85mm lenses with wide maximum apertures are some of the most popular out there, particularly for portrait photographers, but they can also run well north of $2,000 for a good model. And so, at less than $200, the Meike 85mm f/1.8 is quite the intriguing lens, but do you get much at such a low price? This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice. 

Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this great video review takes a look Meike 85mm f/1.8 lens for Sony E mount cameras. Certainly, at less than $200, you should not expect the 85mm f/1.8 to compete with flagship models, but on the other hand, it is hard to argue with such a cheap price. Though this particularly model does not produce ultra-sharp images free of aberrations, as Frost puts it, they are quite serviceable. Moreover, the bokeh is surprisingly smooth and pleasant, which is certainly a boon for anyone planning to use the lens for wide-aperture portraits. Altogether, it looks like quite a reasonable performer at a particularly affordable price. Check out the video above for Frost’s full thoughts on the lens.