Nothing else like it and the reason the two DC lenses have remained in production since they were introduced in 1993. https://www.dpreview.com/galleries/1180017085/photos/3721717/bokeh. Lots of wet blankets around here. Image quality, weight and value for money. However, these APOs have a couple of drawbacks. Interesting that ancient, low-tech (no ED glass, no special coatings) non-apo telephotos could produce decent results compared to something modern. This lens has only two drawbacks. If You can afford it, buy it! Sharp wide open, wonderful bokeh, fast AF in dark conditions. The APO showed no chromatic aberration at all with the addition of the Astronomik UV/IR cut clip filter (passing 380-680nm), but the telephoto lenses, even when stopped down, showed a tight bright red ring around all stars. FULL FRAME TELEPHOTO 135mm F2.0 An update to the Mini 11, the new camera adds parallax correction capabilities, automatic flash control and a multi-function twist lens. The following image was captured by Eric Cauble using the Samyang branded version of this lens. But this lens changed my mind. Probably you could get a very similar image with a 85mm 1.8. My Nikon focus and aperture rings are a thing of highly finessed engineering beauty! We were surprised by just how much difference there was between these AI-powered image enlargers. He loves photography, and runs a YouTube channel with tutorials, lens reviews and photography inspiration. Everyone should have one? One of my very best lenses! Still, what a time to be an enthusiast/photog, so many nice options. The shot of the cat could certainly be improved through cropping, though. By far the best one is the Tiffen Haze 2 filter. My copy is 12-years-old and still delivers at over 75 weddings a year. BirdDog P240 40X NDI PTZ Camera. The 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC Lens for Canon EF Mount from Rokinon is a manual focus telephoto prime lens useful for portraiture and all medium telephoto applications. This creates an effective focal length of roughly 200mm, a useful magnification for a wide variety of astro-imaging scenarios. Based on my handful of experiences with this lens in the backyard, I have found these traits to hold true. I think youll find that this lens is behind some of the most amazing wide-field astrophotography images online! On FF I use this lens for both tight portraits and landscape shots. Litepanels Studio X2 Bi-Color LED Fresnel Light. Unfortunately it is not manufactured in a multicoated version, and produces prominent internal reflection artifacts on very bright stars. The Sadr Region in Cygnus, including the Crescent Nebula by Eric Cauble. But when holes in text prompt me to look at the work of the writer, there is nothing professional there either. If you don't like that article that's your right as a member. I speak Japanese fluently, was a translator in Tokyo for 8 years and studied photography there for two years. A series of such images can be digitally stacked to produce excellent results. I think prime users get too used to the idea of bokeh as the only answer. The image below was captured using a DSLR and 135mm lens on the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mount. Sure, that would be swellbut it doesn't matter with regard to how it performs. Zeiss Jena or Oberkochen? sigh, overdone bokeh and centre sharpness bear little relevance to the art of this hobby. I am no stranger to the full manual control of this lens, for both aperture and focus. (purchased for $845), reviewed November 16th, 2005 Backwards compatible (film). Big F-value.Light. i too use the 135mm nikkor[ with a MB speed booster on fuji x for outstanding separation], also a samyang 85 mm 1.4 nikon mt with speedbooster also gives excellent separation, yes, I think I have read that the old Nikkor 135mm f3.5 was even sharper than the f2.8. Now - THAT's a lens everyone should have ;). These were just a tad less sharp at the corners than their Canon competition, but certainly extremely sharp all over the field if closed down one stop or even half a stop. The model I use feels solid and the barrel is constructed with metal. All of them are extremely sharp and produce mouth-watering bokeh, and all of them are reasonably priced for what you get. Sigma 105/2.8 DG EX Macro (very sharp at infinity) Some APOs can be fitted with pricey telecompressors, but those invariably result in vignetting and coma. I was very happy for this reason to eventually get a full frame DSLR in 2007 and sell the 85mm lens and buy a 105mm one to replace it. When all that was available were APS-C crop cameras a 85mm lens provided a near equivalent view angle to the 135mm on a full frame camera. The 135mm F2 lens design is truly special, and in this article (and the video I made), I want to try to convince you as well. I enjoied the use of this lens many years before the DSLR. The full name of this lens is the Rokinon 135mm F/2 ED UMC, with ED standing for extra-low dispersion, and UMC referring to the ultra multi-coated optics. I need fast auto-focus, predictable focus lock and natural, vibrant color rendition. It's not the most versatile lens, but it's very great for tight portrait shoots; background blur is creamy IMO; one of the best 'bokeh' lens. What I am trying to avoid is spending another $1,100 on a quality APO, and instead using my existing Nikkor 180mm ED lens with a Baader-modified Canon 450D that I just obtained. After a three-year hiatus, we've been at the return of the CP+ camera show in Yokohama, Japan. Over the years, I have tried more than two dozen telephoto lenses, until I finally found three or four perfect solutions. If you can tolerate vignetting, there are many normal 35mm lenses that are great wide open. 24/28mm, 50mm, 100mm, 200mm. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.No disagreement here. There are quite a few other excellent lenses out there, and nowadays, quite a few that can be used wide open. Otherwise I might not achieve focus? And with our first long lenses we were all impressed were we not? It is a heavy lens. The focuser adjustment rotates roughly 270 degrees, meaning fine-tuning on a bright star is more precise. It seems they are now quite comparable in quality to prime lenses. If so, which one? In this post, Ill explain why I think the Rokinon 135mm F/2 is the perfect addition to an arsenal of astrophotography lenses. f2, very sharp, virtually without CAs, contrast, colour, lightwight, buildings. 135mm F2.0 The optical design includes one extra-low dispersion lens element to control chromatic aberration, contributing to sharp, color-accurate imaging, and each of its lens elements features Ultra Multi-Coating to improve light transmission and reduce ghosting and flare. (purchased for $725), reviewed March 26th, 2013 I really wanted to use, and like, a 135mm f2 lens so I bought the Canon version. I would love to see his test images. He's better than I am on BS, I got to give him that. In the middle of the OM System lineup, the OM-5 promises yesterday's top-tier performance in a lighter, more compact body. Orion nebula shot with Canon T3i and Rokinon 135mm @ F2.0 150 shots with dark bias and flats stacked and edited. This lens is very sharp, corner to corner wide open. However, stepping outside to polar align a small star tracker and attach a DSLR and lens is quick and painless. I've seen several listed but here are more to consider. This thing is a beast in comparison. Available in other Styles, Configurations & Kits. Another article that I read only the headline and saw a couple of samples then jumped directly to comments. Wonderful, smooth bokeh. Yet the Jaegers becomes essentially color free when stopped down to 3in. fast, sharp wide open, excellent bokeh, value for money, very fast, sharp, gorgeous background blur, world class lens. Even if I wanted a 135mm lens (and the 70-200mm f/2.8 is more versatile) it would be the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC lens. In this review, however, I am using the lens on a crop sensor (APS-C) Canon EOS 60Da, which puts the field of view at 12.4 degrees. If experience has taught me anything, its that the practical, pain-free equipment that gets the most use under the stars. This is a fully manual lens, meaning that it does not have autofocus, and you must manually select the f-stop . The first shot I ever took with this lens was of my neighbor's cat, as it was sneaking around in a bush. This allows for less aggressive camera settings for night photography such as using a lower ISO setting and shorter exposure. Most of the available 135mm F2 lenses have a very short minimum focusing distance in relation to the focal length, creating a magnification ratio of around 0.2 - 0.25. So, for Joe User or especially for Jane Client, one really has to look closely to see much of a difference. The lens is so crisp that the diaphragm blade pattern is visible on point light sources shot at large aperature. My guidescope is a 5in F5 Jaeger's achromat with a 2.3x Barlow, and a 9mm illuminated reticle eyepiece. I have only owned my 135mm for less then a year, but already it is one of my top three most used and most fun lenses. Thus the enthusiasm has a valid basis but may not be suitable for all shooting conditions. Also, accurate guiding is essential. Deserves to be in the camera hall of fame. Manual focus on wide angle lens, for landscapes, ok, if you have a reliable manual focus system, which Samyang, at least in my mount, does not have. Lens hood - when I bought this lens years ago the included hood was rather cheap (perhaps Canon has updated the hood) by comparison with other hoods. Here's what I see from the photographs:#1: Woman in traffic. p.s. I really don't want to count all the pores - and the hairs coming out of them (eeeew!) When stopped down to 37mm, at F5.4, it also produces perfect, small and round star images across the entire field. (purchased for $899), reviewed December 9th, 2006 I would never shell out hundreds of euros for a 135 prime let alone one with manual focus. Interesting. Images that sing. Another example is the 100mm (or sometimes 90mm) F2.8 macro lens. here are some links to some pics taken with the lens: If You can not, buy Canon EF 85/1.8, which delivers quite similar results. Used with a FF body the DOF can be unforgiving, but if you nail focus the results can be magnificent. The interest of a f/1.4 is to be able to be perfect at f/2.8, while a f/1.8 or f/2 might need to be on f/4 to have the same sharpeness and overall IQ.They are not meant to be used wide open, except in rare moments. If you're using or are looking to buy the Samyang or Rokinon 135mm F/2, please let me know what you're imaging with it or any questions you may have in the comment section below. I had one question that i cant seem to find an answer to.. The spec sheet for the Rokinon 135mm F/2 boasts a number of qualities, with the ones listed below being the most important when it comes to night photography and astro. I think the bokeh won me over with the cat, as well as the fact that I like animals; the case for the duck was the same. Not too heavy. Tack sharp even at wide open aperture. The OP admits he limited experience with lenses other than what he has. In between interviews with executives of the major companies, Dale Baskin took to the show floor to bring you this report. The first example is good to show that you can take photos of persons in front of an ugly background without completely ruining the shot (important for people shooting events), the last one is the only one I really like (because of the color) but you could shoot this with any lens with short MFD. Voting ends March 8, 2023. Testing on an EOS-5D, we see that it's sharpness is almost as good wide open in the corners as on the EOS-20D with its smaller sensor. Chromatic aberration is almost eliminated in narrowband, so lenses with that problem may be fine performers. Really excels as indoor sports lens on a crop camera. But first, there are several general rules which must be understood. Canon 135mm is a great lens. this lens typifies modern design being confined to sharpness, colour & bokeh. I owned this lens for a long time, then traded it for the 70-200 2.8IS II. I ordered this lens on Amazon, utilizing my Amazon Prime membership. While some people LOVE the bokeh circles (first photo), others hate them and consider them a distraction.The 50mm f/1.8 is hardly a lens to talk about. In fact, a light-weight 200/2.8 seems more interesting to own (e.g., the Minolta 200/2.8). It's just "girl" in front of blurriness.#2: Plants on a pond.It's okay. I put quotes around the ones that are written on the lens. I'll take photo of Orion as soon as possible. Focal length: 135mm Maximum aperture: f/2.0 Lens construction: 10 elements in 8 groups Angle of view: 18 degrees Closest focusing distance: 3 feet Focus adjustment: Rear focusing system with USM Mount: Canon Filter size: 72mm Dimensions: 3.2 inches in diameter and 4.4 inches long Weight: 1.7 pounds Warranty: 1 year See more http://www.adstateagent.com | http://www.printradiant.com | http://www.hitsticker.com, I love this lens. Wonderful image quality, lots of detail, contrasty, subject separation, fast and accurate AF, bright viewfinder, solid construction, unobtrusive in use, No weather sealing, makes all my other lenses look poor (even the 'L' zooms that, when I first got them, imagined could hardly be improved on). Target for bortle 9 astrophotography? The clip-in Astronomik 12nm Ha is one of their most popular filters ever and for good reason! For my purposes, this is a spectacular lens. But again i am just at the beginning and i also do not want to use now a telescope. I just wish this lens had IS for low light and portraits with flash. http://www.idyll.com/laneysat I have compared many times my 135/2 against my 100/2.8 and there is a big difference. Many lenses lose their appeal after time, but not this one. You don't have to worry about shopping for a better lens anymore. Manually focusing a lens for astrophotography is nothing new, but the manual aperture ring adjustments may feel a little strange at first. The image below highlights the creative freedom this lens provides. It disagrees completely with the definition that you give! I love this lens, The Sharpest Lens available for Eos cameras IMO It's sharp, has very low aberrations, no real distortion and the bokeh is very nice. We think it rises to the challenge. The full name of this lens is the Rokinon 135mm F/2 ED UMC, with "ED" standing for extra-low dispersion, and UMC referring to the "ultra multi-coated" optics. It's kinda curious how topsy turvy things have gotten since this article, just 4 years later, I think 135mm is possibly more niche than ever yet Samyang finally delivered an AF version of this concept at a lighter weight for E mount, but also at a higher price. I like fast lenses, and my Nikkor 105DC is my favourite. As a complete beginner in Astrophotography should I buy Rokinon 135mm lens or Canon EF 75-300mm lens with Canon EF 50mm lens? thank you for that great review and also the explanations. I can only guarantee that the TSAPO65Q would work very well. [emailprotected]. Image quality is great, it is tack-sharp wide-open even though for partraiture, a little bit of softness is needed. This criticism refers to rare cases when your main subject matter is flat and completely inside the limited DOF range while the rest of the image is outside. To actually learn to compose the photos so that the background complements the image instead of being something that must be blurred away. It can isolate subject while being tack sharp with beautiful creamy bokeh when used at f2. 30-35% diameter reduction is usually necessary on "good" lenses. You will never be able to beat this lense, believe me, i have tried them all. You're sour grapes man, you wish it were you who wrote the article. I will say that at F/4 this lens is extremely sharp corner to corner when used on my 60Da. If you aren't completely set on the 135mm, the 200mm f/2.8L is a fantastic lens and i think its less expensive than the 135mm f/2L. These are affordably available on eBay, and result in perfectly round star images, the way nature intended them to be. The downsides of this configuration are that shooting wide open can make focusing difficult. To achieve creamy bokeh, a lens should have a wide maximum aperture and a long focal length. When the aperture is stopped down to 37mm using step-down filter rings, this lens produces incredibly tiny pinpoint star images from edge to edge. BTW, the 300-mm Tele-Tessar you describe -- what camera was it made for? This leaves you with a buttery bokeh and an object in perfect focus. This lens flares easily and the flare can be especially ugly if a sun or flash are in the frame. One is the price, which starts around $800 for the smallest units, and rapidly climbs into thousands of dollars for larger apertures. The Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 ED UMC lens is a fantastic companion for the Canon 60Da, as it offers a useful "mid-range" focal length for a variety of deep-sky projects. If you own an EOS Camera - It's a no Brainer, Buy one Thanks, Chris, hi Trevor my name is sagar i have same lens but i have one question why lot of stars are appearing in my image which is taken thru rokinon 135mm, Your email address will not be published. Recently, the FAA announced that recreational drone pilots in the USA can request LAANC authorization to fly in controlled airspace at night. Film Friday: DPRTV reviews Fujifilm's Acros II film, Fujifilm launches Instax Mini 12 instant camera, DPReview March Madness, vote for your champions, Canon RF 16mm F2.8 STM sample gallery (DPReview TV), OM System M. Zuiko 90mm F3.5 Macro sample gallery, Live from Japan: Highlights from CP+ 2023, Retro Review: 24 years later, the Sony F505 is still pretty cool, Hands on with the OM System M. Zuiko 90mm F3.5 Macro, New FAA rules make it easier for recreational drone pilots to fly in restricted US airspaces, Leica marks James Bond's 60th* with a special edition D-Lux 7, Film Friday: A closer look at the Pentax KX, an original K-mount SLR, Blackmagic Design announces a new Studio Camera 6K Pro, National Geographic selects Pictures of the Year photo contest winner, Sigma brings DC DN APS-C primes to Nikon Z-mount, Panasonic Lumix S 14-28mm F4-5.6 Macro sample gallery, Tamron announces 11-20mm F2.8 ultra-wide zoom for Fujifilm X-mount, Film Friday: DPReview TV steps back in time to shoot APS film, Finer Points: Here's an easy way to improve video autofocus, DPReview TV: One simple fix to improve video autofocus, Head-to-head: Adobe Super Resolution vs. ON1 Resize AI vs. Topaz Labs Gigapixel AI, Waiting for the fishy in the little dishy by Gil Aegerter, Lava Lizard on Marine Iguana by ZimmWisdom. If 135mm f2 works for you, then fine. The lens is available on eBay for around $200. I heard it's very sharp and well corrected. They're heavy, and expensive, but you can carry one lens instead of three, and can vary the compression and field of view to a significant degree - from nearly normal, to long portrait focal lengths. In the right hands this lens really does have "magic pixie dust", as a friend once described. Its actually kind of neat to watch! Jordan's twin brother Gordon is back to review the cinema-focused Canon EOS R5 C! The reason the 135mm lens was that it was the longest lens that would focus with a Leica rangefinder. And they like circles (no ellipses or polygons) and smooth colour (no hard edges, no onion rings). And only the cat photo has something OK (but it is a cat shot You easily get them look good). The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens makes an excellent indoor sports lens. If you must have autofocus, and care about weight, buy the Canon. Show some humility and don't troll. Often need f2.2 to f2.8 to gain sufficient DOF for human subjects. (37% is difference, so you get little more, about 15.5Mpix) ". Selecting between it and the 200mm Takumar was not an easy choice but, in the end, I chose the Takumar because it seemed to have slightly better contrast. This article was originally published on Micael's blog, and is being republished in full with express permission. Also, when used as recommended, and properly guided at full camera resolution, they are all comparable to a field-corrected APO, producing perfect images from edge to edge which can be easily cropped 25% with no evidence of aberrations. So I feel I'm being cheated. But like a glitch in the matrix, an anomaly that shouldn't exist, you can get the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm for as little as $430 brand new. (purchased for $900), reviewed December 4th, 2006 I also find the other photos not very good. Really, just an amazing lens, easily worth the $800-900 it commands on the street. However, I find the process tedious, and prefer single, manually guided, long exposures which seem to have deeper colors. The main problem with the old lenses is spherical aberration and colour error, especially pronounced on digital sensors. It focuses within a blink of an eye, instantly. The CA is pretty low wide open and it rivals my 200mm L lens. If you want autofocus and great value for money, buy the Canon 135mm, as it has almost the image quality of the Samyang, and you can get it for under $1,000 new. Mr Ericsson makes a very good point, and to go and dig irrelevant background info on him to discredit him is just well THAT is trolling. This photo was captured with the Samyang 135mm F/2 lens using a UV/IR cut filter and a QHY168C dedicated astronomy camera. Have you ever come across this phenomena? 45 minutes. This lens is one of canons finest lenses i have ever used. AF ring feels loose compared to my other L lenses. Another drawback is the focal length. Stuff I used to take the photos in this video:- The Canon 135mm f2 lens: https://amzn.to/346Paz7- Sony A7III Camera: https://amzn.to/2xM776q- Sony Grip exten. Begun in 1975, the Pentax K-mount legacy continues to this day. We sell a wide variety of digital cameras from all the top brands like Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus, Fujifilm, Pentax, Leica, Samsung, and more. Several days ago another member posted a stunning telephoto image of the Snake Nebula, Barnard 72, taken with a Canon lens which costs $12,000. etc.. Ron. Using the lens's diaphragm interferes with the light path and results in diffraction spikes which I find unattractive. You may need to refocus your subject as the temperature changes throughout the night. Large focus ring. This includes everything from the rich star fields of Sagittarius, to a complete look at the Andromeda Galaxy. The Canon 135mm f/2 is no less impressive on a full-frame camera. What's the best camera for shooting sports and action? I almost bought one, but couldn't manage that focal length and DoF with moving subjects and manual focus. Large emission nebulae like the California Nebula (pictured below) are a great choice for this focal length. No more inside shooting with flash! Because it manage to do so. Definitely now on my to-buy list. Let's unbox, review and test this lens to find out why it is one of the best bang for your buck deals in astrophotography! On a full frame body, I rely upon this lens and it does not disappoint. This lens is available for several camera mounts, including Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Samsung, and Fuji. Hey! This is a very popular lens, and I am sure there are a ton of lens test reports for it available online. Must have if you're serious about portraits. Finally, although we don't explicitly test for it, we have to note that this lens' bokeh (rendering of out-of-focus objects) is really excellent as well. Shoot shiny metal at a wide aperture and you'll see some very extreme purple fringing. I do not like this. No, Mr. But that 10Mpix is more than enough to make a very good A3-A2 size print, but your technique needs to be very good as even slight misfocus is even more visible and the rendering faults as well. I thought I had to sell my 100/F2.8 macro L but thanks for letting me know I can keep it. Whats the best camera for around $2000? Asahi Optical's Pentax KX was one of the first cameras with this lens mount, acting as a midrange model in the lineup.