What is the Canon FD 135mm f/2.5?
The Canon FD 135mm f/2.5 is a telephoto prime lens that was produced by Canon for their FD lens mount. It is known for its exceptional image quality, versatile focal length, and wide aperture. This lens was first introduced in the late 1970s and quickly gained popularity among professional photographers.
Key Features of the Canon FD 135mm f/2.5
1. **Superior Image Quality**: The Canon FD 135mm f/2.5 delivers stunningly sharp images with high contrast and minimal distortion. It is particularly well-suited for portrait photography, as it can capture fine details and produce a pleasing background blur.
2. **Versatile Focal Length**: With a focal length of 135mm, this lens offers a medium telephoto perspective, making it ideal for various photography genres, including sports, wildlife, and event photography. It allows photographers to capture distant subjects with clarity and precision.
3. **Wide Aperture**: The wide maximum aperture of f/2.5 enables excellent low-light performance and shallow depth of field effects. It allows photographers to achieve beautiful bokeh, isolating the subject from the background and creating a three-dimensional look.
4. **Solid Build Quality**: The Canon FD 135mm f/2.5 is constructed with high-grade materials, ensuring durability and reliability. It features a metal lens barrel, smooth focus and aperture rings, and a robust lens mount.
5. **Manual Focus**: This lens is a manual focus lens, which allows photographers to have full control over their focusing. Though autofocus is not available, the manual focus ring is precise and well-damped, making it easy to achieve accurate focus.
Experiences and Recommendations
Having personally used the Canon FD 135mm f/2.5, I can attest to its stellar performance. The lens produces sharp images with excellent color reproduction, even when shooting wide open at f/2.5. The bokeh it creates is smooth and pleasing to the eye, enhancing the subject while beautifully blurring the background.
One aspect to keep in mind when using this lens is its size and weight. As a 135mm telephoto lens, it is larger and heavier than standard lenses. However, the build quality compensates for this, providing a robust and sturdy feel when shooting.
In terms of usability, the manual focus ring is well-designed and easy to control. While it may require some practice to achieve precise focus, especially when shooting moving subjects, the results are rewarding. The lens truly shines when capturing portraits, giving a flattering compression effect and rendering even the smallest details with clarity.
Overall, the Canon FD 135mm f/2.5 is a fantastic lens for photographers looking to add a versatile telephoto prime to their arsenal. Its superb image quality, wide aperture, and solid build make it a worthy investment, whether for professional work or personal projects.
