Viltrox 35mm f1.8 Lens REVIEW: Cheap AND Good?! SURPRISING RESULTS! (Nikon / Sony)

[@Photomeike]

Jared is late to the Viltrox party. But better late than never! Before Tamron and Sigma got off their high horses and decided to support the Nikon Z mount. Viltrox was the only 3rd party manufacturer holding it down with lenses like the 85mm f1.8Z, the 24mm, 50mm, 35mm, 13mm f1.4 for APSC, and a bunch of other lenses. Put some respect on Viltrox! 🙌🏾

[@mandula10]

4 years late, to be exact. The first Z-mount Viltrox lens (the 85 mm f/1.8 Z you mentioned), was released back in 2020! Five lenses in 2021, two in 2022, three in 2023 and so far, three lenses released in 2024 as well. 7-7 for both FX and DX, all AF lenses for Z mount.

[@johnw.3636]

Wait, Tamron and Sigma didn't want to make Z lenses?

[@sbroadbentphoto]

Nikon didn’t let them. Viltrox kind of did it unethically by backwards engineering

[@IanHobday]

Nothing about "high horses", Canon and Nikon both refused to grant mount licenses and Sigma and Tamron have refused to go back to reverse-engineering protocols in a post-Sony world. Canon and Nikon have now both started allowing heavily restricted licenses, but if a vibrant selection of 3rd party glass (especially FF) is important to you then Sony remains the only choice.

[@Photomeike]

Nikon could have easily did to Viltrox what Canon did to Samyang and other manufacturers. But they didn’t. As a matter of fact, I’ve never once heard Nikon say that they weren’t allowing third party lenses on their system. And I’ve also never heard Sigma or Tamron say they weren’t allowed to make the lenses. In fact I once heard a Tamron rep himself say that they had a huge selection of F Mount lenses that could be adapted to the Z-Mount if you wanted to use their lenses.

[@MotionPictureStills]

You have to try out their pro glass for APSC the 27 and 75 1.2 are amazing

[@ElementaryWatson-oxo]

who cares, APS-C is dead

[@pierrelouisvisuals]

@@ElementaryWatson-oxo you’re just saying anything at this point lol

[@ElementaryWatson-oxo]

@@pierrelouisvisuals 🤡projecting much, lol

[@visionz_n_media]

I got this lens for Z mount when it first came out and it has been a surprisingly reliable lens that is now 3 years old. As a portrait photographer the image quality and performance has been great for my use.

[@JoeHoddinott]

It's about time you gave Viltrox some love. They make really decent affordable glass. However it's a 3rd party lens. 4th party means something completely different - 4th party would be the suppliers Viltrox/Sigma/Tamron/etc. uses to make the lens for Nikon/Sony/Fuji/etc. cameras.

[@averobinramos1496]

Viltrox started to release Pro series for Apsc cameras. Hoping to see Pro version for full frame soon.

[@im.js.17]

There is a leaked roadmap which includes a 35, 50, and 85 mm full frame "Pro" lenses all at f1.4 for E/Z mounts. There are also "LAB" versions of these same lenses on the roadmap for the same mounts with all of the "LAB" series being f1.2. I have used both the 13mm 1.4 and 27mm 1.2 lenses for apsc, and they are fantastic

[@OnlyCitrus]

@@im.js.17 LAB 135 f1.8 is at the verge of launching

[@paulgood2218]

Ya if it's not available for full frame I don't see it as a pro lens.

[@Philtho]

@@paulgood2218 Same, but medium format instead of full frame. FF is for scrubs.

[@im.js.17]

@@Philtho me reading this on APSC lol. I do want me a GFX though, maybe one day

[@brookspeacock5302]

I got a Viltrox 16mm f1.8 & it does a great job. Close up flower, wide landscapes all look great.

[@prenticeshalamar4706]

Lissssssseeennnn that Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 is sharp as a bag of razors. I have one for my E mount and it's ridiculously sharp.

[@OnlyCitrus]

The initial corp of lenses from Viltrox such as the 23,33,56,24,35,50,85 were decent enough but the lenses that came after such as the 13,16,27,75 are all brilliant options. Would love to see you test out those 4.

[@polmestra]

Pretty cool that we now have these options . I recently picked up the Samyang 35 1.8, it's plasticky but that was the main selling point for me because I wanted something very light to carry around . Very happy with what I getting 😊

[@Eihei]

O love that little Sammy, it's so light you forget it's there!

[@erickman41]

I had a chance to test out the Viltrox 85mm 1.8 RF before Canon shut down 3rd party lenses. And it was amazing

[@thefourthquarter7429]

Professional photographer and still love lenses like this. At this price I can afford to purchase focal lengths I don't use very often that I can use for portraits. Portraits are easy subjects because the AF doesn't need to be that fast to nail the shots. That allows me to purchase the pro lenses for faster moving action or when I want to use zooms. Glad to see such an inexpensive option. Note that purchasing used is also a very good option to get 1st quality glass at a big discount.

[@MichaelFrederickPhoto]

I have 4 Viltrox primes for my X-H2 and they are the balls!!! The 13, 27, & 75mm extremely impressed!

[@JohnErvin-x4o]

Yoooooo, show some respect! Viltrox 13mm, 27mm, and 75mm for fuji is flawless!

[@Razor2048]

For some photography situations, e.g., photographing events such as color run, and other events where the camera will get dirty, people will often seal the camera and lens body in a bag, and then flap on a clear filter on the front, which protects the front element and the threads for attaching filters. If done right, the camera will remain spotless.

[@Dave_Andre]

Lenses like this makes it easier to jump straight to the fullframe system. It's small, light, and inexpensive for us beginners. Glad you're considering viltrox now to try and review fro.

[@lsaideOK]

Since you're talking so much about the out of focus area, I think the nine blades probably do make a difference in this case. A nice review. I like how you did not reduce the noise in the high ISO images.

[@ElMundoDuro]

I got the Viltrox 85mm F1.8 for my A7RIV 3 years ago. I wanted an 85mm portrait lens, but portraits are not what I do most of the time. So it made sense to get a budget friendly lens to fill a gap in case I needed it. It worked great. I ended up using it for some client work and they all loved it. I just wish they would make an 85mm F1.2 for L mount.

[@danielschmaderer]

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s said this, but a lot of Fujifilm shooters use Viltrox for the price and surprising quality for their f/1.8 and larger lenses. I’m very curious to try their 13mm f/1.4 and 27mm f/1.2 myself. That being said, nice shots as always.

[@wakeywarrior]

I’ve had all sorts of cameras and lenses and the Viltrox 13mm APSC Z mount lens is one of the best lenses I’ve had. Don’t worry they don’t break they are built like a tank.

[@alastairnorcross]

Looks like a pretty nice lens for the price. And it's great for Nikon and Sony users to have this alternative to their native offerings. If it were available for RF mount, I wouldn't be tempted, though. The RF 35 F1.8 is only $120 more at full price, and often available for $399. It's much closer focusing (closer than any other 35 currently available), and has IS. A lot of people still complain that you can't get 3rd party lenses in RF mount (though soon there'll be some crop lenses from Sigma and Tamron), but when Canon's own 35 F1.8 is so cheap, and offers features that other 35s don't have (even much more expensive ones), and is really sharp to boot, the whining is really only for the sake of whining.

[@Neopulse00]

It's so interesting because Darren Miles gave his two cents recently regarding 3rd/4th party lenses saying just how good the lenses are and how they are closing the gap even more with each generation to native glass. It's hard to hate on them when almost none are bad compared to the 2008-2012(ish) DSLR days.

[@smallrtech]

Viltrox starts to have very intersting options, I'm very curious about their future lineup "lab" and will it be able to compete against 3rd parties for les price ? Good review as always.

[@zygmuntziokowski7877]

Thanks! Nice review, but they also make a 40mm lens. Which lens would you prefer? 35mm or 40mm?

[@Vendetta725]

'd go for the 35mm f1.8 over this 40mm f2.5. Although, the latter is so much lighter and, cheaply, affordable, the f1.8 max aperture on the 35mm is what I'm more interested in. But, yes, I'mstill goingfor this 40mmf2.5 if it meant getting a much lighter payload on my Gimbal. 😅

[@TECH3_]

Last sept I bought my first camera an A7C , didn't got a kit lens but instead bought a Tamron 28-200 f2.8 - 5.6 ( for general photography and travel needs ) and a viltrox 50mm f1.8 and that viltrox is a lovely lovely lens, focuses as good as the tamron as well

[@LOLA6ifyable]

Good match for ZF with the aperture ring

[@docfink]

I loved my pre-owned 35mm Nikon Z lens but didn't use it much. I ended up selling it a while back but just picked up a Nikon refurbished one for about $200 more than the Viltrox. I'm glad to have it back in the stable.

[@LMActionsports]

These smaller lens companies are doing a phenomenal job coming out with quality glass at great prices. I have the Viltrox 16 f1.8, which is super sharp. But i also own the Samyang 35 and 85 f1.4 V1 for my Sony bodies. Even though i still use my Sony 135 gm, sigma 85 and 105 f1.4 lenses, i still use the viltrox and samyang lenses at all my weddings and photo shoots. It just depends on my needs and I get quality results that my clients love. They will never know the difference if I’m using a third-party lens like Samyang or viltrox.

[@MrCoolAttitude]

These China lenses def are improving since those meike plastic days.

[@paulconnors2078]

Are you going to review the still new 35 mm f1.4Z? There seems to be a lot of conflicting criticism of that lens when compared to Nikon's own f1.8 35 mm Z.

[@Philtho]

I've found Viltrox, TTArtisan, 7Artisans and a few others have incredibly good glass. Many of them have that 3D pop which is super duper rare these days, even with top tier pro glass. My favorite is the 25mm f2 from TTArtisan. Something about the IQ is just amazing. Their 23mm f1.4 is not so good, though.

[@Jnewtonwright]

I own their APSC 13 mm 1.4 and it’s amazing! Just ordered a Sony A7R IV this may be my first full frame. Great review!

[@danielschmaderer]

From what I heard, parallel lines at the edges of the 13mm are super straight, which makes for a great landscape and real estate lens.

[@LennonBright]

I've been using the original Viltrox 85 1.8 for years 🤙

[@rafaelmartinvannostrand2084]

I have a 5D mark III since 2014 and I'm waiting to switch to RF because Canon still doesn't have 3rd and "4th" party lenses. I do some occasionally professional photography with the 24-70 and 70-200 by canon, but I love to have some of these 3rd/4th party lenses because I'd like a fast lens for 24/35/50 and I don't fancy breaking the bank for a Canon lens. So Canon, actually not allowing 3rd party manufacturers to make RF lenses is preventing you to sell at least one camera

[@gastropodahimsa]

You should try the Viltrox 75mm f:1.2. It's APS-C, but so? I like it on a6700 and a7RV. Nice piece of work it is.

[@bikuda]

one humble question dear Yared. I am a amateur and i enjoy your videos. Why you put so fast shutter in low light, how much its the difference with a 320 shutter at 1.8. thanks for your help

[@chriswoodman_photography]

I love the viltrox and TTartisan lenses, especially on my Fuji setups, they're light and compact compared to my R5 and RF glass but still deliver when I use them.

[@roud11]

Third party lenses are constantly improving and that's a good thing, but we still hear a lot that anything not oem is bad and will not give results, thanks for your review

[@JasonLorette]

Nice to see an economical 3rd party (4th?) FF lens that works well for Z. Hoping to see some FF Sigma ART Z lenses at some point too.

[@janiscollette1737]

I have all GM master lens and I have to tell you that every Viltrox Pro lense I have is excellent. Both on my Fuji and Sony A7R5. You're a wide angle kinda guy....You should try the 16 1.8 for Sony.

[@thomassager1755]

I have the Viltrox 85mm/1.8 RF lens as a portrait lens on my R8. With autofocus and all. Well built. Not officially available today. Only the lens hood is trouble.

[@mastergogoy6166]

Yo Jared, you also gotta try the 16mm 1.8 of viltrox. It's also one of their best value for money lens

[@Xirpzy]

Viltrox is pretty good. I like the feel of their lenses. I like that its metal yet is light and fast, similar to Laowa manual lenses. Without compromising IQ. Canons lenses dont have that same premium feel tbh. Obviously dont have that snappy AF and amazing IS as native lenses but its so much cheaper.

[@Ckama]

what do you think about adapting f mount lenses for a larger access to budget lenses? like through KEH

[@timbtentacion8606]

Super late on Viltrox but glad they’re finally getting some love on this channel.

[@mvp_kryptonite]

3rd party dude. It’s also for people who simply don’t wish to break the bank. Looks like a great lens! Hopefully available on the RF mount soon

[@MischiefGamingShow]

I think it would be cool if you did a lens baby review to see how creative you can get with those manual focus lens. Lens baby trio would be a fun one. It might fail the wind tunnel test tho lmao

[@FyahAlex]

Fro shoots how i shoot. I don’t care about ISO. I always prioritize higher shutter speeds. ISO will just be what it will be.

[@danielschmaderer]

Some cameras grain looks nice out of camera. I personally don’t mind maxing out my iso with my X-T5. It gives a lot of character to some of my shots.

[@paololarocca7684]

hello, couldn't you use a flash in the photo of Jason Belmonte? doesn't it have a much better effect than using a super fast lens? to me it doesn't look that he is properly lit in that photo....

[@The510g]

I love your photos, Jared. Always good compositions and processing.

[@taylor2nd]

I ownthe 16mm 1.8 for emount. Love it. Def looking into this.

[@EvanNakagawa]

Not surprising at all. Got the Viltrox 16mm 1.8 for Sony and have zero complaints.

[@justin4n6]

What was on the left side of your camera when shooting the Globetrotters game?

[@ІванСмик-ц9г]

Hi. I just bought a Nikon Z5 and a Viltrox 35mm, and in my case, mounting the lens is quite difficult; I have to use some force. Did anyone else experience this? Is this some kind of defect, or is the mount supposed to get easier over time? I used to have a Canon, and I never had these issues.

[@ccudjoe89]

I was wondering how you mentioned them in the fix the other day! haha you should test the 16mm f1.8! heard only good things about it!

[@Heart0rHead]

What is the 2nd party? :)

[@Hodenkat]

I love my Canon 50mm f/1.8. I never leave it out of my bag.

[@juandavidmarinphoto]

Excelente ver los vídeos doblados en tu propio idioma.

[@Lucenafoto]

I had the 24mm 1.8 full frame for Sony and I hated it so much! Is not bad like the old lens are in 2010-2017. My Viltrox had bad colors, less sharp and really bad little details resolution but to get only photos that finish in instagram, it’s good enough. As good as it costs.

[@randyschwager84]

Thanks! Great review!

[@RichardFraser-y9t]

A nice 2nd lens, after the one that came with your camera.

[@nomadikmind3979]

my viltrox 85 mkii is probably my favorite lens....and i have sigma arts as well lol

[@jacquesnel8384]

We need a new t-shirt Fro… I shoot Raw, Without Filters. I want a purple one ☝️

[@youphototube]

Nice offering geeza.....

[@crazyphotobooth]

Does viltrox have lenses for the nikon D7200?

[@paulnicusor4595]

i have seen that they have a 24 1,8 , at 450$ in Romania, Nikon 24 1,8 is 3 times more... i might give a "shoot" on this brand , thanks alot thatyou highilight this ! Love yoour videos Jared, i learn alot from you in my 7 years of photography

[@davids2720]

So, they are kind of like how you regarded Tamron and Sigma 10 years ago. That's not a dig, we mostly all did. Have to say though, if I could get a Loawa Z 10mm, I would buy it without hesitation. But things always come to Saudi Arabia last...

[@Ra-Hul-K]

how does it compare to the Sony 35 f/1.8

[@ArtzPictureVideoProduction]

cam revie video tracking ? it is kay or bad tracking video

[@morecarstuff]

I need the 85 1.2 they are making to release like yesterday

[@NCSTalkid]

Focus warping is deal breaker for me. Also i got z35/1.8 secondhand for 500 bucks mint

[@ducknest]

Try Viltrox 16 F1.8

[@game2572]

Jared do you use flash

[@AlessioCorradini]

We love you buddy. But waching those sample pictures taken at X-thousands ISO for absolutely no reason, makes me cry. C'mon.

[@kellenholt6655]

A lot of people don’t realize the full impact of Sony opening their mount (and AF protocol) to third parties. Not only do we get more lens options as customers, but you don’t have lens manufacturers having to try to reverse engineer the autofocus protocols and thus putting out sub-quality products. It wasn’t surprising to me that the Sony version of this lens focused better than the Nikon version because of this. Third party lens manufacturers will always be good for the market. The first parties don’t like them because they are forced to improve their products to compete in a more diverse market. For customers though, this means not only more products but better products on the market.

[@angelfoto4795]

Sony didn't open anything, is up to Sony to provide the specs to the manufaturers under a NDA, and the specs are not even complete. The difference in AF could have a lot of contributing factors aside of the protocol used.

[@theshivrajroy]

Please try the viltrox 20mm f2.8

[@iveipe12]

So what would be a 2nd party lens?

[@justin4n6]

First party is the company that makes X. Second party is the person/company using X made by the first party. Third Party is a person/company that makes something that works with X but isn't the First Party. Sounds like the user is the 2nd party.

[@krisc1684]

I think of Rare for Nintendo during the N64 era as 2nd party. One company exclusively making products for another company

[@jorgeestremadoiro5542]

I just bought mine and is not working whit my z9😢

[@drthompson65]

Two Fro’s in a week?! Wow!

[@CristiancBucur]

Viltrox looks better than Z lenses for my eyes. I saw most of the Z offerings, and I was blown away by how good they felt and how well they looked. I will not buy though.

[@Outloud444]

Good review - would I buy the cheap Lens? $379 - NO

[@DobromirManchev]

Jared is now secretly back to being a full-time Nikon shooter, but is too ashamed to admit it publicly...

[@imtehaazmahmoodally248]

Can someone tell me if samyang 85mm f/1.4 f af nikon f lens is good any review on a full frame camera?

[@buzzj89]

You should review these on the Sony cams so we actually know how good the af is lol

[@froknowsphoto]

The next video is 85 1.8 for Sony.

[@mswoodydad]

Just so you know the now defunct ABA used the red, white, and blue basketball for the time they existed.

[@chuukaakio]

What is second party then?

[@im.js.17]

I'd say lens companies that have contracts with camera brands. Think Zeiss lenses for Sony, which when you buy new, some of which come in a Sony Alpha box. I'm also pretty sure that the Nikon 28-70 2.8 is actually Tamron, which is why it's not an S Line lens. I'd put that in the "2nd party" as well

[@OnlyCitrus]

I would assume the second party would be a lens made in conjunction with the main brand. Like how Tamron makes few Nikon lenses.

[@pslaathaug]

But does it have 3D pop?

[@thor9722]

I still love my RF 35 mm macro 1.8😂😂😂

[@Gogogordy1]

The bowler, Kyle and you must have the same hairdresser!

[@ALWH1314]

It’s funny people always concern about how ling a Chinese made product lasts, and the fact is we rarely keep anything long term anymore. I buy an expensive GM lens and a year later a new lighter faster sharper…. replacement comes out and I buy another one….. how about you?

[@spokolokofly]

keep pressing "0" :D

[@nomadikmind3979]

**obligatory head bob at intro music**

[@brunomola.2293]

My feelings about this lens: - Does not focus very well on video, hunts occasionally, uncertain behavior - Very long minimum focusing distance, 40cm... That's too much.

[@JoeHoddinott]

I haven't heard good things about the Viltrox 35/1.8 video AF which kept me away from it. However stuff like this would have been useful info in the review, but instead we got a lesson on bowlers and misinformation about what "4th party" means. It seems like a rushed review with very little useful info (like MFD) about the actual lens. My guess is now that Canon opened up their mount, this is him rushing to get some more 3rd party reviews up. I hope in the future he at least covers all the specs. But I guess that's why we thankfully have Christopher Frost.

[@richardrosen4368]

A great deal of noise, even at ISO 4000.

[@RussandLoz]

The Nikon 35mm 1.8 Z isn't very good and only slightly better than this Viltrox, I had both.

[@fangli]

Why you have both?

[@RussandLoz]

@@fangli I’m a lens reviewer 😊

[@fangli]

@@RussandLoz so viltrox worth to buy for budget people?

[@angelfoto4795]

The Nikkor is sharper, has better breathing and correction control, better flare resistance, better MFD, and has weather sealing. But I agree, the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 S is the least impressive of the 1.8 S line, although I still love bit. I have one for three years, working altmost exclusively with it. We will see if Viltrox's newer 35 1.2 and 1.4 have the edge over the Nikkor.

[@pperentes]

1/250th iso 4000 with a 35mm at a still subject 😉

[@simonmaduxx6777]

That is probably auto ISO and less than 1/250 leaves it subject to motion blur. Depending on the movement... If ISO 4000 is nice and clean enough, then there is no problem right 😮

[@pperentes]

@@simonmaduxx6777 Jared would be the first person roasting someone for that. The subect is still, any camera movement is compensated by ibis. 1/60 is plenty for that shot. Auto iso would have gone to 1000. Disagree?

[@simonmaduxx6777]

@@pperentes No I don't. I could just see why he did it. For many of us the goal is to keep the iso down. But when you have ISO 4000 looking so good on some of these cameras, I totally get it. Auto iso is pretty aggressive as well. In a darker place with the lights changing you don't really want to be flipping your shutter speed in your ISO back and forth, you'll just get yourself into trouble.

[@motionmosaicdesign]

ohh shit iam top comment ......................pls

[@MrPetebuster1]

No it's for anyone that doesn't get sucked in by the nikon marketing, you wont know the difference apart from in your wallet.

[@humanfirst11]

Ounce ( _with the measurement of unit Oz_ ) is the most stupid measuring unit.

[@froknowsphoto]

Great comment. Thanks for adding something valuable.

[@pratapsingh1785]

Bahut Hi Khrb Quality He Viltox Z Mount Ki 35 Mm Ki Koi Mt Lenaa

[@vincentrichard2703]

Why do you test a lens for Nikon cameras when you think their AF is so bad it's impossible to take foucused pictures ? 🤣