Metal or plastic? That’s one of the key questions left to answer for a newly teased lens coming to the E-Mount, L-Mount, and Z Mounts: The Meike AF 85mm f/1.2.
A post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo from the Independent Photographer’s Association (which was quickly picked up by rumor sites) says that the Meike AF 85mm f/1.2 is currently under development. But while the post claims that the optical design is “nearly complete,” the brand has yet to choose between a metal or plastic barrel design.
Irix famously gave its customers the choice as to the material used in some of its lenses - producing both metal and ABS versions of with both Blackstone (metal) and Firefly (ABS) versions of tis 11mm f/4 and 15mm f/2.4 wide-angle primes.
The upcoming Meike 85mm is said to prioritize weight with the optics design, but choosing the final barrel materials will play a key role in just how lightweight the lens ends up. A plastic variant would be around 750g to 780g – that’s about 26.4 to 27.5 ounces.
A metal design would push that weight even higher, to 870g / 30 oz on the low side and 900g / 31.7 oz on the high side.
Labeling a lens as “lightweight” is relative. A prime that weighs well over a pound doesn’t exactly scream lightweight, but f/1.2 primes aren't exactly known for being light. If the lens ends up hitting that projected weight – even the metal one – it would sit weight-wise somewhere between the 642g Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM II and the 1160g Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S.
I love a good metal lens – the material feels far more luxurious in my hands – and frankly feels like it can take more of a beating than plastic barrels. But metal lenses tend to be the ones that have me wishing for something smaller at the end of a long, all-day shoot.
With the information coming from Weibo – a frequent source of Chinese lens brand leaks and development announcements – it's unclear if Meike is the source or if the lens remains a rumor. A number of details on the upcoming lens are missing. But, if the early post is accurate, then the lens at least has autofocus and is built for full-frame E-Mount, Z-Mount, and L-Mount cameras.
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