Why can you rely on techradar
We review every product or service, we review, so you can make sure you are buying the best. Get more information about how we test.
Viltrox AF 50 mm F2 Air: One-minute review
This is not my first Viltrox lens review, nor will it be my final, because the Chinese lens manufacturer is on a roll, prepares a string of excellent optics for all skill levels and budget users. Coming to the opposite end recently Cinema lens that can cost up to $ 200,000The cost of 50 mm F / 2 air is less than $ 200 / £ 200 / AU $ 320, and offers excellent value for money.
It is a small and light prime available for Sony E and Nikon Z Mounts – I had the latter for this review – with a decent maximum F/2 aperture to defocus the background. You haven’t found the fastest details or creamy bokeh that I have ever seen – for those you want to check out excellent Viltrox 135 mm f/1.8 lab – but Viltrox is an excellent contingent lens for 50mm f/2 enthusiasts, especially for portrait photography, and an ideal foil for a standard zoom.
I have liked the minimum focus distance of the lens slightly closely, which will increase its everyday photography credentials, while a couple of external controls will be welcomed by changing settings, such as the AF / MF switch. However, Viltrox AF 50 mm F2 provides air performance and image quality that believes in its price-and the fact that it squeezes the option of the ownership camera-brand with its aggressive pricing, cherry on the cake.
Viltrox AF 50 mm F2 Air Spac
|
Type: |
Standard head |
|
Mount: |
Nikon Z-Mount / Sony E-Mount |
|
Censor: |
full frame |
|
focal length: |
50 mm |
|
Maximum aperture: |
F/2 |
|
Minimum Focus: |
1.67ft / 0.51m |
|
Filter Size: |
58 mm |
|
Dimensions: |
Φ68 x 58.6 mm |
|
weight: |
7.8oz / 220g |
Viltrox AF 50 mm F/2 air: Price and Availability
- Available for Sony E and Nikon Z Mount
- $ 199 / £ 229 / AU $ 319 list price, but it can usually be found for low
Available around $ 200 / £ 200 / AU $ 320 and often available for slightly lower, Wiltrox AF50mm F / 2 Air is an excellent price prime lens, especially when you consider its build quality and optical performance.
Price-wise, it reminds me of the old canon EF and Nikon F-Mount DSLRS for cheap Nifty fifty, a inexpensive first prime for enthusiasts. Although there is bad news for some – Wiltrox’s lens is available only for Sony E and Nikon Z Lens Mount.
Viltrox AF 50 mm F/2 air: Design
- Weight is only 7.8oz / 220g
- No external button or control
- Available for Sony E and Nikon Z Mount
The 50 mm is F/2 air lens, as the name suggests, designed with emphasis on light weight on absolute performance – it is positively feather, especially compared to options such as its Z50 mm F/1.4 of Nikon.
It is also a small lens. I added 50 mm F/2 air with a Nikon Z6 II, and I could barely feel the lens. It is not often that I will describe a camera / lens pair as a rear-havi, but the same is here.
It is also an excellent value, with a selling price often the needle is needed under $ 200 / £ 200 / AU $ 319, and the list price is only slightly higher. For reference, nikon-out f/1.4 is twice the price (and doubles weight), while the Z 50 mm f/1.8 of Nikon is four times.
image 1 Of 4
Wiltrox’s lens is also well made-a rugged metal barrel and rear mount institute confidence, even though there is no proper weather-celibate to speak (such as compromising with such low-cost lenses).
A generous shaped focus ring with smooth and easy rotation, and it is for control. No AF / MF switch, no optical stabilization, no focus distance range – this is a simple bit of gear.
Depending on the lack of control, the camera with which you can pair with the lens, the change in the settings of the camera makes a slight excitement. My camera does not have AF / MF switch, and because the lens does not need to dive into the menu to switch between two focusing methods, which can be disappointing.
Otherwise, there is very little to talk about the design – it is a simple and mild optic that accepts 58 mm threaded filters and supplied with a decent lens hood.
Viltrox AF 50 mm F/2 Wind: Performance
- Bright maximum f/2 aperture ideal for illustration
- Quite limited-focusing capabilities
- Tight autofocus speed
This is not a pro-curvlitty lens, but optical quality and Wiltrox 50 mm F/2 air performance are completely sufficient for early and enthusiastic people.
Bright, zoom lens-beating maximum F/2 aperture ensures a lot of mild intake and makes this lens great for low-light photography, as well as to defocus the background for dreaming pictures. Bokeh is enough smooth – I have not really seen the ugly ‘onion ring’ effect that can be clear in cheap optics.
Optical clarity is completely acceptable, even though it is not the fastest 50 mm lens I have used. With slightly acceleration in the post, most users should be fully happy with the results.
I shot all images in JPEG and unplaced raw, and switched with lens corrections, there are minor signs of colored aberrations, but there is a proper handle of the voltrox on such distortions.
image 1 Of 3
I found that 1.67ft / 0.51m minimum focus distance is slightly limited to close-up shots-the most magnitude is a minor 0.11x. It is not really a macro lens in any way, and perhaps less than a everyday lens, in which the painting is its strongest suit.
Asperical (ASPH) with such a small and mild collection, with ED and IF lens elements, the 50 mm F/2’s STM autofocus motor is an easy task – those lens elements are easily transferred to quick and precise autofocus. Once I did not experience a dull autofocus due to the lens instead of the camera.
image 1 Of 4
Overall, Viltrox AF 50 mm F2 is a capable artist, especially when you consider its compact size, low price and bright maximum aperture. For users on a budget who want to step with a standard-zoom kit lens, this is an ideal option.
Viltrox AF 50 mm F2 Air Sample Gallery
image 1 Of 6
Should you buy Viltrox AF 50 mm F2 air?
Buy it if …
Do not buy it if …
How I tested Viltrox AF 50 mm F2 air
- I have used it in a loan period of several months
- I combined lens with a Nikon Z6 II
- I have used it in many scenarios, generally in fair weather, and checked image quality in various aperture settings.
I added a Z-Mount version of Viltrox AF 50 mm F2 air with Nikon Z6 II for several months, during this time this moderate use has been seen at this time, usually in the appropriate season. Size-wise, camera and lens are completely balanced, with no indication of wrist stress due to front-greenness.
To test optical quality, I have taken away portraits with aperture wide open on F/2, and also took a series of images in each aperture setting to compare and check the deformities of the lens.
