Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

Home · Register · Search · Software · Hosting · Software · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

Pre-order Rokinon 16mm f/2 ED AS UMC

Pre-order new Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM lens

Bower 35mm f/1.4 price dropped to $379

FM Forums \| Alternative Gear & Lenses \| Join Upload & Sell
1 2 3 4 5 end

Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

kiddik
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #1 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

I was rather annoyed this morning when the Zeiss representative at the Zeiss booth in Amsterdam's IBC Conference told me that later today, a 135/2 lens would be introduced and that they DIDN'T have demo lens to show me :-)

Sep 07, 2012 at 07:09 PM

Jonas B
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #2 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

wayne seltzer wrote:

DOF, transition from focus to OOF is different and I think it is like comparing 35mm with medium format.

OK, I see. Am I right thinking you haven't used any of the lenses yet? I'm sure they (still thinking of the resulting images) are different but I'm not sure the end results are in different leagues. Well, that is about definition of course and many will probably say you are right.

For many of the images people take I'm however sure it wouldn't really matter if they use the Zuiko Digital 75/1.8 or a FF camera with the coming Zeiss 135mm.

regards,

Jonas

Sep 07, 2012 at 07:14 PM

hiepphotog
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #3 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

Jman13 wrote:
hiepphotog wrote:
Last time I checked Lloyd's review on the 75mm, it's not such a "perfect" lens as most m4/3ers believe. WO is not that spectacular. And a 75mm 1.8 on a m4/3 is much easier to design.

I haven't seen a single negative review on this lens. Which review are you looking at?

Lloyd Chambers's review from diglloyd blog. Beautiful shot btw.

Sep 07, 2012 at 07:43 PM

FlyPenFly
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #4 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

AhamB wrote:
FlyPenFly wrote:
I would much rather have the bokeh of f2 on MFT than f5.6 on FF. As you start stepping up in aperture, bokeh gets ugly looking.

You also have to factor in that on FF you're either closer to the subject, or using twice the FL. Both these things improve the bokeh. Also, to get equivalent DOF to MFT, you have to stop down (which sometimes improves the bokeh, but definitely not always).

I meant using equivalent or near equivalent FL lenses.

Sep 07, 2012 at 08:15 PM

freaklikeme
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #5 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

FlyPenFly wrote:
Hmmm I wonder how it compares to the new Olympus 75mm

Was there any hesitation on clicking the send button? Any, "Must...resist...stirring...pot" moment as you struggled to pull your hand back, or did you just smile and click?

Sep 07, 2012 at 08:26 PM

FlyPenFly
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #6 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

Sep 07, 2012 at 08:28 PM

hiepphotog
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #7 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

wayne seltzer wrote:
MTF, vignetting, and distortion graphs for the new 135/2 are up on Diglloyd blog.
Hard to compare with Sony mtf's ...

DOF, transition from focus to OOF is different and I think it is like comparing 35mm with medium format.

I suspect this is how the ZA 135 MTF would look like if it's measured. The added APO is a good bonus.

Sep 07, 2012 at 09:18 PM

rico
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #8 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

Wow, look at that element count! Not my cup of tea, but it looks like a kick-ass lens with excellent linearity, performance, and plausible price. Vignetting w/o is pretty severe; unknown is bokeh and CA.

Sep 08, 2012 at 05:53 AM

philip_pj
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #9 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

With APO to perhaps correct the main complaint users have of the MP, it will definitely steal the limelight away.

I disagree with the characterisation that it is about 10% better at f4. The MTF indicate the 135/2 is in another league of performance as the fine detail rendition will be amazingly good at that aperture. They probably aimed for less outright performance wide open and the curve pairs there are almost overlays.

I daresay it will have more character than the 100MP, no (pseudo) macro sterile excellence to aspire to here, and very suitable for portraits and general use.

A chipped one on a Sony full frame could benefit from IBIS, a la 135/1.8 ZA.

Sep 08, 2012 at 06:31 AM

rico
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #10 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

I compared this new APO against the spec sheet for the venerable CZ P135/2 C/Y. The latter has just five elements (vs 11), 1-stop vignetting w/o (vs 2 stops), and 1% linear distortion (vs 0.5%). MTF for both is quite uniform across the field w/o, but otherwise no contest: AS135 is roughly 90/80/60 @ 10/20/40 cy/mm respectively, while P135 is 80/60/30.

Sep 08, 2012 at 07:31 AM

Jorgen Udvang
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #11 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

A comparison to the Zuiko 75/1.8 is absolutely relevant. The two lenses have a similar eqv. focal length and comparing how the two systems perform in that region is very helpful when considering which is the most useful for a particular task, at least for those of us who use more than one format.

Sep 08, 2012 at 07:40 AM

frezeiss
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #12 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

Jorgen Udvang wrote:
A comparison to the Zuiko 75/1.8 is absolutely relevant. The two lenses have a similar eqv. focal length and comparing how the two systems perform in that region is very helpful when considering which is the most useful for a particular task, at least for those of us who use more than one format.

Could you tell me how it will be done?

Sep 08, 2012 at 07:44 AM

Jonas B
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #13 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

I re-read my posts above.
What can I say? Don't drink and post, think before hitting the Send button and don't try to find out new truths unless you actually found something. I'm obviously speaking about me only here.

I'm sorry for having wasted space, and your time.

/Jonas

Sep 08, 2012 at 08:31 AM

U.C.
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #14 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

Sep 08, 2012 at 12:51 PM

AhamB
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #15 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

philip_pj wrote:
I disagree with the characterisation that it is about 10% better at f4. The MTF indicate the 135/2 is in another league of performance as the fine detail rendition will be amazingly good at that aperture.

In the very center the difference at 40lp/mm is about 10% (at f/4) is all I was saying. After ~10mm image height the 40lp/mm MTF drops a bit below the level of the MP.

Sep 08, 2012 at 01:48 PM

hiepphotog
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #16 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

AhamB wrote:
philip_pj wrote:
I disagree with the characterisation that it is about 10% better at f4. The MTF indicate the 135/2 is in another league of performance as the fine detail rendition will be amazingly good at that aperture.

In the very center the difference at 40lp/mm is about 10% (at f/4) is all I was saying. After ~10mm image height the 40lp/mm MTF drops a bit below the level of the MP.

I believe what he meant was that the new 135 is better than the 100 MP by more than 10%. Personally, I am waiting to see how effective the APO is going to work. At $300 higher than the ZA, I'm willing to pay if it does its job. This is also the first Zeiss APO at this focal length, IIRC.

Sep 08, 2012 at 02:00 PM

S Dilworth
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #17 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

U.C. wrote:
They absolutely can be compared. But the Zeiss 135/2 must be put at double f-numbers to get the same picture (and double iso for the same exposure settings).

I guess you mean quadruple the ISO setting, not double (just correcting for anyone who might find this stuff confusing).

I didn’t think Zeiss would make this lens available in ZE and ZF.2 versions, even after they announced the Compact Prime version. It’s a long time since 135 mm was a popular focal length, and the latest f/2.8 tele-zooms offer scorching competition to anything in their focal-length range.

Still, it’s nice for Zeiss to display a full range of lenses from 15 to 135 mm. It’s a fairly complete range now. Next up: a fisheye!

I’m keen to see the new lens’ performance, though I expect it to be stellar. Four elements of anomalous partial dispersion glass will make their presence felt, I’m sure. Not least on your next credit card bill.

Sep 08, 2012 at 02:19 PM

wayne seltzer
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #18 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

Four ED elements vs. two in the ZA is the APO difference.
I am curious to see how the APO 135 compares wide open to the ZA.
Hope it has been optimized for more wide open shooting as the ZA is amazing at f1.8 and f2.

Concerning comparing to m4/3 75, how do you compare the 75/1.8 with the 135/2 wide open with same DOF? This 135/2 is designed for high performance at more wide open apertures not for being stopped down to f5.6 or f8.
FLY, like the South Park reference!
On the Rabble front, I would just like to say, sensor size matters! Lol

Sep 08, 2012 at 04:48 PM

wayne seltzer
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #19 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

Forgot to add that this 135/2 was done more for the movie shooters rather than the stills but it also gives portrait shooters a slightly longer alt which performs even better for that type shooting.

Sep 08, 2012 at 04:55 PM

pesto
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #20 · Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135

freaklikeme wrote:
135mm... f/2... APO... yep. I love all three of those things. Can't wait to see how it performs.

+1 here. I just wish Nikon would come up with a modernized version of their 135 f/2.

Sep 08, 2012 at 04:58 PM

1 2 3 4 5 end
FM Forums \| Alternative Gear & Lenses \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 3 4 5 end