Canon RF 135mm f/1.8 'L' IS USM lens review 

In my EF lenses, my EF 135 F/2 is by far my best lens! ❤️ my 135

This is the review I was waiting for. Thanks for reviewing this.

Scary how optically precise the RF L lineup is

the EF135/2 was my favorite lens from 1997 to, well, actually it was the only one of 15 lenses I kept when I switched to RF. But the RF135 is shockingly good. Wide open, the 135/1.8's CORNERS are sharper than the 135/2's CENTER. My test target has 55lp/mm, meaning the lines are only 2 pixels thick on the R5 sensor, but it renders them very sharply anyway. The AF is somewhat faster and I assume more accurate. The IS is definitely not the 8 stops (on an R5) that Canon claims but is still probably 2 stops better than the 135/2 would be.

As someone who adores my Sony 135 f1.8 GM - the inclusion of stabilization on this lens is definitely a source of envy. I would certainly short-list this lens if I was on the Canon system

Love this lens. I rented it myself recently and immediately fell in love with it. Cannot wait until I can get my hands on a permanent copy.

That has to be one of the sharpest lenses ever made! I've been watching a bunch of your videos and I don't think I've seen anything quite like this before.

Would love you tackling those 200mm f/2 beasts too at some point.

Great review. Thanks a lot!

The EF 135, 100 macro IS, and 85 1.4 are my favorites adapted on my R5/R6 bodies.

135mm is my favorite focal length. This lens is very sharp!

This is definitely my next lens

hello, could you make a comparison between this 135mm RF vs 135mm EF? It would be fantastic!! thank you.

My dream lens

I just purchased a copy of this lens and it does come with a case.

dream lens

superb lens

I'm amazed by how it performs on the R7. Not a fan of the focal length, but what a sharp lens.

I can't wait to see the review of the last of the nikon Z trinity, the Z 70-200 f2.8 S.

Don't shoot Canon but I've still been looking forward to your review of this lens. My nikon 105mm f/1.4 is being repaired and this video is making me miss it!

Bought this lens 3 weeks ago. Awesome lens.

WOW - what a dream lens. Maybe one day....

Been a sub since your early days. Would LOVE to see a review for the Leica SL series of lenses. Want to know how character vs image quality works price non withstanding. Thanks!

My wish is to see how good the AF works with this lens on the Red V Raptor.. Has anyone tested this equation?

That sharpness at f/1.8 was amazing! I don't know that I would use this focal length very often but maybe I should challenge myself to do so.

It looks excellent, but I am still very happy with the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 on the R5, which is another great performer.

I think it will be fun if you make bts of lens review, especially when with telephoto lens 👍

great in depth review, love it. i like the 135mm range more than the 85. too bad the 135 wasn't available when i got the 85mm. now i've got to sell the 85 get the 135 and 50mm combo, great video as always!

How does this compare to the legendary Zeiss Milvus 135?

Christopher, when you use a RF full frame lens on an APSC camera, such as the Canon R7, does the lens retain all it's qualities? I wondered if an RF lens that was soft on the edges, would actually be better on a crop sensor since (presumably) the edges of the lens are not used on a crop sensor camera?

I got a chance to try this lens out in a outdoor portrait session. I used this lens on a Canon R6, and oh boy this thing is sharp as hell.

Are you going to review the Tamron 20-50mm f/2?

Any Chance of you putting the 24-70 on that Hungry R7 ?

Thank you again.

How about the autofocus speed vs a sigma 135mm 1.8 art? which one is faster?

1:50 it's just OVER a kilo, I measure 1060g. That said, the 1996 EF 135mm f/2.0L, with EF->RF adapter, together are 935g, so it's actually about 10% LESS heavy for a given amount of light-collecting ability.

Thanks for the great review. Can you do a comparison between RF and EF 135mm lenses?😀😀

I would rather get the 85 f/1.2 right?

Disapponited in the soft image quality at the closest focusing distance. Not nice at all for a 2700 € lens.

Given this runs for the same price as the rf 50mm 1.2, is the rf 50mm 1.2 a better option?

We need that 100MP R Camera that's been rumored for years to really test this lens.

Has the Canon RF 135mm f/1.8 replaced the Sigma Art 105mm f/1.4 as your favorite portrait lens? 🙂

Why no coma test? 135mm are pretty often used in astrophotography, so it would be interesting for many people

A great one! With US prizing I would already have set my order. Prizing in Europe is not OK which keeps my Milvus 135 hot.

Thanks for the great review, I was waiting for it! Now hope my copy arrives sooner than later. But Canon starts to apologize again for the late delivery….

Both sigma and the old canon will give an excellent images in real world scenarios. This canon is perfect, and AF will give a better hit rate with tracking autofocus, but the price is.... The old canon is quite simple and reliable lens, it is relatively safe to buy used. Speaking of Europe, this can mean 4 times price difference. I am slightly disappointed that Canon again went down the path of maximalism and gigantism. A more modest lightweight 135 2 would be a great option. Just a little sharper, with protection and a new autofocus.

Id have this lens in my dreams 😭

This lens has a very nice, airy rendering.

I am curious about comparing this 135 on R5 and the 85 1.2 DS on an R7. For almost identical FOV and DOF, which one will deliver better image quality?

This one is optically perfect and has IS built in and the faster USM AF than the Nikon’s plena

Great review, as always, but I'm still loving my EF 135 (with the RF adapter). They'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands. 😅😅

Hey Chris. I was wondering about something and thought it might be interesting. A lot of people are using diffusion filters (BPM 1/4; Cinebloom 10%; Glimmerglass 1 etc.) nowadays for their photographs. I think it would be interesting to see the characteristics of these filters and how they manipulate the image when tested the same way you do your regular lens tests. You could use the sharpest standard lens you have to keep results as neutral as possible

Canon's ultimate portrait lens, that can double as sports photography lens?

For anyone who doesn't have money they are trying to burn, the EF 135L is still amazing and works beautifully on an EF-RF adapter. They are downright cheap in comparison.

My fav🎉

The Zeiss Batis 135 2.8 was the first 135mm image stabilized lens on the market

wow!!! finally

This lens just became more legendary! Indeed The Lord of the Red Rings

Thanks Christopher. This optic is gobsmacking….

I see "The Chosen" .... nice! 😇

6:02 If this could have maintained image clarity at MFD and doubled as a pseudo-macro lens I probably would have bought one. Of course this is a portrait lens first and it's scary how perfect it is in that application. Realistically the 85f2 Macro should be the lens for me but even on that lens MFD image quality is still a bit lacking.

I have the samyang version on Sony and is just as sharp and got it for a fraction of the price

that is sharp....

You stated the Sigma ART 135 f1.8 was the sharpest lens you've ever tested. You said this one wasn't the sharpest until F4.0 ish. I have the sigma, why should I upgrade, if cost isn't a concern?

Better than the sony FE 135 GM or Samyang´s AF 135??

Next video, please: How does it compare against similarly-priced Sony 135 GM.

7:25 Not a happy lemur!

bro stunned people when image stabilization on

This lens is a sheer winner. Stunning images. Move aside, Fujifilm and Viltrox! When people don't know why photographers still use full frame cameras or what a top notch lens is, point them to a lens like this Canon RF 135mm! :)

funny enough I brought the EF 135 f/2 just this morning, this is a goo-HOW MUCH!?

I see what you did there..."the stabilization isn't 'rock steady'..." :)

I like the 3D pop of this lens. It's similar to my Zeiss Apo 135mm f2, but with better control of LoCA. Great review as always! ✌

Is that IS worth for that price?

Close up performance at f1,8 is little bit disappointing for the price tag of this lens.

Wow.

Wow

I think I saw nor r5

Sharp on an R7, so the tech is there. An RF-S version would be most welcome. It would weigh a lot less... and we would not mind shelling out 1000€ or so... :-)

How come that I stop listening every time a portret of your lovely wife is shown 😊?

I paid $600usd for the Samyang 135 1.8 I'm extremely pleased.

I usually don't make comments like that but @7:20 your gorgeous wife looks even greater than usual and I wonder how much of that is thanks to this magnificent piece of glass.

the sigma 135 art is quite old but better built and of course you get a solid case. the AF of the canon is impressive though. All in all i the lens is very good but nothing new. isn't the review a bit canon fan boyish?? ;)

When Canon is bringing out cheap lens that has obvious strengths and weaknesses. Non-RF users complain about it being worse than 3rd party E mount lens. When Canon is bringing out top notch lens that actually beats other equivalent. The comments will still have complaints about it cost more than 3rd party E mount lens. Can we stop being pedantic?

Is that stable photo/video output results can we achievement also on i.e. R8 without embedded IBIS? Can we rely on lens stabilization on lower-price bodies like RP/R/R8, etc.?

Hubba Hubba

The samyang 135mm is still unbeatable - I got it for US$841. So sad Cannon users can’t enjoy this.

Why is nobody talking about how fat it is? I tried it on my R6 and I cant fit my fingers between the handle and the lens!

No case at that price?!!!

samyang truely winner. Lens around this focal length can't see much difference.

ur lady knew how good she was gonna look with this lens bc she flossin

Too expensive to ditch my amazing Sigma 135 Art, but IQ is really stellar; BUT the short 70cm mfd should be there to take advantage of dreamy details with a super shallow DoF...but the close up IQ really s*cks to be honest, my Sigma is WAY sharper at mfd. If you have to close to f2.8 to have high IQ, then there's no point in having such a short mfd with the wide aperture, you probably will get more bokeh at f1.8 from a std focus distance. Such a shame.

So expensive, would be nice to have a comparison with the new Viltrox 72 1.2 on aps-c, see if it's 5 times better.

i'm baffled...$2100 for a 135mm f1.8? The Sigma Art which i think you said was the sharpest lens you ever tested is $1089 🤔💀 I'm not seeing how Canon can justify that price...even with stabilization

Chris, you must have a very short memory as you seem to have forgotten that you have already clearly shown that the Samyang AF 135mm f1.8 FE has got the best optics in the world. It's just as sharp as the Canon right across the frame but then it beats the Canon RF, as it has no LoCA, even when wide open, whereas you have shown that the Canon has to be stopped down to f2.8 to get rid of it. You also showed the Samyang has perfect image quality wide open at it's MFD, whereas the Canon has to be stopped down to f4 to get good image quality at it's MFD. The Canon starts to get soft from diffraction at f11 whereas the Samyang is still razor sharp at f16 and doesn't get soft from diffraction till f22! And the Samyang has better flare resistance too. It would be far more accurate to say the Canon RF 135mm 1.8 has the best optics of any RF lens yet released, but obviously it still can't match the Samyang for optical quality.

So not as good as the Samyang. History repeats from the EF days where the Canon L was also worse than the manual F2 Samyang 135mm

Chris, it isn’t plastic - it’s called industrial composite as you wouldn’t be able to produce a high tech, micro millimetre precise Instrument from plastic. A formula 1 car, a modern bicycle or modern skies aren’t made of plastic either. It’s all sorts of composites, sometimes mixed with carbon fibre or sometimes, based on what you want to achieve with it, pure carbon fibre (which sadly will crack quickly once falling down). Just saying…

Looks like a Tamron wonder if they're the oem

This is an example of the printer vs ink situation, Canon is making their bodies more affordable, knowing that they will have themonopoly on the lenses for their RF mount, so, if you want a great lens for your EOS Rx model, you're gonna have to spend the pretty penny in it. Just like with some printers, they don't cost as much as they should because the ink or toner costs a fucking lot.

Greetings from Ukraine! Thanks for reviews :)

Astonishing as was expected from day one, Canon, Sony Sigma and Samyang tuned out maximum from those 135s. /rather too much political attention in yours videos recently/