p.30 #13 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
suteetat wrote:
Last chance to use my Plena for a week as I am leaving a few hours from now for my scuba trip.
Anyway, got a chance to take a quick walk this morning with Z7ii and Plena + Zeiss 135/2 apo sonnar ( the earlier version, not the Milvus one which I understand, has a update coating ).
All shot wide opened. A couple of shots were shot at f2 on Plena as well. These are all jpg striaght from camera imported into PS just for labeling and resize only. I used matrix metering but it seems that exposure on Zeiss and Nikon kind of went all over the place a bit. Sorry about that. All shot at iso 64, A mode.
Surprisingly, I am not sure what T stop the Zeiss is but on Plena, shutterspeed was consistantly about 1/2 to almost 1 stop faster using A mode and matrix metering. But the exposure is not
identical so it is hard to tell. May be I should have used M mode instead ...Show more →
Almost cannot tell them apart. The Nikon appears to have smoother bokeh but the zeiss appears slightly sharper.
p.30 #14 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
suteetat wrote:
Last chance to use my Plena for a week as I am leaving a few hours from now for my scuba trip.
Anyway, got a chance to take a quick walk this morning with Z7ii and Plena + Zeiss 135/2 apo sonnar ( the earlier version, not the Milvus one which I understand, has a update coating ).
All shot wide opened. A couple of shots were shot at f2 on Plena as well. These are all jpg striaght from camera imported into PS just for labeling and resize only. I used matrix metering but it seems that exposure on Zeiss and Nikon kind of went all over the place a bit. Sorry about that. All shot at iso 64, A mode.
Surprisingly, I am not sure what T stop the Zeiss is but on Plena, shutterspeed was consistantly about 1/2 to almost 1 stop faster using A mode and matrix metering. But the exposure is not
identical so it is hard to tell. May be I should have used M mode instead ...Show more →
Thank you for the comparison!
The Zeiss should have more corner light fall-off than the Plena.
Moreover, according to DxO (https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Carl-Zeiss/Zeiss-Carl-Zeiss-Apo-Sonnar-T-Star-F2-135-ZF2-Nikon-mounted-on-Nikon-D800E__814), the 135/2 Apo T stop is 2.3. Therefore, both vignetting and T-stop could explain the exposure difference in matrix mode.
I have scrutinized the files you kindly shared; I slightly prefer the Plena overall look and color. But I won't swap my Apo Sonnar for it. I'm tired of larger and larger primes.
Then, I use my 135 for landscapes too, and my 77 mm circ. pol. wouldn't fit the Plena:
p.30 #16 · Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Image Thread
The Plena is an awesome portrait lens, but I got mine to use as a go to for animals in challenging light. This time of year I can catch the bears in Rabbit Creek in Potter Marsh Anchorage well before dawn so low light and F1.8 really helps way before dawn. The bears are too spooky stick around in light, being Anchorage proper they have unhappy people interactions so they go about their business before the people move around, like 5-6 am now. And I am there for them.
).
