I really appreciate the way you share both the extreme "test" performance, for optics and autofocus, and the "real world" results. This is really critical, especially for these budget lenses. I see so many inexperience users miss out on these great lenses because of "tests" that will be irrelevant in their own real world use.
Mark, I recently bought the budget TTArtisan 50mm 1.2. Unreal! Manual focusing on that lens versus the electronic focusing… night and day. And when one is shooting video, you don’t need everything perfect. Cheers to you both for pumping out solid content.
fujifilm have really missed the mark with making XC varients for their lineup. The XC 35mm is amazing but for some reason they just stopped there. Chinese manufacturers have spotted the gap in the market and going to make a killing.
Surprise, surprise--another straightforward, comprehensive gear review. After watching videos on the Viltrox 27mm 1.2 (especially yours), I decided to stay in the Fuji system. I am glad I did; I took took some of my all-time favorite photos last weekend with that lens. And when zooming, the clarity and detail--my goodness. I will probably pick up this one and the 85mm. Have a terrific spring! (looking for new content ideas? I have been playing with DxO film pack 7. Pretty awesome.)
I literally just picked this up yesterday, and so far as the review you did it performs like a charm! However I had QC issues as I found out shortly that there was a speck of dust somewhere between the top elements so buyers do make sure to check that as well. Also for viltrox, thank you for updating the port to usb c! The older models all rock a micro USB port before.
Which one is better? TTArtisan or Viltrox? It’s so hard to choose between these two! I love that Viltrox has this clean, sharp look, but something about the TTArtisan 56mm f1.8 caught my eye - I keep reading that it has a really nice rendering in backgrounds. I’m a bit stuck on the idea of trying something with more personality for portraits. And people say TTArtisan is sharper for close up shots. Has anyone done a comparison in natural light?
Thats what i would *love* to buy into an instant ! Same 139 bucks - but 23mm F1.7 ! bought ! FYI, i own the fine & sexy XF Fujinon-R 23/1.4, but i won't buy this lens for another Fujifilm X mount camera twice ! Therefore - it would be excellent. Viltrox - are you monitoring?
This was an amazing review, as always, thanks! Cause I've been really waiting for a video like yours to get an in depth look at it's optical performance... I've been lusting over their 27mm f1.2 for a portrait lens, but I might just have to pick this up in the meantime, as it looks like an incredible value and frankly performance regardless of price!
I hope Viltrox will also produce a compact, budget 27mm/1.7 in the future - I'd even buy that as a more lightweight travel companion to their outstanding 27mm/1.2...
Wow Viltrox really killed it with this lens - superior in pretty much every way to the old 56mm 1.4 - except maybe in autofocus. The colors seemed to pop more in your comparison with the 56mm WR - was that the actual case or just a case of the light changing / use of a light? The gripes are no aperture ring, shallow hood (I'd prefer a little better protection), and poor close focusing. Other than that, this lens is basically a steal.
That is true, though something Viltrox changed at the last minute (I don't think Z mount is available yet). When they sent it to me, only X mount was available.
How well does this lens create background blur (bokeh)? Additionally, could you provide insights on its low-light performance? I'm also interested in understanding how the autofocus performs specifically for capturing moving subjects in photography, not videography.
Low light performance is okay, though it suffers from the typical limitations of Fuji autofocus in general. I've covered bokeh pretty thoroughly in the review already.
The Sigma is very, very sharp, but I do think the Viltrox is a slightly better blend of sharpness and rendering/bokeh. The AF in the Sigma is better, and it does have a weather sealing gasket (though no internal seals).
Great review. Viltrox are making some impressive lenses lately. I wonder how this compares to the XF50 f/2. I would love to see Viltrox do one of their Pro lenses at f/1.2 around this focal length.
Hi!. 4:38 mns: A F/1.7 aperture loose 21% of light compared to F/1.4. And it's +12 % brighter than F/1.8. There are ratios between circle surface. Let's take a 100mm focal lens. At F/1.0 aperture, the diameter of the circle is 100mm . Applying S=Pi.R^2, that means 2500 squared mm. At F/1.4, it's 1250 sqmm; at F/1.7 it's 865 sqmm and at F/1.8, it's 772 sqmm.
looking forward to seeing your review of the XF 56 1.2WR, I'm looking for a good portrait lens but my Jack Russell needs something with good focusing speed and I don't think the Viltrox can handle it haha... maybe the XF can?? Do you have any other recommendations? Thank you, great job!!
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks for the advice!! I had the Sigma in mind too, but I don't really like the result in flares against the sun from what I've seen in some reviews...
It's actually $216 in Europe (199 euro on Viltrox EU site). A bit more, but still a bargain, I think. Especially if the sharpness is good at 1.7 as you say. I ordered one with the intention to add to my street photography set. Fast AF not really a priority there.
@@robertlamont2611 It works fine. AF is not worse than the other lenses I have and feels well made. But have in mind this is a DX lens. On Z6II, the camera shoots 10MP photos. Not a problem for me, but for somebody could be
Viltrox now has excellent pro line， this amazing intry level series， I think they should have another 1.8 line as middle， metal body more refined af，gonna sell well
No need for another 1.8 middle line. I think they just need to work on refreshing the f1.4 line of lenses to match the quality of the entry and pro lines. Of course that assumes they also have this level of quality in whatever other entry level f1.7 lenses they release. A trio of lineups with ~35mm, ~50mm, ~85mm equivalent lenses like this: f1.7 f1.4 f1.2 With build quality, materials, additional features, and optical quality going up alongside aperture. This would be a fantastic lineup and bring a ton of business at every price level. Personally I'd love to buy into the f1.4 lineup as it's a very good compromise of size, weight, aperture, and price. But right now the optical qualities of that particular lineup are too much behind competition from other brands. The pro line is fantastic but too big for my current use cases. So surprisingly with the optically lacking f1.4 trio, I'm pushed more towards spending less and buying into this f1.7 lineup (assuming there's more lenses to come in this aperture)
Hey Dustin I love the videos keep up the awesome work! Is it possible for you to review older e mount lenes the used market has amazing deals but u don’t got reviews on some of the lenes( zeiss 35 2.8 zeiss 16-35 f4 &24 -70 f4
Viltrox has taken a slightly different approach here. They went ahead and announced the lens but then held off the public release date for any reviews until yesterday.
i bought this one (still waiting for delivery) to match my f1.2 (i'll stop to 1.6 or 1.8) for interview. I hope the AF will be fine for interview, otherwise I will have to set in MF
Definitely there is a group of mirrorless users for whom that is the priority, though I wouldn't say it is the whole point of mirrorless since all cameras are now mirrorless.
Obviously, the new 56 1.7 is better! I bought this lens at the first time, sharpness and AC is impressive, the only two drawbacks are: (1) boken is rotating, (2) when backlighting, the color tends to be yellowish
Nice review! Thank you very much. FYI, bokeh is pronounced like bouquet, but stress the “bo“ part and not the “quet“ (so it's, BO-kay). Totally doesn't matter if you don't change how you say it, but in case you care to. :) And interestingly… the same word is also used to mean “fuzzy in the head“, as an elderly person might become.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Sorry! No, I didn't mean that you should pronounce the “T“. The word I referenced is pronounced “bokay“, i.e. a bouquet of flowers. Anyway, I speak Japanese and that's why I decided to mention it. Everyone understands you and there's no problem pronouncing it how you want. Peace.
I really appreciate the way you share both the extreme "test" performance, for optics and autofocus, and the "real world" results. This is really critical, especially for these budget lenses. I see so many inexperience users miss out on these great lenses because of "tests" that will be irrelevant in their own real world use.
That's very true.
Mark, I recently bought the budget TTArtisan 50mm 1.2. Unreal! Manual focusing on that lens versus the electronic focusing… night and day. And when one is shooting video, you don’t need everything perfect. Cheers to you both for pumping out solid content.
This is like Viltrox's own XC variants of their lenses. Great review Dustin, love this new format!
That's a good perspective.
fujifilm have really missed the mark with making XC varients for their lineup. The XC 35mm is amazing but for some reason they just stopped there. Chinese manufacturers have spotted the gap in the market and going to make a killing.
Great review - as always, Dustin ! Hope a 23/1.7 AF for X-mount is into the works, from Viltrox. 🙂
That would be sweet.
Surprise, surprise--another straightforward, comprehensive gear review. After watching videos on the Viltrox 27mm 1.2 (especially yours), I decided to stay in the Fuji system. I am glad I did; I took took some of my all-time favorite photos last weekend with that lens. And when zooming, the clarity and detail--my goodness. I will probably pick up this one and the 85mm. Have a terrific spring! (looking for new content ideas? I have been playing with DxO film pack 7. Pretty awesome.)
This is definitely another winner.
A great review as usual, Dustin. If it is possible, can you review the Sigma 56 for X mount?
I do plan to cover it, though I'm booked solid for a few months right now.
@@DustinAbbottTWII second this request.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thirdsies!
I literally just picked this up yesterday, and so far as the review you did it performs like a charm! However I had QC issues as I found out shortly that there was a speck of dust somewhere between the top elements so buyers do make sure to check that as well.
Also for viltrox, thank you for updating the port to usb c! The older models all rock a micro USB port before.
Definitely. I'd be happy to never see a micro USB port again. I've had more issues with that port than any other modern connector.
Thanks for the review, I love the Freudian slip @ 8:56. You are not wrong about being a problem compared to other cameras.
LOL
HI Dustin ,excellent review as usual ,plwase choose one ,Viltrox or Artisan?
Thank you!
Looks like Viltrox is nailing it again…
They definitely are.
Thanks for the review. Another winner from Viltrrox - hope this comes out on Sony E real soon!
Agreed.
Which one is better? TTArtisan or Viltrox? It’s so hard to choose between these two! I love that Viltrox has this clean, sharp look, but something about the TTArtisan 56mm f1.8 caught my eye - I keep reading that it has a really nice rendering in backgrounds. I’m a bit stuck on the idea of trying something with more personality for portraits. And people say TTArtisan is sharper for close up shots. Has anyone done a comparison in natural light?
I did a direct comparison video. ruclips.net/video/WGLjfkHOg84/видео.html
The f1.7 aperture is a reasonable compromise, Hopefully they also do 23mm and you 33mm for this series, keeping the smaller profile
Thats what i would *love* to buy into an instant ! Same 139 bucks - but 23mm F1.7 ! bought ! FYI, i own the fine & sexy XF Fujinon-R 23/1.4, but i won't buy this lens for another Fujifilm X mount camera twice ! Therefore - it would be excellent. Viltrox - are you monitoring?
I need an 16 or 18mm f1.8. 33/35 f1.4 has already a manageable size. Sigma 16mm f1.4 is rather bulky.
It will be interesting to see where they go next.
@@DustinAbbottTWI 40/2.5 AF for fullframe, which should being released this month, according to Rollei & Peagear.
Yes, that one is coming, but it's not an APS-C design, which is more where I was going.
This was an amazing review, as always, thanks! Cause I've been really waiting for a video like yours to get an in depth look at it's optical performance... I've been lusting over their 27mm f1.2 for a portrait lens, but I might just have to pick this up in the meantime, as it looks like an incredible value and frankly performance regardless of price!
It is a crazy good value, for sure.
Kinda excited with how this will compare to the ttartisan 56mm f1.8 😅 Awesome review Dustin 😊
I do have that comparison planned.
I hope Viltrox will also produce a compact, budget 27mm/1.7 in the future - I'd even buy that as a more lightweight travel companion to their outstanding 27mm/1.2...
That would be nice.
Wow Viltrox really killed it with this lens - superior in pretty much every way to the old 56mm 1.4 - except maybe in autofocus. The colors seemed to pop more in your comparison with the 56mm WR - was that the actual case or just a case of the light changing / use of a light? The gripes are no aperture ring, shallow hood (I'd prefer a little better protection), and poor close focusing. Other than that, this lens is basically a steal.
I was shocked by how good this lens looked next to the 56mm WR. That lens is still superior, but the Viltrox held up very well for the price.
Great review as usual, although your comment about the lens only being available for Fuji is incorrect. It's also available for Nikon Z mount.
That is true, though something Viltrox changed at the last minute (I don't think Z mount is available yet). When they sent it to me, only X mount was available.
Here one I can do with out, however this was a great review
Fair enough!
A great and detailed review as usual 😊
Glad you liked it!
How well does this lens create background blur (bokeh)? Additionally, could you provide insights on its low-light performance? I'm also interested in understanding how the autofocus performs specifically for capturing moving subjects in photography, not videography.
Low light performance is okay, though it suffers from the typical limitations of Fuji autofocus in general. I've covered bokeh pretty thoroughly in the review already.
Would you pick it over the Fuji 50mm f2?
I probably would, actually. I really liked the 35mm F2 but didn't like the 50mm nearly as well.
How does this compare to the much more expensive Sigma 56mm/1.4? It seems as if the Viltrox is optically better?!?
The Sigma is very, very sharp, but I do think the Viltrox is a slightly better blend of sharpness and rendering/bokeh. The AF in the Sigma is better, and it does have a weather sealing gasket (though no internal seals).
Great review. Viltrox are making some impressive lenses lately. I wonder how this compares to the XF50 f/2. I would love to see Viltrox do one of their Pro lenses at f/1.2 around this focal length.
Yup, I think a 56mm f/1.2 Pro would be awesome and competitive.
It's coming, but it will more likely be smght beetween 40mm and 50mm
The rumor is that another Pro series lens is coming, but they haven't mentioned the focal length.
Molto interessante che sia più nitido delTTartisan, a questo prezzo poi......sarà sicuramente un acquisto molto valido
Hi!. 4:38 mns: A F/1.7 aperture loose 21% of light compared to F/1.4. And it's +12 % brighter than F/1.8.
There are ratios between circle surface. Let's take a 100mm focal lens. At F/1.0 aperture, the diameter of the circle is 100mm . Applying S=Pi.R^2, that means 2500 squared mm. At F/1.4, it's 1250 sqmm; at F/1.7 it's 865 sqmm and at F/1.8, it's 772 sqmm.
That's some fancy math :) Thanks for the info.
Too much theory. Unnecessary
looking forward to seeing your review of the XF 56 1.2WR, I'm looking for a good portrait lens but my Jack Russell needs something with good focusing speed and I don't think the Viltrox can handle it haha... maybe the XF can?? Do you have any other recommendations? Thank you, great job!!
The new XF 56mm F1.2 isn't bad, but neither is it blazing. The Sigma 56mm F1.4 might be the best, but I haven't tested in on Fuji yet.
Thank you, I had the Sigma in my mind but the flares are awful I think hehe@@DustinAbbottTWI
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks for the advice!! I had the Sigma in mind too, but I don't really like the result in flares against the sun from what I've seen in some reviews...
It's actually $216 in Europe (199 euro on Viltrox EU site). A bit more, but still a bargain, I think. Especially if the sharpness is good at 1.7 as you say. I ordered one with the intention to add to my street photography set. Fast AF not really a priority there.
Enjoy!
How has the lens been for you?
@@robertlamont2611 It works fine. AF is not worse than the other lenses I have and feels well made. But have in mind this is a DX lens. On Z6II, the camera shoots 10MP photos. Not a problem for me, but for somebody could be
Will you test the Sony E version? I just want to see the image circle size of this thing on a full frame body without the hood...
Probably so, assuming an E-mount version is coming (I don't see why not)
Viltrox now has excellent pro line， this amazing intry level series， I think they should have another 1.8 line as middle， metal body more refined af，gonna sell well
No need for another 1.8 middle line. I think they just need to work on refreshing the f1.4 line of lenses to match the quality of the entry and pro lines. Of course that assumes they also have this level of quality in whatever other entry level f1.7 lenses they release.
A trio of lineups with ~35mm, ~50mm, ~85mm equivalent lenses like this:
f1.7
f1.4
f1.2
With build quality, materials, additional features, and optical quality going up alongside aperture. This would be a fantastic lineup and bring a ton of business at every price level. Personally I'd love to buy into the f1.4 lineup as it's a very good compromise of size, weight, aperture, and price. But right now the optical qualities of that particular lineup are too much behind competition from other brands. The pro line is fantastic but too big for my current use cases. So surprisingly with the optically lacking f1.4 trio, I'm pushed more towards spending less and buying into this f1.7 lineup (assuming there's more lenses to come in this aperture)
@@harshil102 a new 35 1.4 would be fantastic
Viltrox has become a company to be reckoned with. They are nailing it right now.
Hey Dustin I love the videos keep up the awesome work! Is it possible for you to review older e mount lenes the used market has amazing deals but u don’t got reviews on some of the lenes( zeiss 35 2.8 zeiss 16-35 f4 &24 -70 f4
That Zeiss 35 2.8 is a simply magic lens, will never, never sell my copy.
The biggest challenge is the new constant stream of new releases right now. It makes it hard to find time for catalog lenses
I’m surprised it’s priced so cheap. I ordered one since it’s something I don’t currently have for mirrorless. Still have a T3i with 50mm 1.8. Ha
It's definitely a lot of bang for the buck.
Nice. Just ordered it.
Enjoy!
Lol, just discovered this lens was in the wild & this was the 1st place I looked for a review & here it is😂
Viltrox has taken a slightly different approach here. They went ahead and announced the lens but then held off the public release date for any reviews until yesterday.
i bought this one (still waiting for delivery) to match my f1.2 (i'll stop to 1.6 or 1.8) for interview. I hope the AF will be fine for interview, otherwise I will have to set in MF
It should be fine for static interview shots.
@@DustinAbbottTWI thanks :) anyway for the price I need to have this
Best review in the universe.
In the universe! Wow
The whole point of mirrorless is small cameras with small lenses. This will be blgrst on my x-t30
Definitely there is a group of mirrorless users for whom that is the priority, though I wouldn't say it is the whole point of mirrorless since all cameras are now mirrorless.
Any thoughts on this vs the old Viltrox 56 1.4?
I actually vastly prefer this one. It's much sharper, and Viltrox's new optical glass is so much better - colors now look great.
Obviously, the new 56 1.7 is better! I bought this lens at the first time, sharpness and AC is impressive, the only two drawbacks are: (1) boken is rotating, (2) when backlighting, the color tends to be yellowish
Impressive lens for its price!!!!
Agreed.
Does Viltrox 56 f/1.4 has same type of "STM" focus motor?
I believe the answer is yes.
Exciting time
For sure.
Clearly a value for money lens.
However, have several other lens of this focal length and GAS won't overtake me.
That's fair, Robert. Don't buy if you don't need it!
Hope a 18 f/2 now
That would be useful.
I wanna for the sony for this price.. maybe ? 😢 Viltrox come on
I'm pretty confidence that they will roll this out for E-mount in time.
@@DustinAbbottTWI high hopes!!
Nice review! Thank you very much. FYI, bokeh is pronounced like bouquet, but stress the “bo“ part and not the “quet“ (so it's, BO-kay). Totally doesn't matter if you don't change how you say it, but in case you care to. :) And interestingly… the same word is also used to mean “fuzzy in the head“, as an elderly person might become.
According to my Japanese sources, the correct pronunciation is bow - keh, which is how I pronounce it (no "t").
@@DustinAbbottTWI Sorry! No, I didn't mean that you should pronounce the “T“. The word I referenced is pronounced “bokay“, i.e. a bouquet of flowers. Anyway, I speak Japanese and that's why I decided to mention it. Everyone understands you and there's no problem pronouncing it how you want. Peace.
The autofocus is a bad feature of Fujifilm .
The lens is at $180 now. 😢
Yes, it did correct up a bit.