Okay it's good to be back I haven't Posted in a couple of weeks but not Because I haven't been working on stuff But because everything is releasing on Black Friday I guess uh so you guys will See a bunch of videos probably like back To back to back to back which I don't Really like doing but I don't know what Else to do I mean these companies are Coming out with products left and right But the timing is not always ideal Anyway about a year ago I reviewed an 885mm f1.8 lens from Makey and here we Are with another Different upgraded model this is also a Fullframe 85 mm this time an F1.4 and that lens was $199 the f1.8 This one is $470 us so significantly more money but Still it's an interesting lens kind of Weird so let's check it out this is a Pre-production model that was sent to me For review so it should in theory be Better in small ways in the final Version I won't go through the packaging As I don't know how accurate it will be To the retail version but I got a lens Some lens caps and a very cheap feeling Plastic lens Hood when I took this lens Out of the box for the first time Immediate impression was that it felt Cheap it had that kind of rough plastic Texture to it that's not premium like Some G Masters it feels just budget and
That is interesting to me because we are Used to seeing cheap manual lenses with Excellent build quality that's all metal In most cases with great tolerances yet Here we are with a significant iFly more Expensive lens that is seemingly all Plastic and cheaper feeling and for what Weight savings I'm not sure this lens is 744 G which is pretty heavy almost 2 lb But my guess is that about 80% of that Weight is the glass elements inside and I will say that in terms of build this Lens is a significant step up over the F1.8 version but that's not saying much Starting at the rear there is a metal Mount electronic connections a USBC port For firm more updates and an orange Weather sealing gasket it doesn't seem Like the rest of the lens is weather Sealed however the aperture ring is next And it's a very clicky cheap sounding And feeling ring I like that it has Clicks but I think it could have been Implemented better it moves from f1.4 to F16 and then makes a longer click into a Or Auto aperture and the only thing Worse than the sound that it makes when You turn it is the other sound that it Makes when you turn it take a Listen It's almost as if the aperture blades Have to do a cycle or something to move From one aperture to another I don't Know there's a makei logo and 85 mm 1.4
Here and on the other side there is an Autofocus hold button as well as a cheap Feeling autofocus manual focus switch Around the bottom there are a bunch of Logos and this lens is made in China now The focus ring is also a bit Disappointing it doesn't feel Particularly well damped and it has a Lot of plastic on plastic Noise granted you probably won't be Using this manual focus ring since this Lens does have autofocus around the Front there is a large front lens Element with a bunch of info Makey logo Autofocus lens lens specs minimum focus Of about 1 M and a 77 mm filter thread Inside there are 13 elements in eight Groups and an STM autofocus motor so a Stepper motor the lens looks pretty Standard on my a7c it is a bit on the Larger and heavier side but normal for An 85 f1.4 and I guess I forgot to Mention why I have all this nonsense Behind me I am in the process of Remodeling my studio here in my house so Uh look out for a video probably after This one we'll see if I get it done in Time uh so that'll be coming out shortly That will explain a little bit of this Anyway in terms of this lens and Autofocus it is still a little bit on The noisy side definitely for video work I would not recommend using onboard Audio however it is better than the f1.8
Version which was even worse than this I've been traveling a lot lately so I Took this lens over with me to Oregon And Maui now all these photos are Straight out of the camera no picture Profiles no editing no color correction This is exactly what you could expect With this lens if everything is turned Off auto white balance etc etc these are Jpeg straight out of the camera Ready Set Go [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] W [Music] All right so where to begin now the First couple of photos that I took with This lens on my camera I thought there Was something wrong with my camera Settings because they weren't coming out Like I expected them to come out but I Had to double check and triple check That I had all of my picture profiles Set to off all of my colors sent to Normal and in fact they were and the Makey website does mention that they Used two coatings on the front and the Rear of this lens to quote produce more Realistic colors but I don't know if
That's the case what is actually Happening is that this lens is producing Images that look extra Punchy contrasty And warm I would be taking portraits Look at my camera screen and I was Baffled as to how it came out that way It's strange it's Unique but if you like The look that this lens creates it could Be the one for you in in terms of Sharpness it is more than adequate it Won't give a sigma art or a g Master a Run for its money but again this lens is Significantly cheaper than those two Options it's good in the center and good In the corners as well wide open colors Again are Punchy and warm and look Filtered which you may or may not like It does make skin tones quite tan Looking now as far as distortions Chromatic aberration is pretty well Controlled one of the better Performances that I've seen from a miy Lens there is still a little bit of Green and purple fringing especially Wide open but it's not as bad as it Could be vignetting is also not really An issue from my samples which is good Flare however is pronounced it does Cause lower contrast levels some purple And green ghosting a little bit of Yellow and red in there as well bouquet On the other hand is handled very well The lens produces nice creamy pleasing Outof Focus backgrounds the bouquet
Balls do cat eye in the corners and Edges but in general they are smooth no Onion rings no issues so overall it's a Good per performing lens and it's Definitely a step up in terms of optical Quality comparing it to the f1.8 version But I have to mention autofocus Performance because there were several Times when I was using it where it would Just struggle to lock onto the eyes in a Group photo for example in fact a few of The samples of Janessa are slightly out Of focus if you can tell and this is Hard to notice because on a small screen On your camera it looks fine after you Take it but when you come home and see It on a larger display it's just off I Would describe the autofocus speed as Average maybe equivalent to dslrs from 6 Years ago it does hunt on occasion and It's not the most reliable and when you Force it to focus on something with a Backlight it really doesn't like doing That but who knows maybe this will be Updated in firmware and even production Models might see better performance for Me going from the sigma 85 f1.4 Autofocus to this Makey feels like a Significant step down but it all comes Down to price and budget because there Are a lot competitors out in the Fullframe 885mm range you have vro you Have roken on samyang those are kind of The budget options then you have Sony
And you have Sigma that are a little bit More expensive I would say that the Selling point of this makei 85 mm is Definitely the colors as long as you Like the look that you get and certainly This lens may go on sale in the future And present even more of a value to Those who buy it I think if it was about $300 maybe 350 it would sell very Rapidly and easily it might be more of a Challenge at 470 but given how large the Market is for fullframe 85 mm lenses I Think it should sell all right let me Know what you guys think down in the Comments section below if you are Interested in reading more about this Lens I'll leave a link in the Description below as well thank you guys So much for watching thanks for all of Your likes all of your comments and your Support stay tuned for more have a nice Day bye-bye
