Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena review

Trade in Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

The Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena faces a challenging benchmark set by its predecessor, the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S, which garnered significant acclaim. While the Plena doesn’t boast such an exceptionally fast aperture, its extended focal length still allows for a remarkably shallow depth of field. This characteristic makes it particularly well-suited for close head-and-shoulders portraiture, excelling in still-life photography, and delivering outstanding results when seeking to compress perspective with a medium telephoto focal length. The lens’s ability to create a distinctive separation between the main subject and its surroundings through skillful background blurring adds to its versatility across various photographic scenarios.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

NIKON Z 135MM F/1.8 S PLENA: SPECIFICATIONS

Mount: Nikon Z
Full-frame: Yes
Autofocus: Yes
Stabilization: No
Lens construction: 16 elements in 14 groups
Angle of view: 18.2 degrees
Diaphragm blades: 11
Minimum aperture: f/16
Minimum focusing distance: 0.82m / 2.69ft
Maximum magnification ratio: 0.2x
Filter size: 82mm
Dimensions: 98 x 139.5mm / 3.9 x 5.5in
Weight: 995g / 2.2lb

NIKON Z 135MM F/1.8 S PLENA: KEY FEATURES

The outstanding performance of the Plena is attributed to its meticulous design, with a primary focus on incorporating high-quality glass elements. The optical configuration comprises a total of 16 elements, featuring four ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements, one aspherical element, and one SR (Short-wavelength Refractive) element. Nikon’s ED glass has a well-established reputation for delivering exceptional sharpness, contrast, and color accuracy, particularly at wider apertures, while effectively minimizing chromatic aberrations. The inclusion of SR glass contributes to further reducing chromatic aberration, particularly in the blue spectrum. Additionally, the integration of an aspherical element aids in diminishing aberrations and helps manage the physical size of the lens.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Enhancing the inherent quality of the glass, the lens incorporates ARNEO coating, known for its remarkable effectiveness in reducing both ghosting and flare. Additionally, the presence of Meso Amorphic Coat further enhances the lens’s performance by significantly minimizing reflections caused by light entering the lens from various angles.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

The lens’s overall design is meticulously crafted to achieve exceptional levels of sharpness throughout the entire frame, coupled with the creation of exquisite bokeh. The inclusion of an 11-blade aperture diaphragm, thoughtfully designed, contributes to maintaining superior bokeh quality even when the aperture is stopped down.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

NIKON Z 135MM F/1.8 S PLENA: BUILD AND HANDLING

Consistent with Nikon’s S-line lenses for its Z-system cameras, the build quality of the Plena is robust and solid. Despite combining a 135mm telephoto focal length with a fast f/1.8 aperture, the lens maintains a relatively compact size, just under a kilogram. This design choice ensures comfortable and confident handling, even during extended periods of handheld shooting.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

The Plena features a fast and highly precise autofocus system, but for those who prefer manual control, there’s a wide manual focus ring. As is typical with Nikon Z lenses, the action of this ring can be customized to perform other functions while in autofocus mode, or it can enable full-time manual override. Additionally, a secondary control ring is available, providing flexibility for stepless aperture control during video shooting or adjustment of settings like exposure compensation and ISO.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Designed with portraiture in mind, the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena includes a customizable L-fn (Lens-function) button that is conveniently duplicated for easy access in both landscape and portrait orientation shooting. This button can be customized for various functions, with popular choices including AF-On and AF-Hold.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Given its 135mm focal length and wide f/1.8 aperture, the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena features a large front element, requiring an 82mm filter attachment thread. Despite its size, this is comparable to the filter size often found in standard and telephoto f/2.8 trinity zoom lenses.

NIKON Z 135MM F/1.8 S PLENA: PERFORMANCE

The Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena impresses not only with its features, specifications, build quality, and handling but also with its overall performance. The autofocus is noted for its speed and exceptional accuracy, even though it may slow down in challenging conditions such as very low-contrast scenes or extreme close-ups. The lens is praised for its reliability in delivering excellent results.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

The Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena defies common concerns associated with fast lenses, delivering spectacular sharpness and contrast throughout the entire image frame, even at its widest aperture of f/1.8. The lens continues to impress with improved sharpness when stopped down slightly. Additionally, the Plena excels in addressing longitudinal or ‘axial’ chromatic aberration, showcasing minimal color fringing around high-contrast edges near the plane of focus.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

The Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena impresses not only with its sharpness but also with the quality of its bokeh. The bokeh exhibits a smooth and natural-looking transition between focused and defocused areas. Notably, bokeh discs, caused by defocused small areas of light, lack the onion-ring effect and maintain well-rounded shapes even towards the edges and corners of the frame. The lens’s 11-blade aperture contributes to maintaining a pleasingly rounded shape for bokeh discs when stopped down. Overall, the lens delivers gorgeous and aesthetically pleasing bokeh.

NIKON Z 135MM F/1.8 S PLENA: SAMPLE IMAGES

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

NIKON Z 135MM F/1.8 S PLENA: LAB RESULTS

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Sharpness:

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

It’s great to hear that the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena performs excellently in terms of wide-open sharpness and maintains its sharpness across the frame when stopped down. This kind of optical performance is crucial for a lens with a fast aperture, especially in situations where you want to utilize that wide aperture for creative effects. If you have any more questions or if there’s anything else you’d like to discuss, feel free to let me know!

Fringing:

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

It’s impressive to note the minimal axial and lateral chromatic aberration, as well as the low level of distortion in the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. These optical characteristics contribute to the lens’s overall image quality and make it well-suited for a variety of applications, including portraiture where minimizing aberrations and distortion is crucial. If you have any more aspects of the lens or photography in general you’d like to explore, feel free to share!

NIKON Z 135MM F/1.8 S PLENA: VERDICT

It’s clear that the Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena has left a positive impression on you, and your description highlights its qualities and capabilities. The combination of top-quality glass, advanced coatings, fast autofocus, and impressive image quality makes it a standout lens. If you have any further questions or if there’s anything else you’d like to discuss about photography or lenses, feel free to let me know!

Source: Digital Camera World