Nikon AF 135mm 2.0D DC via Monster LA-FE2 on Sony A7rII
At the beginning of the 1990s Nikon released two special portrait lenses featuring a “Defocus Control” mechanism, which allows you to make the bokeh smoother or harsher. This Nikon AF-D 135mm 2.0 DC is the longer of the two DC lenses and in this review I will tell you how it works and if it is still a useful portrait lens today.
Nikon has a history of producing outstanding ultra-wide-angle zoom lenses, including the long-standing top-tier F-mount 14–24mm f/2.8. They kicked off the mirrorless Z lineup with the excellent 14–30mm f/4, and after a while they really went big by releasing the fast Z 14–24mm f/2.8. It’s fast enough to handle dark indoor scenes or even night photography. While this lens definitely isn’t budget-friendly, its price and Nikon’s track record set the expectation that it should deliver well above-average performance. Let’s check it out!
As second lens for their “Ksana” series Thypoch decided to release a compact 35mm 2.0 M-mount lens with black paint finish. These Ksana lenses feature vintage coatings – to create a distinct color signature – but are otherwise modern designs. The Thypoch 21mm 3.5 Ksana proved to be a capable yet compact lens, will this Thypoch 35mm 2.0 Ksana follow its footsteps? Let’s find out in this review! This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
There are some lenses I would like to review one day, but the more interesting (read: rare and expensive) they are, the less feasible it is for me to buy them just to write a review.
Thanks to several readers here I already got the opportunity to remove several lenses from this list in the past, but there are still some left:
E-mount:
Sony FE 12-24mm 2.8 GMReview
Sigma 14mm 1.4 Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GMReview Sigma 17mm 4.0Review Samyang 18mm 2.8 AFReview Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 CReview Sony FE 20mm 1.8 GReview Samyang 24mm 1.8 AFReview
Voigtländer 28mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar E
Sony FE 28-70mm 2.0 GM
Sigma 28-45mm 1.8
Sigma 35mm 1.2 II
Sigma 50mm 1.2
Sony FE 50-150mm 2.0 GM Sony FE 50mm 1.4 GMReview Samyang 50mm 1.4 AF MKIIReview Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GMReview Sony FE 85mm 1.4 GM MK IIReview
Samyang 85mm 1.4 AF MKII Samyang 135mm 1.8 AFReview
Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary on Sony A7rII
You haven’t seen (m)any reviews of superzoom lenses on this blog so far, because traditionally many of those ~10x zoom lenses were either lacking in terms of optical performance (e.g. Sony FE 24-240mm 3.5-5.6 OSS) and/or I personally didn’t find the focal length range particularly useful, often starting at 28mm (e.g. Tamron 28-200mm 2.8-5.6 Di III RXD). Furthermore, if you want to review such lenses properly, it takes a lot of time and effort, equal to reviewing several prime lenses.
With its unique focal length range this Sigma 20-200mm 3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary intrigued me though, but can the performance of such a bold design be any good? I ultimately decided to buy one and see for myself how it performs, so here we are.
Sony α | Leica M | Nikon Z/F New articles every week
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I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.
