Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 lens review
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- A new, very low-budget, autofocus, full-frame lens from Viltrox - let's see about its image quality. It's weight is a very low 157g.
All pictures taken by me on a Sony a7R III camera.
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I'm not a wide angle enthusiast, but I do use them occationally. Just not willing to spend a lot of money on one. This is precisely what I have been waiting for.
Making the E mount open was a winning strategy by Sony. Lots of variety.
Beta Max taught them a lesson
@@HighlyAkicktive Oh retro burn :)
That’s the reason I chose to Sony over Canon when I went full frame. They still sucked me into buying 2 Sony lenses though.
Viltrox killing it again.
#1 FW Update is out:
AF 20/2.8 FE V1.0.9
1. Optimize Lens AF-S focusing stability
Firmware Update 2023-10-31
Just bought a viltrox 85mm f1.8, absolutely love the thing, glad I watched you do a review of that.
You didn't seem to have as much of a problem as I've seen with field curvature. I'm finding that I can get a sharp center or a sharp corner, but not at the same time. I've got to focus in the corner to get corner sharpness (at least at wide apertures). That makes me wonder if what I'm seeing is copy specific.
I had exactly the same issue. Either center or corners are sharp, but never both. Although, where it focuses, the sharpness is good enough even at high apertures. I compared it to my Canon RF 16mm, and the canon was a lot better in ther corner (when focusing at the center). I was surprised. Cheers.
Much to my disappointment my copy of the lens is like DA's where if the center is sharp the corners are never sharp. I'm going to exchange for a second copy and see if it's better. If not I will stick with my Samyang 18mm for a super light/compact wide angle.
@HappilySWRN any updates regarding the second copy?
As others have mentioned, the lens might have some copy to copy variation in terms of field curvature. In other words, some of these lenses might focus sharp enough at either the center or the corners, but never both at the same time. Still, where it focuses, the image quality is good enough. It is a good lens for the price. I just wish my copy would focus the same across the board like yours. For comparison, my Canon 16 MM RF is a bit sharper and without field curvature, so the image is sharper across the board.
Really stunning price for such performance, I thought it would be way worse
160 for a 20mm FF emount. What a bargain. Great for gifts for the upcoming holidays
It could be an interesting lens for APS-C as well, given the price.
...and also still small size.
What a bargain at that price! Nice to have a knock around everyday lens in the bag. Pretty amazing sharpness for a cheap wide angle wide open; then stopped down a bit - especially on your high resolution camera.
I would love a quick comparison between this and the tamron. Maybe include the Sony for reference as well.
Thanks Chris for the review, I have just preordered this lens, this will be my not only my first brand new lens but the furst that I even pre-ordered 😄
LOVE the 20mm FOV its amazing
Which would you prefer, Tamron 20mm, Viltrox 20mm or Samyang 18mm?
This is exactly what I needed
Excellent news. For Z mount, we get the best 20 mm in the market from Nikon, or this Viltrox that will neither break our back nor our wallet. I may consider purchasing an used Z6 just for it.
this viltrox is a dream for use on a gimbal with a nikon
I like the viltrox 85mm RF for canon. Shame we dont get more on RF.
Lovely. I will definitely be getting this at some point. Just gives you that something a bit different to a standard zoom range. I love primes!
I'd like the 16mm 1.8 for aurora shots and partnering it with this sounds great for travel.
I have the Viltrox 16 1.8. It's a great piece of gear !
just order it.a7iii, a6300,nex vg 30 and zv e10 going to smile, cause with tamron f2.8 don t.Time will eventually reveals the ease of use . Excellent work as always
Good lens
Quite impressive! And I thought the Tamron was great value! If still choose the Tamron because I've seen the 20mm go on sale at 200usd occasionally and the extra 50-60 buckaronies is worth it in my opinion. Thanks Chris!
Great review thx! How does the AF compares to the very slow and loud one of the Tamron 20mm 2.8? Could it be even used for sports photography?
Captain America getting up for the 9th time on a fight.
Chris Frost testing 20mm lenses:
I can do this all day
Viltrox are unstoppable at the moment
One of the best value lenses of all time!!! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Will be great for street photography. I usually put voigtlander 15mm on sony apsc to get 22mm.. It works fantastic
So helpful! Thank you!
I actually like the Tamron for about the same price...the contrast and color is better and also better close up images.
Viltrox 20mm or samyang 18mm or tamron 20mm with the 1:2 macro? Hard choice
I went for the Tamron...better contrast and color and close up images, just not as good AF. I did have the sayang 18mm...not a bad lens and fairly good AF.
As soon as you get the box you can tell quality. I can only assume that Viltrox is selling at a loss to establish a reputation before raising prices.
Love this review, my friend! I will have to buy this one in the morning. Looks like a great baRgain! I was looking for a nice 20mm f/1.4, however this will be my choice due to its great image quality and price. 💯💪🕺
As someone who doesn't have a big budget for gear, that's a winner.
I use Sony now but planning to buy Nikon zf or z7-3 in the future. I will buy mostly Sony f mount lens because there are adapters that can fit sony mount lens to Z bodies， but not the other way around. AF speed is good enough.
I've seen lenses 3 times the price with much worse performance. This is almost a must cop
It's safe to say, this new Viltrox 20/2.8 FE for 149 EUR it *is* a very good deal, google for the promo deal inside germany via Rollei. Even an old A7 original is quite sufficent for this lens. It's no G Master IQ, for sure, but the 20mm focal length is very handy, and the lens is only a big bigger into size, than the bargain Samyang 35mm F2.8 FE, which i do own since early 2018.
Great review! Do you know how the image quality of this lens compares to the Viltrox 20mm f1.8 manual lens and the Sony G 20mm f1.8?
I justjust ordered one I hope I like it. My plan is to use it for my alpha a7i iv on a gimbal for video
How does it compare to Samyang 18mm f2.8?
@Christopher Frost I'm getting this when released for the Z mount this year, instead of your, newly, reviewed Nikon Z DX 24mm f1.7 ☺️
Hey Chris, great video! How do you think this compares to the Sony 20mm F2.8 Pancake lens? I want a compact lens for travel and im torn between this and that pancake.
Reminds me of the panasonic 9mm 1.7, amazing for this price, looks like an obligate low budget buy along with a kit lens :)
Might be fun as a way to try out the goals length. Maybe a good pickup for the Z8.
FINALLY!! A BUDGET OPTION FOR VLOGGERS THAT'S CHEAPER THAN THE TAMRON 20MM
I'm putting an order for this. There's almost no reason to buy the Tamron now.
Have you tried this lens in vlogs? I am looking for a wide lens for vlogging and this sound pretty good especially for the price. I am between this or the tamron 20mm
My favorite part of Viltrox lenses is the hood “snap”.
I notice that some of your reviews are tested on both full-frame and APS-C. But not for this lens. Do you still own the Sony A5100 that you have used in older reviews?
thanks for great sharing
Will it be good with a7CR 61 megapixel?
This lens with the software available to denoise and clean up images, why would you drop hundreds of dollars on more expensive lenses?
Wow, this is unbelievable performance for the money! Will be a great alternative to Nikon’s very pricey (but great) 20mm f1.8, if one doesn’t need a wide aperture.
For $160 this looks to be a killer lens compared to the more expensive alternatives including OEM options. I mean it may not be perfect (no lens is) but for $160 you certainly are getting a lot for your money and nobody would really be able to tell probably other than you are losing roughly 1.3 stops compared to most competitors 1.8 versions, but still the price makes it very hard to beat.
this lens is where nikon Z mount is missing and need the most. but the release for sony FE mount first 😮💨.
I wonder how this lens would do astrophotography, seems like a very beginner and budget friendly lens for entry level astro and landscape photography.
It won't perform too well wide open, but if you have a star tracker and stop it down a bit, you should get good results. For landscape F/11 and you should be gold.
@@princeharbinger Did you watch the video?? 🤣🤣
@@troyhowling2497 I did. I also read Bastians' review about the lens.
Who is bastian? @@princeharbinger
It's not too bad of a lens. I like the shot you took at 6:58. The price is really good. I wonder if we'll see a pro series 20mm in the future.
Great review as always Christopher! Any particular reason you didn’t do a LOCA test on this one?
Thanks! I don't tend to test that on wide angle lenses, unless they have a brighter aperture
CS Lewis 'The Four Loves' 😍
My no 1 on ultrawide lens has always been sth like tokina 17mm f3.5. The closest so far was samyang 18 f2.8. But waiting fo canon to wake up. These sony mount lenses and the reviews are just killing me😂
Canon has RF16 RF28... They are surprisingly not too much of a concern when comes to cheap WA primes
@@zegzbrutal yes but 16 is full of compromises, which can not be said for these viltrox and samyang offerings.
Why is stills mode AF in sony cameras so slow? Seems odd to a nikon user
Well, it's not. But it's a camera you use in C-AF usually.
Canon EF Mount in this would be good.
I can't figure out if the frase that the autofocus motor makes an "almost silence, woring sound" is good or bad.
Which is better for landscape photography: samyang 24 f1.8 or viltrox 20 f2.8?
Seems like manufacturers really cracked some kind of design secret in the past 5 years that allowed for a huge string of compact and affordable 18-24mm 1.8-2.8 lenses - was it just in-camera digital corrections?
I guess the shorter flange distance also makes manufacturers easier to design wide lenses
Can we have sony 50mm f2.8 macro pls?
What would you choose between this and the Tamron 24mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 ?
Great lens for landscapes, shoot a F8 all the time and you will have perfect results
This lens performance sounds too good to be true at that price. Sharp even wide open, low price, metal mount: perfect!
Compatible with Fuji X ?
Is there a difference between a 50mm mirrorless lens and a 50mm DSLR lens with an adapter on a mirrorless camera? For example Nikon z6 + 50mm Z mount lens vs Nikon z6 +FTZ + 50mm f mount lens.
There's a BIG difference from 50mm on a mirrorless to DSLR 50 on a DSLR is like 70mm. The difference alone should tell you to get the Viltrox 20mm for your mirrorless and use super 35 you get a bit over 30mm. Just get the lens for the price for your mirrorless.
Where can one find information regarding when the mentioned Nikkon-version will be released?
Today
Is it so much worse than Samyang 18mm f2.8 for Astrophotography on cheap? I see in the reviews, this lens shows more Coma.
❤❤❤❤ I need one
i have the kit lens nikkor z 24mm-50mm. will this new viltrox 20mm f2.8 surpass the 24mm F4 of the nikkor kit lens in terms of overall IQ?
I should supplement it as it’s wider (obviously), looks to be around the same size, and shares the same filter size of 52mm.
good lens
How does this compare to the Samyang 18mm f/2.8? - my biggest gripes with it are bad quality control (every lens has different performance), fragile construction and colours look a bit off. I'm hoping the Viltrox is better?
Phillip Reeve does a comparison.
How does it perform on APSC?
Like a 30mm or 32mm.
Christopher, which is sharper the Tamron 20mm or the Viltrox 20mm?🤔
the tamron
I wish Viltrox had put a gasket on the mount and charged me a bit more. I don't get why all lenses don't have a gasket. It can't be that expensive to add to a mount. Even if there are no internal seals, it would keep water out of your body if you got your camera wet. I'm pretty sure I'll end up buying this lens just for its size. I'll just shoot it stopped down.
Is the image quality as good when used on an apsc camera?
Vignetting will be less of a problem on APS-C. Distortion may still be an issue due to the mustache pattern.
No Canon mount?
No. Only Sony E, Nikon Z and Fuji X mounts.
At this price, i feel cheated buying sony 20mm. Quality is acceptable..
I hardly use this much wide so spending on sony is hard.
Osm❤️
no other than 2.8 in the middle shown.
As I said in that segment, the middle becomes perfectly sharp at f/4, and from then on, logically, it will only soften with diffraction
I spent $800 on the Sony.🤷
Ouch!
Makes me sad seeing all these cool lenses as a canon user
LOL... keep seeing bro
i hope Viltrox join the L mount
2.8 is too dark for me
Apparently, you don't shoot landscapes.
@@harveylouis445 I carry 1.2/1.4s only. I spend good money on good lenses
I'm really becoming a big fan of Viltrox I have the 13mm on Z mount and love it. Most likely wont get this for my Z 50 as the 30mm is a bit wide for my street work looking at the new Nikon 24 as it is 1.7 and 36mm equivalent compared to the 2.8 of this lens but waiting to see your eval on that lens before I pull the trigger and get it