Discussion on 135mm portrait lens

[lrockm]

Hey guys, I've seen numerous MF 135mm portrait lenses around..

some brands I don't even recognize~~

Any pros and cons about such lenses?

Anybody using such lens before mind to share?

[weitatt]

Most of the 135mm lenses from the 70's & 80's from the major players were exceptionally sharp (Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Fujinon). With full frame cameras they produce very pleasing results as it is sharp, very little distortion, you get to fill the frame fully with a head or head/shoulder shot and it is sufficiently long for you to play with depth of field.

I'll stick with the major brands as their optical qualities are definitely superior.

When these lenses are mounted on a cropped frame DSLR the focal length becomes longer (approx equivalent to 200mm) and you'll have to stand pretty far back to take your portraits.

[focus101]

One of my favorite portrait lens when I was using film. I had a Tamron.

[Kwalau]

headache when using 135 with APSC DSLR for portrait