Rankings
The Meike 85mm f/1.8 delivers portrait-grade sharpness and bokeh at a budget price, with firmware-upgradable autofocus, but its AF speed, lack of weather sealing, and occasional noise limit it for fast action or demanding video work.
The Nikon AF-S DX 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR is a lightweight, value-oriented telephoto zoom with effective VR and decent sharpness, suited for travel and hobbyist wildlife work, though its AF speed and build quality are modest.
The Nikon AF-S DX 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II is a lightweight, retractable telephoto zoom aimed at APS-C users. It offers solid optical performance, VR, and a silent AF motor, though its plastic construction and lack of weather sealing limit rugged use.
The Nikon AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR is a lightweight, retractable kit lens offering silent autofocus and effective image stabilization, ideal for beginners and travel, though its plastic build and variable aperture limit low-light performance.
The Nikon AF-P DX 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR offers solid sharpness, effective vibration reduction and a quiet stepping-motor AF, making it a versatile, budget-friendly telephoto for DX-format shooters.
The BENOISON 420-800mm f/8.3-16 is a budget manual-focus super-telephoto zoom offering extreme reach, but its lack of autofocus, stabilization, and modest optics restrict it to static subjects on a tripod.
The Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8N offers a bright aperture and solid build for Nikon users at a low price, delivering good central sharpness but showing some AF noise and edge softness.
The Yanuoda 420-800mm f/8.3 is a manual-focus super-telephoto zoom offering extreme reach at a budget price, but it lacks autofocus, image stabilization, and a fast aperture, limiting its use to bright, static subjects.
The Lensbaby Sol 45 for Sony E is a 45 mm manual-focus creative prime with a fixed f/3.5 aperture and tilt mechanism, offering distinctive sweet-spot focus and adjustable bokeh blades in a solid metal body.
| Attribute | | | | | | | | Ynlens YN50mm F1.8N Nikon | Lensbaby Sol 45 Sony |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ lower better | 70 mm | 55 mm | 55 mm | 18 mmbest | 85 mm | 420 mm | 420 mm | 50 mm | 45 mm |
300 mm | 200 mm | 300 mm | 55 mm | 85 mm | 800 mmbest | 800 mmbest | 50 mm | 45 mm | |
| ↓ lower better | 4.5 f | 4 f | 4.5 f | 3.5 f | 1.8 fbest | 8.3 f | 8.3 f | 1.8 fbest | 3.5 f |
| ↓ lower better | 476 g | 335 g | 555 g | 205 g | 420 g | 880 g | 717 g | 203 gbest | 272 g |
| ↓ lower better | 163 mm | 100 mm | 184 mm | 62.5 mm | 77 mm | 238.8 mm | 240 mm | 60 mmbest | 65 mm |
| ↓ lower better | 110 cm | 110 cm | 140 cm | 25 cmbest | 85 cm | — | 500 cm | 45 cm | 35.5 cm |
0.22 x | 0.23 x | 0.28 x | 0.38 xbest | 0.13 x | — | — | 0.15 x | 0.17 x | |
— | 12 monthsbest | 3 months | — | — | 12 monthsbest | 12 monthsbest | 12 monthsbest | — |
Click an attribute name to sort · Green = best, red = worst (relative to this comparison)
| Attribute | | | | | | | | Ynlens YN50mm F1.8N Nikon | Lensbaby Sol 45 Sony |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Performance(1) | |||||||||
Image Stabilization | true | true | true | true | false | false | false | false | false |
Mount & Compatibility(2) | |||||||||
Mount Type | Nikon F-mount | Nikon F | Nikon F | Nikon F-mount | Multiple (Nikon F, Sony E, Canon EF, Fujifilm X, L-mount) | Canon EF/EF-S, Nikon F, Sony E | Nikon F | Nikon F | Sony E |
Autofocus Motor Type | AF-P stepping motor | Silent Wave Motor | Silent Wave Motor | AF-P stepping motor | STM / DC | — | Manual | DC | none |
Optical(6) | |||||||||
Focal Length (Min) (mm) | 70 mm | 55 mm | 55 mm | 18 mm | 85 mm | 420 mm | 420 mm | 50 mm | 45 mm |
Focal Length (Max) (mm) | 300 mm | 200 mm | 300 mm | 55 mm | 85 mm | 800 mm | 800 mm | 50 mm | 45 mm |
Maximum Aperture (f-number) (f) | 4.5 f | 4 f | 4.5 f | 3.5 f | 1.8 f | 8.3 f | 8.3 f | 1.8 f | 3.5 f |
Minimum Focus Distance (cm) | 110 cm | 110 cm | 140 cm | 25 cm | 85 cm | — | 500 cm | 45 cm | 35.5 cm |
Maximum Magnification Ratio (x) | 0.22 x | 0.23 x | 0.28 x | 0.38 x | 0.13 x | — | — | 0.15 x | 0.17 x |
Coating Type | Super Integrated Coating | Super Spectra | Super Integrated Coating | Super Integrated Coating | Multi-layer nano coating | — | Multi-layer | Multi-coated | Broadband multi-coated anti-reflective |
Build & Durability(1) | |||||||||
Warranty Period (months) | — | 12 months | 3 months | — | — | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months | — |
Physical(3) | |||||||||
Weight (g) | 476 g | 335 g | 555 g | 205 g | 420 g | 880 g | 717 g | 203 g | 272 g |
Length (mm) | 163 mm | 100 mm | 184 mm | 62.5 mm | 77 mm | 238.8 mm | 240 mm | 60 mm | 65 mm |
Filter Thread Diameter (mm) | 58 mm | 52 mm | 58 mm | 55 mm | 67 mm | — | 62 mm | 52 mm | 46 mm |
Products in the top-left offer the best value (high score, low price).
Professional reviewers consistently commend the lens for its strong optical performance at a modest size and price, highlighting its sharpness at mid-range focal lengths, effective 4-stop VR, and quiet AF-P motor, while noting resolution loss at the long end and a plastic build.
Everyday users overwhelmingly rate the lens highly, praising its lightweight feel, silent autofocus, and the dramatic improvement VR provides in low-light situations, though they note zoom creep and a less solid feel.
“Perfect for wildlife and birds on my D7500.”
“AF is silent and locks on instantly-great for video.”
“So much lighter than my old FX 70-300mm.”
Professional reviewers commend the lens for its portability, solid optical performance and the addition of VR, while noting the plastic mount and lack of a built-in hood as drawbacks.
Everyday users love the lightweight travel companion and effective VR, but complain about the missing hood, cheap plastic feel, and reduced sharpness at 200 mm wide open.
Professional reviewers praise the lens for its unbeatable price-to-performance ratio, solid sharpness when stopped down, and effective VR, while noting the lack of a manual focus override and modest build quality.
Everyday users highlight the lens's lightweight feel, impressive reach, and VR as major strengths, but complain about sluggish autofocus in low light and the rotating front element that blocks polarizers.
Professional reviewers commend the lens for its compactness, effective 4-stop VR, and quiet AF-P motor, noting good center sharpness at mid-apertures while calling out edge softness and modest overall image quality compared to higher-end lenses.
Everyday users overwhelmingly view the lens as a versatile starter kit, praising its lightweight build, silent autofocus for video, and reliable VR, while noting plastic feel, compatibility limits, and softness at the frame edges when used wide open.
Professional reviewers praise the Meike 85mm f/1.8 for its impressive sharpness, low chromatic aberration, smooth bokeh and solid build, noting that firmware updates have turned its initially mediocre autofocus into a usable system, especially the STM versions which are quiet enough for video.
Everyday users love the lens's image quality, bokeh and value, while recurring complaints involve early AF reliability, noise on DC-motor versions and the lack of weather sealing.
Professional editors label it a "starter super-telephoto" lens-affordable and useful for learning, yet limited by the lack of AF, stabilization, and modest optical performance.
Users love the fun factor and reach, especially for moon and daytime wildlife, but complain about manual focus difficulty, softness at 800mm, and the need for camera setting tweaks.
Professional reviewers view the BENOISON 420-800mm as a curiosity or entry-level gateway to super-telephoto work, noting impressive reach but limited optical quality and missing modern features.
Everyday users appreciate the lens for moon and bird photography when mounted on a sturdy tripod, praising its reach and decent sharpness up to about 600mm, while noting softness at the extreme end and difficulty focusing without live view.
Reviewers note a split between early plastic-mount versions and newer metal-mount iterations, with the latter praised for solid build, reliable AF and respectable optics as a low-cost alternative to Nikon's 50mm f/1.8G.
Users appreciate the price-to-performance ratio, sharp central images and smooth bokeh, while complaining about noisy AF, cheap-feeling barrel and lack of a supplied lens hood.
Professional reviewers view the Sol 45 as a novelty creative accessory rather than a technical workhorse, praising its tilt-based focus and build but noting the fixed aperture and lack of autofocus or weather sealing.
Everyday users rate it highly for dreamy, soft-blurred images and solid construction, though they complain about the gimmicky bokeh blades and manual-only operation.
