The 85/1.8 S is an instant favorite

In late November, my 85/1.4 Milvus took a drop in my camera bag and sustained damage that required service. Two months and change later, I got the repair estimate from Zeiss USA. It would cost $974, which is a bit more than I paid for it in 2023 ($937). It will come back to me in the same condition it left in.

The time without my 85/1.4 had me using the 50/1.8S a lot, which has been terrific. However, I can't really live on bread (50mm) alone. I recently bought a Mint- condition used 85/1.8S from Roberts Photo's eBay outlet. I've only had it for about five days, but I love it. While I miss the extra bit of light-gathering, I don't miss the additional heft. The 85/1.8S is less than half the weight of the Milvus 85/1.4.

The background rendering is superb. I want to say that the Milvus is slightly better, but I don't think I wouldn't be able to tell the two apart. I've already been fooled between the 50/1.8 and the Milvus, which is no small feat to me.

Sharpness is excellent wide open, which I appreciate coming from a lens that was likewise. As someone who once owned the 85/1.8D, the comparative lack of purple fringing is remarkable. It's there, but minimal and fixable. I don't use autofocus much, but what I've seen is about what I expected. Manual focusing is very good.

The 85/1.8S also has something essential in common with the Milvus 85/1.4: no aspherical elements. Between the weight of the 85/1.2 and the aspherical elements, I have no interest in it. Cutting those out really makes a difference in how backgrounds look.

I don't like havin to pay another lens off, but I'm glad to be back to photographing at 85mm again, and with a lens on par with the one I had been using.