I had to shoot everything with this lens in Wakkanai and Higashi Kagura area of Asahikawa city as my main wide lenses at the time (the FE24mm f1.4GM and the FE16-35mm GM) died in Higashigawa area of Asahikawa city(near the Asahikawa airport).
And as it was very dark and the train was running very fast (I think 120km per hour or so) I needed a very fast shutter speed to freeze it.
So most of images in this set were intentionally underexposed 2 stops or so to get the shutter speed needed to freeze the scene.
I think this one was shot at ISO1600 and for that kind of ISO value it is quite noisy as it is almost equal to ISO6400 or so in the old now useless sense of the ISO system.
Why I missed the Batis 85mm f1.8E very much and bought it back again:
In last October or so I sold this lens after I bought the new Sigma 85mm f1.4 Dn lens, which is optically a better lens in most measurable aspects of IQ such as resolution and total amount of CA, etc......
But there was something I thought that Sigma lens was missing that this Zeiss had , so I decided to buy this Zeiss Batis again.
Well I do not know if I did the right most logical thing here, but I prefer the overall look(rendering) of this lens over the Sigma.
I think I will still keep the Sigma in addition to this one as it is a sharper lens and a bit faster lens. However, the extra 200g of the Sigma makes it a bit less versatile lens for me.
I do not use my 85mm prime for people or animal or any sort of portrait any more , as I do never shoot people now, I shoot street or city scene that include people , but never ever shoot people closeup.
Now I am really worried about being sued or getting into any kind of legal issue , so I avoid shooting people even some one I know very well.
So for me a bit faster speed of the Sigma lens is not a very appealing or convincing feature or quality. But its extra weight over the Zeiss seems to be a bit of issue for me from time to time.
That is why I think I need these two 85mm AF lenses for now until Sony updates their GM version of 85mm prime.
I think their new 85mm GM MK2 will be excellent or even outstanding , it may be as good or better than their best ever lens the FE35mmf1.4GM.
I was shocked how much that lens is better than its predecessor. So I am quite confident I can sell the Sigma and Loxia 85mm f2.4 very soon. I love the Loxia 85mm f2.4 , but it is not a good lens for weather documentary as it gets really cold in my hands and that makes it really difficult to handhold it in a cold mountain or even in a city area of Hokkaido like Sapporo or Asahikawa. But I like the concept of the Loxia line do not chase for the fastest speed but the best optical quality and resolution across the frame at a compact possible lens size(for the quality).
I really want a distortion-free 85mm prime(the Loxia 85mm f2.4 is almost distortion-free) , not necessarily f1.4 but must be sharp from corner to corner as I shoot something like this image or shoes with my 85mm lens or 105mm lens.
I think this Batis lens may not be the best optically especially in typical portrait focus distances(which is the Immatest or DxO test distance), but there is something very special or unique about this lens, and this lens is a very versatile option for many people who value the compact and very tough lens barrel.
I think 85mm f1.4 is overrated , I would gladly pay more money for a better sharper better corrected f1.8 85mm prime than a sharp but a bit too distorted 85mm f1.4 like the Sigma or the current GM. I do not like the Original 85mm f1.4 GM as it is a huge and quite less sharp lens than the Sigma Dn or the Zeiss Loxia 85mm f2.4.
I am not a big fan of the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Dn either. I do not know why but I can not really love any of Sigma lenses I have tested over the last 3 or 4 years, sure they are all great lenses in resolution at Immatest or DxO focus distances , but in real life focus distances for landscape or architecture , these lenses do not seem to be really as sharp as they should be(if I believe the these online lens tests from someone like DxO, Lenstip,etc.)
Still the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Dn seems to be the current best all around or most versatile 85mm prime for many people who really need or want the f1.4 speed, but for my needs it is a bit too distorted especially for an 85mm prime.
Many people dismiss distortion these days as it can be corrected in post work, but thel amount of the distortion on the Sigma Dn is just a bit too much , IMHO.
If you shoot buildings, shoes , computer chips or anything like that with your 85mm prime it is really really obvious , you can easily see the distortion issue of the Sigma Dn.
I admit that this Batis has the same issue, but the amount of the distortion on the Batis is a bit less severe than that of the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Dn.
I think it is easier to fix it than the distortion of the Sigma lens.
Plus , at f4 and on the resolution difference is really tiny, even at f2.8 it is really negligible. At infinity or near it the Zeiss may even be a bit sharper than the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Dn.
Even more surprisingly at f7.1 and onward the FE85mm f1.8 E seems to be the sharpest 85mm f1.8 in the current E mount lens system. It is really underrated as most of people just care about the resolution figures numbers at f1.8 or f1.4....
But at f4 or f8 resolution results are actually as important as wideopen resolution results.
For me , great resolution in the f4-f10 range is much more important than outstanding resolution at f1.8 or f1.4.
Honestly I rarely shoot at f1.8 or faster at 85mm.....it is just a bit too shallow for me, nothing is in focus at that f stop at 85mm.
So I may just try another copy of the cheap and tiny Sony FE85mm f1.8E and sell all my other 85mm primes, still many rendering and resolution tests at f5.6 in near infinity range needed to decide it rationally , though.
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