Other than the above testing, I've only been using it at f1.8. But if I was doing some landscape photos, it would be f5.6.
Have you used the z 135mm f1.8 Plena? What do you think of it?
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1.8 is razor thin. There are times such as
when I was having the Quail family visit that I stopped down.
Yup….thanks! Brain just kicked in.. I called my long-time Nikon dealer in Warrenton, Virginia and asked her about the sale. She thought it was odd that Nikon had the Plena available refurbished as it was a recent release. Wondering about delivery though…….It is different then the normal lens page (even thought they look alike). The top of the page actually says refurbished in ( ). The lens new is $2499. Refurbed it is $1999 but the the next 4 days its on sale for 10% off which makes it $1799. If you add the lens to your cart that is the price you will pay and it will clearly say refurbished if that is what you are ordering. All refurb lens are on sale for next 4 days so if you are in the market for something might be worth wide to take a look.
NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena | mirrorless prime lens
The NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena is a prime lens offering edge-to-edge clarity and circular bokeh in a focal length ideal for portraits, still life, cinema and landscapes.www.nikonusa.com
refurbished/20123Q/overviewNikon | Shop & Explore Cameras, Lenses, and Accessories
Shop the latest mirrorless & DSLR cameras and NIKKOR lenses from the official Nikon eCommerce site. Explore our innovations and photo equipment!
Darrellhar
Well-known member
Only available through Nikon direct not local dealer (at least at 10%). Its sold out now so doesn't matter anyway. I was surprised too but this is about when they generally start selling refurbs of a lens. It came out last Oct. Usually available as refurb around 10 months after release and may start going on sale as early as Oct (usually they wait a year after release)
So, stopping down for the (really cool) quail family, you didn’t do anything with the forward “de-focus” ring? (If that’s what it is)…
Darrellhar
Well-known member
I totally get what you are both saying. The point I was making is that most that do end up with this lens buy it because they can shoot it at 1.8 and the images they can get at that aperture.
Exactly, but not exactly, depends on what you mean by most. I think people have adapted the use of this lens beyond that from I can tell both owning it and watching others with it. It's no longer "just" a portrait lens. When I am in a museum or doing food I am often not at 1.8 and the results are not like I have with any other lens other than the 105 in terms of micro contrast. On tight shots like these the 105 would have been fine, but when I have the Plena I have all the other benefits as well with OOF backgrounds and bokeh. The coffee cherries are a good example where I didn't like the ones at 1.8 as a single cherry was not in focus front to back. If you have the distance as with the people in the last shot 1.8 works. So really it's the images at a lot of apertures that people can get with this lens is why people are buying it. I find I am doing much less post with this lens than any other. YMMV.
There is no "de-focus ring". The far forward thing is just a rubber grip. The middle is the manual focus ring and the rear ring is the control ring. From the nikon reference guide for the plena
The refurb unit mv ed quickly. By the time I found out about it and started to check it out it was gone. When I looked to buy earlier it was not available I checked first.
These refurb deals for quality lenses go fast.
These refurb deals for quality lenses go fast.
Hi Ken, thanks for the response… I’ve not had one of these “Plena” lenses in hand so I am relating its’ advertised features to claims of background control during shooting. So, I can only relate this feature to the “F” 135mm f/2 DC. The Plena’s f/1.8 basically eliminates the need for “defocus-control” ring as used in the “F” mount lenses. I get that. Nikon pushed the easy button here and eliminated any need for (slightly weird-but they have a patent on DC!) a de-focus ring by making the Plena f/1.8. Depth of field is reduced (as Michael said..) to a razor thin area wide open… But the Plena is ridiculously sharp from images shown by Michael and others…. Corner to corner. still would like to see a side by side comparison….Plena vs. 70-200 f/2.8 S @ 135mm … both at f/2.8……hmmmm
I am first interested for use in low light. Unfortunately the images that could have involved low light have not had metadata with them so can not tell ISO etc.. For the $500 more and a fixed focal length it has to perform better in low light than my z mount Tamron 35-150 f/2-2.8 a workhorse of a lens that replaced my Z70-200 f/2.8.Hi Ken, thanks for the response… I’ve not had one of these “Plena” lenses in hand so I am relating its’ advertised features to claims of background control during shooting. So, I can only relate this feature to the “F” 135mm f/2 DC. The Plena’s f/1.8 basically eliminates the need for “defocus-control” ring as used in the “F” mount lenses. I get that. Nikon pushed the easy button here and eliminated any need for (slightly weird-but they have a patent on DC!) a de-focus ring by making the Plena f/1.8. Depth of field is reduced (as Michael said..) to a razor thin area wide open… But the Plena is ridiculously sharp from images shown by Michael and others…. Corner to corner. still would like to see a side by side comparison….Plena vs. 70-200 f/2.8 S @ 135mm … both at f/2.8……hmmmm
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