Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM (SAL85F28) Specs & DoF

85 mm

Focal length

f/2.8

Maximum aperture

29°

Diagonal angle of view (Full frame)

Full frame

Designed for

Specifications#

Brand: Sony
Model: 85mm F2.8 SAM (SAL85F28)
Lens type: Portrait / short tele prime
Focal length: 85 mm
Maximum aperture: f/2.8
Image circle: Full frame (36×24 mm)
Mount(s): Sony / Minolta A-mount
Projection: Rectilinear
Autofocus motor: smooth (SAM)
Lensfun correction profile: Yes — distortion/vignetting/TCA

Equivalent focal length on different cameras#

Field of view and depth-of-field equivalence when this lens is used on bodies with different sensor sizes (natively or via an adapter).

Camera format	At 85 mm	Equiv. aperture (DoF)
Full frame	85 mm · 29°	f/2.8
APS-C	128 mm · 19°	f/4.2
APS-C (Canon)	136 mm · 18°	f/4.5
Micro Four Thirds	170 mm · 15°	f/5.6

Depth of field & background blur#

Computed on its native Full frame format (CoC 30 µm). “Blur @2 m” is the size of an out-of-focus point at infinity, as a percentage of frame width, with the subject at 2 m — a simple bokeh index. Full table: 85 mm f/2.8 on full frame.

Focal	Aperture	at 1 m	at 2 m	at 5 m	at 10 m	Hyperfocal	Blur @2 m
85 mm	f/2.8	2.1 cm	8.9 cm	57.3 cm	2.34 m	86.1 m	3.7%
85 mm	f/4	3.0 cm	12.7 cm	82.2 cm	3.39 m	60.3 m	2.6%
85 mm	f/8	6.1 cm	25.5 cm	1.68 m	7.39 m	30.2 m	1.3%

Handheld & night-sky limits#

NPF assumes typical 20–24 MP sensors (≈6 µm pixels on full frame, ≈3.9 µm on APS-C, ≈3.3 µm on Micro Four Thirds).

Body	Min. handheld shutter (longest focal)	500 rule at 85 mm	NPF at 85 mm, f/2.8
Full frame	1/80 s	6 s	3 s
APS-C	1/125 s	4 s	3 s
APS-C (Canon)	1/125 s	4 s	2 s
Micro Four Thirds	1/160 s	3 s	2 s

Compatible cameras#

Bodies in our database with a native Sony / Minolta A-mount mount.

Adapt it to other systems#

Sony E-mount Canon RF Nikon Z Fujifilm X-mount Micro Four Thirds L-Mount Canon EF-M Fujifilm G-mount Hasselblad XCD Nikon 1 (CX)Pentax Q Samsung NX Canon EF Nikon F

Similar lenses#

Samyang 85mm f/1.4 IF UMC Aspherical f/1.4
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM f/1.4
Tamron SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD F016 f/1.8
Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC f/2
Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA (SAL135F18Z) f/1.8
Sony DT 50mm f/1.8 SAM f/1.8

Frequently asked questions#

Is the Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM (SAL85F28) full frame?

Yes — it covers the full 36 × 24 mm frame.

What is the Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM (SAL85F28) equivalent to on APS-C?

On a 1.5× APS-C body it frames like 128 mm, and like 136 mm on Canon APS-C.

What is the Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM (SAL85F28) good for?

As a portrait / short tele prime it suits head-and-shoulders portraits with flattering perspective and creamy backgrounds.

Sources & licences#

Lensfun lens database — CC BY-SA 3.0