Nikon AF DC NIKKOR 135mm F 2D Review | 54 Data compared

Ken Rockwell hails the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC as a premier portrait lens, highlighting its exceptional sharpness across the frame and its unique Defocus Image Control (DC) technology for customizing bokeh. The lens is lauded for its robust, all-metal construction and an excellent built-in metal lens hood. However, the review notes the lens requires a DSLR with a mechanical screw-drive motor for autofocus, as it will not autofocus on Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. Additionally, the specialized DC feature requires a steep learning curve to master.

The Nikkor AF 135mm f/2 D DC is a specialised full-frame portrait lens released in 1995 that provides a 203mm equivalent field of view when mounted on an APS-C DSLR. A major standout feature is its Defocus Control (DC) technology, which allows photographers to manually manipulate the degree of foreground or background bokeh by controlling spherical aberrations. It boasts exceptional build quality featuring a robust metal and plastic construction with a professional crinkle finish, a fixed physical length during focusing, and a convenient built-in telescope-style lens hood. Additionally, it utilizes a non-rotating front element due to its rear-focusing design, which benefits filter users, and delivers relatively fast autofocus speeds. However, the lens shows its age through several design drawbacks. It relies on a dated, stiff independent ring to switch between manual and autofocus modes. Because it lacks an internal autofocus motor, it depends on a mechanical slotted drive screw from the camera body, resulting in a moderate amount of operational noise. Finally, the lens suffers from a rather restrictive minimum focusing distance of 1.1 metres, limiting its tight close-up and...

The Nikon 135mm f/2D AF DC-Nikkor is a high-end, full-frame portrait lens highlighted for its unique Defocus Control (DC) technology, which allows photographers to strategically introduce spherical aberration to soften either the foreground or background. In terms of pros, the lens delivers excellent sharpness and contrast across all apertures when operated in its normal, non-DC mode. It exhibits imperceptible barrel distortion (0.03%), features light falloff that completely disappears by f/2.4, and offers fast, quiet autofocus action. Additionally, its physical attributes are highly functional, boasting a robust black crinkle finish, a built-in telescoping lens hood, and a close-focusing distance of 42 inches (1:6.71 magnification ratio)—making it the ideal distance to maintain natural conversation during headshots. Conversely, the review notes several cons related to its handling and specific operation. The lens is relatively heavy for a 135mm f/2 prime, weighing roughly two ounces more than Sony's 135mm f/2.8 and nearly a full pound heavier than Canon's soft-focusing alternative. Operationally, utilizing the Defocus Control requires precision; photographers must manually match the lockable front-barrel DC ring (using either the F or R scales) to...

The Nikon 135mm f/2 DC is a unique portrait lens that delivers exceptional bokeh and impressive sharpness, particularly from f/2.8 onwards. Built with a robust, all-metal construction, it features a unique Defocus Control (DC) ring that gives photographers manual control over the out-of-focus areas in front of or behind the subject. At $1,299, the reviewer highlights it as an excellent value for a fast prime lens, undercutting similar portrait options like the 85mm f/1.4G and telephoto zooms. However, the lens demands patience and is unsuited for fast-paced scenarios like weddings, as it lacks a modern automatic manual focus override ring. The review notes several technical flaws when shooting wide open at f/2, where the lens suffers from noticeable chromatic aberration (purple and green fringing) and a drop in overall sharpness. Furthermore, the autofocus performance is a significant drawback; it is slow, prone to hunting, and exhibited a consistent front-focusing defect during testing. Even after applying the camera's maximum autofocus fine-tuning ( ), the reviewer still had to manually compensate by focusing on a subject's ears rather than their eyes. While...

The user Owen Cherry details his firsthand experience with a used, non-D version of the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC, a highly specialized short telephoto portrait lens known for its standout Defocus Control feature. On the positive side, the reviewer highly praises the lens's remarkable build quality, highlighting its robust, all-metal body. The optical performance delivers "truly spectacular" bokeh even when the Defocus Control ring is untouched, making it highly effective for shallow depth-of-field images and specialized multi-shot Brenizer Method bokeh panoramas. Furthermore, when focus is perfectly locked, the lens is praised for being exceptionally razor-sharp. On the negative side, the most prominent issue raised by the reviewer is the lens's unreliable autofocus accuracy, noting it is the number one community complaint and demonstrating that it took him four attempts to hit focus on a subject's face. It is a screw-drive lens, meaning autofocus is only reasonably quick and visibly noticeable when it misses the mark. Additionally, the reviewer points out that buying the lens brand-new is quite expensive, making the used market a much more reasonable alternative. Lastly, while the...

The Nikkor 135mm f/2 AF DC is a dedicated portrait lens praised for its exceptional physical construction and optical sharpness. Built with an all-metal body reminiscent of traditional AI-S lenses, it features a smooth focus ring and a highly useful built-in lens hood. Optically, the lens performs admirably on a Nikon D700, delivering fast f/2 capture and handling busy backgrounds with ease. While it includes a unique Defocus Control (DC) mechanism designed to subtly alter foreground or background bokeh, the reviewer notes that the effect is barely noticeable in practice and its film-era soft-focus applications have been made largely redundant by modern photo editing software. Nikon USA However, the lens suffers from two critical flaws: an outdated autofocus mechanism and a lack of Vibration Reduction (VR). The autofocus is reliable but sluggish, failing to keep pace with an adult walking at a normal stride or moving children. It also lacks an instant manual focus override. Because of these limitations and its $1,400 price tag, the reviewer gives it a modest 6/10 overall rating, deeming it overpriced and restricted to controlled...