Site Supporter Registered: March, 2016 Location: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 164 | | Review Date: February 22, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $49.99
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | small, light, 2.8 aperture, built-in hood | | Cons: | a little soft for landscape | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
Camera Used: Pentax K-r, Fujifilm X-E1
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My copy is M42, but a later model with a manual/auto selector. It is only 3.5 inches long, excluding mount. There are eight blades. Closes down to f22. The filter size is 55mm. For anyone wanting a light and compact 135mm, this might be a good choice. It is a bit soft, which may be a plus for vintage portraiture or street photography, but a disappointment for landscape. The built-in hood is handy and easy to bring forward.
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Veteran Member Registered: June, 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 2,880 | | Review Date: July 23, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $22.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, smooth focusing. | | Cons: | f16 is smallest aperture, double aperture ring is tedious to use | |
This looks like the same Lentar 135 I've been using recently, but mine has a silver colored screw ring while this picture shows black.
Using this lens with extension tubes is getting me some very nice macros, and by itself, some nice shots as well. The 16 blade aperture (same as my Lentar 90-230) gives it a good round aperture as opposed to the octagonal ones of other lenses, bokeh usually comes out nice.
Smooth but slow focusing works well, I don't mind the slow part since most of my manual lenses are similar slow focusing. Image quality is very nice, but the lack of aperture smaller than f16 is annoying sometimes. The double aperturee ring works smoothly but is tedious to use sometimes, although it's not new to me, having one on the other Lentar as well. I added a hood I bought at a yard sale for a quarter, and set the focusing scale same as Lowell describes.
Overall, I like this lens quite well, the only work I had to do was disabling the infamous M42 aperture pin and a minor cleaning. Purchased in an online auction, I have been very pleased with it, and will not hesitate to buy other Lentar lenses after the results I've gotten with this 135 and the 90-230. Both have been excellent. I didn't give it a 10 only because of the f16 minimum aperture. If it went to f22 it would be a definite 10. Definitely recommended.
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Site Supporter Registered: January, 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 17,892 | | Review Date: February 10, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $55.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | 16 blade round aperture | | Cons: | 5.5 foot minimum focusing distance, F16 minimum aperture | |
the lens is a good medium tele, but was purchased specifically for the aperture which is a 16 blade round opening at all F stops.
the lens is reitively compact compared to other F2.8 lenses of this length,
although focusing is smooth and precise with 300 degrees throw from minimum to infinity the lens is a little limited with 5.5 foor 1.65 meter minimum focusing distance and F16 minimum aperture.
Aperture clicks and operation of the stop down ring are a little rough, compared to my takumar 200 mm preset
the lens does not come with a hood, but performance and flair have yet to ne checked.
My copy was a little banged up, and had definitely been disassembled prior to me receiving it. there is one incorrect screw in the focusing collar, and the lens was not alligned to have the aperture reference and focusing scales at the top. this was easily fixed by loosening the 3 set screws at the mount and rotating the mount 120 degrees.
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