Bought the SAL-135F18Z

[DaveDam]

I was actually after the 85mm but the SonyStyle shop at Heathrow T5 didn't have one of those (had practically everything else though) including an 85mm on an a900 to play with - very nice.

Still I expect I will learn to like the zeiss 135mm
here are some of my first shots with it






dave

[Greg Beetham]

The CZ135 certainly takes nice clean photos alright, much as I'd like one I'm not sure I can justify spending over $2000AU on just one lens, lovely lens though. It's a little odd they didn't just sell you the 85 off the A900, seeing as how that was what you were actually looking for....don't you think?
Greg
ps Frangipani flowers in the UK? who would have thought, and I think the Hibiscus is tropical as well...then again you might not have photographed them in the UK anyway, come to think of it.

[Dr. Harout]

Congratulations, Dave.

[KevinBarrett]

Very nice! I may just have to save up for one of those some day!

[DaveDam]

Thanks for the nice comments

I do have one very sharp (I think) photo at 1.8 of my wife's eye which I may get round to posting at some point purely for the demonstration of this lens rather than any aesthetic value.

Greg - they would have sold me the 85 from the camera but in a busy airport shop it had seen quite some fingerprints I can tell you so I went for the 135mm. The 85 did seem to be a very compact (if solid) almost walkaround prime lens and no where near as intimidating for subjects as the 135 so maybe one day... The 85 will probably be a bit like the 50 1.7 people are getting used to on APSC size on a full frame? A bit bizarre as I remember people complaining about the extra length of the 50mm on the 1.5x factor to start with but now switching to full frame I bet people might want a prime slightly longer than the 50mm. That said I do like having a fast longer range lens. I imagine it will prove to be good for close up wildlife as well as portraits from a distance and the nice dof flower shots...

Anyway let me dig out that f1.8 shot

Dave

[DaveDam]

2 Things
ps Frangipani flowers in the UK? who would have thought, and I think the Hibiscus is tropical as well...then again you might not have photographed them in the UK anyway, come to think of it.
Greg sorry forgot to say yes they are tropical - we were on a tropical island off Kenya near Lamu. My wife had fresh Frangipanis to our room everyday and lots for our wedding as they are her favourites.
And second to the 100% crop at F1.8 seeing as this is a lens lore forum ! From raw using sony IDC, no sharpening or anything applied though the camera may have had a DRO setting applied.



Dave

[aster]

Hello Dave,

Thanks for posting the 100% crop of the photo. What I'd like to know is how far from your wife you were at the time you shot this sample.

And congratulations on your new acquisition, hope you enjoy shooting many more different subjects with this lens.

Yildiz

[Dr. Harout]

Aha, I see you have focused on yourself in the reflection.

As for fingerprints you might consider having always with you a "Lens Pen". It's a wonderful thing for cleaning lenses.

[jbtaylor]

Congrats on the lens. Get in shape. That thing is pretty heavy.

[Greg Beetham]

The Frangipani trees are also in bloom locally, this is one we planted outside quite a few years ago, the neighbour across the road has a nice magenta one.
Greg

[TallPaul]

Dave, can I ask what the going rate is for this lens at the T5 Sony place?

Agree with you on if you are spending £££ you don't want one that's been "well handled"!

[Dr. Harout]

Oh, I see TallPaul's first post here. So a very "Tall" and a big welcome on the forum.

[DaveDam]

Well their 'tax free' price for the 135mm was around £950 I believe (can't remember exact price). I can't remember what they were charging for the 85mm. But the prices seemed kind of close enough to reasonable web prices that I was tempted. Sonystyle UK website has the 135mm for £1089 incl VAT and warehouseexpress do it for £944 so it is about right I guess for walk in purchase of a lens. They did have a a900 to play with also but I made very sure not to get too close to it in case I had an 'accident' and somehow bought it.

Dave

Dave, can I ask what the going rate is for this lens at the T5 Sony place?

Agree with you on if you are spending £££ you don't want one that's been "well handled"!

[TallPaul]

Probably for the best, I handled an A900 and only made it out alive as I convinced myself I needed the 24-70Z to replace my 28-75 and so could not afford the combo Lots evidence in reviews, including David's, that 28-75 is a great lens on the A900 since, but at least I did not know that at the time!

Thanks for indication of the prices, the 85 and 135 seem to be pretty fixed everywhere, which is why I asked. T5 Sony place is temptation itself, they had everything when I was there in the summer, I think I tried the 35mm G and some TC's before the wife realised the cost dangers and dragged me out!

@Dr Harout, thanks for the welcome, I thought I had already posted but perhaps that was a comment on the main blog/website.

Having done some soul searching I am planning on trading up from my KM 5D to probably an A700 with the 85 Zeiss rather than an A900 now, and plan to go full frame a bit further down the road - hence my interest in the LHR prices.

135 seems great as well, but I am leaning towards 85mm myself as I think its possibly a better option on full frame in the future... maybe...

[fastson]

Congrats.

I have been eyeing this lens for the longest time, but it feels like too much money for an newbie like me. Thanks for the info Sonolta, I'll remember to keep an eye out for the Minolta.