Product Reviews

Fantastic ability to focus crisply on the subject and leave the background a pleasant blur.

It's easy to overlook any modern prime that only starts off with a minimum light capability of f/5.6 or T5.6. That's where too many make a big mistake. You can always add light but you cannot add the STF with an apodization filter like only this lens provides. The images straight out of camera have some of the best colors and contrast I have ever seen in a lens. It is a very sharp lens that separates the background so smoothly. It is a specialty lens that most might feel is made for portraits, but they would be wrong. Although not an exclusive "close-up" macro lens, it can be used for macro work and give those images something that the other macro lenses could never achieve. For me this lens is one of the most under appreciated tools available. Like any specialty lens, it takes some time learning all the nuances and capabilities.

I have come to use the 100mm STF as the only long lens I carry alongside a wide angle when travelling. It works as a regular long lens but offers better creative possibilities. I was previously using the 90mm but it doesn't provide as nice bokeh as this one. The T5.6 aperture turned out not to be a limitation at all. There's been a dearth of in-depth reviews on this lens but it's not as specialist as you first think. Compared to the previous STF Sony lens or other similar lenses, the apodization effect is stronger and in use you realize that it is the right choice. I am still as keen on it now as I was before I bought it.

I've had this lens for about 1.5 years... It is my go-to portrait lens, for gorgeous bokeh and sharp images. I will say that there is a learning curve, but once you get through that, it really shines!!

I like the 100mm/105mm focal length, personally I prefer it to 85mm. This lens is wonderful in every respect except the f/5.6 widest aperture can be limiting. If using natural light and it’s cloudy you have to plan ahead a bit and if it’s plain dull you have to decide whether to use the lens with higher ISO or take something faster. Apart from this the lens is a real pleasure to use. It’s a pretty expensive lens but with patience it’s possible to get it at a good deal.

Bokeh... Difficult one. If you want a lens to remove a background, look elsewhere. I was after a lens to do a better job where I can't remove the background, for example in group photos. Instead, the background is still present but is rendered in a more pleasing way. More I use this lens the more I like it!

This lens has a unique combination of extreme sharpness and good, usable depth of field at the focal plane distance, yet produces extreme blur and dreamy bokeh as the distance between the subject and background increases, giving rise to a 3-D micro-contrast effect that no other lens will provide