The next Viltrox lens arrived – the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 FE Air, a full-format standard prime lens. It carries a price tag of $199 USD (€229, $289 AUD) so it undercuts its main competitor – the Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 – by a slight margin. Given the small size and weight, it’s ideal for street photography, but it’s also suitable for basic portraits, certain landscape scenes or low-light photography. Such “nifty-fifties” can be pretty versatile in the right hands.
Mechanically, it follows the tradition set by the other members of the “Air” family. The lens body is based on decent-quality engineered plastics based on a metal mount. The focus ring is tightly assembled and smooth to operate. There are no further control elements on the lens, so if you want to switch between AF and MF, you’ll have to do so via the camera settings. Weather-sealing is not provided. However, the internal focusing should provide at least some basic protection against the elements. A fairly deep barrel-shaped lens hood is part of the package, as you can see below.
The Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 FE Air uses a stepping motor (STM) for focusing. Due to the very lightweight optics, this rather conventional AF is still pretty fast. It’s also near silent and precise. Manual focusing works by wire, as usual.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Optical construction | 13 elements in 9 groups (3x ED, 4x HR) |
| Number of aperture blades | 9 |
| min. focus distance | 0.51m (max magnification 0.11x) |
| Dimensions | φ65 × 56.5mm |
| Weight | 205g |
| Filter size | φ58mm |
| Hood | petal-shaped (bayonet mount, supplied) |
| Other features | USB-C port for firmware updates |
Distortions
The Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 FE produces a low pincushion distortion of 0.5% in RAW files. The lens has a correction profile which reduces this to a negligible degree (0.1%).
Vignetting
The raw vignetting is relatively high for a moderately fast 50mm prime lens. At t/2, the vignetting reaches 2.6 EV (f-stops) and it’s still at 1 EV @ f/5.6. Auto-corrections shaves off about half a stop.
MTF (resolution) at 42 megapixels
The resolution characteristic of the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 FE is almost impeccable. The center quality is excellent at f/2 and the border/corner quality is still very high. Stopping down increases the resolution a bit up to a peak around f/4 where even the outer image field scratches the excellent mark.
The centering quality of the tested sample was okay. The field curvature is quite flat.
Please note that the MTF results are not directly comparable across the different systems!
Below is a simplified summary of the formal findings. The chart shows line widths per picture height (LW/PH) which can be taken as a measure of sharpness. If you want to know more about the MTF50 figures, you may check out the corresponding Imatest Explanations.
Chromatic Aberrations (CAs)
Lateral CAs are very low and nothing to worry about.
Bokeh
A 50mm f/2 may not be class-leading in terms of speed, but you can still achieve a shallow depth-of-field in many shooting situation when used on a full-format camera. So let’s check out the quality of the bokeh.
Out-of-focus highlights are nicely rendered near the image center. The inner zone of the discs is quite smooth. There is a bit of outlining at the disc edges. The circular disc shape is mostly maintained up to f/4.
The lens is somewhat limited with respect to close focusing so we weren’t really able to push the highlights very much out of focus in our standard test scene below.
However, we can determine that the mentioned outlining effect worsens on the outward part of the discs beyond the image center – half-bubbles if you like. The corner discs are ellipsoid at f/2 and are mostly restored to their circular shape at f/2.8 already. The outlining is also much reduced at this setting and gone from f/4.
The blur in the focus transition zone is fairly decent. The background blur is quite smooth, although it doesn’t like hard contrasts. The foreground blue is rather busy.
Bokeh Fringing / LoCA
LoCAs, or bokeh fringing, is a color fringing effect on the Z-axis. It shows up with a purplish tint in front of the focus point and a greenish tint behind – and it’s nearly impossible to fully correct in post.
As you can see below, the Viltrox lens does show a bit of color fringing at f/2 – mostly the greenish one in the background. Traces remain at f/2.8, and the issue is basically gone from f/4.
If you look closely, you may spot a focus shift towards the rear when shopping down although the “zero” spot remains mostly in focus. Modern Sony cameras autofocus at the set aperture so it’s not a major deal in practical terms. This may be different with cameras in different mounts, though.
Competition
There are as many “Nifty Fifties” there as sand on the beach – especially in Sony E-mount. The natural competitor is still Sony’s own FE 50mm f/1.8. While a bit faster, it isn’t a state-of-the-art design, neither optically nor mechanically. And we’d certainly prefer the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 FE Air over this one. There are a number of other Chinese competitors such as the 7Artisans AF 50mm f/1.8, Meike AF 55mm f/1.8 (Pro) and the Korean Samyang AF 45mm f/1.8 FE. Viltrox could even throw its own AF 40mm f/2.5 into the ring here. If you can spend much more, there’s also the Sigma 50mm f/2 DN DG Contemporary and the Sony 40/50mm f/2.5 G duo.
Sample Images
Viltrox Air lenses didn't disappoint so far, and this also applies to its newest member. The Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 FE is not only very consistent but also very sharp across the relevant aperture range. The center quality is excellent straight from f/2 and the outer image field is easily very good. The peak performance at f/4 is truly impressive. Image distortions and lateral CAs are very low. Axial CAs are a somewhat noticeable at f/2, but it's nothing out of the ordinary. The quality of the bokeh may not be the greatest of them all, but it's quite decent for a fifty.
Mechanically, the lens stays true to its "Air" designation. It's very lightweight, yet the execution is very decent for a consumer grade lens. The engineered plastics are of good quality and the focus ring turns smoothly. The AF is quick and silent. Weather sealing is not provided.
Some may still find it hard to believe that quality lenses exists outside the mainstream gang, but Viltrox is rapidly becoming a serious threat to the establishment. And the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 FE is probably the best of the affordable 50mm lenses that we tested so far.
Viltrox lenses can be purchased via the Viltrox online store or the usual suspects such as Amazon or B&H.
The Good
- Surprisingly sharp even at f/2
- Lightweight and compact
- Bang for your bucks
The Bad
- Focus shift
- Vignetting a bit high
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Optical Quality
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Build Quality
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Price / Performance