Canon EF 135mm lens
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| Sharp Performer 01/02/2009 What can I say about this lens that isn't said on the Internet. It's sharp - very sharp, it's bright - very bright, and for an 'L' lens, it quite a bargain. When I took delivery, I fired off a few test shots; when the first picture lit up on my LCD panel I knew this was a terrific lens. I spent 20 minutes micro-focusing the lens, it was back-focusing 6 clicks on my 5DmkII which made a difference when you zoom right into a photo but undetectable otherwise. The depth of field with the f/2.0 aperture can be made razor thin, and the out of focus background (or bokeh) is creamy smooth. But stop it right down, the image remains sharp and no detectable chromatic aberration. The construction is 'L' series quality - not weather sealed, but you know you are holding something of extremely high quality when it's in your hand; but It's not too heavy: some 'L' lenses are quite weighty but this is no more that a non-L zoom. This lens works wonderfully with the Canon 1.4x extender, with no noticeable drop-off in quality. This takes it to almost 300mm if you do not have a full frame CCD with only the loss of 1 stop. The thing you need to ask yourself about buying this (and any prime really) is what will I use it for? If you don't have full frame, then it's obviously going to be a medium telephoto with the 1.4x added which has a lot of uses from Airshows to Zoos. A prime 135mm on a full-frame camera is a but more tricky. Candid outdoor portraits is one perfect use, 135mm takes you outside of your subject's 'personal space' so you get much more relaxed and natural results. Indoors it's tricky because you would need a very big room. It's not much good for macro photography and 135mm is too long for landscape and too short for nature. These are generalizations though. I like to take a single prime lens out with me for walks, this makes you really think about composition and your own position in relation to the subject. Something that zoom lens users don't do and it can dramatically improve your photography. With the 135mm you have to think that bit harder, you need to walk into the middle of a field to get that tree framed how you want it, you need to stand back from that interesting mushroom, you need to stalk a bit closer to that bird a little way ahead. But the bottom-line for any lens is, does it take great photos? Yes, the Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM takes stunning photos. By Music Fan Sevenoaks | |||||
| Wonderful lens 08/01/2009 In the best part of 30 years photography I have owned kit from many of the best camera makers, and I can honestly say I have NEVER seen better results than those provided by the Canon 135L. A classic lens giving simply amazing optical speed and sharpness. If you need a "people" telephoto I would look really long and hard at this 135L, a magnificent piece of kit. By Night photographer London | |||||
| Awesome, simply awesome 27/11/2008 This lens has immediately shot to the top of my list of best lenses. The reasons for that are numerous: 1. It is absolutely sharp wide open at f/2. All the tests I've done at different apertures reveal the same image quality. Stopping down seemingly only affects the depth of field - which is how things should be in an ideal world! 2. It's a great focal length for portraits. Long enough so you don't have to be on top of the subject if you need to be discrete too. 3. It's supremely well built - solid and chunky feeling. No weather seals though. 4. It focuses very quickly, especially when the focus limiter switch is set to 1.6m. 5. It's compatible with the 1.4x and 2x extenders. Now, £600 is a lot for one lens that's fixed focal. We all love our zooms because they save us having to get into the absolute best position when taking a shot - the zoom can bail us out if we're too far away. We hardly ever seem to get too close!!!! BUT, if you want the absolute best in image quality this lens has to be amongst the top performers. Prime lenses are designed for one job and generally do it very well, better than any zoom can at the same settings. This lens takes things to an altogether new level. This lens is 2 sops faster than my other 'L' lenses which are f/4 max and for my wedding shoots will enable me to set my ISO to 400 in dimly lit areas rather than the 1600 I've been using. My cameras can handle 1600 pretty well but there's no getting away from the fact that ISO 400 would be infinitely better still. There's a huge amount of creative control you have with this lens thanks to the max aperture. F/2 means a very narrow depth of field at 135mm; when at or close to minimum focusing we're talking maybe an inch. Objects can be isolated from their background very well indeed - even a good distance away. Background blur is very pleasing. All in all a wicked lens - not suitable for every situation as its focal length is quite long (around 216mm equivalent on a crop sensor camera - but still handy if you need an ultra sharp fixed focal medium tele lens) but one that will deliver the goods whenever it is used. It's a tool for a specific job and if you're reading this you'll already know what you need a 135mm lens for. If you can afford it - buy this, you will NOT be dissapointed. By brainleek007 Bracknell | |||||
| One of Canon's best prime lenses 07/08/2008 This is quite possibly one of the best prime lenses you can buy, particularly for the full-frame series (e.g. 5D). The quality is superb, it focusses quickly and accurately even in low-light indoor conditions, the range is perfect for candid party shots, and it's extremely versatile - portraits, snapshots, still-life, landscapes, pretty much anything you can throw at it. The only thing you may not like is being on the receiving end, as the lens element has an eerie irridescent green glow to it which can be quite intimidating! Bear in mind that on a cropped sensor camera (e.g. 30D, 400D, etc.) this will be the equivalent of a 216mm lens which may not be quite as useful indoors. By Mark P. British Isles | |||||
| One incredible lens! 29/06/2010 This is by far the best lens in my kit. I use this with my 24-70 f/2.8L and 85mm f/1.8 lenses. When I was researching buying this lens, many reviews said this was the sharpest lens that Canon makes. They weren't kidding! I can take pictures at f/2 that are incredibly sharp, even indoors. Although it's a very strange focal length for some (many people prefer zooms in this range), I've found that it provides a lot of flexibility for portraits, indoors, close up pictures of flowers and general photography. The sharpness is great at f/2, and only gets better as you stop down to f/8. It's not cheap at $1,000 but it's worth every penny Pros: - Razor sharp pictures, even wide open at f/2 - Jaw dropping bokeh (quality of background blur), simply incredible - Excellent color contrast - Relatively small lens, reasonable weight for what it does - A very fat manual focus ring, 1.125 inches wide! - Very fast focus speed - It's black, unlike the 70-200 lenses which are bright white, so you're less conspicuous when taking pictures Cons: - None! By E. Burd | |||||
