SONY Sonnar T＊ 135mm F1.8 ZA

Sony/Minolta α mount, large aperture, medium telephoto lens

A review and photo examples of the Sonar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA.

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Gallery

The example photo was taken using a SONY A900

Review

Usage
Lens overview
Competitor

1．Usage

The Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8ZA is a Sony A-mount lens, so when used with an A-mount camera, autofocus (AF) is possible, and when used with the α900, I was satisfied with the AF focusing speed and focusing accuracy.

The lens is large and heavy, and when used with the α900 digital SLR camera, it weighs nearly 2kg. However, the bokeh produced by the maximum aperture of F1.8 is very beautiful, so it was a shooting system that I wanted to take out and use even though it was heavy.

Since the aperture and focus of A (α) mount lenses are driven by a motor on the body, it is many times more troublesome than a normal mount adapter, which requires a motor to be mounted on the adapter side and controlled from the camera side like with a genuine adapter, so there are not many companies that make full-spec mount adapters for A (α) mount lenses, and there are not many used lenses available. Since it has hardly been used with other companies’ cameras, there is not much demand for used lenses, and this lens can be purchased cheaply. It is a lens that I would like to use again with the α900 and α99-II.

2．Lens overview

The Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8ZA is a large-aperture medium telephoto lens released by Sony under the Zeiss brand in 2006.

With a focal length of 135mm and a specification of F1.8, it is one of the brightest AF 135mm lenses for SLR cameras. A manual focus lens is available from Chinese manufacturer Zhongyi Optics, the 135mm F1.4.

As it is an α-mount lens, the lens barrel only has a focus ring, and the aperture is controlled from the camera. It uses inner focus, so the lens length does not change regardless of the focus position.

The lens construction is modern and complex, using two ED lenses.

The Sonnar T* 135mm lens motor is a standard specification that uses the driving force from the camera, and does not use an SSM (Ultrasonic Motor) / SAM (Smooth AF Motor) motor mounted on the lens side. As a result, just like the Planar T* 85mm ZA and older A (α) mount lenses, there are some limitations when used with a Sony α mirrorless camera and a Sony genuine mount adapter.

	センサーサイズ	AF対応 Eマウントカメラ	SSM/SAMレンズで像面位相差AFに対応	モーター（SSM/SAM）非搭載のレンズで像面位相差AFに対応
LA-EA1	APS-C	×	←	←
LA-EA2 *	APS-C	○	×	×
LA-EA3	35mmフルサイズ	SSM/SAMレンズ	×	×
LA-EA4 *	35mmフルサイズ	○	×	×
LA-EA5	35mmフルサイズ	SSM/SAMレンズ	α7 II、α7R II、α6300、α6500、α7 III、α7R III、α7R IV、α6100、α6400、α6600、α9、α9 II、α7S III、α7C	α7RⅣ、α7Ⅳ、α1、α6600

*Equipped with a translucent mirror and an aperture and AF drive motor

3．Competitor

Zeiss seems to like 135mm, and released the 135mm F4 and 135mm F3.5 for rangefinders in the past, the Contax brand 135mm F2 and 135mm F2.8, and Cosina Zeiss Apo-Sonnar 135mm F2 1.

Sony Zeiss’ 135mm for FE mount is released under the Batis brand, and the maximum aperture is limited to F2.8, probably because compactness was prioritized.

As I wrote about Leica’s ELMARIT 135mm F2.8, 135mm is an unfortunate focal length that has been swallowed up by the wave of zoom lenses.

Japanese manufacturers also place importance on brightness in zoom lenses, and even for focal lengths including 135mm, the maximum aperture of F2.8 is standard.

Due to the evolution of digital camera sensors, noise reduction in the high ISO range and the inclusion of image stabilization, the existence of single-focus medium telephoto high-speed lenses has decreased. In this situation, it is the trend of the times that some lenses will be eliminated.

SIGMA, a manufacturer that loves prime lenses, released the Art 135mm F1.8 in 2017, which has the same specifications as this lens, and I think it’s great that they have the courage to bring the latest technology to this unpopular category.

Specification and Competitor

SONY SONNAR 135mm
Lens configuration diagram, quoted from Sony’s official page

Carl Zeiss APO SONNAR 135mm
Lens configuration diagram, quoted from Carl Zeiss’s official page

Items	SONY Sonnar 135mm	Zeiss Apo-Sonnar 135mm
Focal length(mm)	135	135
Max aperture	1.8	2
Min aperture	22	22
Leaf blade	9	9
Lens Construction	11elements in 8groups	11elements in 8groups
Min distance(m)	0.72	0.8
Lens length(mm)	114.5	107.8
Max diameter(mm)	88	84
Filter Size(mm)	77	77
Weight(g)	995	930
Model number	SAL135F18Z	–
Release date	2006.10.27	2013.7.25
Price(Yen/No-tax)	200,000-	200,000-