In my decade long career, I’ve photographed with dozens of lenses, across various genres of photography. Choosing the right lens can sometimes be confusing, as there’s hundreds of lenses out there and many new ones being released every year.
Here’s a look into FIVE full frame lenses that I think are great to consider for your portrait needs.
Sony α9, Batis 1.8/85mm
1. ZEISS Batis 1.8/85mm
There’s no surprise that the Batis 85mm would be my first choice. This is certainly a favorite for me among the ZEISS lenses and a lens I use across numerous genres.
There’s a lot of companies offering an 85mm lens for the Sony E-Mount system and I must admit that you honestly can’t choose a bad one either. What makes this lens so special compared to those other 85mm lenses? I simply love the sharpness and color reproduction from the ZEISS lenses and being that their family of lenses are color matched I know I’m obtaining the same quality across the board by remaining in their family of lenses. The focusing from this lens is incredibly precise and quick as well.
It’s not incredibly expensive as some of the other 85mm lenses on the market, but does sit sort of in-between that and more affordable 85mm lenses, such as Sony’s variant of this lens – but lacks the color reproduction, but shares relatively equal sharpness.
Again, there’s many 85mm lenses to choose but I would make the Batis 85mm one you consider. It’s my oldest Batis lens and one you’re sure to obtain great use out of.
Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:
Amazon | B&H Photo | Review
Sony α7 III, Sony 2.8/100mm STF G Master
2. Sony 2.8/100mm STF [T/5.6] G Master
I’m sure many will be surprised to see a non-ZEISS lens listed, being that I’m a ZEISS Ambassador and I’ve exclusively used ZEISS lenses prior to becoming one, but I’ve tried many Sony lenses over the years as well and I’m always sharing my honest unbiased opinion to help people and provide various options.
The Sony 100mm STF lens is the most beautiful lens that Sony has produced, in my opinion! This is an STF lens, which stands for Smooth Trans Focus. What is this exactly? That means this lens includes and apodization filter to create a buttery smooth bokeh. The filter darkens as it nears the edges and gives a smooth natural bokeh, which your normal fast aperture primes don’t have and tend to show more disk like or cat eye bokeh.
Being an STF lens there’s one thing that most people aren’t familiar with on such a lens. The lens is an f/2.8 in aperture but light wise it’s a T/5.6, meaning the actual light going through to the camera sensor is 5.6. In low light situations this lens may not be your best choice, but I tried this lens for nighttime street photography, and it did quite well in that situation, so don’t count it out completely. It’s a lens worth having.
This kind of lens is one I wish ZEISS offered but Sony does, and they blew this one out of the water! If you’re photographing portraits and don’t use this lens, then you’re totally missing out!
Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:
Amazon | B&H Photo | Review
Sony α9, Batis 2.8/135mm
3. ZEISS Batis 2.8/135mm
The ZEISS Batis 135mm is my newest addition from the Batis family and a lens I’ve been enjoying having. Just as any other ZEISS lens it has a beautiful color reproduction and build quality.
The first thing people are quick to find fault with this lens is in the aperture, being “only” a f/2.8. I myself was the same way. I mentioned in my review of this lens that I was given this lens by ZEISS and since then I’ve used this lens a lot. Would I have purchased this lens if it wasn’t given to me? More than likely no, as the range for one is not something I really photographed often and secondly for primes I like f/1.8 and f/2 lenses and for its price it would just be too much to have invested for me personally but someone doing a lot more portraits than myself probably wouldn’t mind. The f/2.8 primes I don’t buy as that’s an aperture I can obtain in a zoom lens. My image quality will be a bit better in the prime than zoom but I just always like obtaining something different in a prime that I can’t in a zoom.
With that said it doesn’t mean this is a lens to skip, because honestly this is a BEAUTIFUL lens! I can’t deny that. I’ve used this lens and I’ve been surprised at how much I’ve fallen for this lens and have utilized it in many different applications, from portraits to worship to even street photography! I’m sure many will want to think twice on this lens and go for the Sony 1.8/135mm G Master lens, which is a much heavier and larger lens than the ZEISS, but also much more expensive as well! I think once you try it, you’ll see that the f/2.8 isn’t a bad thing from this lens and is probably more than enough for most.
Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:
Amazon | B&H Photo | Review
Sony α9, Sonnar 1.8/55mm
4. Sonnar 1.8/55mm ZA
Another great additional lens I simply had to mention is my beloved Sonnar 1.8/55mm ZA lens. This was my first lens I purchased for the Sony E-Mount. To this day this is still one of the most elegant pieces of glass I’ve owned and it’s still one of the best lenses ever produced for Sony E-Mount.
At 55mm it’s a bit tighter than your typical 50mm range, giving it a bit of a bump in portrait use for some photographers, who may prefer longer range lenses for such work. It’s extremely compact and lightweight and among all the other lenses is a great single lens prime option for anyone wanting to purchase one lens. It’s quite versatile and useful for other things outside of portraits as well. If I had to select only one lens this would be the lens I’m choosing.
Read my full review or purchase this lens by clicking the links below:
Amazon | B&H Photo | Review
Sony α9, ZEISS Otus 1.4/100mm
5. ZEISS Otus 1.4/100mm
As the saying goes, you save the best for last and this certainly is the best!
This lens is one that’s designed for the Nikon F and Canon EF mounts and is a manual focusing lens, but with an adapter like the Sigma MC-11 you’re able to adapt this to the Sony E-Mount system.
Don’t be afraid of this lens because it’s a manual. It’s one of the beautiful things about it. The main reason I included this one is because it’s the most gorgeous lens I’ve ever utilized for portraits! This is ZEISS’ no compromises lens line, meaning that whatever was available to make the perfect lens was done so with the Otus line of lenses (which currently includes 4 lenses in total).
I’ve used ZEISS optics for over a decade and their image quality has always been astounding, but this lens better than any ZEISS lens I’ve ever used! It really is perfect! That’s why it does come with a near $5,000 price tag, but it’s the best glass you’d probably ever buy. I used this lens ones and I was sold and had to get this lens! It’s so good that I seriously am doing more portraits just to use this lens for now!
It’s not going to be a lens you’d use for everything, like you might for the lenses above, but it’s a portrait lens that anyone who shoots with will never want to put down! This lens actually has made me want to do more portraits and for those that are familiar with my work will know I don’t do many portraits.
Purchase this lens by clicking the link below:
B&H Photo
Sony α7R II, Batis 1.8/85mm
I hope this blog was informative and gives you some additional choices in lenses to consider for portrait photography. What lenses do you presently use or have considered? Share with us in the comments below. If you have any more questions, leave a comment below as well.
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