Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena vs. Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM

Pick the 135mm f/1.8 S if you want more room at closest focus, pick the 135mm f/1.8 GM if you want closer focus. Compare both side by side.

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Portrait At-a-Glance Comparison (Upper Body Framing)

Optical & Portrait Metric Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM What It Means in Practice
Upper-Body Working Distance 5.40 m 5.40 m Identical working distance—both frame an upper-body portrait from the exact same spot.
Background Field of View (Compression) 16° 16° Identical 16° horizontal background view behind the subject.
Entrance Pupil Diameter 75.0 mm (f/1.8) 75.0 mm (f/1.8) Nearly identical distant background blur size at equal framing.
Corner Bokeh Roundness (90% Field) 100% (0.0 EV) 61% (-0.9 EV) Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena keeps significantly rounder bokeh balls into the corners wide open (100% vs. 61% roundness).
Effective Focal Length (Breathing) 130.2 mm (-3.6%) 130.8 mm (-3.1%) At 5.4 m, Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena frames like a 130.2 mm lens while Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM frames like a 130.8 mm lens.
Depth of Field (Sharp Zone) 25 cm (5.28 m – 5.53 m) 25 cm (5.28 m – 5.53 m) Both lenses deliver the exact same 25 cm sharp focus zone.
Minimum Focus Distance 0.82 m 0.7 m Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM focuses 12 cm closer (0.82 m vs. 0.7 m) for tighter close-ups.

Questions

Which blurs the background more, Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena or Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM?

At the same subject framing, distant background blur scales with the entrance pupil diameter (focal length ÷ f-number). Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena at f/1.8 has a 75.0 mm entrance pupil, while Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM at f/1.8 has a 75.0 mm entrance pupil.

How does working distance differ between Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena and Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM?

For an upper-body portrait, Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena stands 5.40 m from the subject (sharp zone 25 cm, from 5.28 m to 5.53 m), whereas Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM stands 5.40 m away (sharp zone 25 cm, from 5.28 m to 5.53 m).

How do the optical designs of Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena and Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM compare?

Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena uses 16 elements in 14 groups (WO2024147268A1, effective focal length 130.2 mm at portrait distance). Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM uses 13 elements in 10 groups (WO2019187633A1, effective focal length 130.8 mm).

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Also see: depth of field, bokeh, crop factor, lens compression.