The 85 mm focal length has long been considered optimal for portraiture. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love taking photos of people. So (naturally) I have been eye-balling a new 85mm for a while now. My current 85mm is a manual lens and while I am perfectly fine working with manual, the work flow is much slower compared to working with a lens that provides autofocus and electronic control over the aperture.

A few weeks ago, I plopped down a significant chunk of change for a Zeiss Batis 85mm lens. While the price tag is significant, this lens is everything I could have hoped for. I have never used a lens this close to perfect. From the moment I picked up the lens and felt the build quality, I knew I was in for a treat. For my photography, this lens meets all my needs. It is fast, sharp, compact, distortion-free and the images that this thing can produce is just dreamy. I shot a few portrait sessions and even a wedding with this lens. It is no understatement when I say: this lens has profoundly impacted the way I shoot. It blends so perfectly with the way I photograph, that I want to use it in every situation; so much so that over the past couple of weeks you would have to fight to pry it off my camera!

The Zeiss Batis 85 has become my new favorite lens. To any of my friends shooting with the Sony mirrorless system, if you have been considering this lens I cannot recommend it enough.