Production
1996
Country
Japan
Optical
5 elements in 4 groups
Updated
Feb 15, 2026
Canon FD 135mm f/2.5
Canon EF
Overview
The Canon FD 135mm f/2.5 is the telephoto portrait lens for those who wanted reach without the weight of an f/2 design. At 135mm f/2.5, you get significant subject compression and background separation while keeping the lens manageable. It was the lens for stage photography, sports sidelines, and outdoor portraits where you wanted to stand back and let subjects be natural.
Verdict: An overlooked gem in the Canon FD lineup. Not as glamorous as the 85s, but 135mm compression with f/2.5 speed creates gorgeous portraits. Affordable and underrated.
Optical Character
Bokeh
Pleasant but not exceptional. The 7-blade aperture creates slightly polygonal highlights. Smooth enough for most uses.
Color
Neutral with a slightly cool cast. More accurate than warm. Colors are true and unexaggerated.
Sharpness wide open
Wide open the lens is fully usable right into the corners and only a tad less contrasty compared to f/2.8 to f/11. The performance near the minimum focus distance is also excellent, even wide open.
Flare resistance
This is definitely the weak spot of the lens. With the sun inside the frame there is a tremendous amount of ghosts, and with the sun outside the frame veiling flare becomes a problem.
Contrast
Good contrast wide open, excellent stopped down. More punchy than Canon FD.
Vignetting
Wide open there is visible vignetting of roughly 1.7 EV, stopped down to f/5.6 it is negligible.
Community Insights
Summary: The community seems very positive about the Helios 135mm f/2.8 lens. Users praise its cinematic image quality, solid metal construction, smooth focusing, and great value for the price. Sentiment: Positive Top Praised: - Cinematic, shallow depth of field due to long focal length and fast aperture - Sharp optics with minimal chromatic aberration - Solid, all-metal construction with smooth focusing - Great value at around $40/£25 Top Complaints: - Rotating front element may prevent use of variable ND filters - Character not as "dreamy" as some other vintage Russian lenses Use Cases: - Portraiture and cinematic video work - General telephoto prime usage on a variety of cameras - Affordable vintage lens option for video shooters Disagreements: - Some confusion around the rotating front element, which was later clarified to not actually be an issue for Vari-ND usage. Confidence: 0.9 The community feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with a clear consensus on the lens's strengths and a minor disagreement that was resolved. The source provides a detailed and thorough user experience review.
What people love
- Beautiful bokeh and compression
- Lighter and cheaper than f/2 alternatives
- f/2.5 is plenty fast for most uses
- Sharp and reliable
- Great for outdoor portraits
- Classic Canon build quality
What people dislike
- 135mm is tight — need space to work
- Not as fast as f/2 options
- Requires more distance from subject
- Can be tricky to focus at f/2.5 (thin DoF)
Pro Tips
- Use a monopod for stability at longer shutter speeds
- Great for candid portraits — can stay unobtrusive
- On APS-C becomes ~200mm equivalent — true telephoto territory
Sample Photos
Sources (3)
phillip_reeve-
https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-canon-ef-135mm-2-0l/
phillip_reeve-
https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-canon-ef-135mm-2-0l/
Lens Heritage 2nd JSONsecondary
The Canon FD 135mm f/2.5 is the telephoto portrait lens for those who wanted reach without the weight of an f/2 design. At 135mm f/2.5, you get significant subject compression and background separation while keeping the lens manageable. It was the lens for stage photography, sports sidelines, and outdoor portraits where you wanted to stand back and let subjects be natural.