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After the Noct, the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena is barely the second Z lens to get its personal identify added to the usual technical designation. From this, we will conclude that Nikon has put a number of brainpower into its new child and is duly happy with it. Is a legend born? Fairly probably. My first impressions of the Nikon 135mm f/1.8 S Plena will aid you type your individual opinion on this query.
As common, let me begin with just a little historic prologue. The 135mm focal size has an extended custom at Nikon, and a few of these lenses would definitely deserve a spot within the Nikon Lens Corridor of Fame. I’m pondering particularly of the Nikon AF DC-NIKKOR 135mm f/2 D from 1990, which featured a novel defocus picture management operate.
After all, the evolution of optics has not stopped up to now thirty years. Earlier than Nikon launched one other 135mm lens, the movie period ended and the digital period started. The ultimate nail within the coffin of the 135mm f/2 DC legend, nevertheless, was that on Z cameras with the FTZ adapter, it was solely doable to focus manually.
It was solely a matter of time earlier than one other portrait lens with wonderful sharpness and bokeh would take over the empty throne. And with the $2500 Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 Plena, it appears to be like like that point has come.
Construct High quality and Dealing with
For those who’ve gotten used to the truth that even Nikon’s superior lenses have plastic barrels, welcome again to the previous. A big a part of the 135mm f/1.8 Plena’s barrel is product of cool, traditional steel.
Possibly it’s simply my nostalgic soul, however the really feel of steel within the palm of my hand evokes confidence. Please don’t ship me hateful feedback while you shoot a marriage in Alaska with this lens and it sticks to your pores and skin. Additionally, the lens’s weight of just below 1kg isn’t insignificant, and the steel performs a job.
Contemplating the dimensions and weight of the lens, the most effective companion for the lens would be the Nikon Z9 or Z8. I’ve additionally had the chance to apply it to the Nikon Zf. The lens seemed a bit large on that digital camera, however I felt fairly snug when taking pictures with it. Such a well-made lens is a pleasant complement to the traditional precision of the Zf.
By way of ergonomics, the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 Plena has every little thing one may want for – a programmable ring (plus the main focus ring), two Perform buttons, and an A-M swap. The probabilities for these customized controls are actually extensive.
The Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena has been designed to take full benefit of the massive diameter of the Z-mount. Wanting from the mount facet, the rear optical component is barely barely recessed into the lens barrel. This has the good thing about decrease vignetting and fewer “cat’s eye” bokeh.
Sadly, it additionally makes it inconceivable to make use of this lens with teleconverters. For those who have been anticipating a trio of 135mm f/1.8, 190mm f/2.5 and 270mm f/3.6, you is perhaps disillusioned. Aside from that, there may be little about this lens that disappoints.
Sharpness
Nikon made an enormous deal concerning the picture high quality of the 135mm Plena when asserting it in September of 2023. To be frank, they made an enormous deal concerning the lens’s whole picture high quality, stating the next of their official press launch:
The identify “Plena” is derived from the Latin time period plenum, which denotes the state of an area being utterly full. This identify was chosen to replicate the lens’ capacity to satisfy the person’s artistic imaginative and prescient with superior gentle gathering functionality, stunning, well-rounded bokeh and excellent sharpness and readability all through the body. Following within the footsteps of the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, this distinctively sensible portrait prime is barely the second Nikon lens to be granted a devoted identify, with the hope that will probably be extremely regarded by customers for a few years to return.
Does the 135mm f/1.8 Plena stay as much as these lofty phrases? Let’s see…
I’m curious to see what Spencer’s lab exams will reveal, however I count on the sharpness bars to climb as excessive because the mercury in a thermometer in late July. Even at its most aperture. The picture high quality and sharpness that I see with this lens is nothing in need of wonderful.
All through the remainder of this “first impressions” assessment, you’ll be able to see a number of images that I cropped to 100%, all taken at f/1.8. I didn’t apply any extra sharpening to the images. I simply developed them in Seize One with the default sharpening throughout import.
If you spend practically two and a half thousand {dollars} on a lens with a most aperture of f/1.8, you count on to make use of it extensive open. The Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena definitely rewards you while you do. I don’t consider I’ve ever used the next high quality lens at f/1.8. It’s sharp sufficient that even the default sharpening in Lightroom or Seize One could also be an excessive amount of for some portrait topics, and also you’ll find yourself reducing it under the default.
Bokeh
The 135mm f/1.8 Plena doesn’t have a particular ring just like the Defocus Picture Management that was discovered on Nikon’s 135mm f/2 DC lens – a strategy to optimize the bokeh in entrance of and behind the focal aircraft. As an alternative, every little thing is left to the aperture blades themselves.
Nonetheless, in case you take a look at Nikon’s press launch, the overview of Plena’s major options begins with the phrases “Stunning, well-rounded bokeh is achieved all through the body.” So, what do the out-of-focus areas appear like?
From my subjective viewpoint, stunning. The mix of a comparatively lengthy focal size and a large aperture manages to make backgrounds look dreamy. The specular highlights within the background seem as clean circles with no distracting inside texture. That is true even on the edges of the body, the place some lenses are inclined to distort the circles right into a cat’s-eye form – not the Plena!
To keep away from making my assessment sound like an commercial, I discovered just a few exceptions to the aforementioned. If a vivid spot within the background is simply too sturdy, it often will get a extra outlined edge. Additionally, outstanding foreground buildings are generally rendered sharper than desired (see the instance under). Total, nevertheless, the bokeh of the Plena lens is of a really excessive normal, and only a few lenses would have higher bokeh in such circumstances.
Ghosting and Flare
Nikon has utilized a lot of its most superior applied sciences to suppress undesirable ghosting, This consists of the usage of Nano Crystal and ARNEO Coatings, which Nikon solely applies to its costliest lenses. Apparently, even the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S doesn’t have ARNEO Coat. How do all these applied sciences work in apply?
The 135mm f/1.8 S Plena is a type of lenses that you just don’t have to fret an excessive amount of about when taking pictures in backlight. So long as its depth of the sunshine doesn’t exceed a sure restrict, the ensuing pictures may have wonderful distinction and be freed from distracting flare.
That stated, even probably the most superior coatings can’t work miracles. If the solar is straight within the body, it could possibly trigger a lack of distinction. In a single case, I even managed to attain a big patch of flare within the photograph. Telephotos are inclined to have a tougher time when the naked solar is within the body, and the Plena isn’t an exception to this rule. It’s nonetheless higher in backlight than most telephoto lenses, however hardly good.
Focusing
Quick Nikon primes haven’t at all times been quick – no less than not in the case of focusing. Again within the day, the Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G and 85mm f/1.4G have been hardly velocity demons. I even discovered this to be true (to a lesser diploma) with the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S once I examined it.
The Nikon 135mm f/1.8 S Plena, with its “multi-focus system that includes two separate AF drive items, that are synchronized to ship notably quick and correct focusing,” raises hopes that issues is perhaps totally different right here. However is it actually?
Possibly it’s as a result of I’m spoiled by Nikon’s telephoto lenses, whose focusing is blazing quick, however the Plena didn’t give me fairly that impression of velocity. It wouldn’t be my first selection for photographing a sprinter working towards me. Nonetheless, it dealt with any portrait topic with ease, and a jogging topic was no downside. It’s merely the case that the lens’s massive focus throw is optimized for accuracy at f/1.8, not pure velocity of focusing.
Conclusion
What to conclude from my temporary romance with the Nikon 135mm f/1.8 S Plena? For definitive judgments, we’ll have to attend till we put this lens by way of our normal in-depth testing, however right here’s a abstract of my first impressions.
The construct high quality and dealing with? Completely top-notch. The sensation of high quality and sturdiness spreads throughout the palm of your hand from the primary second you maintain the lens. The steel building and in depth climate sealing give confidence that the lens will final for a few years to return.
As for dealing with, the extensive and well-placed focus ring, programmable ring, and two Perform buttons give the impression that these years can be properly spent. The aforementioned controls could be programmed for nearly any conceivable use. Any cause to complain? Not in case you settle for the impossibility of utilizing teleconverters, the load of just about 1 kg (2.2 kilos), and the truth that the lens isn’t precisely small.
Picture high quality? Nikon has clearly saved its guarantees right here. In truth, the 135mm Plena is razor sharp even at f/1.8, and it has stunningly little vignetting or chromatic aberration that I may see. It’s the extensive aperture that may make you purchase this lens within the first place, and Nikon actually delivers the f/1.8 efficiency that you’d dream of..
What about bokeh? Prior to now, stunning bokeh has generally compromised sharpness, which (as you already know) isn’t the case with this lens. To my eye, the bokeh with this lens is gorgeous. You possibly can decide whether or not your eye will see it the identical approach by trying on the pattern pictures on this article, a lot of that are “stress exams” which have in depth specular highlights within the background. I can consider only a few lenses which might deal with them in addition to the Plena.
And eventually, focusing. I didn’t count on an excessive amount of from the lens on this respect. A number of quick Nikon lenses of normal focal lengths have handed by way of my palms, and none of them excelled in AF velocity. I dare say that the Plena, regardless of having two separate AF drives, is consistent with my earlier expertise right here. However the Plena is a portrait, not a sports activities lens, and the autofocus accuracy is impeccable.
Certainly, the Nikon 135mm f/1.8 S Plena is a reasonably specialised lens. Inside the group of so-called portrait lenses, the Plena occupies a slender area of interest that focuses primarily on head photographs or extra distant topics. However for such topics, it merely excels. My time with the Plena satisfied me that it’s considered one of Nikon’s finest lenses, and that even the excessive worth of $2500 feels prefer it’s value each greenback.
You’ll see extra as soon as Spencer has examined the lens within the lab and the sector a bit extra, however for now, my first impression is overwhelmingly optimistic.
Buying Data
The Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena is on the market for $2496.95 from B&H right here:
Images Life depends on readers who purchase by way of our affiliate hyperlinks to assist our website and proceed our lens exams. Thanks for purchasing your tools by way of these hyperlinks, whether or not it’s the Plena or the rest! Please let me know within the feedback when you’ve got any questions on this lens or in any other case, and I’ll do what I can to reply.
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