Customer Reviews

Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everyone gives this lens a rave so maybe i should approach this terrific lens from a shooting POV.

Shooting wide open at f2at 135 gives your pictures a distinct quality you would never get from zooms, there isn't a zoom at this focal length that is this speed either. A few primes come close but they're nowhere near as sharp wide open.

the af is fast and very accurate and the lens has a great feel on a 20d/5d/10d body even wo the battery grip of the cameras.

Close up magnification of .19x to.21 therabouts is a nice bonus of this lens, letting you get closer wo being too in your face for tight headshots.

I always felt that photographers usually have a sweet spot when shooting certain things like some portrait photographers like the distance the 85mm gives them when approaching a subject, turns out I'm liking the 135 focal length quite a bit for headshots and the 85 for torso and head shots.

One thing I like about this 135/f2 combo is that there's enough DOF to get most of the main subject in view and focus but the background will still be blurred out. It's really great when you want the subject in focus and nothing else, as opposed to the 85 1.2 parts of the subject could melt into the background resulting in images that be a little too ethreal for some tastes. Couldn't you just stop down the 85? Sure but the relationship of the foreground to background would still be different with the 135.

The 135 f2 can give a result that's juuust right. The backgrounds just a little more compressed with the foreground but the foreground is sharp but the background is gone. Almost like you lurred the background in photoshop. But you'll never get the same results from blurring in photoshop, for one thing the highlights would get muddied in a blur treatment in PS while the highlights stay clean at f2.

Don't just use this thing for portraits, use it the way you would use a 50mm and try and frame as such, again the focal lenth and wide aperture will give an interesting result. I basically use it for candids and portraits during a wedding.

Fantastic lens, very sharp, very handholdable, the focal length is terrific for portraits and the bokeh is very beautiful, equal in sharpness to the 85 1.2 or any of Canon's $5k lenses. This is probably the best lens you can get for the price, the only lens I've used with better saturation and contrast is the 35 1.4L.

Downside: Not as handholdable as the 50,35 1.4 or the 85 1.2 during low light situations due to it's focal length.

I was in the market to expand my prime collection. I had a rewarding experience with purchasing an 85 f/1.8 (a fantastic lens), and was interested in exploring the 135. After reading all of the reviews here (yes, every single one) as well as reviews on other sites, I got to thinking: can this lens actually be THAT good? A part of me didn't want to believe it. I wanted to think it was some sort of mass hysteria. But another part of me knew that such accolades aren't tossed so casually here. So I broke down and bought one.

And I haven't looked back.

I've been used to using zooms--and L zooms at that. I thought they were wonderful. I loved them. I never thought I'd want for more. However, this lens really drives home the difference between primes and zooms. The performance of the 135 is nothing short of stunning. I had read the reviews of people using this lens and then marveling at the results. I thought this was quaint, and a result of "lens placebo." But after seeing what this lens produced for me, I knew all the gushing was true. I then took comparison shots with this lens and my 70-200 f/4L. The results were quite convincing: sharpness and color produced by the 135 are definitely on another level than the 70-200 f/4L (and I won't even talk about bokeh because of the f/2 vs. f/4 difference). Since I bought the 135, I haven't put the 70-200 on my camera except to make the comparison shots.

Believe the hype. This lens is THAT good.

I believe this is one of the best lens for about $1000. Forget about zoom lenses even if they are L. This lens is far better than 70-200L in my opinion. It is very sharp at f2 and even more sharp at f2.5. With zoom lenses you have to set to f/5.6 for better result and f/8 to match this lens. It is very well built but not excessive heavy, come with hood and bag, but unfortunately, Canon have decided to remove the hard cases for all the L lenses.

Combined with a Tamron 1.4X teleconverter this lens provide very good optical quality on par with any zoom L lenses at 189mm focal length. Yes I know I lost the convenience of a 70-200 zoom lens. But I am really happy that I decide to change the plan of buying a 70-200IS to 135/2L+1.4X. This not only saves me the money but also let me to get better pictures, especially at wide open. Better portrait lenses, like 200/1.8 and 300/2.8, would cost several thousands of dollars. Trust me, once you play with primes, you will not like zoom anymore.

I am also using a 24-70L to shoot my small kid. After using this lens, I don't like it anymore and thinking about change to primes someday, the only reason preventing me doing that is the 1.6X crop factor of digital camera. A 35mm/1.4L will become 56mm which is really not good.

Order from Amazon with free shipping even though it says not in stock. They shipped mine in 2 days and this happened before even though item stated "in stock soon".

Pros:
Very sharp at f2 and super sharp start from f2.5.
Very fast lens with f/2
Very good bokeh (background blurring).
Overall extremely good picture quality with good contrast/color.
Smaller size, less weight and black color compare to those white 70-200s.
It is a L lens: best build quality, fast/quiet ring USM AF with FTM.


Cons:
No hard case.
No inexpensive.
Effective focal length is 216mm on 10D/20D/Rebel/300D which is a little difficult to use for portrait.

Man. what a lens!!! It's not cheap, and I dont' find the 135mm to be a particularly useful focal length with my 20D but after seeing glowing reviews of this one both at [...], I decided to buy one and try it for myself. It's not cheap at $900, but it's worth every penny. This one is an absolute stunner. I cannot believe my eyes at the sharpness at f2 and it improves very little when stopped down. The bokeh is unbelievable!!! I dont' hesitate to shoot at f2 and I don't find it necessary to stop down just to increase sharpness. The size and build is perfect although I don't like Canon's hood design. Why can't they simply make the hood with the same crincked finish of the lens?? Then they would not so easily scratch. It's beyond me. But that's not a problem with the lens itself and whenever I use this lens, I know I have one of the best lenses ever designed. It forces me to excel myself knowing that now,the only limitation is me, the photographer and not the camera or the lens. An absolute beauty. Go try it yourself. I try to shoot with this as much as possible and the results are stunning. I just wish it came with weather proofing and Image Stablization like Canon's modern lenses but that's just nitpicking. I love it as it is.

This lens is sharp. And at the cost of repeating myself, this lens is SHARP.

For 135/2, this is rather compact, the hood is almost half the length of the lens and makes it look bigger and heavier. That was the first thing that struck me when I took it out of the box. Exactly the same size as a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 (without the hood), probably twice as heavy. With this lens, hood, a 20D, battery pack and 580EX, you know you are carrying something in your hand that will make heads turn. You look through the lens and realize that the opening is W-I-D-E...

Not very handholdable with 1.6X even at f2...minimum 1/250s required, atleast for me. My hands are not the steadiest, quite shaky. So I dont go below 1/250s.

The color saturation, richness, unparalleled. Im tempted to say that the 50/1.8 gives the same amount of sharpness and color..im even tempted to say that the 50 is a tad sharper, but my reasoning would be that the 50 is more handholdable than the 135. A lot more handholdable.

Be warned, this is a high maintenance lens - if you are taking a portrait, (i) stand in the right distance (ii) focus on the eyes (iii) recompose (iv) make sure you dont loose the focus or move (v) click.
You move 2 mm, the focus is off at f/2. The subject moves a little or shakes his/her head, you probably need to refocus. Thats when the focus override comes handy. Seems simple, but needs practise...just a little.

Hood, prefer it with a crimped finish, removing and replacing the lens cap is a bit of a pain.

Built solidly like a tank, branded with a prominent red ring to be recognized by those who know what it stands for. Yet to test it in proper day light, but I think I am going to be pleased, this one is a keeper. My wife is no photographer, but loves the pictures and suggested that she likes this lens and wants to keep this one.

Oh, and if I dont talk about the bokeh, either I dont know what it is, or Im just plain dumb. The BESTEST bokeh I have ever seen, buttery creamy milky smooth. I would pay $900 for the bokeh. The combo of 135 and f/2 makes it a killer. And if I use this on my EOS-3 (35mm), I will be closer to my subject while the background is still far away, making the bokeh even smoother.

This is the only lens which I can turn to f/32 for infinite depth of field. Yet to take broad daylight shots with that. The only reason I will stop down the lens is for the depth of field. For everything else, I know I am going to use f/2.

Great lens, buy it. It doesnt get better than this. Take a look at the two pictures I posted, especially the Indian decor.

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Update on 23 July 2007

I have taken many pictures with this lens at f/2, f/2.8 and f/4 and simply put, this is a lens that will have its place in the Photography Hall of Fame. If you stand at the right distance, you can keep the aperture at f/2 and still get most of the person in full focus without the ears or shoulders out of focus. Having said that, there is absolutely NO necessity to stop down unless you want more dof.
This one is a keeper, beg borrow or steal $900 to buy this lens.
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Update on 12 feb 2008.
Oh boy, I love this lens all over again, any excuse to take this out and shoot. I will do free portraiture if necessary. One of the pros that I didnt think was highlighted enough in the above reviews (one or two mention it, not all) is that this lens gives a verrrry pleasing 3 d effect to the images. The background is completely compressed into one thin sheet and looks like a (very pleasing) backdrop and the subject has so much pop and clarity that it creates a very good 3D effect. If the 85mm/1.8 makes the subject stand out in a crowd, this lens make the subject pop out of the picture. Simply put, the best portrait lens if u have the distance on a cropped sensor. 6 stars out of 5, again, beg borrow or steal $900 to buy this lens.

I sold my 70-200 4.0L lens in order to get this lens and I am very happy with my decision.
The ability to shoot at 2.0 aperture gives you the ability to completely blur distracting elements from the background of your subject.
As with all L series lenses, the image quality, sharpness, color and contrast are all excellent.
Also like all L series lenses, this lens is built very solidly. Keep in mind that this lens may feel somewhat large and bulky to those who haven't used L series lenses before. The extra bulk is because of more high quality glass and the use of more durable materials (metal vs. plastic). I've grown to like the stability and the weight of the lens.
The focal length of 135 is not for everyone, on a full frame camera (film or the 5D for example), 135mm is a great portrait lens that allows you to isolate the face instead of just the head.
On a digital camera with a crop factor (like the 20D, digital rebels or the 30D), the 135 becomes something like a 210mm lens. This may be too much for portraiture though it would be useful as a lowlight or indoor sports lens.

The only real negative thing I have to say is that the lens cap is very annoying to take off when the supplied hood is attached (not much room for your fingers to get to the releases). {see the customer photos} I generally take the hood off and then take the lens cap off. Another option would be to get a different lens cap with a center release (Tamron makes these).

The 135 f2 is probably Canon's sharpest prime. And you know that most of Canon's prime lenses are quite sharp so this speaks to the great quality of the 135.

The 135 is better than any of the 70-200 zooms for the following reasons:

-It's less conspicuous: it's black instead of white, it's lighter and shorter. This makes it the perfect lens for those people 'grab' shots at the mall or street fair. The people will not be taken aback by you pointing a large lens at them. Instead, they may not know you are taking a closeup/semi closeup of them at all since this lens looks like a wider lens.

-It's faster.

-It has better bokeh.

-It's cheaper than the slower f2.8 70-200.

As a semi-pro published photographer, I can recommend this lens. I originally purchased it (and still use it) for headshots (it's great for that) but found that there are a lot of other applications under which this lens excels.

I shoot this on a 5D Mark II full-frame camera, so the 135mm is an actual 135mm for me.

Since it is very hard to find fault with the lens (aside from the fact that they make you pay for it), I will stick with the highlights.

At f2.0, this is one bright lens. It means having the stop you need to rip a hand-held shot that you only get one crack at. It's native task is people pictures, so when shooting candids you either get the moment or you don't, and with this one f2.0 means you can get it in available light. I don't like spooking/annoying people with a flash. This lens lets me shoot from the other side of a normal room, outside of people's personal space and possibly outside their notice. In a larger room, you get tight groups of people. It's probably a touch too long on a crop-sensor body, but this is such a sweet lens that it would be worth it to rent one to see.

When you aren't shooting candids "in the wild" and switch to posed portraiture, it gets even better. Fast to focus, nice perspective, but you might have to "frame with your feet" to get everybody into the shot.

The weight is quite reasonable and the handling is sweet. There is a break point in lens weight for me. This one is light enough to shoot comfortably a long while. The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L by comparison is just over that line, that one is a touch on the heavy side and not as sweet to work. The two are somewhat close in size and weight, but the 135 f2.0 feels far lighter and handles better. When you have to move *now* this lens is just light enough that you might get off a one-handed shot without spilling the drink in your left hand.

Exquisite backgrounds. All those other comments people have posted about it are all true.

Incredible detail. This is one very sharp lens. It gives all of those pixels on the 5d something worthwhile to do. Every individual eyelash is sacred to this lens.

This thing sees better in the dark than I do. With the high ISO capabilities of the 5D mark II, you can take other-worldly night-time shots on available light and hand hold them. "What did you do to get the sky that color?" "The sky *was* that color, this is a night-time shot."

You do have to watch your depth of field and focus point like a hawk. You can play games and do some powerfully artistic stuff that way, especially with people's hair.

If the focal length is anywhere near right for your situation, the results will be well worth every penny.

Despite reading glowing reviews about this lens, I was still surprised to see how well it performed. The lens is SO sharp you can get very good cropped pictures of running athletes, from a distance of three quarters of a Football field away, shooting hand held, with late afternoon light, which will print a 5x7 and still look like a Pro took them!
If you want a tack sharp lens for indoor sports pictures and can't afford, or otherwise do not want another long lens for outdoor sports pictures, then you should give this lens your serious consideration.

Everything that other reviewers have said is true. This lens is SHARP even wide open and the bokeh is so beautiful. In fact, this is the sharpest lens that I own and I own several L lenses. It is even sharper at f/2 than my 70-200 f/2.8 IS at f/2.8. The image quality only degrades very slightly when coupled with the 1.4x TC. Highly recommended!