@user-oe5jl2br6u A lot faster in Nikon Z5. I bought and it's doing great. Sometimes it mistake focus but i'm still getting used to mirrorless, dont know if it's the lens or my way to use autofocus in mirrorless. The only trouble i'm seeing is that it's hard to focus when stopped down. F8 in studio even with good lightning, it's impossible. I lose a lot of shots. Even in 2.8 it seems that loses a little. It's easier to focus wide open.
It's not bad considering that corner sharpness is not usually an issue in this kind of lens wide open. But it's also clear that Viltrox is way ahead of the pack in terms of affordability combined with quality. What we really need is for Viltrox to produce an 85mm f1.4 - although currently I reckon their 1.8 is a better buy than this for most people.
Viltrox announced earlier this year the development of new lenses: 3 new PRO series lenses for FF: 35, 50 and 85mm f/1.4. Also, 4 new lenses of the new LAB series: 35, 50, and 85mm f/1.2, as well as a 135mm f/1.8, which will be the one to be released the soonest.
Thank you Christopher! Was waiting on a test of this lens. Your channel is the best lens testing and has helped me make many informed decisions on what to buy and what not to buy.
is this the final product or still a prototype? i watched this lens review from Authur R back few months ago, he said the motor quite noisy when changing the aperture. I also noticed that the auto focus performance not that incredibly fast but not this slow, perhaps because of sony auto focus since I have no idea about nikon at all.
To those using meike 85mm f1.8 - there is an update on their website, the stm and old version for canon mount are compatible. just connect the lens with a cable (it is seen as a disk on your pc) and just copy the file to the lens as you normally copy files to disks
I bought and started using this lens in December 2023 on my Zf. The front glossy plastic look really bad. The hood is difficult to put on and remove. When i first got it, it had a fatal flaw but later fixed in a firmware update. I have a video for it: ua-cam.com/video/yUOq_ceU66g/v-deo.htmlsi=3QHeBuWTqDtGj7sR Focus is noisier comparing to Nikon Z 24-120/4 S, slower than my Tamron F mount G2 zoom lenses on FTZ II adapter. When shooting against sunlight, it turns quite yellow. Some people say it's bad at continous AF in video mode. I haven't tested that. Overall, for how much it is for a native 85mm/1,4 Z mount AF lens, I'd say it's not bad. Meike needs to improve their coating, and I'd be much happier with it. If you are in Sony and Nikon Z systems, get the Sony version and adapt to Z mount.
This looks like an excellent low-cost portrait lens where the slow AF shouldn't matter as much as long as it's accurate. I could see considering this for the Z-mount system.
I know this has nothing to do with the lens in this video, but I just ordered a Canon r7 and the ef 70-300 L lens and the adapter. I would love to see you review ef & ef-s lenses on the Canon r7.
Hey Christopher Frost, if you have them, could you make a video comparing the "Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX", "Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX II", "Tokina AT -X 11-20mm f/2.8 PRO DX", "Tokina ATX-I 11-16mm f/2.8 CF Plus" and "Tokina ATX-I 11-20mm f/2.8 CF Plus"? Because there are not many tests on the Internet and not even a single comparison between them. Also many photographers have called the AT-X pro 11-16 generation the best, but I haven't seen any specific comparisons or reviews. Thanks a lot!
Totally unrelated question Chris but have you used the z7ii? I love my 7Riii but thought about trying out the Nikon for their selection of tele glass. Can't really find a comparison of the 2 in terms of AF
I have to say, render and broken is beautiful ❤❤ I think it is the best pleasing 85mm of them all. Sharpness is still quite decent, and the lack of contrast at f1.4 just gives it better look. If they can fix AF and MF, it's not only a bargain, it would be my choice money no object
Hello everyone, just short summary from my side. I bought this lens to use it on my Nikon Z8 and I can recommend it to everyone who is looking for very good optical performance include suprisingly very good sharpness at f1.4 with perfect bokeh for exceptional portraits. I'm happy with this lens. Anyway there is one disadvantage regarding focus speed. This lens is pretty slow and it is not fast enough to track fast movements. So the double-priced Sigma ART 85/1.4 will be probably better choice (I didn't try exactly this lens) if you're OK with it's price.
Hello! May I know how fast is that moving subject? Walking speed or running speed like a basketball player driving to the basket? I'm still thinking which one to get. 😁😁😁
Great review as usual Christopher!! Could you please do a review of Meike 55mm f/1.4 ? Especially now that Viltrox released a 56mm 1.7, so would be interesting to compare these two...
does canon 50mm f1.4 usm deserve a re-review? they are ridiculously cheap used nowadays, and the later batches are said to have been silently improved compared to the older batches with earlier serial numbers
Bokeh on this one seems a bit smoother, on the Sony 85 it's pretty bad. Sony is sharper though. I own it but want to sell it, nobody wants it used for €300 lol.
That Sony is an amazing lens, for E-mount this is best affordable lens for sure, clear winner, although slightly more expensive. For Z-mount I think Meike should be competing with Viltrox 85mm f1.8. Nikon 1.8 is quite above that price range.
I bought Nikon version and I'm loving it in Z5. So sharp, great bokeh and the focus is so much better than you showed in the video (updated lens and body). The only trouble i'm seeing is that it's hard to focus when stopped down. F8 in studio even with good lightning, it's impossible. I lose a lot of shots. Even in 2.8 it seems that loses a little. It's easier to focus wide open. I'm still getting used to it, but it is giving such a great pictures.
That has to be the slowest AF I have seen in years. Im not a picky person in this regard - I deem DSLR lenses from a few years ago to be fast enough, and this one looks a lot slower than even those lenses.
It does at least look to be more accurate than my old Pentax screw-drive AF lenses. If you're not doing kids or pets, could be a reasonable budget portrait option.
@@RealRaynedance I missed that. But as its looks and slow focus came as quite an interesting option. As I haven't seen it before I really considered whether it was an April fool joke or not.
@@zoltanorosz506 Honestly I thought so too until I remembered the announcement. Doesn't make the focus any less disappointing though. Can't fault them too much for making the attempt, though.
Holy cow min foc distance 4m hahaha my ef 85 1.8 usm min focus is 80cm, no wonder canon doesnt want any 3rd party to make lens again for their RF system ... they just cant catch up 😅
I saw the thumbnail, I predicted this is another affordable lens that won't be available for Nikon Z (something that is usually true) before I clicked. Glad to be proven wrong for once.
A 2024 lens with a 1980's image quality. Maybe you could get this lens and shoot at f2.8 or f5.6 down but still the AF motor noise would remind you of the first generation Minolta AF lens during the same era, probably worse than some of them too.
Got it here in China for like 3 months, shockingly good in all perspectives except focusing speed and terrible color. We need to wait for the Chinese suppliers to come up with some decent glasses to improve that.
Meike inform me that a firmware update to this lens is no available which should improve performance.
Speaking of Meike: I'd look forward to a review of the new (~US$200) Meike 55/1.4 af lens (APS-C). Thanks in advance. :-)
@user-oe5jl2br6u A lot faster in Nikon Z5. I bought and it's doing great. Sometimes it mistake focus but i'm still getting used to mirrorless, dont know if it's the lens or my way to use autofocus in mirrorless. The only trouble i'm seeing is that it's hard to focus when stopped down. F8 in studio even with good lightning, it's impossible. I lose a lot of shots. Even in 2.8 it seems that loses a little. It's easier to focus wide open.
Thank you for this review. But I still went for the Viltrox 85mm, albeit, f1.8 only. ☺️
@@Vendetta725which one is better?
It's not bad considering that corner sharpness is not usually an issue in this kind of lens wide open. But it's also clear that Viltrox is way ahead of the pack in terms of affordability combined with quality. What we really need is for Viltrox to produce an 85mm f1.4 - although currently I reckon their 1.8 is a better buy than this for most people.
Viltrox announced earlier this year the development of new lenses: 3 new PRO series lenses for FF: 35, 50 and 85mm f/1.4. Also, 4 new lenses of the new LAB series: 35, 50, and 85mm f/1.2, as well as a 135mm f/1.8, which will be the one to be released the soonest.
Sigma is only 750 usd, get the sigma
Thank you Christopher! Was waiting on a test of this lens. Your channel is the best lens testing and has helped me make many informed decisions on what to buy and what not to buy.
Seriously from all the portrait pictures you have taken testing lenses this 0:37 is the most lovely among all, cheers 👍🏼
Aye, Mrs. Frost is very good at being a portrait subject. Lovely indeed.
Can you please do a review on their new 55mm f1.4 for Fuji? Thanks!
It must compete to 15y old used Sigma DG 1.4/85mm HSM at least for other mounts and/or adapters.
Ya that focus motor is same story with the older 85 1.8. Soo slow and loud, even with an external mic you can still hear it.
It's not! It's quiet and a lot faster in Nikon Z5. I'm using it and i'm getting great results with a little money. I loved it.
Nice review as always chris !! Keep up with the good work
Please can you review the Zeiss Batis 135mm 2.8 ? ❤
is this the final product or still a prototype? i watched this lens review from Authur R back few months ago, he said the motor quite noisy when changing the aperture. I also noticed that the auto focus performance not that incredibly fast but not this slow, perhaps because of sony auto focus since I have no idea about nikon at all.
To those using meike 85mm f1.8 - there is an update on their website, the stm and old version for canon mount are compatible. just connect the lens with a cable (it is seen as a disk on your pc) and just copy the file to the lens as you normally copy files to disks
I bought and started using this lens in December 2023 on my Zf. The front glossy plastic look really bad. The hood is difficult to put on and remove. When i first got it, it had a fatal flaw but later fixed in a firmware update. I have a video for it:
ua-cam.com/video/yUOq_ceU66g/v-deo.htmlsi=3QHeBuWTqDtGj7sR
Focus is noisier comparing to Nikon Z 24-120/4 S, slower than my Tamron F mount G2 zoom lenses on FTZ II adapter. When shooting against sunlight, it turns quite yellow. Some people say it's bad at continous AF in video mode. I haven't tested that. Overall, for how much it is for a native 85mm/1,4 Z mount AF lens, I'd say it's not bad. Meike needs to improve their coating, and I'd be much happier with it. If you are in Sony and Nikon Z systems, get the Sony version and adapt to Z mount.
Is there coming a test of the new Sirui Aurora 85/1.4 anytime soon?
Thank you Christopher for your honest review. I think I'm not the only one who would be interested to hear your verdict on the Meike 35mm f2
This looks like an excellent low-cost portrait lens where the slow AF shouldn't matter as much as long as it's accurate. I could see considering this for the Z-mount system.
5:17
I’ve never seen this coming lol
i somehow can’t imagine Christopher is an april fools punk
I have this lense it's great!
I know this has nothing to do with the lens in this video, but I just ordered a Canon r7 and the ef 70-300 L lens and the adapter. I would love to see you review ef & ef-s lenses on the Canon r7.
I want to see how this one compares with the Samyang 85mm f1.4 Mark II, both are similar price and same specifications
can you add some test for tracking autofocus please for a new standard review
Could you review the Meike 55mm f1.4 please :)
Would be interested in seeing the Sony version review. Thanks
Can you compare this lens with Viltrox 85mm f1.8?
400 ussd? might as well get a sony 1.8 or a Samyang 1.4
Hey Christopher Frost, if you have them, could you make a video comparing the "Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX", "Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX II", "Tokina AT -X 11-20mm f/2.8 PRO DX", "Tokina ATX-I 11-16mm f/2.8 CF Plus" and "Tokina ATX-I 11-20mm f/2.8 CF Plus"? Because there are not many tests on the Internet and not even a single comparison between them. Also many photographers have called the AT-X pro 11-16 generation the best, but I haven't seen any specific comparisons or reviews. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for this review. Did you use the latest firmware? 8514FF STM-Z-Firmware Upgrade-V1.34
RF please
Fantastic photos!
didn't meike announced a compatible rf mount autofocus 85mm f1.4? i think this is the lens. whatever happened to that "official" statement?
Chris can you review sirui sniper lens forfuji
hey!,any way i could get the graph you use to test the quality of the lens?
Totally unrelated question Chris but have you used the z7ii? I love my 7Riii but thought about trying out the Nikon for their selection of tele glass. Can't really find a comparison of the 2 in terms of AF
I have to say, render and broken is beautiful ❤❤ I think it is the best pleasing 85mm of them all. Sharpness is still quite decent, and the lack of contrast at f1.4 just gives it better look. If they can fix AF and MF, it's not only a bargain, it would be my choice money no object
Ok, im now officialy hooked on one of that other cats video Christopher ;D
Have the photos in the video been edited? or still original ?
how does this compare with the Samyang/Rokinon 85mm f1.4 Mark II ?
This looks like a classic lens design. It also has incredible mood and feel for film/video creation. Veeery instersting lens.
Hello everyone, just short summary from my side. I bought this lens to use it on my Nikon Z8 and I can recommend it to everyone who is looking for very good optical performance include suprisingly very good sharpness at f1.4 with perfect bokeh for exceptional portraits. I'm happy with this lens. Anyway there is one disadvantage regarding focus speed. This lens is pretty slow and it is not fast enough to track fast movements. So the double-priced Sigma ART 85/1.4 will be probably better choice (I didn't try exactly this lens) if you're OK with it's price.
Hello! May I know how fast is that moving subject? Walking speed or running speed like a basketball player driving to the basket? I'm still thinking which one to get. 😁😁😁
What town were the pictures taken? Nice colours.
Great review as usual Christopher!! Could you please do a review of Meike 55mm f/1.4 ? Especially now that Viltrox released a 56mm 1.7, so would be interesting to compare these two...
Canon needs this lens, still waiting for the day when we can join the lens alliance
how does this compare with the samyang 85mm f1.4?
Thanks for the review.
The meike 85mm F1.8 from your earlier review looks better in some ways for less than half the cost
bro that ending is trippy AF
Would you get this or the sony fe 1.8?
This lens or the Viltrox 75mm 1.2 for the Nikon Z50?
Take look at asymmetric ghosting at 2;48 - the lens is decentered.
does canon 50mm f1.4 usm deserve a re-review? they are ridiculously cheap used nowadays, and the later batches are said to have been silently improved compared to the older batches with earlier serial numbers
SIRUI has a new 85mm 1.4 auto focus full frame all mount lens.
Please review the sony version
I assume that would be an upgrade over the Sony 85mm 1.8 (the cheap ish one)?
Bokeh on this one seems a bit smoother, on the Sony 85 it's pretty bad. Sony is sharper though. I own it but want to sell it, nobody wants it used for €300 lol.
Probably better off picking up the viltrox 85mm if the 1.4 is not important
That Sony is an amazing lens, for E-mount this is best affordable lens for sure, clear winner, although slightly more expensive. For Z-mount I think Meike should be competing with Viltrox 85mm f1.8. Nikon 1.8 is quite above that price range.
oh how i long for a 16 to 70 aps-c F1.2 constant aperture zoom.
This is not serious right?
I bought Nikon version and I'm loving it in Z5. So sharp, great bokeh and the focus is so much better than you showed in the video (updated lens and body). The only trouble i'm seeing is that it's hard to focus when stopped down. F8 in studio even with good lightning, it's impossible. I lose a lot of shots. Even in 2.8 it seems that loses a little. It's easier to focus wide open. I'm still getting used to it, but it is giving such a great pictures.
Can you tell us which firmware version that is? Apparently, the most current version as of the writing of this comment is 1.34 for Nikon Z.
That has to be the slowest AF I have seen in years. Im not a picky person in this regard - I deem DSLR lenses from a few years ago to be fast enough, and this one looks a lot slower than even those lenses.
no way that motor was designed specifically for this lens or to be moving around that amount of glass at all
It does at least look to be more accurate than my old Pentax screw-drive AF lenses. If you're not doing kids or pets, could be a reasonable budget portrait option.
I use this lens on my z9 , great lens, very sharp. maybe you got an bad copy
I can't really tell if it's real or April fool...
They announced the lens like a year ago and it's on their website right now.
Too BIIGGG anyway
@@RealRaynedance I missed that. But as its looks and slow focus came as quite an interesting option. As I haven't seen it before I really considered whether it was an April fool joke or not.
@@zoltanorosz506 Honestly I thought so too until I remembered the announcement. Doesn't make the focus any less disappointing though. Can't fault them too much for making the attempt, though.
You are really "smart", @Christopher Frost already has it on his hands and you stay such a thing... 🤦♂
Nice enfo. 🎉❤
Tell me more about this other channel of yours...
Lack of depth is called “shallow,” not “narrow.”
Nah. I'm saving up my doubloons for that Canon 85MM f/1.2. Just (checks purse) 4.8 million left to go!
Holy cow min foc distance 4m hahaha my ef 85 1.8 usm min focus is 80cm, no wonder canon doesnt want any 3rd party to make lens again for their RF system ... they just cant catch up 😅
I saw the thumbnail, I predicted this is another affordable lens that won't be available for Nikon Z (something that is usually true) before I clicked. Glad to be proven wrong for once.
I hate the shiny plastic on this lens. How to make your lens look immediately cheap? Shiny plastic on the front. Why? Such a bad design.
5:17 🤣
Low vignette and CA, but otherwise oh dear. Best pay a bit extra and see other brands or get a tokina 85mm f1.8.
A 2024 lens with a 1980's image quality. Maybe you could get this lens and shoot at f2.8 or f5.6 down but still the AF motor noise would remind you of the first generation Minolta AF lens during the same era, probably worse than some of them too.
Did you try it? Obviously not because the sharpness at f1.4 is very good.
Nice review, hope it preforms better on a Sony.👍📸
Is it just me or the nikon camera design starting to lean toward boxy design like sony these days hahaha
Omg Finally！
also 400usd for that poor sharpnesss performance.
Got it here in China for like 3 months, shockingly good in all perspectives except focusing speed and terrible color. We need to wait for the Chinese suppliers to come up with some decent glasses to improve that.
Bad autofocus, bad manual focus - just make it mechanical manual focus at that point
First 😊!
What a terrible lens not available for l mount