Canon EF 135mm f/2 L - Review - Test Shots
READ THE REVIEW HERE
BUY the 135mm f/2.0 here;
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product...
by Darren Miles Naples, FL Photographer
Often referred to as the "Magic Prime" and widely considered one of Canon's best lenses at any price... How does the Canon EF 135mm f/2 L (Street $990) live up to its sterling reputation? Let's find out!
The Canon EF 135mm f/2 L was designed for portraiture (on a Full Frame camera) and for low light event shooting (think weddings and receptions) given its maximum aperture of f/2. Combined with a Full Frame camera the 135 is hard to beat, on a crop frame camera however (35mm equivalent of 216mm) the lens is definitely 'long' and will leave the photographer at an almost uncomfortable distance away from the subject, especially if you plan on taking portraits. For events, when the objective is to be further away, the 135 will allow you to capture intimate moments without intruding on the subject. Stellar for photojournalism!
BUILD QUALITY: Rock solid and top notch! It actually includes a lens hood! Not to heavy (1.7 lbs), and well balanced with both crop and full frame cameras. The focus ring is smooth and well dampened. The lens barrel is made out of magnesium and it has a metal lens mount. All in all, a very solid, typical L lens build!
FOCUS SPEED AND ACCURACY: Blazingly fast and dead on. Simply outstanding in real world situations. Canon's ring mounted UltraSonic Motor (USM) lives up to its reputation here. You hardly ever miss the shot! A truly remarkable performance!
OPTICAL QUALITY: Rarely does anything with this much hype actually live up to its reputation. There are over 350 reviews of this lens at www.FredMiranda.com, and the average grade for this lens is 9.9 (out of 10) - now that's saying something! Let me concur, the EF 135mm produces images of extraordinary quality. From f/2 all the way to f/13, its simply amazing! The bokeh is smooth and buttery, watch the background melt away and really isolate your subject for maximum impact and pop! The round aperture blades produce gorgeous out of focus circles (background lights) in the images. Just awesome!
CONCLUSION: If you're an event or portrait photographer who uses a full frame camera (Canon 1Ds and 5D series) you won't be taken seriously unless you have a copy of this lens - I'm being cheeky of course - but most of the pros out there who do weddings, 90+% of them have this lens, and for good reason. The image quality is awesome, the focus speed and accuracy are some of the best available from Canon and the build quality is simply the best. The Canon EF 135mm f/2 L lives up to and quite possibly exceeds its sterling pedigree! Great job Canon!
So in a nutshell;
BUILD QUALITY: 10/10
FOCUS SPEED AND ACCURACY: 10/10
OPTICAL QUALITY: 10/10
QUALITY OF RESULTS: 10/10
VALUE: 9/10
OVERALL: 49/50 - OUTSTANDING!!!
FINAL WORD: If I have to knock this lens in any way, its that its too long on a crop frame camera for portraiture (216mm equivalent), to me, I am too far away from my subject, and not engaging my client. That's just me. On a full frame camera you simply can't go wrong, in the opinion of this writer, the 135mm is THE portrait lens for the Canon System.