All About Photographic Lenses.
Specifications, comparison, reviews, MTF-charts for lenses by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, Sigma, Tamron, Carl Zeiss, etc.

Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM Lens

Do you like a good instrumental music?
Listen to new beautiful music from composer Sergei Borodin. Click HERE...

Pictures

Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM lens

Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM lens

Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM lens

Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM lens

MTF-charts

Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM MTF Chart

Optical design

Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM optical design

Format: 35mm SLR

Type: Prime lens

Focusing: Auto Focus (AF)

Lens mounts: Canon EF, EF-S

First year of production: 1996

Optical design: 10 elements in 8 groups

Features: Ultra-Sonic Motor
User reviews (5)

Photos (28)

Tests (0)

Owners (17)

Views (9424)

Average price: $1083

Specifications:

Focal lengthMax. apertureMin. apertureBladesMin. Focus (m.)Filter Ø (mm.)Weight (gr/oz)Length (mm/in)
135mmf/2.0f/3280.972750/26,5112/4,4

Additional information:

The Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM  is a professional L-series fast telephoto lens prime  for Canon EOS digital and film cameras.  It is considered to be one of the most successful EF lenses.

Equivalent focal length for APS-C cameras:   216 mm.

With the f/2.0 maximum aperture ratio the lens enables shooting with very shallow depth of field, as well as shooting in low-level-light conditions.

The aperture has eight blades.  It features a nice out-of-focus blurring (bokeh). Circles of confusion shapes are close to an ideal circle.

The lens is already rather sharp even at f/2. You'd better use this aperture setting for portraiture - besides sharpness, it provides flexibility. The lens is very sharp from f/ 3.5 onward. There may be drops in resolution at the frame borders on 35 mm digital cameras.

Vignetting is visible only when shooting wide open. Vignetting is usually an advantage for a portrait photography, as it provides a picture with additional volume. If necessary, it is easily edited in RAW-converters.  From f/2.8 vignetting is almost invisible.

The optical scheme includes UD glass elements, which affects aberrations, contrast and color rendering.

The  Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM is well resistant to  back and side light. In order to ensure a better image quality, it is recommended to use a hood.

Focusing is internal. The front lens does not rotate, which enables the use of a polarizing or gradient filter.  Manual adjustment of sharpness is possible at any time by turning the focus ring.

Color  rendering is natural, colors are saturated. Image contrast ranges from medium at f/2.0 to high at the rest aperture settings.

The built-in ultra-sonic motor makes focusing fast and silent especially if the lens is switched to 1.6 m - infinity mode. The lens provides steady focusing in poor lighting conditions.

The Canon EF 135 mm f/2L USM is perfectly fit as a portrait lens, as well as for the genres of photography where shallow depth of field is required.

Compatible hood: ET-78II

The lens comes completed with a hood and a soft case.


Links to online resources:
PDF Files:
Posted by: Sergei Borodin   Date of publication: 16.09.2010



Photos taken with this lens Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM:


Helena
Autor: schum
5 0 4399

Victory
Autor: Fotorex
5 0 4765

***
Autor: schum
5 0 3177

Helena
Autor: schum
5 0 2344

Mechanical quality4.5415
Optical quality4.6015
Usability4.3514
Pricing / Value3.6015
Bokeh3.7420
Overall lens rating
4.17

Embed to Blog (HTML) Embed to Forum (BBcode)


Owner reviews: Canon EF 135 mm f/ 2 L USM

Seti 1.1.2000 00:00:01
Period of use: 3 years

Strengths:

Excellent picture, beautiful bokeh with a slight twisting, very sharp

Weaknesses:

The design is not perfect - from the 2 lenses that I had both been with the problems. I first loosened the focus ring, the second it almost fell off =)

Comments:

Definitely should be in every amateur photographing portraits =)