| Field-test of the Canon EF 135mm
f/2.8 Soft Focus (SF) lens. Users of the Canon SLR system have several advantages over other camera brands. Among them is the ability of choosing a lens with built-in soft focus effect rather than relying on softmat filters. Canon is one of the few companies that provides this feature in its lens system, first with the FD 85mm f/2.8 Soft Focus (SF) for its range of manual focus SLR cameras. With three degrees of soft focus effect, users have the discretion of choosing which amount of softness they would like to achieve with this FD lens. Of course, when the SF feature is not needed, the lens can be used as a regular 85mm f/2.8 medium telephoto for general photography. For users of the EOS System, Canon offers a longer telephoto focal length, the EF 135mm f/2.8 Soft Focus. However, unlike the FD version, it only has two degrees of softness function - this is due to the increase in focal length, which makes the amount of soft focus effect to be less noticeable in some cases and may look like out-of-focus pictures for people not familiar with photos shot in such fashion. The EF 135mm f/2.8 SF is also the only telephoto lens in its class equipped with a built-in soft focus function. While providing extremely sharp, high-quality telephoto performance for normal use, a portion of the optical system can be moved when necessary to vary the degree of spherical aberration for a beautiful soft focus effect. A glass-molded aspherical lens is used for the aberration-generating element. This design provides a superb soft focus effect while at the same time precisely correcting changes in aberration due to changes in the focus distance. Image quality with the soft focus effect is ideal for flattering portraits and pictorial scenes, with the subject in focus but softened with an appropriate degree of flare. Although the user only has two degrees of softness to select from, the soft focus effect can be further adjusted by varying the aperture size, providing a wide range of expression.
Whichever degree of soft focus effect has been selected, there is no need to worry about trying to determine the correct focus position - the autofocusing system of an EOS camera will precisely focus the subject for optimal soft focus effect. For greater effect, it is better to shoot at apertures of between f/2.8 and f/4 rather than stopping down to f/5.6 or smaller since the greater depth-of-field will minimize any softness that is generated by the SF lens' function, even if it is set to the second degree of soft focus. Also, always try to look for a darker background whenever shooting portraits with this lens as it will enable the soft focus effect to look the strongest as compared to a lighter one. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . |
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