New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14 | Review Date: February 25, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | very sharp lens | Cons: | some visible CA's wide open at hard contrast contures against the light | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: k-x k200d k-5 k-s1 fuji x-t100
| | PAY ATTENTION: there are a lot of kinds of REVUENON 2.8/135 of different producers - very fines and really weak ones !!! In www.allphotolenses REVUENON 2.8/135 gets valuation of 4,5/5 points, i.e.9/10 points for optical quality !!!
Mines is a PK-mount AUTO REVEUNON MC in 4/4 lens construction with CA's wide open when shooting stars - a normal phenomena without an achromatic element. I've bought this lens with good blue coating (perhaps a later model with changed lens construction ?) - So I've got some lovely blue CA's wide open at f 2.8 when stars were shooted.
But stopped down to f 5.6-11 these CA's will disappear, nearly totally
++ very good sharpness beginning from f4 to f 5.6 = it is a good performer for portrait photography
++ very nice bokeh
+ few flare, good contrast, stopped down a few to f 4- f 5.6
O wide open blue CA's in the center and red in the corners, will disappear when stopping down to f 5.6-8
++ excellent color rendition
PAY ATTENTION, in order to buy a good lens with blue coating, because - like PORST - REVUE had changed suppliers very often, some came from former GDR and Japan - and these lenses are really good
I use it for portraits and its "plastic brother" (see below) for macro shootings with an achromatic focal reductor - self made by one of the binocular 8x30 top / front lenses, fitted into a PK- and a M42- macro ring ; 8.5 points totally
Remark: many new lenses with golden rings and highest prices have wide open similar CA's
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MY TIP: PAY ATTENTION
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I've bought an old AUTO REVUENON M42 2.8/135 - made of plastics (very similar to "Porst TELE"/ Ennalyt and ISCO plastic performance (all 4 lenses produced by ISCO or ENNA?) - but 5/4 construction with one achromate element. These lenses are very sharp and nearly without CA's at f 5.6 - f 11. The above mentioned metal version for outdoor, the cheaper plastic version for close ups and with macro ring for macro shootings of butterflies f.e. !!!
Ah - with the self scotched focal reductor a 7/5 elements construction and as result brighter 2.4/110 mm macro lens with extreme sharpness and no visible CAs - for peanuts as costs !!!
PS. oh - for astrophotography you must take a MF TAKUMAR 2.5/135 stopped down to f4-5.6 or the famous tokina 4/100-300 with ED element !!! No more blue CA's visible - ISO 51.600 highest contrast as filter with k-5, k-s1 and K-s2 and max. 1-2 sec. - wonderfull photos of orion nebula and of plejades (even without astro tracer) possible. Try it.
(I'd got with M42 screw mount a REVUENON SPEZIAL 2.8/135 in a set with a REVUENON SPEZIAL 2,8/35 in a blue case with visible optical design on the package - both terrible sharpness 6 or 7 points with strong corner CAs 2 oder 3 points - at once casted away) FLICKR sample photos are extremely sharp and without any visible CAs, which confirms my recommendation | |
New Member Registered: February, 2016 Posts: 3 | |
Senior Member Registered: October, 2014 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 121 | Review Date: February 15, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 6 |
Pros: | bright | Cons: | CA | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 2
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 6
Camera Used: Pentax K-30
| | Initially I bought the lens with wish to use it for astrophotography. The hood was a bit bent, the focusing ring was a bit free and the glass had a small scratch. The focusing was not very exact.
That got better after cleaning the lens, however, it is absolutely not suited for astrophotography - huge CA (http://media.365project.org/1/6248318_abfiktvz48_l.jpg).
Quite nice for simple photos (https://flic.kr/p/u121jr). However it is still looking for best place in my bag...
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Veteran Member Registered: July, 2009 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 344 | Review Date: May 14, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 7 |
Pros: | cheap, small, well built, pull-out hood | Cons: | strong PF wide open, MFD of 1.5m/ 5ft, only 1EV clicks | | Bought the lens out of frustration because I lost several auctions on the SMC Pentax 2.5/135. But when it arrived I was pleseantly surprised. High quality feel.
Distortion is way lower than on the DA 55-300 I owned at that time, sharpness way higher (see comparison).
Rating - 1 to 10 with 10 being the best possible
Build qualtiy: 9
Focusing: 10 - long focus throw, well damped, ring fitted with ribbed rubber
Size: 9 - very small lens
Aperture ring: 8 - posive clicks but only 1 EV steps
Sharpness: 7 - soft at f/2.8 clearly improving at f/4, absolutely okay till f/11
Edge falloff: low - it's a full frame lens
Bokeh/blurring: 7 - nothing special
Aberrations: 6 - strong coma and/or purple fringing when shooting wide open in certain conditions like backlit scenes, high contrast
Contrast: 7 - not as contrasty as Pentax lenses but fixeable in PP
Colour rendering: 7 - cooler than Pentax lenses, light purplish tint - fixeable with white balance settings
Overall value: 7 (solid)
Pictures taken with this lens:
Comparison Pentax DA 55-300 vs. Revue:
Pentax at 135mm f/4.5
Pentax at 135mm f/8
Revue at f/2.8
Revue at f/4
Revue at f/8
"Real world" comparison
Pentax at 120mm f/8
Revue at f/8
If the thumbnail images don't work: http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049270/135-2.8-F2.8.jpg.html http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049306/135-2.8-F4.jpg.html http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049200/55-300-120mm-F8.jpg.html http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049232/135mm-2.8-F8.jpg.html http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049333/Pentax-55-300-135mm-F4.5.jpg.html http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049356/Pentax-55-300-135mm-F8.jpg.html http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049379/Revue-135mm-F2.8.jpg.html http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049439/Revue-135mm-F4.jpg.html http://www.pic-upload.de/view-4049463/Revue-135mm-F8.jpg.html | |