I love this lens. Without a doubt, one of the most versatile that I have. I have also used it for pet portraiture. It gives incredible bokeh and the subject is always super sharp.
My favorite lens of all time. And tac sharp. I use it for portraits and action photography when my subjects are fairly close. Beautiful shots and super fast AF
I just got this lens two days ago and now experimenting with it. I think I just learn something from your video today, "stacking"! I think it is the needed trick if I want to make a flower looks sharp from the inside of the petal up to the end of its stigma.
Your review is right on point. Im slowly and I mean very slowly switching over to Sony from Nikon and I now own the A7RIII and the A7III and im looking at a fx6, fx3 or possibly an A7SIII, but im looking closely at the FX6 for video. We are currently using Blackmagic, so it will probably be an fx6. The 2nd lens that I bought physically was this lens, with the first being the Sigma 14-24mm f2.8 and I ordered online a Tamron 28-75 and the 85mm f1.8 and the Sony 55mm zeiss f1.8. The 90mm is an amazing lens, but as you stated, macro photography, just like wedding photography and even potrait photography, which is what I do isnt for the faint of heart, but the ring shots that you can get out of it ate pretty amazing. The 35mm f1.4gm is on my radar as well.
I've only had this lens for a month and I adore it. It's so sharp and detailed even on my A6400 (saving up for fullframe). The only issue I have is the focus breathing. Its way more than any other macro lens I've used so it's taking time to get used to it. It's especially a problem when switching from auto focus to manual and everything can change size screwing up your composition. For other lenses in the past I used auto focus to get close quickly then switch to manual to get the detail. This lens makes that process slower. It also doesn't always stay where you last focused with auto when switching to manual, so you need to completely refocus. Autofocus also seems to dislike dark colored subjects even when well lit in daylight. I don't know if this is a problem with aps-c and it will go away with full frame though. I will just stay in manual focus for macro stuff now until I get a full frame. I don't regret buying it as I love the sharpness, detail and stabilization (A6400 doesn't have IBIS).
Hi Amber, would you recommend this lens for a6400 in 2022? How usable it is being 135mm on apsc? Would it serve as a good portraits lens too, since being a hobby photographer it is somehow expensive for me to invest.
This is my most favorite lens. You are right, it's super sharp. My wife and daughter think it's too sharp and they don't like it after seeing their own photos which I took with this lens ;-) I enjoy macro photography. It's fun and very frustrating at the same time. It really tests my patience, especially when I was so close to getting a good shot and then just blew it. And that happened too often.
Hi Pankaj, how about portrait? Would you recommend this lens on a6400 at 135mm focal length. I am a hobby photographer thus thinking twice to invest on it. Would love to use it as portrait too, if works well.
@@Vicky-il5yv I have used it for portrait not very frequently, but from whatever little I did, I'll share my experience - 1. It's sharpness is insane. It's so sharp that one may need to soften the image a bit for portraits. 2. It gives a good flat profile and F2.8 is usable for most conditions, but there would always be difference between bokeh of an f2.8 and day f1.8 lens. 3. Autofocus is bit slow, so if you are trying to click portrait of ta kid playing in the garden, you may miss some shots; but for all other kind of portraits, it'll work.
@@pankajvermacs Thanks for your response. 1) Yeah I think it would be good for daylight portrait photography, for night 1.8 would do a better job specially to produce better bookeh balls. Ans how usable is the effective focal length of 135mm on apsc with this lens? It would be little tight for portrait or street photography I guess. 2) And, are you looking to switch to full frame body in near future? Would love to hear your thoughts. However I know a6400 does a very good job specially when paired with good lenses.
@@Vicky-il5yv 1. Its definitely tight for street photography and for most of the portraits work too. (but for planned photoshoots, in open places, it will produce good result) 2. I primarily do bird photography (on 70-350mm lens), for which I am finding crop sensor to be sufficient.
@@pankajvermacs Ya I like that 70-350 G lens and planning to replace my 55-210 with that but skeptical on investing on an apsc lens, which is not cheap. Whereas I am aware that the focal length of that lens is amazing on apsc. Thanks
Do you experience any ‘movement’ in the lens? Particularly at close focus in manual? A slight clunk… not always there and disappears when OIS is switched off.
I just got mine yesterday. Still learning to use it. It looks super powerful. Oddly it had dust in it right out of the box. I was able to clean it and we're back in business.
I have a question , I am a start up photographer and bought this lens , a simple question , When I use for headshot how I set my lens on full or on big line in the middle , and on macro where is better 0.5mm or 0.28 mm which is best , what setting you put on when you took a eye photo . Please reply me.
I have used this lens for years with incredible results. I recently purchased a Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x macro, a fully manual lens. It is incredibly sharp but difficult to master compared to the Sony. The manual lens is great for use on a tripod with a still subject and focus stacking due to the more limited depth of field you get with the increased magnification. The manual lens makes me appreciate the ease of use with auto focus and image stabilization.
Hi there, nice video! I could not find very useful info about its autofocus system on apsc (a6500) around the web. Do you think it could be a valid option (ofc not the best) for taking pictures at fast shutter speed, such as sport action or running dogs? (outdoors). I was considering the sony FE 85 1.8, for being a fast and reliable telephoto prime lens for apsc, but if the 90 does the job, i'd love to get this one for its macro capabilities. Thank you!
The 90 Macro is not designed for sport and will handle macro and slower subjects better. For dogs and sport, maybe consider something like a 70-200/70-180.
In this video Stefan was talking about image stabilization, and at about 2:50 in the video he showed video recording a dog with stabilization off and on, and to me it did not look like the image was more stable with the stabilization on.
sharpest and best stabilised lens on sony system. Even great for landscapes and the clutch override is a godsend for the paperthin focal plane. Yes, I may rebuy it again in the future.
People keep saying this is the sharpest Sony lens, but it isn't. According to MTF charts, the Sigma 85 1.4 DG DN is substantially sharper (over more of the image too), and the Sony 135 1.8 GM is even sharper than that (best MTF I've ever seen). And those are at 1.4 and 1.8, stopped down to 2.8 they absolutely blow the 90mm 2.8 away. *edit - As for stabilized lenses only, I think you are right about this being the sharpest. Dxomark lists the 90mm as the sharpest (amd i believed it too once), but the Dxomark sharpness score is an unobjective "perceived megapixels" score with no methodology ever disclosed, unlike MTF. If you plan to use it mostly for non-macro photos and only occasional macro, get the Sigma 85 1.4 and some extension tubes.
As far as I know of, the stabilizer only do about half a stop at 1:1, so I will hope that Sony will make a GM Macro Lens without stabilizer to make it more compact and more rugged. I never use autofocus for macro photography ! I think that the Sony 90mm Macro Lens are too expensive, there are several examples of bad uneven production of this Lens !
I have a weird question - which option is more versatile Sony 85mm 1.8 with extension tubes or Sony 90mm macro? I am a pro hobbyist currently have the sigma 24-70 looking for my next lens.
I have to agree with Stefan here. I am lucky enough to own both. I like the 85 for portraits as it's more forgiving than the 90mm. I use the 90 for product and macro where sharpness is key. The 90 is great for portraits and if I had to choose 1 over the other then it would be the 90mm all the way. I find macro tubes very limiting.
Hard to compare a manual lens to an AF lens. The Sony is more versatile for sure. Laowa offers 2x magnification. For beginners or intermediates I would recommend the Sony.
1st and foremost...Thank you for the Video!! Question I run a Channel covering Tech Reviews On Earbuds, Headphones, BT Speakers, Camera Gear etc. I do a ton of product B-Roll But its all Video Not Photography...That being said, I would be Using this Lens on a Sony A7c or my A7siii On top of my Edelkrone Slider. Would This be the perfect Lens for my up close shots in your opinion?
@@StefanMalloch just a joke guy... my 90mm never gets out of the box it came in, sitting on the mantle next to dads ashes. I'm actually thinking about making a little rotating stand for it on top of the tv.
Aquamarine ring shooting setting like ISO, APERTURE, FOCAL LENGHT !
Bought one yesterday and I'm already in love with this thing
Probably my most used lens. Love the colours, sharpness and ease of use. so versatile and worth every penny. Thanks
I love this lens. Without a doubt, one of the most versatile that I have. I have also used it for pet portraiture. It gives incredible bokeh and the subject is always super sharp.
Great choice for that application!
My favorite lens of all time. And tac sharp. I use it for portraits and action photography when my subjects are fairly close. Beautiful shots and super fast AF
Man your macro shots look fantastic. I just ordered this lens. I do product photography so it is a must.
I just got this lens two days ago and now experimenting with it. I think I just learn something from your video today, "stacking"! I think it is the needed trick if I want to make a flower looks sharp from the inside of the petal up to the end of its stigma.
Your review is right on point. Im slowly and I mean very slowly switching over to Sony from Nikon and I now own the A7RIII and the A7III and im looking at a fx6, fx3 or possibly an A7SIII, but im looking closely at the FX6 for video. We are currently using Blackmagic, so it will probably be an fx6.
The 2nd lens that I bought physically was this lens, with the first being the Sigma 14-24mm f2.8 and I ordered online a Tamron 28-75 and the 85mm f1.8 and the Sony 55mm zeiss f1.8.
The 90mm is an amazing lens, but as you stated, macro photography, just like wedding photography and even potrait photography, which is what I do isnt for the faint of heart, but the ring shots that you can get out of it ate pretty amazing. The 35mm f1.4gm is on my radar as well.
Thanks for the review
Thank you for your review. I want one now and shall get one today. Thanks again. Phil
Happy to help
2:55 cute dog..beautiful clicks..nice lens bro
I've only had this lens for a month and I adore it. It's so sharp and detailed even on my A6400 (saving up for fullframe). The only issue I have is the focus breathing. Its way more than any other macro lens I've used so it's taking time to get used to it.
It's especially a problem when switching from auto focus to manual and everything can change size screwing up your composition. For other lenses in the past I used auto focus to get close quickly then switch to manual to get the detail. This lens makes that process slower.
It also doesn't always stay where you last focused with auto when switching to manual, so you need to completely refocus. Autofocus also seems to dislike dark colored subjects even when well lit in daylight.
I don't know if this is a problem with aps-c and it will go away with full frame though.
I will just stay in manual focus for macro stuff now until I get a full frame. I don't regret buying it as I love the sharpness, detail and stabilization (A6400 doesn't have IBIS).
Hi Amber, would you recommend this lens for a6400 in 2022? How usable it is being 135mm on apsc?
Would it serve as a good portraits lens too, since being a hobby photographer it is somehow expensive for me to invest.
Merci. Thanks for all these informations.
This is an awesome review!
This is my most favorite lens. You are right, it's super sharp. My wife and daughter think it's too sharp and they don't like it after seeing their own photos which I took with this lens ;-) I enjoy macro photography. It's fun and very frustrating at the same time. It really tests my patience, especially when I was so close to getting a good shot and then just blew it. And that happened too often.
I won this lens for past 8 months and use it for the purpose it was built, i.e. "Macro photography" on my A6400. This lens is insanely sharp.
Hi Pankaj, how about portrait? Would you recommend this lens on a6400 at 135mm focal length. I am a hobby photographer thus thinking twice to invest on it. Would love to use it as portrait too, if works well.
@@Vicky-il5yv I have used it for portrait not very frequently, but from whatever little I did, I'll share my experience -
1. It's sharpness is insane. It's so sharp that one may need to soften the image a bit for portraits.
2. It gives a good flat profile and F2.8 is usable for most conditions, but there would always be difference between bokeh of an f2.8 and day f1.8 lens.
3. Autofocus is bit slow, so if you are trying to click portrait of ta kid playing in the garden, you may miss some shots; but for all other kind of portraits, it'll work.
@@pankajvermacs Thanks for your response.
1) Yeah I think it would be good for daylight portrait photography, for night 1.8 would do a better job specially to produce better bookeh balls.
Ans how usable is the effective focal length of 135mm on apsc with this lens? It would be little tight for portrait or street photography I guess.
2) And, are you looking to switch to full frame body in near future? Would love to hear your thoughts.
However I know a6400 does a very good job specially when paired with good lenses.
@@Vicky-il5yv 1. Its definitely tight for street photography and for most of the portraits work too. (but for planned photoshoots, in open places, it will produce good result)
2. I primarily do bird photography (on 70-350mm lens), for which I am finding crop sensor to be sufficient.
@@pankajvermacs Ya I like that 70-350 G lens and planning to replace my 55-210 with that but skeptical on investing on an apsc lens, which is not cheap.
Whereas I am aware that the focal length of that lens is amazing on apsc.
Thanks
Have you tested the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art lens? Would love to see a comparison review!
Do you experience any ‘movement’ in the lens? Particularly at close focus in manual? A slight clunk… not always there and disappears when OIS is switched off.
I just got mine yesterday. Still learning to use it. It looks super powerful. Oddly it had dust in it right out of the box. I was able to clean it and we're back in business.
Enjoy!
Do you also use the Sony 90mm with extension tubes?
Is there any news about new version of macro lens from Sony ?
I have a question , I am a start up photographer and bought this lens , a simple question , When I use for headshot how I set my lens on full or on big line in the middle , and on macro where is better 0.5mm or 0.28 mm which is best , what setting you put on when you took a eye photo . Please reply me.
The focus wanders a bit, but this is my favorite lens and I have GM lenses and the Tampon trinity👍👍👍👍
Is the AF and OSS silent in video mode? Thanks.
I struggle getting the focus on point whether AF or MF.. how did you get the stunning bee shot?
I have used this lens for years with incredible results. I recently purchased a Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x macro, a fully manual lens. It is incredibly sharp but difficult to master compared to the Sony. The manual lens is great for use on a tripod with a still subject and focus stacking due to the more limited depth of field you get with the increased magnification. The manual lens makes me appreciate the ease of use with auto focus and image stabilization.
I went nuts with a crazy manual macro you'll see soon too! Makes this beast looks like a piece of cake.
I just bought the 90mm today after going back and forth between the Laowa 100mm. I think I'll enjoy it a little more.
Very nice video
Hi there, nice video! I could not find very useful info about its autofocus system on apsc (a6500) around the web. Do you think it could be a valid option (ofc not the best) for taking pictures at fast shutter speed, such as sport action or running dogs? (outdoors). I was considering the sony FE 85 1.8, for being a fast and reliable telephoto prime lens for apsc, but if the 90 does the job, i'd love to get this one for its macro capabilities.
Thank you!
The 90 Macro is not designed for sport and will handle macro and slower subjects better. For dogs and sport, maybe consider something like a 70-200/70-180.
In this video Stefan was talking about image stabilization, and at about 2:50 in the video he showed video recording a dog with stabilization off and on, and to me it did not look like the image was more stable with the stabilization on.
agree , that was weird
sharpest and best stabilised lens on sony system. Even great for landscapes and the clutch override is a godsend for the paperthin focal plane.
Yes, I may rebuy it again in the future.
People keep saying this is the sharpest Sony lens, but it isn't. According to MTF charts, the Sigma 85 1.4 DG DN is substantially sharper (over more of the image too), and the Sony 135 1.8 GM is even sharper than that (best MTF I've ever seen). And those are at 1.4 and 1.8, stopped down to 2.8 they absolutely blow the 90mm 2.8 away.
*edit - As for stabilized lenses only, I think you are right about this being the sharpest.
Dxomark lists the 90mm as the sharpest (amd i believed it too once), but the Dxomark sharpness score is an unobjective "perceived megapixels" score with no methodology ever disclosed, unlike MTF.
If you plan to use it mostly for non-macro photos and only occasional macro, get the Sigma 85 1.4 and some extension tubes.
As far as I know of, the stabilizer only do about half a stop at 1:1, so I will hope that Sony will make a GM Macro Lens without stabilizer to make it more compact and more rugged. I never use autofocus for macro photography ! I think that the Sony 90mm Macro Lens are too expensive, there are several examples of bad uneven production of this Lens !
I have a weird question - which option is more versatile Sony 85mm 1.8 with extension tubes or Sony 90mm macro? I am a pro hobbyist currently have the sigma 24-70 looking for my next lens.
Really depends what you shoot most. The fast f1.8 is nice for portraits but the 90 is the whole package.
I have to agree with Stefan here. I am lucky enough to own both. I like the 85 for portraits as it's more forgiving than the 90mm. I use the 90 for product and macro where sharpness is key. The 90 is great for portraits and if I had to choose 1 over the other then it would be the 90mm all the way. I find macro tubes very limiting.
How does it compare with Laowa 90mm f/2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro 2x lens
Hard to compare a manual lens to an AF lens. The Sony is more versatile for sure. Laowa offers 2x magnification. For beginners or intermediates I would recommend the Sony.
1st and foremost...Thank you for the Video!!
Question I run a Channel covering Tech Reviews On Earbuds, Headphones, BT Speakers, Camera Gear etc.
I do a ton of product B-Roll But its all Video Not Photography...That being said, I would be Using this Lens on a Sony A7c or my A7siii On top of my Edelkrone Slider.
Would This be the perfect Lens for my up close shots in your opinion?
Hi, I have this lens and wanted to know if this would be a good lens to use for abandoned photography
If you mean abandoned building photography than I would consider something a lot wider.
@Stefan Malloch what type mm of wide lens would you recommend
Didn’t mention magnification stats.
True macro starts at 1:1 which is what this is.
I'm setting aside buying a 85 mm lens and go with this instead.
I got it today for an incredible 450 euros
How is your mother now Stefan ?
Not doing well unfortunately. That's for asking. Every day is a rollercoaster with the terrible disease.
yeah its very god 4 macro but did u know the kit objektiv can make also very easy 3:1 makro 4 1/4 of price 😂
the shots are also sharp ... but yeah i love the 90mm f2.8 too :) but really 4 macro i dont need the 90mm f2.8 anymore.
I like to wear my 90mm when walking in the street, it makes me feel sexy.
Whatever floats your boat dude
@@StefanMalloch just a joke guy... my 90mm never gets out of the box it came in, sitting on the mantle next to dads ashes. I'm actually thinking about making a little rotating stand for it on top of the tv.
underwater macro is much better. :)
That sound at the beginning is awful
Noted.