DULENS APO 85mm F2
Key specifications
85mm F.L., f/2.0-16, manual focus, stepless aperture, 55 mm filter thread, full frame coverage. <400g, 65 mm dia. x 59-62.5 mm long. 11 aperture blades, 7 group, 6 element optical design (2x anomalous dispersion lenses, 3x lanthanoid glass, 1x high-refractive index glass)
It’s pretty hard to mess up 85 mm, so when a 85 mm lens comes along that is somewhat expensive the discussion inevitably centers on what else you get for your money, followed closely by an assessment of whether it is “worth it”. For the price of $550 USD, yes, in my judgement, the Dulens 85/2 APO is “worth it”. You are not being cheated or ripped off. What comes in the box justifies the asking price. Should you buy it? Well, that’s a whole different story. Possibly, yes, but this is a very niche product. To figure out whether you might be part of that niche, you’ll have to read the rest of this review.
Physical
Mechanically, this lens is vintage 1950’s: no AF, no data pins for EXIF data, no aperture coupling (and no TTL meter in consequence), and, unusually even for MF lenses, no automatic indexing of the aperture. (Aperture is always at the “taking aperture”, it isn’t held wide open as most SLR lenses are.) The aperture ring is stepless, so you cannot count clicks to know what aperture you are setting. The single modern viewfinder aid you have resource to is the focus confirm carat/dot, subbing for the split prism focus screen.
So yeah, the list this lens brings zero features to the table. It’s retrograde to even the earliest Nikkor “Auto” F-mount lenses, which at least were auto-indexing. You would be mistaken to think that the optics are equally Spartan, however. This is a modern design, a relatively complex (for this FL), 6 group, 7 element formula with several exotic glass elements including the two anomalous dispersion lenses responsible for the lens earning its APO (apochromatic) badge. Optically, this lens is dressed to impress.
Mechanically, it’s well made, all metal, with a spacious 180-degree focus throw and perfect damping on both focus and aperture rings. I don’t put a huge value on “all metal” – plastic has advantages – but as all-metal lenses go, this finishing, engraving, and tolerances are high end.
The 11 aperture blades deserve special mention. The lens uses the vintage style damped blades, the ones that move accurately but only slowly. They don’t “snap” like modern indexed lenses. The flipside is they are much rounder and symmetrical. They are a thing of beauty.
Optical
At first I couldn’t shake the feeling that the lens wasn’t quite sharp. I felt it was missing a crispness or snap to the focal plane. Yet if I put my mind to getting a sharp photo, the lens delivered one.
The lens was stopped down to around f/4
There is a touch of softness wide open though, less a corner issue but generally over the frame. And the essence of the lens is in the way the rest of the image – contrast, color, and rendering – holds together when you change apertures. Some lenses get horribly faded wide open, some develop full on bokeh mist, while the Dulens just dials in a kind of beauty filter effect.
I’ve used enough good lenses, and enough not so good lenses, to be able to tell you with confidence that the Dulens is using high quality glass and coatings. Colors are rich and saturated, contrast stays high until the very onset of flare, and the bokeh is very, very nice. And in terms of all the other little things that good lenses do but cheap lenses don’t – light falloff, corner sharpness, color fringing, even often overlooked things like maintaining circular bokeh balls wide open – it’s pretty obvious the designers were targeting performance not cost-cutting.
f/2
In terms of the apochromatic design, my comment here is that yes, the APO designation is justified and the lens is admirably free from CA, but the reality is none of my non-APO 85mm lenses have any problem with color fringing so I can’t say I have found a field-relevant benefit in favor of the Dulens. Still, kudos. It is really clean.
For the price all this would be a bargain, except that it terms of usability features there’s a lot you are missing out on. For me, however, manual focus and no metering are basically non-issues, I’ve comfortable working this way. But, yeah, obviously that’s going to a big roadblock to its popularity. I understand that for video this lens already has a considerable appeal, however. The stepless aperture and manual focus are features, and none of the other “negatives” factor. Makes sense. The bokeh is class leading and the flare effects are cool. There is a bit of focus breathing though.
Back to stills photography, in terms of image quality, are there any better options for comparable price? I would say the main challenger would be a used Zeiss 85/1.4ZF which I consider superior and can be found for not too much more. New, there’s the Tamron VC 85/1.8 but I haven’t tried that one. I would rank the Dulens above the Nikon 85/1.8G and Samyang 85/1.4, by a substantial margin, though the Nikon 85/1.8G is more than capable of good results.
