street/documentary photography.

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