Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Lens Nikon Z Mount Full Frame Auto Focus

I was a little skeptical with 3rd party lenses but decided to try this one out, as I needed a lens that could give me more light on my APSC camera. This is by far my favorited prime lens that I've used. Depending on what you need, I use it to film videos and this lens was able to give me very beautiful bokeh. The autofocus works very well when paired with my camera and creates a buttery smooth authentic background blur that makes my object in focus a lot more separation from its surrounding. The aperture ring on the lens is also very helpful if you want to change the f stop quickly, offering a noticeable click at each stop. Considering its price, this lens can definitely imitate what a full frame camera can do at a fraction of the cost of a full frame lens. It's a ... MoreI was a little skeptical with 3rd party lenses but decided to try this one out, as I needed a lens that could give me more light on my APSC camera. This is by far my favorited prime lens that I've used. Depending on what you need, I use it to film videos and this lens was able to give me very beautiful bokeh. The autofocus works very well when paired with my camera and creates a buttery smooth authentic background blur that makes my object in focus a lot more separation from its surrounding. The aperture ring on the lens is also very helpful if you want to change the f stop quickly, offering a noticeable click at each stop. Considering its price, this lens can definitely imitate what a full frame camera can do at a fraction of the cost of a full frame lens. It's a must buy for anyone that wants an APSC prime lens!

Coma not controlled well.

For astro-photography, this would have been a promising lens. Unfortunately, coma is not well controlled, at least not with my copy. See images attached. Even without zooming in, the coma effect shows clearly. I would have given 3 stars but considering the price to performance ratio, this is still a very good lens in all other aspects.The lens is very well built, but like the Zeiss Batis series, the LCD display is essentially useless due to very high inaccuracies. Measuring the same distance can have deviations of about 2m or more, very erratic. Since the LCD has no practical value, I rather don't have it at all, but I don't think the LCD can be turned off as this would save battery.power. Otherwise, the optics is razor sharp. Super wide angle lenses with auto ... MoreFor astro-photography, this would have been a promising lens. Unfortunately, coma is not well controlled, at least not with my copy. See images attached. Even without zooming in, the coma effect shows clearly. I would have given 3 stars but considering the price to performance ratio, this is still a very good lens in all other aspects.The lens is very well built, but like the Zeiss Batis series, the LCD display is essentially useless due to very high inaccuracies. Measuring the same distance can have deviations of about 2m or more, very erratic. Since the LCD has no practical value, I rather don't have it at all, but I don't think the LCD can be turned off as this would save battery.power. Otherwise, the optics is razor sharp. Super wide angle lenses with auto focus is somewhat overkill since everything is sharp due to high DOF, especially at smaller apertures. Nevertheless, the AF works flawlessly. If you can get a good copy, this would be a very nice astrophotography lens.

Excellent price to performance ratio.

Pros:-Excellent build quality.-No play in the focus or aperture ring.-Everything about this lens has a feeling of substance and quality.-The color rendering is very good and the sharpness outstanding, even wide open and by my perception, still very good in the far corners. This combined with the good controlled coma aberration makes it also a very good astrophotography lens (NOTE: I only know the good coma performance from reviews, not from personal experience).-Almost no geometric distortions!-Feels nicely balanced on the Sony camera body.-From the aesthetics view point, this lens looks very nice on the Sony camera body.-Less important but worth mentioning: Just touching and feeling the finish of the lens is a joy.- Lens firmware updates via USB3 ... MorePros:-Excellent build quality.-No play in the focus or aperture ring.-Everything about this lens has a feeling of substance and quality.-The color rendering is very good and the sharpness outstanding, even wide open and by my perception, still very good in the far corners. This combined with the good controlled coma aberration makes it also a very good astrophotography lens (NOTE: I only know the good coma performance from reviews, not from personal experience).-Almost no geometric distortions!-Feels nicely balanced on the Sony camera body.-From the aesthetics view point, this lens looks very nice on the Sony camera body.-Less important but worth mentioning: Just touching and feeling the finish of the lens is a joy.- Lens firmware updates via USB3 cable.-This copy of lens has well centered optics (lens center test) and hopefully the production tolerances spread over large volumes are as well controlled as Zeiss lenses are.Cons:The LCD display on the top has a variety of functions that could be very useful, but the the distance to object measurement alone is even further off than with the Zeiss Batis lens displays. As an example, focusing on a subject further away, the distance measurement states 1.98m when it is really close to 3m. An object that is closer than the object that was further away, it displays 2.38m when it is really about 1.5m away. So this part of the display function has no credence.Conclusion:This lens is a true bargain and if Viltrox continues on this path, it will give the native Sony lenses a run for the money. This lens is prove of it.

Great for the price

I wanted to try my hand at some very amateur astro shots and this lens seemed to fit the bill. Granted I haven't gotten around to that yet as it's incredibly hot and humid 24 hours a day where I live right now, I have used it for casual shooting. My copy seems to be very sharp, even wide open. The autofocus is typical Viltrox, somewhat finicky but mostly reliable. Better than my 23mm APS-C from Viltrox. The on-lens screen is questionable at best and the lens hood would have to try hard to be any worse than it is. Even with those issues, when I compare the price to the 14mm GM, this lens is five stars all day. Being able to use standard lens filters is a big bonus as well. Viltrox is making huge strides in the fast prime market and this lens is a testament to that.

Great performance and great value

I just received this item today so my experience is limited. I have 14 lenses and have tested them out over the years. I always test central and corner sharpness, spherical aberration, chromatic aberration, and ergonomics. After gaining experience I look at color interpretation, autofocus, contrast and micro-contrast. So far, I can say that my copy of this lens at times is a bit slow to focus but very accurate. It has focused accurately in very dim light. At f1.8 the central sharpness is excellent and there is slight softness in the corners which become very sharp at f2.8. Evaluating micro-contrast will come later. I really find the LED display unnecessary and as others have stated the distance shown is mostly not accurate but at times it is. What I will test is ... MoreI just received this item today so my experience is limited. I have 14 lenses and have tested them out over the years. I always test central and corner sharpness, spherical aberration, chromatic aberration, and ergonomics. After gaining experience I look at color interpretation, autofocus, contrast and micro-contrast. So far, I can say that my copy of this lens at times is a bit slow to focus but very accurate. It has focused accurately in very dim light. At f1.8 the central sharpness is excellent and there is slight softness in the corners which become very sharp at f2.8. Evaluating micro-contrast will come later. I really find the LED display unnecessary and as others have stated the distance shown is mostly not accurate but at times it is. What I will test is whether the distance reading is consistent as opposed to accurate. To test consistency I will set the camera on a tripod and use autofocus on a group of books in a bookcase. After getting an initial reading of the distance I will turn off the camera and move the focus in manual so that it is very distant from the distance reading obtained in autofocus. After turning the camera on again I will again use the autofocus (camera has been on tripod i.e. no change in camera position) and see whether the same distance figures are in the LED display. There are many uses for that information. For example, with extremely wide lenses I like to use zone focusing for street photography. If I know in advance that setting the focus ring in manual mode to a distance of 3 meters and shooting at f8 I can attain a depth of field of 1.5 meters to infinity then I can shoot just about anything in my viewfinder without refocusing. That would require knowing that when I set the focus ring at 3 meters (in manual focus mode) it is always covering the same depth of field. This may not be the case but I will test it. I should mention that I find the spherical aberrations (barrel distortion) very well corrected for a lens of this focal length. I can not comment on chromatics or micro-contrast until I have shot real world subjects. As far as ergonomics I find the lens difficult to take off the camera because of the narrow neck of the lens where it is hard to not turn the aperture ring when grabbing the lens. I do like the aperture ring. Manual focus has just the right amount of tension (I am mostly a manual photographer). I am expecting good results of milky way photography but that constitutes less than 1% of my photography. Exposures of about 10 to15 seconds should yield images with minimal star tracks, i.e. nice round stars. Having a stable of very heavy and bulky Sigma ART lenses, I am very pleased with the size and weight of this lens . It balances well on my Sony A7R4. I have several Voigtlander manual lenses and they are less bulky and lighter than this Viltrox, however it should be easy to carry around for hours on end without fatigue. All things considered it is a great lens.

[Rewarded Review] Almost Perfect!

This lens is highly regarded by reviewers, but I usually take those reviews with caution. In this case however, I gotta say that the praise is earned because this lens is exceptional. My copy has no significant decentering issues on 45mp and has excellent optical performance. AF is quick, snappy, and accurate. Build quality is heavy and beast-like, though I wish it were a little smaller. The screen is nice, but I think the buttons and switch are more useful. My only complaint is that firmware update and customization instructions are nearly non-existent. You can download the Viltrox app to calibrate the focus distances on the screen and wirelessly update the firmware, but I had to figure all of that out myself using only breadcrumbs of information on Viltrox's ... MoreThis lens is highly regarded by reviewers, but I usually take those reviews with caution. In this case however, I gotta say that the praise is earned because this lens is exceptional. My copy has no significant decentering issues on 45mp and has excellent optical performance. AF is quick, snappy, and accurate. Build quality is heavy and beast-like, though I wish it were a little smaller. The screen is nice, but I think the buttons and switch are more useful. My only complaint is that firmware update and customization instructions are nearly non-existent. You can download the Viltrox app to calibrate the focus distances on the screen and wirelessly update the firmware, but I had to figure all of that out myself using only breadcrumbs of information on Viltrox's website. Viltrox needs a better effort into communicating to their customers about this stuff. I take a star off for that.

[Rewarded Review] I received a bad copy

I'm reserving judgement until a replacement is received and I test it out. I received a bad copy that had difficulty connecting to my Nikon Z6 and Z8, and my computer would not recognize it as a valid USB device. Connecting to a computer is the way to update the firmware. The lens takes a minute or more to boot up when connected to the camera and then turned on, and then it would periodically lose connection to the bodies. I was able to take some limited photos and it seemed to work well - well enough to give it another chance. My recommendation to buyers is to connect it to your computer with a USB-C cable to see if it is recognized by the operating system.I was within the 30-day return period. B&H technical staff were very helpful during a video session and ... MoreI'm reserving judgement until a replacement is received and I test it out. I received a bad copy that had difficulty connecting to my Nikon Z6 and Z8, and my computer would not recognize it as a valid USB device. Connecting to a computer is the way to update the firmware. The lens takes a minute or more to boot up when connected to the camera and then turned on, and then it would periodically lose connection to the bodies. I was able to take some limited photos and it seemed to work well - well enough to give it another chance. My recommendation to buyers is to connect it to your computer with a USB-C cable to see if it is recognized by the operating system.I was within the 30-day return period. B&H technical staff were very helpful during a video session and sales staff were quick to issue a refund, return materials, and create a new order.

[Rewarded Review] Rainbows, Auroras, Milky Way & SAR

I would give this lens 6 stars if I could... or, a whole milky way of stars even...Moving from DX DSLR (Nikon D7200) to FX Mirrorless (Nikon Z7ii) meant having to purchase a bunch of new lenses. Living in northern MN with frequent access to Northern Lights displays, I knew I had to have a fast wide angle lens in my camera bag. But, I also didn't have a sky high budget. Enter the Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 FE Lens. The reviews looked good so I took the plunge. And, I'm very happy I did.Not long after purchasing the camera and lens, a rainbow appeared in front of our house at sunrise one morning. This 16mm lens allowed me to capture the whole thing! A few days later, I got to test the lens out on an Aurora display and I wasn't disappointed. Later, after yet another ... MoreI would give this lens 6 stars if I could... or, a whole milky way of stars even...Moving from DX DSLR (Nikon D7200) to FX Mirrorless (Nikon Z7ii) meant having to purchase a bunch of new lenses. Living in northern MN with frequent access to Northern Lights displays, I knew I had to have a fast wide angle lens in my camera bag. But, I also didn't have a sky high budget. Enter the Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 FE Lens. The reviews looked good so I took the plunge. And, I'm very happy I did.Not long after purchasing the camera and lens, a rainbow appeared in front of our house at sunrise one morning. This 16mm lens allowed me to capture the whole thing! A few days later, I got to test the lens out on an Aurora display and I wasn't disappointed. Later, after yet another Aurora display had died out, I started photographing the Milky Way. I noticed a red streak across those photos and, to start with, wondered if there was something wrong with my new lens! I soon discovered that the lens was just fine, the red streak was a SAR -- related to but distinct from the Aurora. I never even knew such a thing existed.In any case, the Viltrox was proving to be the right choice for me for its intended purpose -- Aurora and other night sky photography -- and more.For night sky photography, I shoot manual everything -- including MF -- with the lens wide open so I can keep the shutter speed relatively high (we're still talking seconds vs. fractions of seconds) and the ISO as low as possible (to reduce noise). I love the digital distance display on the top of the lens which, while the accuracy may be questionable, at least tells me when I'm focused just short of infinity -- to keep foreground subjects reasonably focused as well as the stars and anything else in the sky. I do wish there was a way to turn the display off though, since it could potentially be an annoyance to any other photographers who may be nearby (a little piece of gaffers tape will help mitigate this concern). The lens also couples nicely with the focus assist bar that shows up in my camera while rotating the focus collar (I've found that not all 3rd party lenses do this). This feature almost makes the focus display on the lens redundant. The focus collar is smooth. AF/MF switch is firm but not stiff so switching is easy but not so easy that it happens accidently. The aperture ring can be set to click between settings or have the clicks turned off. Again, the switch itself has a perfect feel -- not too firm and not too soft. The aperture ring itself locks nicely -- with the goldielocks feel to it -- into the A mode for when you want to control the Aperture from the camera. Although I mostly use this lens in MF mode, the few tests I've made with AF shows it to be fast to focus with a minimal amount of noise. Probably a bit more noise than you'd want to have for videos however. I have no idea whether I'll ever use the function buttons on the lens but it's nice to know they are there just in case.I've been extremely happy with the operation and results from this lens. Definitely great value, especially for the price.

[Rewarded Review] Wow, Viltrox.

I don't often buy third party lenses and when I do, I'm generally picky and stick to specific brands. However, Nikon hasn't opened the doors to the big names for full-frame primes just yet, so enter Viltrox and this lens.I really want to endorse this lens. I like how it renders. AF is good. It feels ok in the hand. It's sharp. In the concert photos I've shot with it, colors are good. But the display is completely useless. There's no way to lock or disable the aperture ring (which rotates fairly easily on mine), and the lens hood doesn't click on very well. In fact, the lens hood can rotate off extremely easily, which is what happened to mine, and it must have fallen off while the camera as at my side while I was walking through grass somewhere.The best part: I ... MoreI don't often buy third party lenses and when I do, I'm generally picky and stick to specific brands. However, Nikon hasn't opened the doors to the big names for full-frame primes just yet, so enter Viltrox and this lens.I really want to endorse this lens. I like how it renders. AF is good. It feels ok in the hand. It's sharp. In the concert photos I've shot with it, colors are good. But the display is completely useless. There's no way to lock or disable the aperture ring (which rotates fairly easily on mine), and the lens hood doesn't click on very well. In fact, the lens hood can rotate off extremely easily, which is what happened to mine, and it must have fallen off while the camera as at my side while I was walking through grass somewhere.The best part: I wrote Viltrox asking to order a replacement or if they had suggestions for how to keep the hood on, and their answer was, We do not plan to sell replacement hoods.Ok, great, love that. Guess I have to make do with a cheap screw-on hood... if I decide to keep this lens, which, given Viltrox's response, I probably won't.