Minolta AF 135mm F2.8 A-mount lens reviews
 amantipa#6675 date: Jan-3-2010 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony 16-105 Sigma EX DG 24-70/2.8 Beercan Minolta 100-300 APO |
| price paid: | 140 USD ebay |
| positive: | Compact size for 2.8 tele Minolta colors Sharp sharp |
| negative: | manual focus ring |
| comment: | These rare beauties are worth every penny and especially when you only pay pennies on ebay. The compact size is amazing if you need a 2.8 tele so this is a must for travelers to cover indoor. Stopped down, this lens is incredibly sharp but also usable at 2.8. The built-in sliding shade is not enough for bright sun at times and the manual focus ring is very small and positioned oddly. Bokeh is fair so portrait useful. Will keep for FF someday. These are hard to find so pick one up if you can. |
; 12MP| Vancouver#6404 date: Nov-17-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Tam 90 2.8 Min 50 1.7 Sony 50 1.4 |
| price paid: | 400 CAD$ |
| positive: | Size Price Sharpness Color and of course, the bokeh |
| negative: | the lens barrel is, like the 50 1.7, a little plasticky |
| comment: | This lens is getting rarer every day. It is so cute. It is small in size but big on performace. I love its color and bokeh the most. It is sharp wide open and dangerously so f4 and beyond. If you do portrait, try to get your hand on this rare lens. |
| Hanseat#6332 date: Nov-5-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 3 overall: 4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 70-210/4 Cosina 100/3.5 Macro Minolta 100/2.8 Macro Minolta 85/1.4 Sigma 100-300/4 Sigma 180/3.5 Macro |
| price paid: | 110 € |
| positive: | - very small - light - sharp - very sharp stopped down - nice characteristics - fast AF - 55 mm filter - built in (small) lens hood |
| negative: | - low contrast when light source within frame (sun) - bigger, external lens hood advisable - aperture blades not rounded - CA in OOF-areas - manual focus not very useful |
| comment: | I bought this lens for portrait work and like the characteristics of the in-focus and out-of-focus-areas. Sharpness: Ok für portraits wide open, good slightly stopped down (>4), very sharp at medium apertures (5.6 - 11) Color: Minolta-like, very good for portrait work, good for landscape, medium für scientific and city pictures Build: Very good, all metal, solid, strong, but sensitive front lens. No problem when used with fixed lens hood, but use a lens cap when you put it in your bag. Distortion: I have never noticed any Flare: Losing contrast when the sun is shining onto the front lens. AF: Fast, not silent, sounds a little bit crappy Bokeh: Very nice at every Aperture, especially between 3.2 and 5.6. CA: Bokeh-CA. No problem foe me, but slightly out of focus hair has coloured halos around it. Doesn't look nice at 100% Digital B/W-photography: Very usable. Bokeh, contrast and sharpnes looks very good in B/W Manual focus: small focus ring, very fast, not damped. Manual focussing is not easy. This is not an MF-lens. The 135/2.8(4.5) STF is very good and the 100/2.8 macro is ok for mf, but most other first-generation-lenses are terrible mith MF. Compared to: - 70-210/4 Beercan: Very similar but better in every(!) aspect - Cosina 100/3.5 Macro: less sharp, more CA, less contrast, faster AF, nicer, less neutral Bokeh - Minolta 100/2.8 Macro: same als Cosina, but the Minolta macro's bokeh is similar to the 135/2.8 - Minolta 85/1.4: Well, believe it or not, in my opinion, these two lenses are very similar for portrait work. I use and like both of them. Aperture and focal length is different, but the characteristics are similar. I use both. - Sigma 100-300/4: It is almost as sharp wide open, as sharp stopped down, less CA, but has a worse OOF-characteristic - Sigma 180/3.5 Macro: Same as Sigma 100-300/4 but sharper, nicer bokeh, less CA, but still worse portrait characteristic than the cheaper 135/2.8 I use the metal lens hood Minolta 80-200/4.5. It fits very well, looks good and ist well built. When you own a 135/2.8, buy a lens hood. It's not expensive. Many old lens hoods fit very good. |
| macrophoto#6272 date: Oct-25-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 200 G HS Sigma 105 2.8 ex dg macro Minolta 85 1.4 G RS |
| price paid: | 250€ |
| positive: | sharp from 2.8 bokeh light weight and compact fast and near silent af build in hood all metal |
| negative: | non |
| comment: | I own this lens since 3 Months. This lens has on both sensor sizes a very useful range. It's build like a tank and still extremely light weight and compact. The AF is very fast accurate and nearly silent. It's sharp from 2.8 onwards - even on the A900. I can highly recommend this lens for FF. |
| VH5150#6122 date: Sep-27-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | 50/1.7 Beercan 28/2.8 35-70/3.5-4.5 18-70 KIT |
| price paid: | 325 USD (Mint) |
| positive: | Sharpest lens I ever had, great vivid colors, light weight, compact. |
| negative: | 135MM |
| comment: | I hated to part with it but could not find much use for it. Though when you had room to back up there is no sharper lens than this for me and the colors just jump out at you. I had to sell to get something more usable like the 28-135 4-4.5 it gives me more versatility and the same great colors and just as sharp images however heavier than the 135 I will manage. Also sold my 50/1.7 28/2.8 to get a Tamron 17-50/2.8 which just arrived the other day so now I am left with the Beercan, 28-135 and the T 17-50. I will pick up the Tamron 18-250 for out doors when I am not looking to take any special or as important pics. |
| Tetraodon#6121 date: Sep-26-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 28-135 |
| price paid: | 240 € (mint) |
| positive: | Size Sharp Colours Bokeh!! Built in hood (albeit flimsy) Fast AF |
| negative: | MFD (1 m) Tiny focus ring Noisy AF |
| comment: | Razor sharp stopped down to F4. Beautiful Minolta colours and creamy bokeh. I rated the build 4 because the focus ring is nearly unusable - if you prefer mostly AF, this might be a minor issue. Otherwise this little gem is a solid construction. |
| vitor#6095 date: Sep-21-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony 135mm F2.8 T4.5 STF Minolta 200mm F2.8 APO G |
| price paid: | 200€ (used) |
| positive: | Color, small size |
| negative: | Chromatic aberration |
| comment: | Normally I take this lens with me when traveling light (2 primes) or when using two bodies (film and digital). It fits nicely in the bag without adding much weight, this one Sony should bring back. |
| jfabrizio#6059 date: Sep-16-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.7 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sigma 90mm F2.8 Macro Beercan |
| price paid: | 315 USD |
| positive: | Great color Very sharp Beautiful bokeh |
| negative: | Lens hood is a bit awkward CA at F2.8 |
| comment: | This lens is a beauty, inside and out. It's a touch long on an APS-C camera, but I still use it for portraits on occasion. Color is typically great for Minolta, and it's pretty sharp unless it's wide open. Also, I get a decent amount of CA at F2.8. I think the focal range would be more useful on a full frame, so even though I don't use it too often I have no plans to get rid of it. |
| Matt Fairview#6038 date: Sep-12-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony 100/2.8 Macro Beercan |
| price paid: | 30 GBP (used) |
| positive: | Sharp Colour rendition Bokeh Fast to focus Almost 3D quality to pictures Compact size 55mm filter |
| negative: | The negs are hardly worth mentioning: - Sometimes wish MFD was less - Slightly long on APS-C - Tiny, tiny little bit of CA |
| comment: | I'm rediscovering this lens as a long portrait shooter allowing me to take candids of our baby boy at range - the 135mm was a great performer on the KM5D and remains so on the A700. |
| stan_pustylnik#5984 date: Sep-4-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Tamron 90mm f/2.8, Sigma 70-300mm DL, Minolta 100-300mm xi, Minolta 70-210mm f/4 |
| price paid: | 90 USD (used) |
| positive: | Compact, very sharp, nice color, great bokeh, fast as portrait lens, relativly fast AF, common 55mm filter thread |
| negative: | none |
| comment: | This a winner lens for me. I got lucky in local consigment store picking good copy for $90. Lens is very sharp, produces nice color, bokeh is beautiful. It's compact and very well built (metal housing). I like built-in hood for outdoors. This is my N1 favorite lens currently. |
| michaelg#5937 date: Aug-30-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | M35-105 Beercan Sony 75-300 |
| price paid: | 280 USD |
| positive: | SHarp Fast Small Price |
| negative: | Some Color Fringing |
| comment: | (Edited) What a great lens! Small, Sharp from f/2.8, dangerously sharp from f/4. I did micro adjust on this lens on the a850 & found it had been front focussing slightly. Now it is like a new lens. Sharp all the way through. It is an amazingly small fast, sharp 135mm! AF is very quick & usually spot on. Bokeh is lovely also & the Usual Minolta colors. Love this lens |
| Rusty#5810 date: Aug-5-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | MinO 50/1.7 MinO 70-210/4 MinO 100-200/4.5 |
| price paid: | 200 CAD (used) |
| positive: | -Light & Compact -Sharp wide open -Fast AF -Built in hood -Solid build |
| negative: | -a bit long on aps-c -focus ring has no feel -MFD |
| comment: | Found this one in the basement of a used camera shop, gathering dust (I would compare the place to a scrapyard for cars). I really like this one. It's sharp even wide open, fast, has nice colors. Focal length is kinda weird for aps-c sized sensor... too long for portraits, too short for telephoto. That said, this is an awesome lens to have, or at least to try out. Fast, light, all-metal mid telephoto, really unobtrusive for street photo ! |
| tuanle#5746 date: Jul-23-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | nothing |
| price paid: | 400 |
| positive: | Sharp bokeh color fast focus |
| negative: | Bokeh |
| comment: | The bokeh sometimes is not as good as what I want (not really smooth). My version is crossed Xx version. I sold this lens right after I bought the Minolta 100mm F2! |
| gouldina#5717 date: Jul-17-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | CZJ Sonnar 135 Beercan Minolta 28-85 Minolta 35-105 CZJ Flektogon 35mm 2.4 SMC Takumar 55 f1.8 CZ 85mm |
| price paid: | L160 |
| positive: | Sharp Lovely colours Fast Smooth bokeh |
| negative: | Awkward focal length at times. Purple fringing |
| comment: | I've had this lens about a month now and I absolutely love it. It's great for portraits of the kids as they don't notice you so much although 135mm is a slightly awkward length on an APS-C camera sometimes. I absolutely love the results though. It's really good at seperating subject and background in portraits. The colours are beautiful and it's super sharp. The overall look reminds me of the beercan but a bit "cleaner" if you know what I mean. I've read below criticism of the bokeh but it's been lovely and smooth in the shots I've taken. On the downside, it does suffer from purple fringing at times quite badly so despite its superb colour rendition under normal circumstances, I've given it a four. Not desperately cheap but worth every penny and definitely a keeper for me. Now if only I could afford that MinO 85mm prime... FF Update: it's a more useful length on FF. Comments pretty much as above although I'd add that it's very fast at focusing compared to some other screw lenses. |
| berlin steve#5604 date: Jun-27-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta Beercan AF 70-210 1:4 Minolta AF 35-70 1:4 Minota AF 50 1:1.7 Sony (Kit) AF DT 18-70 F3.5-5.6 |
| price paid: | eur 307 |
| positive: | light fast sharp bokeh colours |
| negative: | price/availability Lens hood doesn't pull evenly I had to pawn my left kidney to pay for it ;o) |
| comment: | When I bought this I acquired the worst ever lens you could ever imagine. Totally unsharp, slow focusing, noisy... but that was a Sigma 24-70 lens that came as part of the package that included this baby. My Minolta AF 135 F2.8 came out of the delivery carton, and went immediately into testing... with unbelievable results. Despite a miserable overcast day, this took amazingly clear and sharp pictures so vividly that you'd have had no idea that the sun wasn't shining. I switched on continuous shutter, and had my 3 year old son run up and down the garden. The focus was fast and true, the colours vivid, the object sharp and the bokeh unbelievable. The lens was simply spot on. Indoors the story was much the same. Without flash, the results looked great and far less dull than I could see with my own eyes. With the flash mounted, the results were even better. I have a 50mm 1.7 (actually I currently have 3 of these) and despite being slightly faster, and in themselves a legend of sharpness and colour able to hold their own against pretty much anything, still don't quite have what this one has. I also love my beercan and forgive it for weighing so much and being a pig to carry around. Until delivery yesterday I loved my beercan almost as much as I love my wife and child. Today I will file for 70-210 divorce... This lens has everything to die for. I only have it a 24 hours and am in love... The only drawback is that it is not as flexible as a zoom. Despite that I suspect already that this is going to be my new walkabout lens. But think of this like you think about the impracticalities of owning a Ferrari when comparing to owning a prime like this. They may be impractical in many situations, but put it in its element and it will simply blow you away. The only thing I don't like is the lens hood, which itself is OK, but doesn't pull evenly out easily. Hence the lower build rating. If you can find one, and afford it, it is worth it. I paid Eur 307 for this 135mm bundled together with a Dynax 515i, Minolta 50mm 1.7, a Sigma 24-70 and a bunch of filters all in excellent condition. When I've ebayed the other 2 lenses I expect the real cost to be closer to Eur 200, but even at Eur 300 for a good example is IMHO a fair price for this second hand piece of glass. |
| nitrosyl#5442 date: May-24-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 3 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.2 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | - Sony Carl Zeiss 135mm f/1.8 Sonnar T* - Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 SSM G - Minolta 70-210mm f/4 (Beercan) - Minolta 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 APO |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | - Small & Light - Speed - Excellent Sharpness - Color Produced |
| negative: | - Only available 2nd hand |
| comment: | missing |
| Spacelord#5441 date: May-24-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | -Very small and light. -Extremely sharp, even wide open -Bokeh. -Colors and contrasts -Price (even "overpriced" on ebay, this lens is every penny worth) |
| negative: | Nothing. |
| comment: | I've always found tele lenses annoying due to the size and weight, so i wanted this one as a high quality fast tele and I have no regrets. This little guy is nothing but a true miracle when it comes to IQ and design. A high quality f/2,8 tele, that will fit into your pocket. What more could anyone wish for? This lens is as sharp as af fixed 50 mm - just longer. Do i miss the zoom? Not really... you always tend to shot a tele at the longest settting anyway. My beercan was great, but this one's got the right size, weight and speed. |
| dsoulsticec#5425 date: May-21-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 100mm Macro F2.8 Minolta 28-135mm F4.0-4.5 XX's Crossed Minolta 135mm F2.8 Minolta 70-210mm F4.0 Minolta 50mm F1.7 Minolta 100-200mm F4.5 Minolta 35-105mm F3.5-4.5 Minolta 28-85mm F3.5-4.5 Minolta 35-70mm F4.0 Sigma 35-135mm 3.5-4.5 Minolta 100-300mm APO F4.5-5.6 Sony 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 |
| price paid: | 400 USD (used) |
| positive: | missing |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | missing |
| superx2won#5260 date: Apr-20-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 5 overall: 4.7 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 50mm /1.7 Minolta 50mm /2.8 Minolta 85mm /1.4 Sigma 24mm /1.8 |
| price paid: | 280 USD (USED) |
| positive: | Light Very fast AF solid build Optic is glass |
| negative: | aperture blade is not round. noisy AF. |
| comment: | I get this lens from dyxumer.. It is a great lens. Light, Fast AF and solid build. Love it on every aspect. The thing that i like most is the AF is as fast as 50 mm/1.7. I hope that my 85/1.4 has similar AF speed. This lens is best for traveling. The only negative point that i have on this lens is... the aperture blade is not round and the AF is noisy. Hope that Sony can rebuild this lens with circular aperture blade and SSM. |
| DeX#5075 date: Mar-22-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | beercan tamron 70-200mm F2.8 |
| price paid: | 250 € (good cond.) |
| positive: | - sharp - small and light - really fast focus |
| negative: | - almost unusable focus ring - purple fringing. - not so perfect bokeh |
| comment: | This is a very sharp and fast lens with excellent resolution figures but something bother me about it: It's a 135mm lens so it's a portrait lens basically... but for such a lens I personally find the bokeh mediocre and the purple fringing quite obnoxious. Colors are perfect ( minolta classic ) but I was rather shocked to see that I preferred the portrait rendition of the softer and slower beercan than that of this glass. The beercan and the Tamron tend to have softer looking results with more buttery bokeh thus giving an overall better portrait rendition. Non-the-less it remains an excellent lens which can be the perfect concert companion on APS-C. Being able to shoot wide open and having this amount of details is simply amazing ! Built quality is ok, outer shell is good plastic and the built-in hood is nice and practical. The lens is small and light and a pleasure to use (a sort of wolf in sheep's clothing). The only thing that bothers me is the focus ring which is waaay to small to be used seriously. |
| lifeodyssey#5011 date: Mar-12-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony 18-250 @135mm, Minolta 70-210 beercan @135mm. This len is reasonable sharp at f2.8 , @f4, this len outpeform the other two at f8. |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Well built and compact |
| negative: | Built in hood really not much use , too short.. |
| comment: | Compact and not heavy. Both color and sharpness is very very good. I don't have Sony zeiss 135mm f1.8 len to compare, but I think in term of compact , weight and price, this len is far more cost effective than the Zeiss. Any A mount user want to have a 135mm len should consider this len be owned. Unfortunately, this len may suffer a foggy len problem of its rear len part. The len will becomes yellowish foggy and hence all the photos will becomes low contrast and cannot render real black. This problem may due to aged len components chemical change reaction.Not sure So buyer of used copy of this len should well check it before purchase. |
| The mighty terrier#4966 date: Mar-5-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Min 70-210 f4 beercan Sig 135-400 f4.5/5.6 Apo |
| price paid: | Ł129 (mint) |
| positive: | Razor Sharp Compact Size Good AF speed f2.8 aperture Bokeh Nice colours Weight |
| negative: | Don't make 'em anymore Hard to find Nowt else |
| comment: | Wow, excellent lens, when I say sharp I mean sharp, not owned G glass before so can't compare it to that but it would make an excellent emergency razor its that sharp!! Its also nice and compact, quick AF speed and the f2.8 aperture is a big plus, on APS-C you've effectively got a 200mm F2.8!! The bokeh is also nice and creamy. Its IQ is marginally better than the beercan at like for like apertures although you obviously don't have a zoom facility on the 135/2.8, it is significantly better than the sigma unless the sigma is about 2 stops lower, still beats the sigma for colours and bokeh. If you can get one please do, it won't disappoint in the slightest. Excellent addition to any lens collection. |
| Watchman#4723 date: Jan-21-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Tokina AT-X Pro 100 f2.8 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Compact size Well built Very Sharp Beautiful bokeh Nice color |
| negative: | Not as fast as I prefer in low light. Very hard to come by. |
| comment: | This lens is unbelievably sharp even wide open. I guess I'll only part with it if I get a CZ 135 f1.8, until then this will be one of my fav. :) |
| cjlethal#4661 date: Jan-9-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 70-210 4.0 beercan 200 2.8 HS G |
| price paid: | 175 CAD |
| positive: | very sharp nice bokeh |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | missing |
| madecov#4264 date: Oct-20-2008 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 35-105 f3.5-45 Minolta 100-200 f4.5 Minolta 70-210 f4.0 Cosina/Vivitar 100mm f3.5 macro |
| price paid: | In trade |
| positive: | Small, fairly lite weight great build, useful built in hood, fast aperture. sharp throughout aperture range. |
| negative: | manual focus ring useless, can hunt at close focus. Some purple fringing wide open, but not bad. really should be capable of closer focus, but then it would probably be a macro price |
| comment: | This lens is incredible, probably the sharpest one I own. focus is fast at longer focus distance and it is accurate. Color saturation is the best of any lens I've tried. very sharp wide open and dangerously sharp stopped down. It's small so it is more discreet than a Beercan or other long zoom. Prices for this lens have become silly. It is sharper than the Plastic Fantastic Cosina 100mm macro and the color is much better, it's also 3X the price; build is much better but of course the 135 isn't macro. Back in the 80's this focal length was a short film telephoto that was manufactured and sold under every brand name at reasonable prices. On ASP-C it really comes into it's own giving an angle of view the same as a 200mm lens. This lens really should have been as common as the 50mm f1.7 so prices would stay lower, then everyone could have one. |
| tobyjay#4161 date: Sep-30-2008 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 85mm f/1.4 G D Pentax Takumar 135mm f/3.5 (M42) Beercan |
| price paid: | Ł200 mint |
| positive: | Awesome sharp 3D picture quality stopped down Fabulous colours & contrast Perfect bokeh - IMO Stealthy like a ninja warrior |
| negative: | Autofocus over-eager at distance |
| comment: | Bargain pocket rocket capable of stunning pictures. It's tiny, light, inconspicuous, very sharp by f/4 and being 135mm it easily produces 3d pictures with melting bokeh. Liquid colour and contrast a match for the faster 85 at a third of the price. Flare not a problem for me. Cute hood works well. AF is very fast on A700 but can miss the mark occasionally, especially with distant objects wide open. Minimum focus distance disappointing, but, like, whatever. All in all, my favourite Minolta prime lens |
| nabreu#3998 date: Aug-25-2008 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | SONY 18-70 Minolta 75-300 Minolta 50 1.7 Minolta 28-105 Tamron 24-135 |
| price paid: | 200 € |
| positive: | Very Sharp (steped down) Excelent Bokeh (the best i have) Very Good Low light performance Worth every Euro i paid for it |
| negative: | 135mm not so good on digital (personal opinion) Ocasional Flare if not carefull |
| comment: | The best lens i have from IQ point of view. Love the Bokeh. Not so sharp at 2.8 but stoped down to 4 it´s razor sharp. |
| Winwalloe#3865 date: Jul-20-2008 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | Beercan |
| price paid: | Borrowed |
| positive: | Compact Light Built-in hood Sharp |
| negative: | Small focusing ring Inconsistent sharpness |
| comment: | A very pleasing lens to use. Rated sharpness 4 for inconsistent results, may be due to the camera, I can't say for sure. I do get some impressive results at f/2.8 times to times. Flare control seems excellent as I've often been shooting with harsh lights around (against the sun...) with no trouble. Distortion is not noticeable. Built quality is good although the barrel is made of plastic. The built-in hood is a nice feature. It's made of plastic and slides easily. The focus ring is hard to get to, although I usually don't have problems with AF. Color rated 4 because of obvious purple/green fringing when wide-open. The compact size of the lens allows it to be carried just like a kit-lens. It makes it a good choice for street photography and candid shots. Low-light portraits can be challenging (f/2.8 is not that wide an aperture) but great results can be achieved with reasonable expectations and if pixel-peeping is set aside by pushing up the ISO. |
| Mr_Canuck#3839 date: Jul-11-2008 | |
|---|---|
sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | 35/f2, 50/4.17, beercan, 200/f2.8 APO, 100/f2, 28-135 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Small! Quite sharp. Small. Quite fast. Built in hood. Affordable. Did I mention small? |
| negative: | Difficult to get one. |
| comment: | I had it over a year, and it was a favourite. Looking back, the flare is actually very well managed (better than 28-135 by a stretch). Holds up well next to 100/f2 but not as sharp and not quite the same sense of three-dimensional depth. If you can find one of these, the are really a nice outdoor portrait, telephoto and indoor event lens, for not much money. The beauty of it is it's diminutive size, with built in/sliding hood. It's so easy to take along, and complements a mid-range zoom very well. Highly recommended. |
| DaveK#3785 date: Jul-2-2008 | |
|---|---|
sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | - 85 1.4 - 100 2.0 - 200 2.8 |
| price paid: | 175 Euro |
| positive: | - Small - Wel built - great colours - great sharpnes from 3.5 |
| negative: | - nothing I can think of |
| comment: | I think this is a great lens. I own this lens for 2 years now. Liked in on my A100. Love it on my A700 and the A850. Superb little lens!!! This is great value for money. It's a handy little lens with big quality. The 85 1.4 and the 100 2.0 are three times more expensive, but not three times better. Perhaps there are a lot of these avalable, so he price is really low. Great one! I love it! Get one! |
rating summary
- total reviews: 139
- sharpness: 4.69
- color: 4.92
- build: 4.65
- distortion: 4.91
- flare control: 4.44
- overall: 4.72
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