peter1219 wrote:
I'm interested whether people who bought Batis 135 are keeping it. Despite the great reviews I seldomly see images taken with this lens.
i have the lens and love it;
i've posted a bunch (and subsequently cleaned up some network drives and those links are now broken), but frankly it was the discussions surrounding this lens that pretty much got me to stop visiting/posting on FM (probably to the pleasure of the community). the conversations surrounding this lens, especially from people who do not have the lens, were beyond stupid.
now i only ck in when i'm selling something on the B/S board (i sold my a7r2 last wk and have a lens listed now).
there are a few shots on Joshua's Batis thread.
Been wondering where the heck you been. ecarlino wrote:
i have the lens and love it;
i've posted a bunch (and subsequently cleaned up some network drives and those links are now broken), but frankly it was the discussions surrounding this lens that pretty much got me to stop visiting/posting on FM (probably to the pleasure of the community). the conversations surrounding this lens, especially from people who do not have the lens, were beyond stupid.
now i only ck in when i'm selling something on the B/S board (i sold my a7r2 last wk and have a lens listed now).
there are a few shots on Joshua's Batis thread.
ecarlino wrote:
i have the lens and love it;
i've posted a bunch (and subsequently cleaned up some network drives and those links are now broken), but frankly it was the discussions surrounding this lens that pretty much got me to stop visiting/posting on FM (probably to the pleasure of the community). the conversations surrounding this lens, especially from people who do not have the lens, were beyond stupid.
I agree, I feel like there's been a lot of needless hate directed towards this lens.
I do appreciate the photos you'd posted from your 135, as I found them helpful when I was deciding whether to buy one.
Here's a bunch of pics, all shot at f/2.8. One could argue the bokeh in the first one is a little busy, though the background was extremely close to the subject. Comparatively the background in the last shot is largely obliterated. (as it is in the third shot, but you would expect that for any lens given the subject distance).
I borrowed a 135 Batis from a local camera store and used it (along with my other lenses 24-70GM, 28 f2, 55 f1.8 85 1.8 & 12-24) to shoot two weddings. I am a recent convert to Sony from Canon. When shooting Canon I loved the Canon 135 F2. I used that lens for evey wedding. Eventually started leaving the 70-200 at home for the smaller weddings.
The 135 Batis is an ok lens, the but it's just a f2.8. I just can't get excited for the bokeh from 2.8 and surely not for $2000! For now I am going to use my 85 & 70-200 for long reach duties at weddings. Rumor has it that Sony will be releasing a 135 f2 or f1.8 later this year. I am going to watch for that. I'll get that if it looks to be similar to the Canon 135 f2. That is one lens I miss.
Thanks for uploading more photos. I think I might try the batis 135 and see whether I like it or not.
The weight and size is the most appealing part of this lens as I plan to use it as a walk around lens.
I think all the reviews of this lens I've seen pointed out its extreme sharpness. Do you think the 200 reach you get through crop mode is comparable to 200 from 70200gm? If so, it could used as a lightweight 135-200 2.8.
MrTMan wrote:
Here's a bunch of pics, all shot at f/2.8. One could argue the bokeh in the first one is a little busy, though the background was extremely close to the subject. Comparatively the background in the last shot is largely obliterated. (as it is in the third shot, but you would expect that for any lens given the subject distance).
I've had the Batis 135 since day one and I'm very pleased with it. F/2.8 is not a problem at all, for me. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't buy it if it was any bigger/heavier.
Currently I'm hiking Europa Peaks in northern Spain and I've been doing 15-20 Km hikes per day with B135, L21 and Zony 55 on an A7R2. Pretty happy with that setup and the weight of it all. The sharpness of the B135 for landscapes is definitely a big plus.
The AF isn't required for landscape but nice to have anyway. It works great for candid portraits or street shooting.
I'm keeping mine until something else comes up.
I've been looking at the upcoming new Canon TSE lenses but the 135/4L is almost double the weight so that's already a big minus. I might get the 50 or the 90, depending on the price and sell the FE90G.
Simply spoken - I'll keep mine. No way I'd give it away. The lens is absolutely flawless, has great AF speed and accuracy. Also compared to the 70-200GM it's simply one step better.
Probably the best AF lens in the system and IQ is only comparable to Loxia 21 and 85.
Without hoods it's the same length as a FE35 1.4. I'm not a big fan of the 70-200 @ 200 but the Batis is better even in crop mode.
Big thing here it's excellent at 2.8 Yu don't need to stop this lens down except for DOF
peter1219 wrote:
Thanks for uploading more photos. I think I might try the batis 135 and see whether I like it or not.
The weight and size is the most appealing part of this lens as I plan to use it as a walk around lens.
I think all the reviews of this lens I've seen pointed out its extreme sharpness. Do you think the 200 reach you get through crop mode is comparable to 200 from 70200gm? If so, it could used as a lightweight 135-200 2.8.
I'll consider one in future. 135mm is a great complement to an 85mm for travel. There are so few requirements for a long zoom and the things are all large, long and heavy, need careful handling. A great 135mm is very cropworthy to close to 180mm or so and this Batis is a great native performer that balances well, I'm sure. And then there is versatility, I can't imagine using a 70-200/2.8 that delivers as well.
Batis 135 is a keeper for me. Tough competion includes the extraordinary Sigma 135 F1.8 and the rumored Sony GM 135/F-something, along with the classic Carl Zeiss 135 and the reborn, Zeiss Milvus 135/2.
Of course I would have prefered the option of F2, but once you start using the Batis 135 you may not miss F2 really but yes, would have been nice to have the option ( even with the added bulk/weight needed to support f2 design). However, the Zeiss Batis is an AF/OSS design concept that prioritizes size and weight over speed for the Sony FE system. I doubt we will ever see a fast Zeiss Batis telephoto lens.
Starting from Zeiss's own and trusted MTFs, you quickly see the Batis 135 is an exceptionally desgined piece of glass. Right up there with the best of the best to include the legendary Carl Zeiss 135mm f/2.0 APO. And as I have posted before, the APO design feature is no marketing label, rather a true advanced design feature you can see with your own eyes and enjoy with the light-weight Batis 135.
Glass half full. So what's so great about F2.8 on the Batis 135? Confidence. The confidence you will nail focus on your street and event portraits quickly and efficiently and still retain the tiny DoF look. Batis OSS technology and the A7r2's high ISO capabilities work hand in hand to maintain the same confidence for low light event portraits.
Tradeoff? IMO F1.8 or F2-like bokeh achievable from other fine 135mm prime lenses. The Batis 135 at F2.8 bokeh is in my opion, more than good enough and in many cases, just as beautiful http://lenspire.zeiss.com/en/ballmann-bokeh/ but there is no denying the bokeh advantages of faster 135s.
So what's my new travel kit with the A7r2? The color-matched, weather resistant Batis 135, 85 and 25. If needed, Batis 18 may come along as well.
This is why I bought it, is I knew on a big job I did it would nail it every shot and it did. That's 3 thousand shots never missed and I was using Eye AF. Paid for itself in one night
LBJ2 wrote:
Batis 135 is a keeper for me. Tough competion includes the extraordinary Sigma 135 F1.8 and the rumored Sony GM 135/F-something, along with the classic Carl Zeiss 135 and the reborn, Zeiss Milvus 135/2.
Of course I would have prefered the option of F2, but once you start using the Batis 135 you may not miss F2 really but yes, would have been nice to have the option ( even with the added bulk/weight needed to support f2 design). However, the Zeiss Batis is an AF/OSS design concept that prioritizes size and weight over speed for the Sony FE system. I doubt we will ever see a fast Zeiss Batis telephoto lens.
Starting from Zeiss's own and trusted MTFs, you quickly see the Batis 135 is an exceptionally desgined piece of glass. Right up there with the best of the best to include the legendary Carl Zeiss 135mm f/2.0 APO. And as I have posted before, the APO design feature is no marketing label, rather a true advanced design feature you can see with your own eyes and enjoy with the light-weight Batis 135.
Glass half full. So what's so great about F2.8 on the Batis 135? Confidence. The confidence you will nail focus on your street and event portraits quickly and efficiently and still retain the tiny DoF look. Batis OSS technology and the A7r2's high ISO capabilities work hand in hand to maintain the same confidence for low light event portraits.
Tradeoff? IMO F1.8 or F2-like bokeh achievable from other fine 135mm prime lenses. The Batis 135 at F2.8 bokeh is in my opion, more than good enough and in many cases, just as beautiful http://lenspire.zeiss.com/en/ballmann-bokeh/ but there is no denying the bokeh advantages of faster 135s.
So what's my new travel kit with the A7r2? The color-matched, weather resistant Batis 135, 85 and 25. If needed, Batis 18 may come along as well.
peter1219 wrote:
I'm interested whether people who bought Batis 135 are keeping it. Despite the great reviews I seldomly see images taken with this lens.
