| |  | Brand: Canon
Category: Photography
List Price: $1,500.00
Buy New: $919.95
You Save: $580.05 (39%)
New (8)
Avg. Customer Rating:  33 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Maximum Focal Length: 135
Minimum Focal Length: 135
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.5 x 5.4
MPN: 2320A004
Model: 2520A004
UPC: 082966213328
EAN: 0082966213328
ASIN: B000053HC5
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
The sharpest lens I own September 23, 2007
This lens is very sharp at f2.0 but at f2.8 it's incredibly sharp even at the corners. I have nothing more to say. If you can shoot with a shutter speed faster than 1/200, you'll get incredibly sharp pictures. This lens was introduced in 1996 and there have been no revisions. I can't see why Canon would come out with a Mark II version of this lens since its performance is already legendary.
Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens August 23, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
This is a "great" lens. I cannot stress this enough. It is sharp, boy is it sharp. I thought that my 85mm f/1.8 was sharp but not compared to this lens it's not.
This lens also has the solid construction and superb AF that one expects to find in an 'L' lens. Image quality produced by this lens is simply unbelievable. Great vibrant color reproduction in a sharp image.
This lens is worth every penny you pay for it and more.
I bought this lens to use for outdoor portrait shots but this lens can truly do it all. I have used it for flower, landscape, portrait and group photography with many more things to try with it. I put a 2X Teleconverter on it and you cannot tell the difference, performance wise. It's just as sharp and the AF is just as fast, simply unbelievable.
This is one great lens.
The Stuff of Legends August 2, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
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.
Canon's sharpest prime is better than any 70-200 for a number of reasons April 18, 2007
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
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.
SHARP SHARP SHARP. Did I mention this lens is SHARP? March 23, 2007
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
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.
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