A Review of the Canon 135mm f/2L Lens
Preamble
The Canon 135mm f/2L lens is one of the more highly regarded lenses. Together with the 35mm f/1.4L and the 85mm f/1.2L II lenses, it is popular among photographers for the special “look” that it gives images, and in a way, deservedly so. The subject is easily isolated from the rest of the frame, making the challenge more of creating a pleasing composition than of worrying if the image will be too “cluttered.” However, my experience with the lens for a week, courtesy of Canon Professional Services, has left me wondering if the reputation that the lens built for itself is as deserving in the age of 21+ megapixel camera bodies and circular aperture blades. While it surely is effective wide open, the lens appears not to be as sharp as it could be in all circumstances, and stopping the lens down reveals the potential for distracting backgrounds, as my comparison between this lens and the 70-200mm f/4L IS zoom lens will reveal later in the review.
Looking its best
Without question, wide open the lens creates a very compelling and desirable effect for its focal length. The advantage of telephoto compression means that the foreground can be easily distinguished from its background, and the lens’ wide maximum aperture (f/2) helps to obliterate what’s left of said background. With such a fast telephoto lens, foliage only a few feet behind a subject can be turned into an almost seamless background of solid color. Furthermore, the glass is cut in such a way that some subjects seem to literally pop out of their two-dimensional planes, giving them very “3d,” almost Zeiss-like appearances. Indeed, the color and the contrast that come from this lens is impressive.
Below are a few examples that illustrate some of the very best traits of this lens:
In this example, the background flowers are no more than inches behind the central subject (with the yellow flowers about two feet behind). And at 100%, the sharpness is quite stunning despite being made wide open. I must note, however, that images made of subjects physically closer to the lens (particularly in the 3-5 foot range) appear sharper than do those made in the 10 foot to infinity range. However, as I do not have any lens AF Micro-Adjustment equipment on hand, I can say only that this is a perception, but I cannot say an incurable one–AF Micro-Adjustment very likely would address this issue.
More after the jump!
