{"id":227,"date":"2014-02-27T23:41:46","date_gmt":"2014-02-27T22:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=227"},"modified":"2026-01-14T09:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T08:34:17","slug":"carl-zeiss-sonnar-135mm-11-8-za-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/carl-zeiss-sonnar-135mm-11-8-za-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm 1:1.8 ZA Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DSC03287\"<\/a>
\nThe SAL135f18z is an marvel of a lens, which gives spectacular results and features AF with some minor drawbacks. In this review I share my experience with it from a personal point of view.<\/p>\n

The ZA135 is a high end lens with Sony A-mount: it is big, it is expensive and it is one of the best lenses I ever used.<\/p>\n

I used it on my Sony a7 with a\u00a0Sony LA-EA4<\/a>\u00a0adapter for this review, both the lens and the adapter were\u00a0loaned\u00a0to me from Sony.<\/p>\n

Specifications<\/p>\n

Size:\u00a0(diameter x length): 88mm x 114,5mm
\nFilter Thread:\u00a077mm
\nWeight:\u00a0995g
\nClose Focusing Distance \/ max. Reproduction Ratio:\u00a00.72 m \/ 1:4
\nNumber of Aperture Blades:\u00a09
\nPrice:\u00a0\u00a0$ 1798 at B&H photo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a01699\u20ac at Amazon.de<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Handling<\/h3>\n

Initially I was worried about using this big lens on my rather small a7 but I found handling to be fine. Sure it is a big and heavy lens but the small size of my camera was not an issue.<\/p>\n

I support the LA-EA4 with the ball of my hand which carries all the weight so the fingers of my left hand are free to focus the lens which works well.<\/p>\n

The lens hood is enormous and almost doubles the volume of the lens so I left it at home most of the time because the lens is quite flare resistant.<\/p>\n

Build quality<\/h3>\n

The lens is made mostly of metal and feels really solid, I have never used a \u00a0AF lens which felt more reliable.<\/p>\n

The lens hood is heavy and locks reliably.<\/p>\n

The focusing ring has some play, see manual focusing.<\/p>\n

This lens isn’t sealed against dust or moisture.<\/p>\n

There are several reports of the filter ring coming loose, this is usually repaired by Sony at no charge, because it is a known issue but I would watch out for it if you want to buy a used copy.<\/p>\n

\"Eis<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AF<\/h3>\n

My experience is based on the use of the Sony a7 and\u00a0LA-EA4<\/a>\u00a0adapter, the lens might behave differently on other cameras.<\/p>\n

I found the AF to be quite fast and reliable. The Sony 4-5.6\/70-400 is even faster but this lens is far from slow.<\/p>\n

The AF is screw driven, and quite audible.<\/p>\n

Because the AF-Module of the LA-EA4 covers less than 10% of the image, I focused the lens manually most of the time but I don’t need speedy focus for most of my images.<\/p>\n

Manual Focusing<\/h3>\n

One of the few issues with the lens is, that the focusing ring has some play.<\/p>\n

The focusing ring is quite wide and offers the right amount of resistance, despite the play I found it really easy to focus this lens manually because of the great contrast from f\/1.8 it is really easy to see were the point of focus.<\/p>\n

AF has to be decoupled, to use the focusing ring, which can be done with the push of one button on the camera or by using DMF mode.<\/p>\n

Optical performance<\/h3>\n

Flare resistance<\/h4>\n

I didn’t notice any problems but I didn’t force it to shoot directly into the sun.
\n\"Fr\u00fchlingsboten\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Distortion<\/h4>\n

Distortion isn’t noticeable.<\/p>\n

Vignetting<\/h4>\n

Noticeable at f\/1.8, gone at f\/2.8.<\/p>\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n

The bokeh of this lens is fabulous, I couldn’t get bad bokeh with this lens, no matter how hard I tried.<\/p>\n

LoCA<\/h4>\n

This is, besides the play in the focusing rin the only weaknesses of this lens, spherochromatism is quite noticeable, even stopped down.<\/p>\n

MTF-Graph<\/h4>\n

\"lenses_detail_img_3_modal\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is Sony’s official MTF-Graph which can’t be compared to real MTF graphs from Zeiss which are measure, but at least it gives us an idea that this isn’t a bad lens and it can help to compare this lens to other Sony lenses.<\/p>\n

Infinity test<\/h4>\n

\"CarlZeiss_135mm_f1p8\"<\/a><\/p>\n

f\/1.8<\/strong><\/p>\n

This lens is sharp from corner to corner.
\nVery little corner fall of can be seen, this is an exceptional performance. My Minolta MD 2.8\/135 isn’t that good at f\/8.<\/p>\n

No lateral CA can be seen.<\/p>\n

f\/2.8<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think I made a mistake at this aperture and the point of focus has changed at little.<\/p>\n

f\/4<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think I see a small improvement for the whole image.<\/p>\n

f\/5.6<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can’t detect any difference to f\/4<\/p>\n

f\/8<\/strong><\/p>\n

I see a small drop in sharpness because of diffraction.<\/p>\n

f\/11<\/strong><\/p>\n

Diffraction is quite noticeable now and this aperture should be avoided if maximal sharpness is desired.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

This is an extraordinary lens which comes quite close to optical perfection.<\/p>\n

Handling on the a7 is fine, only the a little play in the focusing ring is objectionable.<\/p>\n

The price you have to pay for this lens is quite high, but if you are looking for the best 135mm lens with AF support it is worth it.<\/p>\n

Alternatives<\/h3>\n

The main rival for this lens in my eyes is the\u00a0Zeiss APO 2\/135<\/a>,\u00a0which overcomes the LoCA issue and offers a nicer focusing experience, but it doesn’t offer AF which will be a deal stopper for many portrait photographers and some have reported worse bokeh.<\/p>\n

Another rival is\u00a0Canons 2\/135 L<\/a>\u00a0which is a tad less sharp at f\/2 but $600 cheaper and lighter. On the a7 it will have really slow AF with a\u00a0Metabones III<\/a>\u00a0so the ZA135 retains its AF advantage.<\/p>\n

Affiliate Links<\/h3>\n

If you found this review helpful please support me by using one of the following affiliate links if you buy anything at Amazon or B&H.<\/p>\n

Sony 135mm f\/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar – Amazon.com<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

Sony 135mm f\/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar – Amazon.de<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Image Samples<\/span><\/p>\n

just click on them to see them in full resolution on flickr.<\/p>\n

\"Zeiss<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Zeiss<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Zeiss<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Zeiss<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Zeiss<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Zeiss<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Zeiss<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other Articles<\/h1>\n

Minolta MC Rokkor 1.2\/58 Review<\/a>
\nTokina 2.5\/90 Macro Review<\/a>
\nCanon FD 4\/300 L Review<\/a>
\nZeiss 4\/24-70 Review<\/a><\/p>\n

This site contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using any of the links marked as affiliate links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps support the creation of future content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The SAL135f18z is an marvel of a lens, which gives spectacular results and features AF with some minor drawbacks. In this review I share my experience with it from a personal point of view. The ZA135 is a high end lens with Sony A-mount: it is big, it is expensive and it is one of … Continue reading Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm 1:1.8 ZA Review<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,18,20,419,169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lenses","category-review","category-sony-a-mount","category-vintage","category-zeiss"],"yoast_head":"\nCarl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm 1:1.8 ZA Review - phillipreeve.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/carl-zeiss-sonnar-135mm-11-8-za-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm 1:1.8 ZA Review - phillipreeve.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The SAL135f18z is an marvel of a lens, which gives spectacular results and features AF with some minor drawbacks. 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