Viltrox 50mm f/1.8 Lens for Sony E-Mount Review

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In today’s video we will explore the Viltrox 50mm f1.8 and see if it’s worth getting for your Sony full-frame camera. The Viltrox 50mm f1.8 was released on January 2022 and at the time it was one of the few competitors in this category with the Sony 50mm f1.8 lens. This Viltrox lens is a little bit more expensive than the Sony lens but it has much quieter and faster autofocus and shows very strong optical performance. Although it is a full-frame lens, you can also use it in crop sensor APSC cameras which will give you an equivalent field of view of 75mm.

Check current price - Viltrox 50mm f1.8

Build Quality

This lens is a very compact and well-built lens but is not as light as the Sony lens. It has a 55mm filter size. The lens overall feels very well built and has a great construction.

The Focus ring is nicely built and there is also an Aperture ring that the Sony equivalent lacks. There is also a USB C port for firmware updates. Although it is not weather-sealed, this lens has a weather-resistant coating.

Autofocus

The Autofocus is very quiet and fast, especially in video mode. It tracks the face and eyes very well. There is no autofocus switch or a manual focus switch and the minimum focus distance is 21.7 inches.

Sharpness

In terms of the sharpness, even at F1.8 wide open it is still quite sharp. Although, the corners were soft, sharpness was still very good compared to other lenses. Corners improve as we close down the aperture at higher f-stops.

Bokeh

At times, bokeh was not that pleasant. You could notice onions in some of those bokeh balls. But when looking at the image as a whole, bokeh is quite nice.

Chromatic Aberration

There is some fringing and chromatic aberration in this lens but this isn’t as obvious when looking at the image as a whole. It is more apparent when you zoom in and pixel peep.

Distortion and Vignetting

Talking about distortion then there is not any distortion in this lens, and the images and videos were very smooth. There is some vignetting in this lens but this isn’t anything your photo editor can’t correct for.

Verdict

Overall, the 50mm f1.8 from Viltrox is a solid alternative to the Sony 50mm f1.8. It is very well built, has fast autofocus, and is very sharp. The bokeh isn’t perfect but nice enough for a lens at this price point. The inclusion of an aperture ring is a nice touch.