Sony 135mm f/1.8
Full-Frame FE GM
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM (82mm filters, 33.5 oz./950g, 2.3'/0.7m close focus, $1,898). bigger. I'd get mine at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, gray-market, store demo or used lens. Especially with an exotic lens like this, get yours only from the trusted sources I've used personally for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
September 2023, April 2019 Better Pictures Sony Sony Lenses Zeiss Nikon Canon Fuji LEICA All Reviews
Sony vs. Nikon vs. Canon Full-Frame
Why Fixed Lenses Take Better Pictures
Sample Images
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
All shot as Standard JPGs; no RAW or FINE JPGs were used or needed.
At f/2.2 hand-held indoors
Paint Samples, 11:58 AM, 02 April 2019. Sony A7 III with Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at f/2.2 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full resolution.
Wide-open at f/1.8
Canary Palm Trunk, 9:15AM, 02 April 2019. Sony A7 III with Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at f/1.8 at 1/2,000 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © JPG.
This is insanely sharp. At f/1.8 almost nothing is in focus due to the tiny depth of field, but look carefully at the camera-original © JPG and you'll see how even at the top and bottom edges it's ultra sharp where its in focus. This is unusually high performance.
At f/8
Canary Palm Trunk, 9:15AM, 02 April 2019. Sony A7 III with Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at f/8 at 1/100 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © JPG.
Introduction
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
This Sony 135 1.8 is an exceptionally sharp lens with great bokeh.
It is both an ideal portrait lens as well as ultrasharp for nature, astronomical and landscape work. It will produce three-dimensional photographs because of the great contrast between ultrasharp subjects and soft backgrounds.
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Good
Essentially perfect optics.
Two programmable focus-lock buttons.
AF/MF, focus limiter and aperture-ring-clicks slide switches.
Great bokeh: out-of-focus backgrounds melt away.
Focuses twice as close as most 135mm lenses.
Fast and silent autofocus.
Nice case and hood included.
Claims to be moisture resistant.
Bad
Plastic filter threads.
Offshored to China; not made domestically in Japan.
Serial number is just a sticker on the bottom.
Big, heavy and expensive.
Missing
No Image Stabilizer - but your camera probably has it.
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger.
Format
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
This is a full frame lens and I'm reviewing it as such.
It also works great on APS-C cameras, on which you may make the usual inferences.
Compatibility
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
This works on all Sony E-mount cameras, full-frame and crop-sensor. This includes all the variations of NEX, A9-, A7-, A6xxx and A5xxx series cameras.
It will not work on any Sony A-mount DSLR or any Minolta MAXXUM 35mm SLR of any kind. Those use the old A mount which was actually the Minolta MAXXUM mount from 1987.
Specifications
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Name
Sony calls this the Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM.
FE: Full-frame coverage, E-mount.
GM: "G Master," which means Sony's best.
Sony also calls this model number SEL135F18GM.
Optics
Sony 135 1.8 GM internal optical construction. Extreme Aspherical (XA), Super ED and ED elements.
13 elements in 10 groups.
One Extreme Aspherical (XA) element.
One Super ED element, which helps reduce secondary axial chromatic aberration.
One ED element, which helps reduce secondary axial chromatic aberration.
Nano antireflective coating.
Fluorine coated front element to resist dirt and smudges.
Coverage
Full-Frame and APS-C.
Diaphragm
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger.
11 rounded blades.
Electronically actuated.
Stops down to f/22 in 1/3-stop clicks.
Focal Length
135 mm.
When used on APS-C cameras, it sees the same angle of view as a 200 mm lens sees when used on a full-frame camera.
See also Crop Factor.
Angle of View
18º diagonal on full-frame.
12º diagonal on APS-C.
Autofocus
Sony 135 1.8 internal focusing motors.
Internal focusing. with two groups moved by XD ("Extreme Dynamic," which means nothing) linear motors.
No external movement as focused, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Focus Scale
No.
Infinity Focus Stop
No.
Depth of Field Scale
No.
Reproduction Ratio Scale
No.
Infrared Focus Index
No.
Close Focus
2.3 feet (0.7 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio
1:4 (0.25×).
Image Stabilizer
NONE, use the stabilizer that's probably in your camera body.
Filters
Plastic 82 mm filter thread.
Hood
Sony ALC-SH156 hood for FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger.
Sturdy Sony ALC-SH156 plastic bayonet hood included.
Case
Case included with Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger.
Size
3.52" ø maximum diameter × 5.00" extension from flange.
89.5 mm ø maximum diameter × 127 mm extension from flange.
Weight
33.500 oz. (949.75 g) actual measured weight.
Rated 33.6 oz. (950 g).
Teleconverters
Does not work with either the 1.4s or 2x converters.
Quality
Made in China.
Announced
26 February 2019.
Promised for
Late April 2019.
Included
Lens.
ALC-F82S front and ALC-R1EM rear cap.
ALC-SH156 hood.
Padded nylon case.
Sony's Model Number
SEL135F18GM.
Price, USA
September 2023
$2,098 B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon and at Crutchfield.
About $1,100 used if you know How to Win at eBay.
February ~ April 2019.
Performance
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
Overall Autofocus Manual Focus Breathing
Bokeh Distortion Ergonomics Falloff Filters
Flare & Ghosts Lateral Color Fringes Macro
Mechanics Sharpness Spherochromatism
Stabilization Sunstars Teleconverters
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Overall
This Sony 135/1.8 is an exceptionally good lens.
Autofocus
Autofocus is fast and silent.
Manual Focus
Manual focusing is entirely electronic; the manual focus ring isn't connected to anything other than a digital encoder.
This electronic focus ring is among the best I've used: the lens responds immediately and exactly as I'd expect a real mechanical focus ring to respond, but it only responds in certain modes.
Also unique is that, at least on the Sony A7 III, the focus scale reads precisely to 900 meters! The scale reads to long distances, but it's not perfectly accurate; just use it as a guide.
There is no universal instant manual-focus override. You have to set the lens to MF or fiddle with camera menus to get the lens to respond to the focus ring.
Focus Breathing
Focus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth.
The image from the Sony 135/1.8 grows as focused more closely.
Bokeh
Bokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is excellent as we expect. Backgrounds melt away.
Here are photos from headshot distance. Click any for the camera-original images:
Click any for the camera-original images.
As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/1.8 and get as close as possible.
Distortion
The Sony 135 1.8 has some invisible pincushion distortion (correctable with a factor of -1.00 in Photoshop's lens correction filter), which goes away completely if you turn on your camera's automatic distortion correction.
Ergonomics
|
|
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger. |
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger. |
Other than being a big lens, ergonomics are great.
Because it's big, my index finger of my big American hand can get a little cramped between lens barrel and camera body:
Clearance is tight for American index fingers. bigger.
The switches and buttons are where you need them, and the aperture ring works well.
The aperture ring doesn't have deeper clicks at full stops; full stops and third stops feel the same.
There's a slide switch to remove the aperture ring clicks.
Falloff
Falloff on full frame is invisible with correction left ON , its default setting.
Even if you go out of your way to turn it off deliberately there is only a little wide-open which goes away by f/2.8.
I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background; it will not look this bad in actual photos of real things:
Falloff on full frame at infinity, correction at default of ON.
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Falloff on full frame at infinity, correction deliberately turned OFF.
© 2019 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Filters, use with
There's no need for thin filters.
I can stack a few standard 82mm filters with no vignetting on full frame.
Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.
Flare & Ghosts
Flare is minimal. You'll never see it unless you deliberately do something stupid like let the sun shine directly into your lens and then expose for shadows under a palm tree as I did here:
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at f/22, worst case, pointed directly into the sun. bigger.
Lateral Color Fringes
There are no lateral color fringes, even with correction turned OFF.
This is exceptionally good performance.
There is spherochromatism if an image isn't in perfect focus; this is a different chromatic aberration.
Macro Performance
Macro performance is excellent.
This 135mm lens gets about twice as close as most other 135mm lenses, and it's super-sharp.
At f/1.8
It's super-sharp, even wide-open at f/1.8. Any color fringes you may see at f/1.8 are only on areas that are not in perfect focus due to spherochromatism.
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance at f/1.8, April 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same large magnification would be about 10 × 15" (25 × 38cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same high magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).
At f/8
All smaller apertures do is give you more in focus and eliminate spherochromatism:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance at f/8, April 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same large magnification would be about 10 × 15" (25 × 38cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same high magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).
Mechanical Quality
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger.
Even though the exterior is mostly plastic and it's made in China, this is a reasonably well-made consumer-grade lens.
Hood
Tough plastic bayonet, with bumper.
Front Bumper
None on lens, there is a bumper on the hood.
Filter Threads
Plastic.
Hood Bayonet Mount
Plastic.
Front Trim ahead of Focus Ring
Anodized aluminum.
Focus Ring
Rubber-covered plastic.
Mid-Barrel Exterior
Section with focus lock buttons: plastic.
Focus Lock Buttons
Plastic.
Aperture Ring
Metal.
The clicks feel like they use a plastic internal track.
Rear Barrel Exterior
Section with focus distance window: plastic.
Slide Switches
Plastic.
Identity
Shiny plate glued on top of barrel.
Also printed in dark-gray ink on bottom of barrel near mount.
Internals
Plastic and metal.
Magnesium alloy internal frame.
Dust Gaskets
At mount, and all around:
Sony 135 1.8 dust seals.
Mount
Chromed metal.
Markings
All painted, except for engraved aperture ring.
Serial Number
Sticker glued on bottom of the lens barrel, neither an acceptable nor a permanent way to do this for a product that's handled all day.
Noises When Shaken
Big clunking caused by the focus groups flopping around.
Made in
China.
Sharpness
Lens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness and blame crummy pictures on their equipment rather than themselves. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that.
This said, this is one of the sharpest lenses made. It's ultra-sharp all the way out to the full-frame corners even wide-open at f/1.8! Just look at the sample images of the palm tree at f/1.8, it's insanely sharp even at the edges.
If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 at ISO 1,600 at default sharpening in daylight through heat shimmer of rapidly moving subjects at differing distances in the same image.
Here are Sony's MTF charts at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm, radial (solid) and tangential (dotted):
MTF at f/1.8. |
MTF at f/8. |
Spherochromatism
Spherochromatism, also called "color bokeh" by laymen, is an advanced form of chromatic aberration in a different dimension than lateral color. It can cause colored fringes on out-of-focus highlights, usually seen as green fringes on backgrounds and magenta fringes on foregrounds. Spherochromatism is common in fast lenses of moderate focal length when shooting contrasty items at full aperture. It goes away as stopped down.
This Sony has a moderate amount of spherochromatism, which I expect in lenses this fast and long, but I wasn't expecting seeing this with this lens' otherwise flawless performance everywhere else.
Mondaine A132.30348.11SBB at close-focus distance at f/1.8, 01 April 2019. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
See the slight green fringes on the left (background) and violet fringes on the right (foreground)? That's spherochromatism. Ideally these wouldn't have any coloration, however having green fringes on out-of-focus backgrounds actually helps bokeh when you have vegetation in the background.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same large magnification would be about 10 × 15" (25 × 38cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same high magnification would be about 20 × 30" (50 × 75cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters).
Image Stabilization
This 135mm has no Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), however most better Sony cameras do, and these in-camera stabilizers work great with this 135mm lens.
"Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness I get when I'm shooting hand-held while standing with no support. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp while others will be in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. This rates what percentage of shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp all the frames are:
| % Perfectly Sharp Shots | 1 |
1/2 |
1/4 |
1/8 |
1/15 |
1/30 |
1/60 |
1/125 |
1/250 |
1/500 |
| A7 Mk III OSS ON | 0 | 0 | 50 | 83 | 83 | 83 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| A7 Mk III OSS OFF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 33 | 83 | 100 | 100 |
Sunstars
With a magnificent 11-bladed rounded diaphragm there aren't any sunstars at large apertures, however the blades become straighter at middle to small apertures allowing some exquisite 22-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light at the smallest apertures.
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at f/22. bigger.
Teleconverters
It won't work with any of Sony's teleconverters.
Compared
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM is similar, just shorter and lighter.
An adapted manual-focus Nikon 135mm f/2 lens has bokeh at least as good, but it's nowhere near as sharp wide-open (it's the same stopped down) and as free from chromatic aberrations in the lab wide-open. It will give just about the same great results for portraits, but it's much clumsier to use.
An adapted AF-D Nikon 135mm f/2 DC lens becomes manual-focus on a Sony camera, and while it may be as sharp, it's much clumsier to use. It's bokeh isn't as good as the older manual-focus Nikon 135mm f/2.
User's Guide
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger.
AF - MF Switch
AF: Auto Focus. Leave it here.
MF: Manual Focus only.
FULL / 0.7-2m / 1.5m-∞ Switch
This is a focus limiter.
Leave it in FULL.
Use the 1.5m - ∞ position if for some reason your lens is getting confused and autofocusing on distracting elements closer than 1.5 meters (5 feet).
The 0.7 - 2m position prevents the lens from focusing farther away then 2 meters (6 feet). Use this position only if you're shooting close-ups and for some reason the lens keeps trying to focus on the background.
CLICK ON / OFF Switch
Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. bigger.
This deactivates the the aperture ring clicks.
Leave it ON unless you're shooting video and want to be able to make smoother live aperture adjustments while you're rolling video.
Recommendations
Top Sample Images Intro Format
Compatibility Specs Performance
Compared User's Guide Recommendations
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
This is a superb lens. Get it if you're serious about your work and demand the best. You people know who you are; if you're not sure, see Is It Worth It and Should You Upgrade.
I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear, otherwise I leave a clear protective filter on my lens at all times instead of a cap so I'm ready to shoot instantly.
The very best protective filter is the 82mm Hoya multicoated HD3 UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.
For less money, the B+W 82mm 010 is an excellent filter, as is the multicoated version and the basic multicoated Hoya filter and the Hoya Alpha filter, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best.
Any of these filters protects as well and gives ultrasharp images, but since filters last a lifetime, you may as well get the best since the Hoya HD3 is tougher and stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt.
I'd get my FE 135mm f/1.8 GM at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.
This 100% all-content website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so especially with an exotic lens like this never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, store demo or used lens. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
Thanks for helping me help you!
Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
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