Meike 85mm f/1.8 AF for Canon & Nikon DSLRS announced – and it's under $200

Meike 85mm f/1.8 AF for Canon & Nikon DSLRS announced – and it's under $200
(Image credit: Meike)

Meike has officially announced the Meike 85mm f/1.8 AF lens for Nikon F-mount and Canon EF-mount, which promises to provide a great affordable alternative to more expensive portrait lenses. This lens joins the interesting roster of lenses that Meike has announced recently, including a 50mm f/1.2, a 35mm f/1.4, a 3.5mm f/2.8 circular fisheye and a 50mm f/1.7. 

The Meike 85mm f/1.8 AF lens for Nikon and Canon full frame DSLRs will have an aperture range of f/1.8 to f/22. This means that you can shoot portraits with a beautifully shallow depth-of-field or use a large depth-of-field to capture as much detail as possible.

• Read more: Best Nikon lenses

This is Meike's first autofocus lens, which should make it a tempting proposition for users looking for affordable pieces of glass. The lens also features a minimum focus distance of 0.85m, which is similar to the Nikon 85mm f/1.8G lens. While the lens might not be suitable for macro photography, it should still allow plenty of flexibility for close-up portraits.

The Meike 85mm f/1.8 AF lens has nine elements in six groups and features low CA and low distortion. It also features a microUSB firmware upgrade interface that enables you to upgrade the lens. This 85mm f/1.8 will weigh just 420g, making it a fairly lightweight companion to fit into your kitbag.

The Meike 85mm f/1.8 AF lens for Nikon F-mount and Canon EF-mount will retail for $189.99 and is available via the Meike website.

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Louise Carey

With over a decade of photographic experience, Louise arms Digital Camera World with a wealth of knowledge on photographic technique and know-how – something at which she is so adept that she's delivered workshops for the likes of ITV and Sue Ryder. Louise also brings years of experience as both a web and print journalist, having served as features editor for Practical Photography magazine and contributing photography tutorials and camera analysis to titles including Digital Camera Magazine and  Digital Photographer. Louise currently shoots with the Fujifilm X-T200 and the Nikon D800, capturing self-portraits and still life images, and is DCW's ecommerce editor, meaning that she knows good camera, lens and laptop deals when she sees them.