Sony has announced their new full-frame 135mm F1.8 G Master Prime lens (SEL135F18GM). Needless to say as a G Master lens it doesn’t come cheap, the 135mm will set you back $1900 / £1,750 / €2,000 when pre-orders open on February 28th, with first shipment planned for late April.
The new Sony 135mm GM is a 2.09 pound (950 gram) lens that measures 5 inches long (127 mm) by 3 5/8 inches (89.5 mm) in diameter. This is half an inch shorter than the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art E-mount lens and over half a pound lighter.
The 135mm F1.8 has 13 elements in total, which include XA (extreme aspherical), Super ED and ED. The XA and Super ED elements in the front group replace traditional large and heavy negative elements to ‘effectively suppress all common telephoto lens aberrations,’ according to Sony. Sony claims that the combination of a Super ED and ED element ‘compensate for axial CA, minimize color fringing and maximize overall resolution,’ while the large XA elements mitigate spherical aberration.
An 11-blade aperture ensures circular out-of-focus highlights even at F4 and beyond. Sony’s Nano AR coating is used to reduce flare and ghosting, while a fluorine element repels fingerprints and water.
There are four XD linear motors on the lens – two for each of the focus groups – that promise responsive, accurate and quiet focusing. Sony states this is its first lens to offer two direct-drive SSM motors to move two separate XA elements for fast focus.
The 135mm F1.8 is weather-sealed and features an aperture ring, focus ring with linear response, two customizable focus hold buttons and a focus range limiter with three settings.
The FE 135mm F1.8 GM will ship in late April for $1900 / £1,750 / €2,000 and pre-orders will open on February 28th.
DPReview has already put together a sample gallery from the Sony press event which you can find here.
Manny Ortiz also gives his first impressions of the new Sony 135mm 1.8GM and compares it with the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM as well as the Sigma 135mm F1.8 lens.
You can view the press release in full here or visit Sony’s product page for the lens.
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