Is the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.4 Pro FE Your Next Portrait Lens?

The Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.4 Pro lens is a brand new choice aimed toward Sony complete body mirrorless digital camera customers. An reasonably priced, high quality 85mm lens has at all times been a gorgeous prospect, and this one looks as if a winner.

Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this informative video appears carefully at what the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.4 Pro FE lens gives. Frost issues out how well-suited an 85mm focal duration is for developing flattering portraits with out compressing the background completely. The f/1.4 aperture supplies the hanging topic isolation you most probably need for portraits. Frost highlights the lens’ spectacular construct high quality: a powerful steel frame, weather-sealed mount, and easy steel center of attention and aperture rings. One explicit element he mentions is a USB-C port embedded into its mount, a at hand characteristic for firmware updates. Still, there is a notable drawback—this top rate development pushes the lens weight to round 800 grams, making it heavier than some similar choices.

When it involves symbol high quality and autofocus efficiency, Frost reveals the lens to be rather succesful. On his difficult 61-megapixel Sony a7CR, central sharpness at most aperture f/1.4 is excellent however preventing right down to f/2 considerably complements element. At the extraordinary corners, the lens plays decently wide-open, but it improves significantly when stopped down, achieving superb sharpness round f/4 to f/5.6. On extra not unusual sensors, like 42 or 33 megapixels, Frost believes the effects would glance spectacular even from wide-open apertures.

Key Specs

• Focal Length: 85mm
• Maximum Aperture: f/1.4
• Lens Mount: Sony E (Full Frame)
• Angle of View: 28°
• Minimum Focus Distance: 79 cm
• Magnification: 0.13x (1:7.7)
• Optical Design: 15 Elements in 11 Groups
• Aperture Blades: 11
• Autofocus: Yes
• Image Stabilization: No
• Filter Size: 77 mm (Front)
• Dimensions: ø: 3.3 x L: 4.3″ (84.5 x 108.5 mm)
• Weight: 1.8 lb (800 g)

Moving onto autofocus efficiency, Frost describes it as quiet, correct, and typically loyal. Switching to steady autofocus mode ends up in smoother, extra assured monitoring, a get advantages in case your paintings comes to capturing shifting topics or video clips. He additionally touches at the lens’ reasonable degree of center of attention respiring—a slight problem for video. You’ll see framing shift a little when adjusting center of attention from with regards to far-off topics, which is one thing videographers in particular might dislike.

Despite those minor drawbacks, Frost reveals lots to comprehend. The lens handles chromatic aberrations fairly effectively as soon as stopped down somewhat, although be expecting some blue fringing vast open at shut focusing distances. Its bokeh high quality could be very horny, providing easy backgrounds very important for portraits. Handling vibrant lights prerequisites might imply contending every now and then with some flare and reduced distinction, although it is manageable.

If you need to peer complete symbol high quality checks, detailed samples at quite a lot of apertures, and direct comparisons with different lenses, Frost supplies the ones insights within the complete video above.