Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 XF Lens for FUJIFILM-X (Silver)

I've been wanting a longer focal length for potraits, but I didn't know if I was fully prepared to drop the money on the Fuji 56mm. I thought that this Viltrox might be a good way to dip my toe into that focal length, and it definitely is. Pictures are sharp, so far. And though I haven't fully put it through its paces, it isn't immediately obvious that I'll want to upgrade to the Fuji 56mm. This seems like a good lens that's a great bang for the buck.

This is a good alternative to Fujifilm's 56mm f/1.2. I rented that lens, and was underwhelmed with it as a portrait lens: slow autofocus, anxious bokeh, large, heavy, and very expensive. Frankly I don't think it's one of Fuji's better lenses compared to their others. It's not bad, it's just not up to the usual standard. It's one of their older ones and needs to be refreshed.The Viltrox is a decent high-value alternative to the Fujifilm but it's not mindblowing. It's clearly targeted as a compelling alternative, a direct competitor. It's light, compact, bright, and the autofocus is quite a bit better than the Fuji f/1.2. (See footnote.)It's got reasonable bokeh although to be honest I don't like it better than the Fuji's. A wicker chair in the background of one ... MoreThis is a good alternative to Fujifilm's 56mm f/1.2. I rented that lens, and was underwhelmed with it as a portrait lens: slow autofocus, anxious bokeh, large, heavy, and very expensive. Frankly I don't think it's one of Fuji's better lenses compared to their others. It's not bad, it's just not up to the usual standard. It's one of their older ones and needs to be refreshed.The Viltrox is a decent high-value alternative to the Fujifilm but it's not mindblowing. It's clearly targeted as a compelling alternative, a direct competitor. It's light, compact, bright, and the autofocus is quite a bit better than the Fuji f/1.2. (See footnote.)It's got reasonable bokeh although to be honest I don't like it better than the Fuji's. A wicker chair in the background of one of my shots looked like it was just the right frequency to washboard instead of blurring smoothly. You'll have to be careful about what's not in-focus so you don't get distractions from the subject. Not everything just melts into dreaminess.Optically, it's very good but falls short of excellent. Sharpness is good with only slight field curvature. (Read Roger Cicala's articles on Digital Photography Review to learn more about assessing sharpness more specifically than the usual sharp/soft descriptions you'll read online.)More problematic than sharpness is chromatic aberration. Out-of-focus areas have pretty significant green/purple fringing. You'll need to be careful with high-contrast defocused areas to get good color rendering. The attached sample image demonstrates this; it's harsh sunlight shining sideways across paving stones. The shadows nearer to the camera are purple, more distant are green. This is shot wide-open at roughly a meter so it's a worst-case demonstration of this weakness. For me, 56mm is pretty long for portraiture, so I'm generally going to be much further from my subject and DoF is correspondingly greater; and that mitigates the effect a lot.These weaknesses are acceptable and pretty easy to work around once you know about them. I like this lens. It's a keeper, and I hope it encourages Fujifilm to engineer a newer generation of the venerable 56mm f/1.2!Footnote: I did get one weird blip in cold weather where suddenly my camera started activating focus check aids, as if the lens stopped signaling to the camera that it was AF capable. It hasn't recurred, so maybe I hit the focus lever button accidentally.

I'm giving this five stars based on quality for the money and compact size. Photography is my full time living so I test every lens I buy both in the studio with ISO 12233 targets and in the field. Although there are some subtle differences between this and the Fujinon 56mm 1.2 R which I also owned for a few years, they are not significant.The Viltrox is slightly sharper in the center from f1.4 through f4 then the difference is less noticeable from 5.6 and smaller. The Fuji is only slightly better at the extreme edges and corners. If you're using this as a portrait lens the difference is immaterial.I love that it's also small and lightweight. Although I really loved my Fuji 1.2, it's not worth 3X the price, the extra bulk and weight and I rarely shoot at 1.4 ... MoreI'm giving this five stars based on quality for the money and compact size. Photography is my full time living so I test every lens I buy both in the studio with ISO 12233 targets and in the field. Although there are some subtle differences between this and the Fujinon 56mm 1.2 R which I also owned for a few years, they are not significant.The Viltrox is slightly sharper in the center from f1.4 through f4 then the difference is less noticeable from 5.6 and smaller. The Fuji is only slightly better at the extreme edges and corners. If you're using this as a portrait lens the difference is immaterial.I love that it's also small and lightweight. Although I really loved my Fuji 1.2, it's not worth 3X the price, the extra bulk and weight and I rarely shoot at 1.4 much less needing 1.2. Unless you shoot film, apertures that wide are more about trying to impress others than practicality. If you focus on someones eyelashes at f1.2 there's a decent chance their cornea will be out of focus. Many times the Eye-AF system can't even be accurate enough for 1.4 or 1.2.I still want to use this in everyday shooting some more for the final word but so far it's a keeper.