Jonathan Brady
Veteran Member
*all images have been downsized to 1920 pixels on the long side which will fill up an HD display. If you want to pixel peep at 1:1 at full resolution, sorry. Photography ain't about that.
I've had this lens for a little over a year now and it has taught me so much about photography and portraiture. It's taught me what SHARP looks like. It's taught me about flare and ghosting, and when that can be good and bad. It's taught me about compression and bokeh. But mostly, it's taught me that I love 135mm more than any other focal length prime lens I have! Maybe if I had the 200 f/2.8L II or was RICH and had the 200 f/2L IS, I might like those even better... but I doubt it
In my opinion, 135mm on FF provides a VERY comfortable working distance from your subjects for upper body and head/shoulders portraits. You're close enough to interact, but not so close that you're invading their space.
Build quality:
This lens is built well in my amateur opinion. I've used it quite a lot and it still looks brand new. I don't make any claims about weather resistance because I never take it out in inclement weather as I mostly shoot portraits and most people would prefer not to be soaking wet when having their picture taken. So, the build quality is good enough for me.
As for how it feels in hand, it's not light weight, but it's not heavy either. It's not too big or long either, unless you like pancake and ultra small lenses. If anything, I'd say it feels a tad lighter than it looks, compared to lenses of similar size (like my Sigma 50mm Art which feels more dense) thanks to the use of high-quality plastic. I also happen to think it's a great LOOKING lens too. It's just... pretty. It may be an old design, but it's timeless, in appearance, IMO. And I don't know why but I just LOVE the giant, rounded front element. Purty!
The lens hood could be prettier. It's truly ugly. I use it though. It's more than half the length of the lens itself. I do like that it locks into place and doesn't rotate. It's not of the petal-type, it's cylindrical and has the felt lining on the inside that Canon is known for.
Beyond that, it's an "L" lens. I know that's a cop out for additional sentences with additional complimentary adjectives and I used to make a "what the...?" face whenever I read that in the past, but now that I have a few L lenses, I get it. They're all pretty awesome.
Optical quality:
SHARP. If you have this lens and you can't count eyelashes in a head and shoulders portrait at 1:1, the focus in your image is off.
Color is... AWESOME. The colors this lens produces are nice and rich and stand up well to moderate to heavy post-processing.
Contrast is... Also AWESOME!
Ghosting and flare are definitely present with light sources such as the sun in the frame or striking the front element. Some may dislike these effects which are minimized in more modern lenses by the various coatings used, but some may like them and use them to their advantage. I've been in both situations.
(deliberate) flare example - washed out contrast and a hazy look to the image
Bokeh - soooo smooth! As for the "bokeh balls" from lights, etc., it has an 8 bladed aperture and even wide open you can faintly make out the blade intersections if you want to. However, it's still relatively rounded. As you approach the edges, it exhibits typical "stretching" (or "cat's eye") of bokeh balls.
Vignetting and distortion: I rarely correct either and typically add more vignetting (-30 in LR is about average for me).
Focusing performance:
Accuracy is... incredible! I always shoot in AI Servo with Back Button Focusing and hi-speed continuous shooting. With this lens, out of a short burst of 5 images, I'm typically looking for the very best expression, not the most in-focus because they're ALL in-focus. That's how it should be. I find this to be the case in artificial light as well as daylight.
bathroom lighting (he's in the tub)
Focusing speed is... pretty darn fast! I use this lens for action shots often and I'd say that it's almost as fast as the 85mm f/1.8. It definitely outperforms my 100L (which isn't meant to be a speed demon - I'm just using it as a reference as the difference is noticeable, IMO). You may ask: "will it keep up with toddlers at play?" The answer is YES!
Best uses:
Ummm... duh. portraits!
Just a touch of flare and ghosting - largely overcome by post processing (adding contrast)
LOTS of flare!
Price vs performance
Look, I don't have a lot of experience in photography compared to others who are FAR more capable reviewers than I, but in my opinion, every portrait shooter should own the Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM and if you shoot crop, upgrade to FF and get it. The value and performance this lens offers is OUTSTANDING.
I've had this lens for a little over a year now and it has taught me so much about photography and portraiture. It's taught me what SHARP looks like. It's taught me about flare and ghosting, and when that can be good and bad. It's taught me about compression and bokeh. But mostly, it's taught me that I love 135mm more than any other focal length prime lens I have! Maybe if I had the 200 f/2.8L II or was RICH and had the 200 f/2L IS, I might like those even better... but I doubt it
In my opinion, 135mm on FF provides a VERY comfortable working distance from your subjects for upper body and head/shoulders portraits. You're close enough to interact, but not so close that you're invading their space.
Build quality:
This lens is built well in my amateur opinion. I've used it quite a lot and it still looks brand new. I don't make any claims about weather resistance because I never take it out in inclement weather as I mostly shoot portraits and most people would prefer not to be soaking wet when having their picture taken. So, the build quality is good enough for me.
As for how it feels in hand, it's not light weight, but it's not heavy either. It's not too big or long either, unless you like pancake and ultra small lenses. If anything, I'd say it feels a tad lighter than it looks, compared to lenses of similar size (like my Sigma 50mm Art which feels more dense) thanks to the use of high-quality plastic. I also happen to think it's a great LOOKING lens too. It's just... pretty. It may be an old design, but it's timeless, in appearance, IMO. And I don't know why but I just LOVE the giant, rounded front element. Purty!
The lens hood could be prettier. It's truly ugly. I use it though. It's more than half the length of the lens itself. I do like that it locks into place and doesn't rotate. It's not of the petal-type, it's cylindrical and has the felt lining on the inside that Canon is known for.
Beyond that, it's an "L" lens. I know that's a cop out for additional sentences with additional complimentary adjectives and I used to make a "what the...?" face whenever I read that in the past, but now that I have a few L lenses, I get it. They're all pretty awesome.
Optical quality:
SHARP. If you have this lens and you can't count eyelashes in a head and shoulders portrait at 1:1, the focus in your image is off.
Color is... AWESOME. The colors this lens produces are nice and rich and stand up well to moderate to heavy post-processing.
Contrast is... Also AWESOME!
Ghosting and flare are definitely present with light sources such as the sun in the frame or striking the front element. Some may dislike these effects which are minimized in more modern lenses by the various coatings used, but some may like them and use them to their advantage. I've been in both situations.
(deliberate) flare example - washed out contrast and a hazy look to the image
Bokeh - soooo smooth! As for the "bokeh balls" from lights, etc., it has an 8 bladed aperture and even wide open you can faintly make out the blade intersections if you want to. However, it's still relatively rounded. As you approach the edges, it exhibits typical "stretching" (or "cat's eye") of bokeh balls.
Vignetting and distortion: I rarely correct either and typically add more vignetting (-30 in LR is about average for me).
Focusing performance:
Accuracy is... incredible! I always shoot in AI Servo with Back Button Focusing and hi-speed continuous shooting. With this lens, out of a short burst of 5 images, I'm typically looking for the very best expression, not the most in-focus because they're ALL in-focus. That's how it should be. I find this to be the case in artificial light as well as daylight.
bathroom lighting (he's in the tub)
Focusing speed is... pretty darn fast! I use this lens for action shots often and I'd say that it's almost as fast as the 85mm f/1.8. It definitely outperforms my 100L (which isn't meant to be a speed demon - I'm just using it as a reference as the difference is noticeable, IMO). You may ask: "will it keep up with toddlers at play?" The answer is YES!
Best uses:
Ummm... duh. portraits!
Just a touch of flare and ghosting - largely overcome by post processing (adding contrast)
LOTS of flare!
Price vs performance
Look, I don't have a lot of experience in photography compared to others who are FAR more capable reviewers than I, but in my opinion, every portrait shooter should own the Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM and if you shoot crop, upgrade to FF and get it. The value and performance this lens offers is OUTSTANDING.
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