OVERVIEW

The Contax 135mm F2.8 Sonnar is a popular choice because of its compact size, built-in sliding hood, good optical performance and low price. In contrast the Contax 135mm F2.0 Planar is a very expensive (usually ~$1500 US) and there is much debate whether or not its performance justifies the price tag. In regards to the Contax 135mm F2 Planar, most photographers opt for the Canon 135mm L F2 (assuming they are a Canon shooter). I purchased the Contax 135mm Sonnar to see if it would be a better travel option than the Contax 100mm F2.0 Planar.

LENS PERFORMANCE

The Contax 135mm Sonnar has beautiful bokeh (background blur) when shot wide open - very “Zeiss”. The 135mm Sonnar delivers nice micro-contrast which helps in rendering rich foliage and textures, and the lens is when shot wide open. Overall, considering the bargain price I cannot fault the 135mm Sonnar.

My hope was the Contax 135mm Sonnar could be a compact travel lens, but the lens turned out to be longer than expected and felt somewhat unbalanced (nose heavy) on the Canon 1Ds Mark II. In late day sun (golden hour) it was difficult finding enough light for acceptable shutter speeds. With only five elements in its optical design, light loss should not be an issue. Whatever the case may be, I felt the 135mm Sonnar was inefficient in gathering light.

The dipping shutter speeds were compounded with mixed success from the focus confirmation adapter. I get the best results from the HappyPageHK adapters when the EXIF is coded to match the lens’ focal length.  In the case of the 135mm Sonnar the adapter was coded to 50mm and F2. I suspect the keeper rate would have been higher if I had an adapter coded for 135mm. HappyPageHK (Ebay seller ID) codes the ROM chip in his adapters to focal length and aperture specified by the buyer; I suggest using 135mm & F2 or F2.8.

I do not want to label the Contax 135mm Sonnar as a poor performer, because that is not the case. The lens just did not match my shooting style or offer any beyond what my current lenses already do. It is easy to suggest alternatives which cost more, but trying to stay within the $300 budget range the options are limited. I have not tried comparable Olympus, Pentax or Leica lenses, so those lenses could be good value-priced alternatives too.

In the final analysis I did not see anything unique or distinctive enough to say “this is a lens I must own”. I am not interested in owning the best lenses; my goal is finding lenses with their own unique fingerprint which sets them apart from crowd. The Contax 135mm Sonnar - good? Yes. Unique? No. Contax’s own description sounds pretty flat - “Outstanding for landscape photography, flora and fauna studies, portraits and others where a telephoto effect is desired without the undesirable flattening of perspective prevalent with longer focal lengths.”

Contax’s description is fair enough. If you are looking for something that has its own unique character, I would investigate some of the Oly’s and Pentax lenses. I have no experience with them, but like Contax they have their loyal following too.

ADAPTERS WITH CANON EF BODIES

There are no known adapter issues with the Contax 135mm Sonnar with any adapter. I used the 135mm F2.8 Sonnar with a HappyPageHK focus confirmation adapter with moderate success. The adapter’s firmware was flashed with 50mm F2.0 and I suspect that was not a tight enough tolerance for a 135mm lens. The adapter for my Contax 100mm F2.0 Planar has a custom coded adapter coded at 100mm F2.0. That combination works beautifully. Had I tried the 135mm Sonnar with an adapter flashed at 135mm and F2, I think the results would be much better. For more on adapters, click here.