Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.4 Professional Area Overview

What number of 85mm f/1.4 lenses exist for the Nikon Z mount? Shopping by means of B&H, I used to be shocked to search out that there are already six of them, and possibly extra that aren’t offered by B&H. Little doubt, we’re spoiled for selection. Surprisingly, none of them come from Nikon, though that’s in all probability going to vary quickly. However as of immediately, there’s a seventh one: the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.4 Professional Lens, which can be obtainable for Sony E mount. I’ll inform you a bit about it on this area evaluate.

Development and Dealing with

In contrast to the Viltrox Air collection, that are designed to be as gentle as attainable whereas nonetheless sustaining good optical high quality, the Viltrox Professional lenses are larger, each bodily and of their efficiency. And the 85mm f/1.4 Professional is a fairly large hunk of glass, weighing in at 800g (1.8lbs).

On the barrel, there’s a operate button and AF-MF change. Extra curiously, it’s additionally acquired a guide aperture ring with a change that lets you de-click the aperture. I like guide aperture rings, and though this one is technically aperture-by-wire, it’s nonetheless enjoyable to make use of. I stored it de-clicked since I don’t like to listen to noises from my tools. Will probably be nice for video shooters, too.

The lens can be weather-sealed with an anti-fouling coating on the entrance factor. It’s all steel and feels fairly sturdy.

For autofocus, it makes use of twin VCM motors which can be quiet and quick. Now and again, in decrease gentle, I’ve skilled a little bit of pulsing, however the focusing is correct. And I solely examined this lens on the Z6 in any case, so efficiency needs to be higher on newer Nikon Z cameras.

Sharpness

We’ll have to attend for Spencer to check this lens within the lab, however it’s fairly sharp and really good extensive open. You’ll be able to see this casual take a look at chart to see the way it sharpens up by f/5.6:

It already feels very respectable at f/1.4. It’s razor sharp within the middle by f/2, and within the corners by f/4. Most likely most individuals will probably be utilizing it for portraits, and at f/1.4 the portraits from this lens look nice. From the primary shot I took, I actually favored the element rendering of this lens at any aperture.

Bokeh

Portrait lenses reside and die by their bokeh, and I questioned how this lens would do in some out of doors scenes with complicated bokeh. Truly, it appears fairly good.

Little doubt that the smoothness is helped alongside by the 11-blade aperture, and I struggled to search out scenes the place the bokeh was harsh, tough, or unlovable. As a facet notice, 11-blades is already fairly good, however I used to be shocked to search out two different lenses, the Kase 85mm f/1.4 and the Sirui 85mm f/1.4 with 13 blades and 15 blades respectively… I assume lens producers are taking a web page out of the e book of razor blade manufacturing!

One factor I actually favored is that there isn’t a powerful double-line impact or emphasis of edges when there have been delicate components like grass or skinny branches within the out-of-focus areas.

With none rigorous exams, I can not less than say that I loved the bokeh of the pictures I’ve taken thus far. I believe it fares higher than my Nikon 50mm f/1.4, which can be a superb lens however struggles slightly outdoor.

There is just one slight flaw within the bokeh of this hunk of glass, and that’s a little bit of an “onion ring” impact in very shiny level sources of sunshine. To see it, let’s check out this out-of-focus shot of metropolis lights:

The bokeh balls look pretty clean and good. The onion ring impact is delicate, however seen if we take a look at a 100% crop:

The extra intense the sunshine supply, the extra intense you’ll see them. That being mentioned, this sample hasn’t appeared for me but with every other type of gentle besides synthetic level sources, and even when it does seem, it’s not too obtrusive. Nonetheless, it’s price contemplating.

Vignetting and Distortion

Since this lens is so large, I hoped there wouldn’t be an excessive amount of vignetting. Fortunately, it’s fairly delicate extensive open and is gentle as a feather at f/2.8:

The distortion of this lens can be very small, which isn’t surprising for this focal size, however nonetheless welcome:

General Ideas

I actually just like the Viltrox 85mm f/1.4. It’s enjoyable to shoot at f/1.4 and works effectively for portraits as a result of its clean bokeh. The sharpness is spectacular, and it’s additionally nice that it’s weather-sealed. Some folks may not be so thrilled on the 800g weight, however so long as it’s lighter than my 600mm f/6.3, I’m glad.

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