Review on Sony SAL-135F18Z: High-performance 135mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T Telephoto Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera by Ryan Whatley

Exceptional optical design. Made in Japan. I use this lens with a LA-EA4 adapter on my Sony A7rii. The pictures are excellent. The lens is an older screw mount design and therefore requires a built-in motor adapter (LA-EA4). Focusing is noisy but image quality is excellent. I bought this lens a while ago and it's one of my favorites. I can't justify buying the outstanding Sigma 135 1.8 Art lens that just came out. I think the pictures are comparable. The advantage of the Sigma is that with the MS-11 adapter it was possible to get close to native AF and focus on the eyes. So if I were to buy now, I would buy a Sigma. Although I will not exchange. I think the Sony 135 1.8 lens would also be perfect with the Sony A99II, with built in fast auto focus. Most worrying is Sony's poor reputation for service. They are terrible, I hope this lens doesn't need servicing any time soon. From what I've heard Sony's service is terrible. Unlike Canon, they do not have their own service centers. They outsourced their services to another company with a bad reputation. Most of the feedback is that they treat these expensive lenses and cameras as single use items and maintenance cannot be done for various reasons. I'm very concerned which is why I still have many of my Canon lenses that can be serviced at excellent Canon service centers on the west and east coasts. I bought this lens because it's a gem and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I hope Sony will fix these problems and open their own professional and non-professional service centers to fully support their excellent products. I hope they understand that this is an important part of the photography business as opposed to consumer electronics. Update 01/04/2021 I bought a Sony FE 135 1.8 GM. Fantastic optical quality, unfortunately the reproduction is unusable for portraits. The GM lens is made in China while the SAL lens is made in Japan. The SAL-135 1.8 ZA lens has much better rendering and sharpness. This is the perfect lens. I am currently using it with a Sony LA-EA5 and a Sony A7R IV adapter. This new adapter offers eye-tracking autofocus, making this incredible lens even better and bringing it up to date with today's focusing standards. Since there is no mirror here either, the f/1.8 aperture is even better! Still highly recommended! Get this lens before it's gone.