The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM ($1,089 direct) is a prime lens for Canon cameras with a focal length that is traditionally useful for portraiture. Of course, you won't be limited to that purpose when shooting with the lens; it does double duty as a medium-telephoto lens, and a sharp one at that.

The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM ($1,089 direct) is a prime lens for Canon cameras with a focal length that is traditionally useful for portraiture. Of course, you won't be limited to that purpose when shooting with the lens; it does double duty as a medium-telephoto lens, and a sharp one at that.

Quite sharp; Minimal distortion.

Lacks optical stabilization

The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM is a classic portrait lens with sharp optics and an impressive aperture, but it's not optically stabilized. (4 out of 5) Pros Quite sharp Minimal distortion Wide aperture Cons Lacks optical stabilization The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM ($1,089 direct) is a prime lens for...

Quite sharp; Minimal distortion; Wide aperture

Lacks optical stabilization

The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM ($1,089 direct)($999.00 at Amazon) is a prime lens for Canon cameras with a focal length that is traditionally useful for portraiture. Of course, you won't be limited to that purpose when shooting with the lens; it does double duty as a medium-telephoto lens, and a sharp one at that. It's not a perfect lens—there's no optical stabilization. Still, the lens is quite sharp, even at the edges, and focuses with impressive speed. We didn't like it quite as much as another 135mm lens that earned our Editors' Choice award, the Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135, which is sold in versions for use with Canon and Nikon cameras. That lens is, from what we could tell, just about perfect optically, and even avoids the green and purple highlights that show up in the out-of-focus areas of images shot with this Canon EF 135mm lens. But the Zeiss lens is manual focus only, and more expensive, so if you're willing to live with the occasional color aberration in the bokeh, t...

The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM is a classic portrait lens with sharp optics and an impressive aperture, but it's not optically stabilized.

Quite sharp; Minimal distortion; Wide aperture

Lacks optical stabilization

I believe this is one of the best lens for about $1000. Forget about zoom lenses even if they are L. This lens is far better than 70-200L in my opinion. It is very sharp at f2 and even more sharp at f2.5. With zoom lenses you have to set to f/5.6 for better result and f/8 to match this lens.

Unbelievable lens .. one of the sharpest lenses i have ever touched in my life

Fast auto-focus; Superior build quality; Super-sharp images

The Canon 135 mm F2 L lens is every bit as good as all the other reviews claim. I'm always a bit skeptical about reviews that gush over an item, but in this case, the praise is warranted. It is a little surprising that a lens this good receives so little attention?

I wish every lens was this good!! I just love the lightning fast & accurate focus of this lens. It focuses within a blink of an eye, instantly. Focus are dead on with my Fullframe or APS system. It's an ideal portrait lens. Bokeh is buttery smooth, best you can get from a 135mm.

f/2; fast-accurate-silent focus; (relatively) small & light; super sharp!

IS version could be nice

If your thinking of it. Let me just say this, best prime ever for portraits on a FF . If this is you then get it.

One of Canon's best lenses, the 135/2 L has superb optics in a compact package with great ergonomics and immediate autofocus. Lenses like these simply aren't available for Nikon, which is why so many professional photographers prefer Canon cameras.