Nikon 135 f/2.8 Reviews

This misunderstood jewel happened to be attached to an F3/MD4 combo that I wanted. The seller didn't want to breakup the set nor change his selling price, so I caved and bought the whole thing for his price. I planned to sell the lens but used it for awhile nonetheless. Upon looking at the image qualilty it produces, not only am I keeping it, it's now one of my most-used lenses - certainly the sharpest I own. And great for portraits. I have other Nikkor primes - 24mm f2.8 AI, 50mm f1.4 AIS, and 200mm f4.0 AI. The build quality, image quality, built-in hood, speed, 52mm filter size and small size/weight/price make this tool a no-brainer. Own one.

Sharp, compact and solid. I have nothing but praise for this no-compromise AI-S MF lens. A true bargain.

The 135/2.8 AIS Nikkor suffers a bit in reputation due to the performance of early 135/2.8 Nikkors and possibly because the 135mm lens was the popular telephoto lens with amateurs before zoom lenses came to prominence. Compact 135/2.8 Nikkors, type K type through AIS have a much-improved optical formula and are multi-coated. The last 135/2.8 AIS Nikkors were super multi-coated. Mine is one of these late AIS Nikkors.

Image performance wide open is very good and excellent at the sweet spot around f/5.6. This lens can be used with confidence at f/2.8 to f/8.0. I avoid f/16 with 35mm and DX formats due to diffraction. Flare & ghost is very well controlled. If a Nikon HS-8 or 15 lens hood is used one need not be concerned until the sun is included in the frame. This is a marked improvement over the performance of 80~200/2.8 and 70~200/2.8 zoom Nikkors. The built in lens hood is not as long as the noted optional lens hoods and has a tendency to rock. I don't use it though it is acceptable. Bokeh is smooth at large apertures and it's easy to obtain soft backgrounds such that your sharply focused subject stands out on both 35mm and DX formats.

The mechanical construction like all AIS Nikkors is first rate and the focus is very smooth and it's fast but not too fast. Manual focus is ideally suited to portraits including candid portraits. This lens is idea for tight head shots and quite acceptable for head and shoulders portraits.

The 135/2.8 AIS Nikkor is a too well kept secret. It is very much at home on the F3, F5 and D300s and I recommend it. I purchased my lens from KEH.com in “like new condition” so I paid a bit of a premium. I'm not at all sorry.

Dave