Canon 22mm f/2 vs. Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 | EF-M Lens Comparison

Continuing my series of comparing native Canon EF-M (EOS M) lenses, this time it's the Canon 22mm f/2 versus the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 lens. There is a slight difference in focal length and a large difference in maximum aperture. I compare image quality, video autofocus, and various potential use cases between the two lenses on the Canon EOS M50.
Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 Lens:
B&H: bhpho.to/2GgeNBQ
Amazon amzn.to/2URc080
Used from KEH (Graphite): shrsl.com/25lqz
Used from KEH (Silver): shrsl.com/25lr2
ebay: ebay.us/qpyHc8
Walmart: bit.ly/2y8xKX4
Best Buy: bestbuy.7tiv.n...
Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 AF Lens for Canon EF-M:
B&H: bhpho.to/34tulOU
Amazon: amzn.to/31lk6Lw
ebay: ebay.us/eylshV
I wrote up a companion article for this video based on my project notes:
photographyban...
#Canon #Viltrox #EOSMLenses
I hope you enjoyed this video. Subscribing, liking, sharing, and using the "super thanks" feature helps out a lot! Thanks ;) As a B&H, KEH, Acdsee, eBay, Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Other links are potentially affiliated as well.
spb-long-video

[@peterreber7671]

That is how lens comparisons should be done. Great stuff.

[@ScottJWaldron]

I'm glad you found the video useful!

[@craigmckernan4056]

Good comparison review. Every EF-M user should get the 22mm f/2 lens, it's probably the best all around lens they offer for the system and is quite affordable (the 32mm f1.4 is great too but very $$$) . It rarely leaves my body.

[@rainerlisting]

Just to note the in camera lens aberration correction very effectively removes the vignetting on the canon 22mm.

[@matthiasj668]

Very nicely done comparison! It confirms again how wonderful the tiny canon 22mm actually is. And nowadays it can be picked up 2nd hand for near nothing. As far as I can tell from the comparison the canon is sharper, has more contrast, and on top of that it's very tiny and light-weight and therefore very convenient to use. It looses a bit on DoF capabilities, but for that matter a good portrait lens is the better choice anyway.

[@ScottJWaldron]

I'm glad the video was useful to you. 👍 My personal favorite portrait lens on EF-M was the Sigma 56mm f/1.4. I have some videos on that one. www.youtube.com/@ScottJWaldron/search?query=56mm My Sigma playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLOWYWrC3x24_THEYiWNjWg6C2Akfbodvu

[@matthiasj668]

@@ScottJWaldron thanks, as a matter of fact, I ordered that exact lens today. Looking forward to use it.

[@ScottJWaldron]

Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 Lens: B&H: bhpho.to/2GgeNBQ Amazon amzn.to/2URc080 ebay: ebay.us/qpyHc8 Walmart: bit.ly/2y8xKX4 Best Buy: bestbuy.7tiv.net/eLYn1 Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 AF Lens for Canon EF-M: B&H: bhpho.to/34tulOU Amazon: amzn.to/31lk6Lw ebay: ebay.us/eylshV I hope you enjoyed this video. Subscribing, liking, sharing, and using the "super thanks" feature helps out a lot! Thanks ;) As a B&H, KEH, Acdsee, eBay, Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Other links are potentially affiliated as well.

[@GrantMcWilliams]

Thanks! The tiny pancake lens did OK! I don't know enough about optics to understand why that lens is possible. I'd love to have a bunch of pancake lenses at different focal lengths even if that means they're f/2. I have two Canon 22mm lenses because I bought one used and then Canon had a sale recently for $149 USD so I bought another to replace my used one. I find that when I'm traveling I bounce between the 22mm and my 18-150. The 22mm is a no-brainer for any bag I think due to it's size and weight. I would like to have a faster lens in that range but the 22 is sharp, it has very little chromatic aberration and is very portable. It's biggest negatives are that it's f/2 and that it has vignetting. It seems all of the Viltrox lenses have a lot of Chromatic aberrations.

[@MovieRecap2023Pinoy]

i would love to get the old 22mm , please ship it to the philippines . It would be a big help to my business

[@carlostejada7533]

What a great video. Man it sure must've taken a lot of time and effort to make, but let me tell ya, it's greatly appreciated.

[@ScottJWaldron]

Glad you found the video useful. Sometimes videos take a week or so if they are detailed enough.

[@jasp2003]

Don’t forget to mention that that chrome lens looks gorgeous on a silver m6!

[@ScottJWaldron]

Really? nice!

[@mattcero1]

Dude! OUTSTANDING! I'm on the verge of buying either an M6 mk ii body or a Fujifilm X-S10 body but I'm building a lens plan at the same time. I'm thinking the Canon 22 f2 would suit me very well as all my travels are on a motorcycle. Thanks for taking the time bud!

[@ScottJWaldron]

Nice, I'm glad you found the video useful.

[@guardianobserver6593]

You are building a plan with a camera system that is abandoned? The best camera plan nowadays is to buy a good smartphone!

[@ohmartinbronson]

Great comparison video! I'll take a little vignetting over chromatic abberations any day. And man, every single video I've seen with the viltrox lenses, there is an annoying amount focus hunting in the video. It's a no brainer for me, and paired with the 32mm canon, the 22 and 32 make a fantastic "standard" duo. If I didn't have the 32mm and only had the 22mm, I would still be happy as a clam, but both is even better.

[@ScottJWaldron]

Glad you enjoyed it. These type of videos take a long time to make. I personally haven't experienced video focus issues with the Viltrox lenses but they can't handle automatic exposure mode well (same issue for the Sigma 56mm). Also, recently the Viltrox 33mm exhibited a weird occasional camera lockup issue in "A" mode. It was sprinkling out so water might have been the cause. But when I used the lens aperture ring it worked okay. It might be my specific lens. I don't use that one much considering I have the 32mm, but my next comparison will be those two. Canon lenses are definitely the way to go to get the most dependable lenses.

[@perrypelican9476]

Another winner video. Thanks.

[@cloud8426971305]

Thanks for the comparison. In short, you get what you paid for. But the price of the Viltrox is really good. For entry level it is a good option.

[@ScottJWaldron]

yep

[@andreaottolina]

Thank you for this detailed and complete review, I'm still thinking which lens I'm going to buy between these two, I make travel cinematic videos and now I'm starting to prefer the Viltrox one... I take some more time to think! :D

[@RodoVkz]

What if you lock the aperture on f1.4 and put automatic exposure on the camera you should have the aperture priority on video. Works good or not?

[@ScottJWaldron]

I tried it. Yes, the aperture is locked to the lens setting in auto exposure video mode when using the Viltrox aperture ring. It can even be changed with the ring while the recording is happening. However, the M50 does not adjust the shutter speed when bright light happens (stays fixed at 1/30th for 30p video and 1/100th for 60p). It adjusts is the ISO only. It will act weird when the scene is brighter than the camera can handle at ISO 100. If I shift the camera back and forth past a bright light or hold it there then the camera will pulse the ISO setting constantly in an attempt to fix the exposure. If the scene never goes past an exposure for the aperture selected plus 1/30 or 1/100 with ISO 100 it will look okay. Anything brighter will get pulsing video due to the ISO fluctuation.

[@RodoVkz]

@@ScottJWaldron thank you for the info. i thinking buy for that feature, now i will buy the sigma

[@brohemian]

@@ScottJWaldron Good to kno

[@Eat_More_Possum]

Excellent comparison! Thanks

[@ScottJWaldron]

Glad you liked the video. 📷😁

[@AmazingYana]

Awesome comparison!! Thank you!

[@ScottJWaldron]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mbismbismb]

I have the 22mm f2.0 lens paired with my m6 mark ii, it was super sharp even can handle the 32 mp sensor on the m6ii , impressed… sharper than my 30mm f1.4 sigma dcdn

[@johnherzel718]

I bought the 22mm canon, mostly for its size (pocketable almost) but I love it’s images. A solid walk around lens. Now do I get the Sigma 16 or is there another small wide prime for the M mount? I have the viltrox speed booster and standard adapter so I could adapt just about anything. Around 12mm seems nice. But I want it to be small and wide. I

[@ScottJWaldron]

There were rumors of Viltrox making a wide angle autofocus prime for EF-M, but I haven't seen anything about it recently. I don't know if you'd save much money going with a Canon EF lens. I'd be leery about 3rd party EF lenses. You won't know if they will work well until taking a chance on one. From Wikipedia I'm seeing a Canon EF 15mm f/2.8, but the used price is more than the Sigma EF-M 16mm and I'd expect it to not work as well.

[@johnherzel718]

@@ScottJWaldron I’m thinking that the sigma EF-M 16 is going to be the one, I just wish it were smaller. I have used my Sigma 18-35 with adapter with great results but it gets bulky. I am really quite comfortable with f2.0 primes. Wish there were more available, they really make a nice compact setup. I thought Viltrox was making a 17mm as well. That would be bought the day it became available

[@CryoftheProphet]

Great video, thanks!

[@ScottJWaldron]

Glad it was useful.

[@xvii8693]

I have a M50 Mk2 and go to local shows. In your opinion what would be best to use?

[@ScottJWaldron]

If you mean photos of people on a stage then that's going to depend on how close you can get. Large aperture is good because usually shows have dark lighting, but these two lenses are relatively wide angle. There are not many native autofocus lenses that have longer focal lengths and large maximum apertures. If you want an idea of what could work use your 15-45mm kit lens set at various focal lengths (move the zoom ring) to decide what might work. If 45mm doesn't zoom in enough then assume you need a lens that gives you more reach like the Sigma or Viltrox 56mm. Here are the few native lenses: bhpho.to/3R8Dxit (as a B&H affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases)

[@xvii8693]

@@ScottJWaldron I move around alot of the times when i go to local shows and struggle with the low lighting situation. Ive used the kit lens in many occasions due to budgeting but managed to get away with a lot of great pictures 😁 however I tend take more close shots of the musicians so I think the viltrox 56mm would be the best fit for the situation and then also thinking about it im probably going invest for a 22mm later for the wider scope of the shows

[@sidebysidewithbp]

Which one is better for food/ product photography?

[@ScottJWaldron]

Consider something with a longer focal length like the Canon EF-M 32mm f/1.4.

[@Retro_LetGo]

the purplish color in viltrox lens looks bad

[@vgee3926]

Just bought the Viltrox..has SUPER bad vignetting at 1.4

[@ScottJWaldron]

I see, that's too bad it doesn't fit your needs. Hopefully you can return it. I can't recall what I covered in this video.

[@DineshBhadwal]

Which one has IS?

[@ScottJWaldron]

Neither

[@DineshBhadwal]

@@ScottJWaldron Thanks.

[@lau1812]

The image quality of the vitrox is better. The canon is cheaper and smaller

[@ArteUltra1195]

Damn that Viltrox got smoked, they could have done alot better for the size tbh