Next OL lens test - Viltrox AF 75mm f/1.8 EVO (E-mount)

Klaus

https://opticallimits.com/sony/sony-e-aps-c/viltrox-af-75mm-f-1-8-evo-e-aps-c-review/

Yeah, I know. Another Viltrox lens. But ... a good one (unsurprisingly in this focal length class).

Mistral75

The weather sealing is quite basic with just a gasket at the rear.

Supposedly, there are more gaskets than just the one at the lens mount:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/PWaHlrNQzk0nm3ZSz41mzw

Klaus

Mistral75

This isn't mentioned on their website:

"Durable Build with a Rubber-Sealed Mount."

thxbb12

Thanks for the review, Klaus.
Viltrox is really a game changer in the lens world. The IQ of their recent lenses is incredibly good despite being very affordable for what they offer.
Makes me wonder if their optical engineer (helped by AI for sure) are the best in the business?
China is definitely a force to be reckon with, in may fields.

DET313

thxbb12 I agree, it’s quite impressive and really helps competition in the marketplace, and keeps OEM makers from slacking off!

I’m not surprised by Chinese makers though. I’ve spent a lot of time in China in manufacturing, and their quality can be world class (iPhones, DJI), and they are becoming quite creative and innovative, despite the propaganda we hear in the west. Sure they also make junk, when junk is spec’d, but my DJI drones are some of the best engineered products I’ve ever used. Interestingly DJI came out with a mountain eBike and it’s absolutely rocked the bicycle world as a total game changer for price-quality value.

Klaus

I could well imagine that AI is playing a role in their optical designs.
Viltrox certainly has a much more favorable cost structure. Even with Japanese companies now also manufacturing in China, they still have expensive R&D and administration in Japan.
And the Japanese have mostly abandoned the low to mid-prime lens market where Viltrox is probably primarily operating with their Air and EVO lenses.
I do wonder, however, how successful Viltrox really is outside of China. The photography market is a place of pseudo-religious fellowship.

Rover

Klaus

Incidentally the videographer with whom I was working on a shoot yesterday (and a few times before) is using the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 lens on one of his cameras (a Sony FX30 / 6400 duo). Still had the Sony 16-55G on the other, though.

I guess the popularity of Viltrox (and other Chinese brand) is limited by the unavailability of the zoom lenses from them, since zooms are still the go-to class of lens for anyone doing press work. Of course I (and other people here) have some ultra-fast primes for low-light work (the 24/45/85 for me, and smth. like 35/1.4 or 135/1.8 for some others) or as ultrawide supplements to more standard zooms (a guy I know showed me his new Viltrox 14mm f/4 in E mount... that I eagerly tried on the Z9 via the adapter that I had on hand), but zooms are still nigh-mandatory.

I can imagine this being less pertinent for those who do fine art shooting, weddings etc. But I hardly know anyone in those circles.

P.S. Yeah, I know of the Thypoch zoom. But it's only a drop in the ocean so far, and still too new to be in wide circulation (even if we ignore the question of how useful a 24-50mm lens really is...)

davethebirder

....... the weather sealing listed under the 90mm title?

Klaus

Keeping quality consistent and centering stable across a zoom range is on a different complexity level.
Samyang also took years and their first shots were less than impressive.
Laowa tried it a couple of times with MF lenses but based on what I've seen they were very inconsistent.
Primes are fairly tolerant with regard to centring, zoom lenses aren't - at all.

If I were in Viltrox shoes, I'd rather tackle long tele prime lenses from here. The Laowa AF 200/2 is actually pretty good. And there's surely some need out there for an affordable -say- 500mm f/6.3.

Klaus

Chinese car makers are about to take over the car market here in Australia - and the legacy players have a hard time competing with good quality and rock bottom pricing. They learned a lot during the last 10 years.