Nikon 135 f/1.8 Plena Lens Review (six months)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 2 май 2024
- This is a comprehensive review of Nikon's 135mm f/1.8 Plena Lens. Is this the most versatile lens to own? Terry takes you along on a portrait session using the Nikkor Plena lens and also shows how it is used for video and nature photography.
Link to Razor-Sharp Nature Photography eBook. bit.ly/3L7nP3M
Get on my mailing list: bit.ly/3WiqEIe
This is the best video I’ve seen on the practical use of the Plena. Thank you for this, Terry!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks Terry! I enjoyed this review and appreciate you posting it.
My pleasure! Thanks for watching.
Great job team, thank you for sharing!
Thank you and thank you for watching.
ordered today! Thanks for the detailed review! absolutely perfect to decide Thanks
You are going to love it! Thanks for watching.
Thanks Jerry. Super reviewed. The lens is fantastic.
My pleasure! Thanks for watching.
I've had this lens since december of 23 and was simply curious to hear someone else's opinion on it. The 85 1.2 is my favorite for most situations, but love having plena when the extra reach is necessary. Nice video!
Thanks for checking it out. So far, I love it.
I own the Plena and I don't do portraits. It's a great lens for nature photography.
It really is! I have found a ton of uses for it. thanks for watching.
I rarely do portraits myself and actually find myself using this for street photography the most. The 85 1.2 is still my favorite, but this might be my number 2.
@@uhoh7541 definitely a cool lens. For street photography, the 85 or even a fast 35 works well because a lot of times you want show the environment. But not much surpasses the 135 Plena for isolating a subject. Thanks for watching.
@@tv510 when packing light for generic photo walks, I usually have the 85 1.2, plena, and the 24-70 2.8 for flexibility. Wish there was a way to have the 70-200 2.8 on me as well, but need my larger bag or backpack to pull that off.
@@uhoh7541 yeah, the extra weight may not be worth it.
Just received my copy today and went out in the backyard and shot some birds. Then came inside and shot some pictures of my dogs of course all at one 1.8. The lens has a magical quality and the output images are absolutely beautiful. I think this has become my new favorite lens. I thought I would be disappointed or discouraged by the 135 mm but to be frank yes I need to get a little further away but not that much and the end results justify the small additional distance. Highly recommend this lens
Thanks dab, I use mine all the time, I think it makes portraits look fantastic. I also just shot some ducklings with it the other day. Very versatile. Thanks for watching.
I recently purchased this lens and I'm in love ..awesome lens I paired it with my z9 and wow I'm 💯 in agreement with you this lens is just amazing ❤
Exactly Andrew, I love it too!
Great video, Terry. I've been thinking of "filling in" the two gaps in my Nikkor Z prime lenses, the 24 and the Plena 135. I love my 50mm f/1.8 and my 85mm f/1.8. I'd rather spring for the Plena than the Z6 iii (same price) since I'm currently shooting on a Z7 mark 1 and a Z9. I've got the cameras covered. YOUR video was wonderful.
You are welcome. I think spending good money on good lenses is never a wrong choice. If you have a Z9 - that 135 will be a perfect compliment.
I heartily concur with @TillmanTech; best video I've seen on the practical use of the Plena. While I don't "need" to add this lens to my arsenal, the sharpness, rendering and bokeh are fabulous, so I may look for the cash to buy one.
Thank you. “Need” can be a strong word, “Like” definitely, like to add it. 😀 thanks for watching.
You just sold one more Plena. I trust your opinions and love your work. ❤
Yay! Thank you! Now if only Nikon would send me a cut, I'd have something! HA! I think you will really like this lens, let us know what you think after you use it for while.
Thanks !
No problem! Thanks for watching.
Checking my credits cards to see which one I should put this on.
They keep making the things we want! Good luck!
I shoot a lot of portraits - both studio and on location, and my current go to lens is the F Mount 85mm f1.4. Im shortly going to add the Z Mount - either the 85mm f1.2 or the 135 Plena. I have hired both lenses, but only for one studio shoot each. I thought the Plena lens was a little too 'clinical' for my sort of work (and I didn't have a Black Pro-mist filter that I often use in a 82mm thread). I suspect the Plena will be better outside - with a bit more separation to background, and perhaps more interesting light highlights for Bokeh. Do you have a view? Does the 'digital sharpness' in the Plena detract from your portraits? Have you used the 85mm f1.2? Preference if you could only have one? Very much value your opinion.
Thanks for watching Jon. I have not used the 85 f/1.2 - I did have an 85 f/1.4 for my DSLR back in the day and found when I was shooting on a full frame camera, I was looking for bit more compression. What dictated it for me, is I was reaching for the 70-200 zoomed to about 120 to 140 and that is what I was using. The 85 just sat in the bag. Fast forward, when the 135 Plena came out, I was predisposed to that focal length. Very happy with it.
Thanks for your review, Terry. I had been waiting for Nikon's 135mm Z mount lens for a long time. So long, in fact, that I picked up a used 200mm f/2 VR - more on that later. I haven't picked up the PLENA yet, because I haven't had situations come up where I needed to be a bit closer or have a lens just a touch faster. I know if they added VR to the lens, it would have been even more expensive, but it would have been a nice touch for hand holding. Now I'm not a professional photographer (and my business card says so) - and I heard for a long time other photographers say, "you buy the 200mm f/2 to shoot it at f/2, so I never shoot it at anything else". Well, it took me a few months to realize the nonsense or bias built into that statement. So I began to toy with closing down the aperture for environmental portraits - and you know what I learned - even at f/7.1, the bokeh of the background was so smooth, that my 70-200mm f/2.8 couldn't compare. The 180mm f/2.8 really didn't compare. My question to you is, how does the PLENA render stopped down, and do you ever feel you need or want VR? Any other aspects (positive or negative) you can share? Focus speed? If you've ever shot the 200mm f/2, how would you say they compare (differences or similarities). Blowing out backgrounds smoothly is the forte of the 200 (and looks like the 135mm). I personally find, that while I love the look now and then, it ages on me. Not being able to identify anything in the background (the fast lens trap) seems more a function of the equipment (yes, I know distance to subject and from subject to background is important), but I find for me, now at this point, shooting stopped down and making everything in the frame have relevance a bit more challenging (compositionally). Happy with the color rendition? I can't tell you how happy you made me when you spoke about "what kind of portrait" (i.e. 3/4 or full length) this is good for. Long story behind that, but I've often said the same for the 200mm f/2. Thank you for kindly taking your time to make this video, and for providing your examples (i.e. DOF) and example shots.
Thanks for checking that out. I in fact was a long time owner of the 200 F/2 and loved it. The drawback was weight and size. I sold it back when I was moving to mirrorless and was pining for that feeling again. The Plena gives me that same feeling. Now I use mine mostly at f/1.8 so I don't have many shots stopped down, but there are times I do need to stop it down. (Portraits that I know are going to stripped out of their background for instance) That soft transition from the ear to the back of the head is a nightmare to strip out perfectly. Honestly, the color, the bokeh, the sharpness - no doubt my favorite portrait lens. Even when I owned the 200 - I had wished I had the proximity of the 135 - I thought that would be perfect to me. Fast forward several years, and for me I was dead on correct. I love this lens. As far as VR? I use the Z9 - it does a great job and I have not wished for anything more. The focus is lighting fast and over all, much, MUCH lighter than the 200 ever was. I hope that info helps. Thanks again for watching.
@@tv510 You're very welcome and that is just the type of information I was looking for. Much appreciated. There is NO DOUBT that the reduction in weight (and closer proximity to subject) for portraits would be a welcome change. On my 70-200mm I found myself shooting mostly at 135 - so I must have that feeling you did. Even if Nikon made a 200mm S Z mount lens (which I do not see happening) I don't think they could shave enough weight off it (although Sony did with the 300mm f/2.8) or add enough of a built in TC to make it worth the price. I'll go to my local store and test out the 135 S/Z now that you've provided this perspective. Thank you. Happy 4th.
@@dance2jam Same to you, and I love the intelligent conversation about photography. Thanks!
@@tv510 And that, my friend, is welcome as well. It's part of my learning process - thanks for helping me talk it out!
@@tv510 Adding to the algorithm one more time. Forgot to ask you about a specific aspect of the 135mm PLENA vs the 200mm f2. !Question: Does the 135mm PLENA demonstrate the same dimensionality that the 200mm does? Very few lenses in my limited experience have this particular characteristic, and as I began to sort out what it was about the 200mm that I loved (aside from color rendition, qualities of the bokeh, AF speed) - (I use it with a zoom for indoor sports and outdoor portraits) - I realized there was a 3D dimensionality to the images when photographed at the right angle that made the subject "Pop" even more and gave the image more depth. Just curious, before I go play with the PLENA after the 4th, if the 135 during your use has that quality. I don't think the store will let me take the lens home for a week. ;-)
Hi Terry, nice video. I have Nikon F mount 85 mm f 1.4, 70-200 f2.8 S lens and I shoot with Z7. I shoot portraits and streets. Do you suggest I me Plena?
With street photography, sometimes people want to shoot unnoticed by shooting at your waist or not looking through the viewfinder. If that was the case, the Plena would not be a great choice since it has such a shallow Depth of field. However, for normal composition, the Plena is amazing for softening the background. I use mine all the time, mostly for portraits. I think it makes everything better.
Agreed on all points Sir! How I wish Nikon could consider creating a 105mm range of this Plena, call it Plena 2....😊😊
Yes, that would be nice.
Hi - I am a street photographer, I have Nikon Z6II camera with 24-70 f4 lens, I also have 50mm f1.8 z lens, which i usually use most of the time, I live in Montreal and most of the photos I shoot in the city, I am thinking to buy 135 f1.8 lens, do you think that this lens will be good for urban landscape photography? Thanks for the reply in advance.
Hi Ali, the quality of the imagery will be unmatched. However, you might find it too constricting for landscape images. Most street photography where people and characters are the subject, you will lose that intimacy you might have with say a 35mm lens. Also, since you would need to be back farther, there is the chance that people may be crossing in front of you (in-between you and the subject) quite a bit. On the plus side, you can do a lot more of photography where people are NOT aware of you taking photographs because you won't be in their faces. I would suggest renting this lens for a couple of days and try it out. See if you like it for what style you are working with. Good luck!
I use the z 105 f2.8 s for portrait
Very nice
Yes, I have used that and the 70-200 for portraits. This lens is quite good.
Thanks for the review. It's a really desirable lense.
Regarding ND filters - could you make a review of your favorite ones? I once bought one that wasn't cheap but it changed colors of my my videos.
I will. I had the same thing happen to me weird colored, etc. I would not buy a variable ND again. I went with the KASE filters - I've been very happy with those.
@@tv510 It was a B+W filter that I had heard so good things about, so I couldn't understand why it wasn't good. Fortunately I was able to trade it back for a Polar Pro Quartz line and it is very good, but I would like to find out if there are even more neutral filters out there.
@@RUclipsr-ku4nk I’ll work on that. Thanks
@@tv510 Thanks, that would be great :)
In the Nikon website it says is for still subjects, portraits and landscape
What do they know??? Ha! It's great for video!
Thanks Terry. Your video hasn't helped the GAS I've had since the Plena was released. 😄
Ha! Thanks for watching.
☺️
Thank you for watching.
Noticed he skipped right over the 85mm focal length.
In my defense, it wasn't a review of portrait lenses. Just the 135 f1/8 - which I think is the best for my style of shooting. Thanks for watching.