# Carl Zeiss ZE Apo Sonnar T* 135 f/2 Announced



## Canon Rumors Guy (Sep 8, 2012)

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<strong>The Curtain raises for the new telephoto lens Apo Sonnar T* 2/135


</strong>Carl Zeiss is presenting the new Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 during photokina in Cologne (September 18-23) at stand B011 in hall 2.1. Visitors to the world’s leading trade fair for imaging technology can experience Carl Zeiss’ longest medium telephoto lens in the range of high-quality SLR lenses. With the Apo Sonnar T* 2/135, the company is substantially extending the creative possibilities available in the medium tele range. Photographers and HD video cinematographers now have a total of thirteen SLR lenses to choose, with focal lengths of 15 to 135 millimeters.</p>
<p>The Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 is the ideal lens for capturing detailed images from long distances, such as the skyline at sunset, a leopard in the zoo, or a pop star on a faraway stage. The new lens offers outstanding clarity of detail, high contrast and high resolution at any aperture. This mix of attributes makes it the perfect choice for portraits in advertising, fashion and lifestyle, as well as for landscape and reportage photography.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qFMhilBU7BU?fs=1&feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://blogs.zeiss.com/photo/en/?p=2625" target="_blank">Read More</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>
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## Pitbullo (Sep 8, 2012)

Looking forward to reviews on this one! Probably way out of my price range, but still… Dreaming is free of charge


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## hbeevers (Sep 8, 2012)

This better be pretty incredible to warrant being so much more expensive than canon's own 135mm f/2 which is pretty well built and sharp as it is. Not to mention the rumour of a 135mm f/1.8.


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## M.ST (Sep 8, 2012)

I want to make a preorder.


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## DzPhotography (Sep 8, 2012)

I'm a child of the AF generation...


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## DarkKnightNine (Sep 8, 2012)

I rent Zeiss lenses for video work but for stills, I prefer Canon lenses with AF. I have admit though, the beautiful bokeh produced by Zeiss lenses can't be matched by Canon. There's just an indescribable creaminess to them.


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## Axilrod (Sep 8, 2012)

DarkKnightNine said:


> I rent Zeiss lenses for video work but for stills, I prefer Canon lenses with AF. I have admit though, the beautiful bokeh produced by Zeiss lenses can't be matched by Canon. There's just an indescribable creaminess to them.



I agree with them being much better for video, and the bokeh they produce does have a very unique quality that I can never quite put my finger on. But the 85L and 50L are no slouches in the bokeh department either, the Zeiss 85mm was the only one that I was less impressed with than its Canon counterpart.


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## Gcon (Sep 9, 2012)

"a pop star on a faraway stage" lol. 200mm or more would be much better for a "faraway stage".


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## bp (Sep 9, 2012)

Yeah, if there was any one focal length that Zeiss might not have even bothered with for Canon, 135 might've been a good bet. I'm sure the Zeiss will be very nice, but...


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## Edwin Herdman (Sep 9, 2012)

bp said:


> Yeah, if there was any one focal length that Zeiss might not have even bothered with for Canon, 135 might've been a good bet. I'm sure the Zeiss will be very nice, but...


In addition to that, I was concerned about the minimum focus distance, given their statement that the new lens is for taking "detailed images from long distances," but looking at the stats its closest focus distance is .8M, or 100mm closer than the 135mm (900mm MFD). That's pretty good. Only hands-on use will reveal how the lens performs at different focal lengths, but even if it isn't a true APO design I'm expecting it to at least equal the EF 135mm.

Shame about the AF, as everybody else has noted, yeah - that is the one thing that prevents this lens from meriting a serious look to replace the EF lens.


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## Jappe (Sep 20, 2012)

Did anyone had change to test the lens in Photokina?


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## Jappe (Nov 3, 2012)

Last week I phoned one shop in Helsinki and asked when the Zeiss 135 mm APO Sonnar will be available. Availability was on December, so I thought that they would now know more detailed date. They said that they got news letter from importer that new APO Sonnar will we available on January 2013. 

Maybe on meantime I'll buy older C/Y version of 135 mm Sonnar...


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