Compact 135mm for L mount

[Nigel Craig]

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I’m wondering if anyone makes a reasonably compact lightweight 135mm for L Mount or could be used with an adapter. The Sigma 135/1.8 is larger and heavier than I would want or need. F2.8 would be fine as would manual focus.

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[thomasstellwag]

compact and lightweigt are all M  and LTM mount lenses, but most at F 4, or the Apo at F 3.4

if you want to be stylish, take the Leica R 2.8 135mm, cheaper smaller but not worse the Nikkor 3.5  135mm (it is sharper than the Nikkor 2.8 version)

anyhow most of the 135mm lenses are cheap and good, very sharp and cheap are those from CZJ,  compact are most Pentax Takumars

you have infinity choice and zero risk if you buy used and resell it, in case it doesn´t fulfill your requirements

[Nigel Craig]

Of the options available the Super Takumar 135/2.5 (smc 6 element preferably) looks interesting, especially as I have a Spotmatic and an SV

[Stuart Richardson]

The 135mm Tele-Elmar is one of the best deals in the Leica world. It is still extremely sharp and has very few aberrations, other than slight fringing in some highlights at f4. It is still sharper than most zooms. It is also fairly compact. The 135mm APO is sharper wide open and has fewer aberrations, and is even smaller, though it is much more expensive...

 

[Babylonia]

If first looking to a Sigma 135 mm / F 1.8  and speaking of F 2.8 and F 2.5 (Super Takumar 135/2.5)
I think a lens starting at F 4.0 is not the choice what is intended?

Keep in mind for looking into possible options, with "no L-mount" lens, that you also have to add the weight of an adapter to the combination.
(Between 80-95 gram for an adapter).

Many "manual" lens options of more early years gone lenses can be choosen.
It depends greatly what you want to do with it, and what camera your are using?

Still having some older manual Nikon AIS lenses myself, like 105mm/2.5   -   135mm/2.8   -   135mm/2.8 micro Nikkor  (Nikon to L-mount adapter 95 gram).
Using it on my Lumix S1R having 47 Megapixel. These lenses optically are not up to the task any-more of today's goals IMO.
Specially using it wide open, these lenses do have many optical errors.

But if you are looking specially to these kind of characteristics of "imperfection", e.g. for "portraiture" it can meet your expectations nicely.
Modern lenses mostly are to harsh / "tack" sharp and clinical for portraiture, and you have to use "tricks" in softening the skin structure.
(But can be done easily.  Maybe more easy than the other way round "perceptual" adding extra "bite" to older lenses).

It is just in what you are looking for.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Babylonia

[Nigel Craig]

Of the options available the Super Takumar 135/2.5 (smc 6 element preferably) looks interesting, especially as I have a Spotmatic and an SV

[Nigel Craig]

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Only looked at the Sigma as only native L mount 135 available. No need for 1.8 and no interest in portraits. This is only for landscape on few occasions when I would like something more selective than Sigma 65mm.

[Boojay]

22 hours ago, Nigel Craig said:

I’m wondering if anyone makes a reasonably compact lightweight 135mm for L Mount or could be used with an adapter. The Sigma 135/1.8 is larger and heavier than I would want or need. F2.8 would be fine as would manual focus.

Sigma could be kind and bring a 135mm to the i - series Contemporary.. the 1.8 is too big and heavy for most uses.  On the CL and FpL I tend to use the Sig 90mm 2.8 cropped to roughly 135mm - right there on the CL obviously🙂.   If manual focus then I have the old Elmar 135mm f/4 - I've had the 135 3.4 apo in the past and honestly didn't use it enough and wasn't impressed enough to keep it, whereas the old Elmar just does the job perfectly.    If it interests you, I'm patiently waiting for the announcement on a new 70-200 L mount from Sigma.. rumours have it coming around Oct 6th.  

Edited September 26, 2023 by Boojay

[Babylonia]

  

vor 2 Stunden schrieb Nigel Craig:

This is only for landscape on few occasions when I would like something more selective than Sigma 65mm.

As for landscape most users do want (need) the best sharpness corner to corner, and highly corrected other optical characteristics.
As for isolating and more in line as for landscape, but even more close,
What about  Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro 'Art' lens  -  L-mount  (715 gram  &  same 62mm filter thread as Sigma 65mm / 2 ) ??

Not that big and heavy than  Sigma 135mm / 1.8  and not that expensive either. (But not really lightweight to).
Having an incredible performance, even wide open.  Check lens test  < YouTube - Cristopher Frost >  

Edited September 26, 2023 by Babylonia

[BernardC]

Any slow 135 from the film era should suit you, especially at medium apertures (f:4.0 to f:11) and longer distances (2m and beyond). Every brand had one in their catalog. Make sure that the one you get doesn't suffer from haze, and is mechanically OK.

I recall reading that Zeiss's 4.0/135 was optically perfect, but I would be surprised if that wasn't the case for similar lenses from other brands. If you have a Spotmatic, the SMC Takumar 135/3.5 is a good choice.

The Apo-Telyt-M 135/3.4 is the best of the bunch (and available new), but it isn't cheap. The older Tele-Elmar 4.0 is almost as good stopped-down. It was made for 30 years, so there should be plenty of copies available used.

[DonaldDuck]

Hi, unfortunately I do not yet own any Leica camera but a S1 from Pana (Leica)..

But I really often use Sigma ART Lenses (20 F1.4 + 135 F1.8). Both match perfect with the S1. No Problem with weight or balance. Would never swap these with an F2 or F2.8/4 lens.

Edited October 7, 2023 by DonaldDuck

[Stef63]

I recently obtained a Tair 11-A 135mm 2.8, paired with an Urth M42 to L adapter. This Russian-made lens features 20 blades, ensuring that even when you stop down, you maintain a nearly perfect circular lens opening and attractive round bokeh effects. You can find a good quality sample of this lens on eBay for approximately $200. The construction of this lens is impressively sturdy. Since 135mm isn't a frequently chosen focal length, I'd recommend exploring the broad range of reasonably priced M42 lenses to determine if this focal length suits your preferences.  
 

Other options in M42 are the Pentax Takumar (as already mentioned) or a Pentacon or older Minolta MD 135.  A good starting point to do some research is https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/