I like to use the 35mm and 85mm focal length on full frame. For wide I go to 20mm as I don't think 24mm is wide enough. For tele I thought that a 135mm would be a nice step up from 85mm since 105mm is not that different from 85 and 180 is a big step from 85mm. The 180mm is also a much bigger lens as well. That's why a 135mm lens seemed like the right thing. Or at least right enough to give it a try.Nikon has four manual focus alternatives at 135mm, the 135mm f/2, f/2.8, f/3.5 and the f/2.8 E version.
I feel that one of the 135/2.8 or 135/3.5 lenses would probably be the best compromise between weight/size, optical performance and ruggedness. I have a 135/3.5 AI. It's a nice little tele that doesn't take up much room in the bag. If high performance wide open is what you are after, maybe it's not the best choice. Wide open there is a good amount of CA, general softness, and lower contrast. Things get much better stopped down a bit.
BRONICA S2 Nikkor 135mm 3.5 acros100. Smell BRONICA S2 Nikkor 135mm 3.5 acros100. The Nikon S3 does not have frame lines for 135mm so you will need an external viewfinder for better framing. This big bright-line finder isn’t cheap but I got it for a nice price because it had fungus. The Nikkor-Q.C 13.5cm f/3.5 only has four lens elements so it’s not a difficult or expensive lens to produce. Despite that, the lens has.
I also have an early version of the 105/2.5. The 105 is a bit sharper at wide apertures, but for general walk around purposes, I prefer the 135 because it is more compact, and has a built in shade that my 105 does not.Ill post a couple of test images I took on a whim a while back. They are 100% crops from a D50 (only digital camera I had at the time) with a PK-13 extension tube. I sometimes use this combo for macro shots when a bit more working distance is needed that my 55/3.5 gives. The 135 3.5 doesn't focus very closely by itself.Here's the wide open shot. The CA is quite noticeable here, but this is cropped. It's not as bad when viewed normally.
Yes, the 135/3.5 AIS is a pretty good lens. I just bought one a few weeks ago from KEH in EX shape and so far on my D800 it is doing amazingly well. It's not quite pixel sharp on my D800, but it's pretty close and it's very uniform across the frame - i.e, the center, edges, borders, and corners are all pretty close in sharpness.I also find it very much sharp enough wide open up close for people shots.Though multi-coated, it does not like strong light falling on the front element and it will ghost just a bit at times (but not bad at all). OH, and yes it does have some CA wide open, but Capture NX2 seems to be able to remove a lot of it in post.I've also found with these lenses on my D800 that neither the AF confirmation dot nor the focusing screen are accurate enough to get all the sharpness out of these lenses (like my 105/2.5 AIS, 135/2.8, 135/3.5, and 90/3.5 SL-II CV). I have to resort to live view on the fly for hand-held landscape shots to make sure I get optimal sharpness at the pixel level.Also, see this post of mine over at FM:http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/9#11345018John.