p.12 #1 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
The comparison I would make would be between an adapted 135mm GM and the Plena. You could buy a used 135GM and an adapter (which in my experience work really well) and still have $1000 in the bank. The 135 GM is the sharpest lens I've owned and has really good AF performance. The rendering isn't always the best, but it's certainly not bad.
p.12 #2 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
Had the GM for years till I got rid of it, I think I'd rather just be "progressive" and not "regressive" with this. nhmorgan wrote:
The comparison I would make would be between an adapted 135mm GM and the Plena. You could buy a used 135GM and an adapter (which in my experience work really well) and still have $1000 in the bank. The 135 GM is the sharpest lens I've owned and has really good AF performance. The rendering isn't always the best, but it's certainly not bad.
p.12 #3 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
JadedWriter wrote:
Had the GM for years till I got rid of it, I think I'd rather just be "progressive" and not "regressive" with this.
I agree. The Plena is a better lens. But the Sigma is even more regressive than the Sony, so if people are considering the alternatives, or weighing whether the Plena is worth the extra coin, an adapted sony belongs in the conversation because it offers exceptional performance at a big discount. I don't love adapting lenses because it sacrifices weather sealing and adds another point of failure to the system.
p.12 #4 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
I adapt F mount stuff if it fills an obvious hole in my ecosystem. I very briefly flirted with adapting Nikon stuff on Fuji, which lasted a month tops. I'm basically just at the point where I'm trying to be as native as possible on an ecosystem so people that aren't me can do what they want, I'm not buying Sony gear to use on my Nikon cameras, especially since I vehemently left Sony to not use Sony stuff and I'm trying to support Nikon. nhmorgan wrote:
I agree. The Plena is a better lens. But the Sigma is even more regressive than the Sony, so if people are considering the alternatives, or weighing whether the Plena is worth the extra coin, an adapted sony belongs in the conversation because it offers exceptional performance at a big discount. I don't love adapting lenses because it sacrifices weather sealing and adds another point of failure to the system.
p.12 #5 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
nhmorgan wrote:
An important comparison detail is that the AF is massively different between the sigma and Plena. 135 is one of the slowest focusing lenses I've ever used. It couldn't even begin to keep up for sports. The Plena in contrast is accurate and instantaneous. For portraits this obviously doesn't matter much, but the 135 ART isn't a viable lens for moving subjects.
I took the Plena out for one of my daughter's volleyball games. I was impressed with the AF.
The second shot was one of the other team. I wanted to test out the Z9/Plena for tracking a subject through the net, which it handled quite well.
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lens135mmf/1.81/1250s6400 ISO+0.3 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lens135mmf/1.81/1250s6400 ISO+0.3 EV
p.12 #6 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
1bwana1 wrote:
I really do enjoy the look you are getting from the Plena Suteetat, thanks for posting.
Bangkok rain, many memories of that.
Thanks, I thought our monsoon season was finally over a couple of weeks ago then it returned with a vengeance
yesterday
Another friend got out of work late and got stuck in traffic and could not join us otherwise I would have a much
nicer looking model
And of course, last night was the most impressive thunderstorm display in the last few years and I could only watched it from
the restaurant's windows. If I was at home, I would have my camera and tripod out to capture some really nice thunderstorm
over the city, oh well ........
p.12 #7 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
There was one time I was sitting at a street food vendor having a late afternoon snack. All of the sudden all the street vendors folded up shop. I asked what was up, and the guy said rain was coming. I looked up between the buildings and all I could see was blue sky, so I doubted him. Big mistake. In just a couple of minutes it was raining so hard I couldn't see across the street. I got stuck in a shop. How they all know I never figured out.
p.12 #8 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
1bwana1 wrote:
There was one time I was sitting at a street food vendor having a late afternoon snack. All of the sudden all the street vendors folded up shop. I asked what was up, and the guy said rain was coming. I looked up between the buildings and all I could see was blue sky, so I doubted him. Big mistake. In just a couple of minutes it was raining so hard I couldn't see across the street. I got stuck in a shop. How they all know I never figured out.
Bangkok weather is so dynamic and interesting.
Weather had been strange. We had flash flooding elsewhere in the country last week and quite a bit of draught
before that in some areas. Rainfall is occuring further south than it used to be in the past so even if we
have record rainfall, most of it fall downstream from a series of dams up north so we have not that much
water reserve for the dry season in the last few years. So we get flooding and draught the same year
Does not affect Bangkok much per se but not good for famers.
Not sure what this has to do with Plena except complaining about when the rain is going to go away so I can
take Plena to Chinatown and a few other places. New Year light started to go up around the city already
and Bangkok Awakening which is a fun relatively new light festival in the old part of the city is coming later on this month,
hopefully there will be lots of opportunity for Plena then.
p.12 #10 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
Went to a local Photo Fair today briefly, mainly because there was a cosplay event right next door
I think 50/1.2S or 85/1.2S would be a lot more appropriate with all the crowd but I wanted to test out Plena a bit more as I don't have much chance to use it yet.
All shot wide opened. The background were all rather messy and not much room to move back so half body shot is pretty much all I could manage. All shot with Zf.
p.12 #13 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
This has to be one of the closest Zeiss-like lenses I've seen from Nikon, and with exceptional AF to boot.
Looking at the images in this thread comparing the APO to the Plena, there is a certain contrasty pop that the Zeiss has that I still get drawn to. But I do like the bokeh more on the Plena, and sharpness looks to be a wash.
It's too bad there isn't an AF adapter for MF lenses like on Sony. Or have I missed that?
The Plena looks to be one of those special lenses, I hope this is a new direction that Nikon continues on.
p.12 #14 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
m.sommers00 wrote:
This has to be one of the closest Zeiss-like lenses I've seen from Nikon, and with exceptional AF to boot.
Looking at the images in this thread comparing the APO to the Plena, there is a certain contrasty pop that the Zeiss has that I still get drawn to. But I do like the bokeh more on the Plena, and sharpness looks to be a wash.
It's too bad there isn't an AF adapter for MF lenses like on Sony. Or have I missed that?
The Plena looks to be one of those special lenses, I hope this is a new direction that Nikon continues on....Show more →
Techart and Megadap has M to Z mount AF adapter just like Sony. However, it has similar weight limitation like
the Sony version of Techart adapter. I think Megadap can handle a bit more weight but currently is out of production
or not available new as far as I know. Techart has 2 versions, TZM-01 and 02. Don't get the 01 version as it now only
works with limited Z bodies.
p.12 #15 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
I might have just bought one here in B&S. I shall photograph my toddler with it through the years and feel free to judge me (on the private photos I'll never post publicly).
p.12 #16 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
m.sommers00 wrote:
This has to be one of the closest Zeiss-like lenses I've seen from Nikon, and with exceptional AF to boot.
Looking at the images in this thread comparing the APO to the Plena, there is a certain contrasty pop that the Zeiss has that I still get drawn to. But I do like the bokeh more on the Plena, and sharpness looks to be a wash.
It's too bad there isn't an AF adapter for MF lenses like on Sony. Or have I missed that?
The Plena looks to be one of those special lenses, I hope this is a new direction that Nikon continues on....Show more →
As a former owner of the Zeiss 135mm I find the Plena significantly sharper. My copy is the sharpest Nikon I own, ahead of the 85mm f1.2, 58mm f0.95, 105mm f2.8 or 400mm f2.8 S to mention some other extremely sharp lenses among the best ever designed.
p.12 #17 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
bernardl wrote:
As a former owner of the Zeiss 135mm I find the Plena significantly sharper. My copy is the sharpest Nikon I own, ahead of the 85mm f1.2, 58mm f0.95, 105mm f2.8 or 400mm f2.8 S to mention some other extremely sharp lenses among the best ever designed.
Cheers,
Bernard
On the Plena do you notice a difference in sharpness from f1.8 to f2.8?
Mine is already sharp at f1.8 and as I progressively stop down to f2.8 it becomes shockingly sharp. This is messing with my head. Have you observed this?
p.12 #19 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
rbromfield wrote:
On the Plena do you notice a difference in sharpness from f1.8 to f2.8?
Mine is already sharp at f1.8 and as I progressively stop down to f2.8 it becomes shockingly sharp. This is messing with my head. Have you observed this?
Check page 11 of this thread. Buckeye posted sharpness measurement of Plena vs Sigma 135/1.8 but I am not sure from
what source. Plena sharpened up significantly at f2.8 and f4 from already very very sharpp f1.8.
p.12 #20 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
suteetat wrote:
Check page 11 of this thread. Buckeye posted sharpness measurement of Plena vs Sigma 135/1.8 but I am not sure from
what source. Plena sharpened up significantly at f2.8 and f4 from already very very sharpp f1.8.
That lines up with what I am seeing then. The image quality/detail jumps noticeably at f2.8. I say to myself when I am shooting at f1.8, it would look even better at f2.8. At that point why not shoot with a 70-200mm?
The depth of field at f1.8 is very shallow to the point where the eyeball will be in focus and the eyelashes will be out of focus in tighter shots.
It's a beautiful lens to look at.
It is heavy.
