FXF member KwyjiboVanDeKamp started a hot & very interesting topic here at the Fuji X Forum. It’s a comparison between lenses with a 135mm (203mm equiv.) focal length. A topic dedicated to those who don’t have the money for the XF 50-140 😉 .
You can see & compare the performance of various 135mm lenses shared by the FXF community here. If you also have some experience with 135mm lenses, feel free to share your findings and images in this thread.
Until now, the discussion (and samples shots) includes the following lenses:
– Tair 11A 135mm f/2.8 with 20!!! aperture blades
– [shoplink 37193 ebay]Fujinon EBC 135mm f/2.5 with 6 aperture blades[/shoplink]
– [shoplink 37195 ebay]Pentacon 135mm f/2.8 with 15 aperture blades[/shoplink]
– [shoplink 37196 ebay]Fujinon 135mm f/3.5 M42[/shoplink]
– [shoplink 37197 ebay]PORST Tele MC Auto D 135mm f/2.8 M42[/shoplink]
– [shoplink 37198 ebay]Zuiko 135mm f/2.8[/shoplink] adapted with Speedbooster Ultra
– [shoplink 37199 ebay]Vivitar 135mm M42 f2.8[/shoplink] with Zhongyi Speedbooster
– [shoplink 37200 ebay]Canon 135 F3.5[/shoplink]
– Takumar 135 F3.5
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8 Responses
Thank you for posting this. And thank you Kwyjibo Van De Kamp for your interest in legacy manual focus lenses, as I, too, love to use such lenses (Hoya 35mm F2.8, Helios 58mm F2.0 and Pentacon 135mm F2.8 but the Auto MC version, not the “bokeh monster”).
I just picked up a 135mm f/3.5 Canon LTM lens that so far has been quite nice. It’s probably the smallest and lightest 135mm ever made, and for about $60 (+$10 for an LTM to M mount adapter) (I already have an M mount adapter)… – I don’t know what I’ll end up using it for but I have it. Spectacular quality for being, well, $60.
The Leica 135/4 is lighter by 20 grams. But the Canon has some advantages:
1. cost
2. larger filter size (though 48mm is hard to find) for less vignetting with filters
3. harder glass
The aperture blade count is very important when you shoot wide open.
Yeah, what a silly comparison.
I have got a Tair 11A with it’s 20 aperture blades. Build to last a lifetime, your children’s lifetime and beyond; I used it quite a lot on the X-E1 with fairly decent to good result (my eyesight is not what it used to be, so MF is a tad difficult, especially on moving subjects). Otherwise I really like the results
I find my Hexanon 135 2.5 to be a stellar performer on my X-E2.
I have one of these old fujinon lens. It’s quite difficult to find a decent adapter for them. So far I only have one for e mount and it doesn’t require you to file down the aperture ring.