Focal Lenght: 135mm
Max Apeture: 2.8
Lens Mount: M42
Min. Focus: 1.5 m
Filter Size: 55 mm
Weight: 430 grams of peanuts
A/M Switch
Built in hood
LENS STORY
Revuenon was a reseller of photographic gear and did not make their own lenses, so you might find this lens under other names and with other lens mounts. You’ll tell this version from others by the leather-like focus grip. 135mm Hanimar lenses that look very similar can be found online.
This is one of those mysterious lenses that you get and forget. They mysteriously appear one day in your house and you can’t recall when or how you got them. Were they a gift? An impulsive flea-market buy? Part of a lot or a stuck as a cap to a film camera you wanted? Guess we’ll never know.
Once you find a lens as mysterious as this, you naturally get curious. That’s why I used this lens for several weeks and a one-day trip.
HANDLING
Handling was okay, focus smooth. The focus ring is a bit small for a lens that’s this large.
I appreciated the AM switch as always.
One thing that I didn’t like was the built in hood – I didn’t really help flaring that much.When the lens does flare you get really weird results sometimes, with a lot of veiling throughout the frame.
What added to my dislike of the hood was that it was bent, so it made using a lens cap almost impossible.
OPTICAL PERFORMANCE
Color are lovely and I really enjoyed the just “a touch over natural” feel that oversaturation yields.
Sharpness – nope. While out shooting with the lens I was happy enough with the results. I checked my focus, I took multiple shots when I saw something I liked. While editing my photos, I found out that most of them are not as sharp as I expected or remembered. It feels like this lens is good for capturing an overall scene, but simplified, stripped of nuances and details. That is until at least f8 where things improve in the overall image.
If it is some consolidation, it does perform better close up than far away, which is useful for portraits.
Vignetting was surprisingly low, but Chromatic abberration ran rampart, especially wide open.
It feels like your DoF is always thin, no matter how much you stop down.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After a while with this lens and after editing the photos, I have one thing to say:
I hope I didn’t spend a lot on it. It’s an okay lens, you can get good results with it, but it’s not superior to a Pentax, Takumar, Zeiss or any major manufacturer’s 135mm. It’s rare to get a really bad lens at this popular focal length.
