Is this Canon's best-kept secret?

Friday 7 January 2022, 16:32 by Huub Keulers | 6,196 views | 6 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Is the Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM one of the best-kept secrets in Canon's lens range? It is less popular than some of Canon's other lenses, but I have completely embraced it over the past year. In this article, I explain why.

Because my wife and I do not often buy new lenses, we bought the Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM second-hand for 650 euros. Of course, that is still quite a lot of money, but remember that you can enjoy a lens for many years.

We bought it specifically for taking portraits of dogs and action shots of dogs. But it is certainly also suitable for portraits, reportage work, weddings and indoor events such as sports.

The Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM is a lens that is sure to please you. It has solid build quality, delivers superb image quality, is light and only 11 centimetres long.

Build

The construction of the Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM is truly excellent! Alongside a metal mount and a durable focus ring, it also comes with a long lens hood. This protects against damage and keeps stray light from reaching the glass.

It is good that the end of the lens hood is flat, so you can place the lens on the hood without it tipping over.

Using the AF/MF button takes a little force, but that is a good thing. It prevents you from accidentally switching between manual and autofocus if the button is knocked while you put it in your bag.

The lens also has a focus limiter switch below the AF/MF switch, allowing for an even faster focusing speed. Oh yes, and it is also dust- and splash-resistant.

The autofocus of this lens is fast and accurate. The Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM is therefore certainly also suitable for action photography.

Not too big and nice and light

Besides the image quality, one of the other things I like most is its size. At just 11 centimetres long, this is very compact for a telephoto lens, and at just 750 grams it is also pleasantly light.

It fits perfectly in anyone's hand. This is useful because, although this lens does not have image stabilisation, you can easily take photos at shutter speeds of up to 1/125 second without blur in your photos caused by your own movement.

The wide aperture

When shooting at f/2, the background blur is incredibly beautiful! Thanks to the eight rounded aperture blades, the blur is extremely soft and produces beautiful, large bokeh. The bokeh circles are nicely round and are not cut off in the corners.

We regularly use the f/2.0 aperture because we often photograph dogs in the woods in low light. Thanks to this wide aperture, you can shoot at a full stop lower ISO than an f/2.8 aperture allows.

ISO 6400 with an f/2.8 lens or ISO 3200 with an f/2.0 lens makes quite a big difference.

The 8 rounded aperture blades create lovely creamy bokeh

Image quality

Believe it or not, this lens was released in 1996! Despite its age, the image quality holds up remarkably well compared with many of Canon's more recent lenses.

It is even sharper than the Canon EF 50mm F1.2 L USM and the Canon EF 85mm F1.2 L II USM. It therefore receives high scores from users on various forums and is highly valued.

The lens produces extremely sharp photos even at f/2.0.

Depending on your subject, the edges may be slightly less sharp at f/2.0 on a full-frame camera, but you will never see this unless you are photographing flat subjects that are supposed to be perfectly sharp at the edges.

Also bear in mind that most causes of insufficient sharpness in your photos are not the quality of the glass in your lens, but incorrect focus, subject movement, your own movement and/or atmospheric thermal distortion at greater distances.

The sharpness of the lens is what you would expect from a Canon L prime lens. This lens certainly will not disappoint you in terms of sharpness either.

Conclusion

As far as we are concerned, it is an absolute recommendation and certainly does not need to retire yet!

Is this lens also worthwhile if you already own, for example, a 70-200mm f/2.8? Yes, definitely. You gain a stop of light, it is cheaper, lighter, incredibly sharp with beautiful bokeh, and it forces you to zoom with your feet.

The only downside is the lack of image stabilisation, but with the right shutter speed and calm breathing while pressing the shutter, this can always be overcome.

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About the author

Huub Keulers is een enthousiasmerende veelzijdige freelance fotograaf woonachtig in Elsloo (Li). Hij is gespecialiseerd in sport-, bedrijfs-, straat-, honden en portretfotografie. Daarnaast is Huub auteur van diverse educatieve fotografieboeken en verzorgt hij allerlei fotoworkshops, masterclasses en lezingen.

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6 comments

Peter wrote on Saturday 8 January 2022 at 17:53 | reply
Interssant article and of course those beautiful sharp photos with it.
Some oldies still do quite well and it's a shame to retire them.
Translated from Dutch.

Huub Keulers wrote on Tuesday 11 January 2022 at 12:12 | reply
I completely agree with you Peter. As long as we can, we should definitely keep using them. Thanks for your comment!
Translated from Dutch.

Mirjam wrote on Tuesday 11 January 2022 at 13:16 | reply
Thank you for this review. As someone leaning towards the 135mm but still undecided, I now have even more reason to test it.
Translated from Dutch.

Huub Keulers wrote on Tuesday 11 January 2022 at 13:21 | reply
You're welcome, Mirjam. Indeed, just test it out once in a while with subjects you photograph regularly.
Translated from Dutch.

Hans wrote on Tuesday 11 January 2022 at 15:00 | reply
Nice article Huub, I had the 135mm myself before, later traded it in for a 70-200mm. but now I have the lens again with my R6, price, weight, quality all top. those expensive heavyweight lenses nowadays are not for me yet.
Translated from Dutch.

Huub Keulers wrote on Tuesday 11 January 2022 at 15:20 | reply
@Hans: Nice and smart choice! Have fun with the 135mm Hans. Thanks for your message.
Translated from Dutch.

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