p.2 #1 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
AZHeaven wrote:
I bought my Viltrox 16mm f1.8 based on Dustin Abbotts review. And at the time my widest lens was 24mm with the Sony 24-105. And I agree that Viltrox is hitting it out of the park. The price for performance is excellent.
But they do seem to be centering on primes. Would be interesting to see if they produce a zoom lens.
I really like my Viltrox 16mm as well, also purchased based on that review and others... but at the moment, it doesn't get chosen to go into the bag as often because of its size/weight. I find myself wondering if this 14mm with its wider view, close focus ability, better magnification and relatively tiny size/weight by comparison would make it into my bag more often. The optics certainly don't seem to be an issue, and I don't think I'd miss the buttons, LCD or seals for what I do... a very tempting proposition.
p.2 #2 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
Erictator wrote:
I really like my Viltrox 16mm as well, also purchased based on that review and others... but at the moment, it doesn't get chosen to go into the bag as often because of its size/weight. I find myself wondering if this 14mm with its wider view, close focus ability, better magnification and relatively tiny size/weight by comparison would make it into my bag more often. The optics certainly don't seem to be an issue, and I don't think I'd miss the buttons, LCD or seals for what I do... a very tempting proposition.
Eric
Neither the 16mm nor the 14mm are "throwing in your bag" lenses. You should know beforehand for what type of situations you are buying it or taking it with you. For "throwing in your bag" a wide-angle zoom (16-35 or something like that) is the right thing. The existing compact and light options like Sony 16-35 f4 PZ, Tamron 16-30 f2.8 or Sigma 16-28 f2.8 are perfectly suited.
p.2 #3 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
hasenbein wrote:
Neither the 16mm nor the 14mm are "throwing in your bag" lenses. You should know beforehand for what type of situations you are buying it or taking it with you. For "throwing in your bag" a wide-angle zoom (16-35 or something like that) is the right thing. The existing compact and light options like Sony 16-35 f4 PZ, Tamron 16-30 f2.8 or Sigma 16-28 f2.8 are perfectly suited.
I hear you... I'm just not listening.
Kidding aside, I dunno, lately I find when I want to make "art" or a memorable photo and don't want to just document the scene, I want to carry a lens that inspires me to do something that will stand out. Maybe it is like lucky rabbits foot syndrome,, heh, or maybe its a crutch and I need my mojo to keep me inspired to take the shot. Beats me.
Of the zooms you mentioned, I just did a compare on DPR and the PZ comes closest in size/weight for a just-in-case lens
The PZ optical performance seems much better than the larger heavier Tamron... even if the PZ distorts a little more in the corners, I'm guessing profiles correct that well enough.
But even then, when you take into consideration the size, weight, price and performance of the Viltrox 14mm, and cropability of 61MP, I'm still not sold on the idea of the larger, heavier zooms when I want to carry a small UWA along with my birding kit.
Flip the script: If I wasn't going out birding... say I was going out to shoot wide landscapes, but I wanted a "just in case" small telephoto with me, I probably wouldn't be thinking of my large and heavy 200-600mm and would be probably looking more along the lines of my SY135mm 1.8, which would at least give me another option for larger wildlife or intimate landscapes. Will it do BIF? Nope... probably not the best for that, heh, but I'd have made that concession the minute I put it in the bag.
So yeah, I do kinda subscribe to your thought of bringing the best lens for my main subject purpose, but for my "just in case" lens, I want good optics but am willing to fudge focal lengths a bit for the sake of size/weight and just work with that.
None of the above is probably good logic, but it's what I got.
p.2 #4 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
Erictator wrote:
I really like my Viltrox 16mm as well, also purchased based on that review and others... but at the moment, it doesn't get chosen to go into the bag as often because of its size/weight. I find myself wondering if this 14mm with its wider view, close focus ability, better magnification and relatively tiny size/weight by comparison would make it into my bag more often. The optics certainly don't seem to be an issue, and I don't think I'd miss the buttons, LCD or seals for what I do... a very tempting proposition.
Eric
I took the Viltrox 16mm to West Fork at Oak Creek 2 years ago for the change of leaves in Sedona and really loved the results. But you do bring up good points. It is a bit heavy at 19.2 oz vs 6 oz for the new 14mm. The 14 for $200 sure seems like a steal if the image quality is up to par.
And would only take this lens here again at the end of the month. My Sony 24-105 seems to be giving me soft results for some odd reason.
And since we are on this subject...
Looking at replacing the 24-105 with either the Sony 20-70 f4 or now even considering the new upcoming Tamron 25-200. And for wide angle I could keep the Viltrox 16mm if I need wider. Would be interested in your thoughts.
p.2 #5 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
The lens arrived today.
As promised, I did a quick test in the back yard against the Sony 12-24GM. Wow! I am totally impressed by the performance of the Viltrox!
Focus was on the brick wall in the back. As you will see in the images below, the Viltrox at *f4* seems to have a much deeper depth of field than the 12-24GM. You can see it clearly in the 100% side by side images of the rocks in the fire pit and the propane tank. By the second set of images at f8, things even up. This was very interesting to me since the Viltrox should be very good at getting everything into focus from far to back, even at f4.
First two images are the full scene with the Viltrox 14mm first. The side-by-side comparisons have the Viltrox on the left and the Sony on the right. No post processing, just resizing.
*edit* I just noticed the last image somehow was reversed. The Viltrox is on the right and the Sony on the left. Just this image.
ILCE-7RM5Viltrox 14mm F4.0 FE lens14mmf/4.01/100s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-7RM5FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM lens15mmf/4.01/125s100 ISO0.0 EV
p.2 #6 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
mudlake wrote:
As promised, I did a quick test in the back yard against the Sony 12-24GM. Wow! I am totally impressed by the performance of the Viltrox!
Looks quite good. And there's less vignetting in the Viltrox than the reviews seemed to suggest.
I am curious about the field of view...I see the GM was shot at 15mm to get the similar framing. Perhaps the Viltrox is not really a 14mm?
p.2 #8 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
mudlake wrote:
Focus was on the brick wall in the back. As you will see in the images below, the Viltrox at *f4* seems to have a much deeper depth of field than the 12-24GM.
The micro-contrast of the wall and leaves in the background，GM is better than Viltrox，could it be that Viltrox's AF is a bit biased towards the foreground?
p.2 #9 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
olalafoto wrote:
The micro-contrast of the wall and leaves in the background，GM is better than Viltrox，could it be that Viltrox's AF is a bit biased towards the foreground?
I don’t think that’s the case. I was very careful to focus on the wall. But it’s interesting, right?
p.2 #13 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
Slow lenses have fewer aberrations, witness the Voigtlander APO 50/3.5 that Fred was surprised about. And lens designers have a decent degree of freedom to expand or contract perceived DOF, which of course confounds DOF tables and Hyperfocal.
Here, the Sony has a huge number of glass/air surfaces to push light through - 28 vs the Viltrox's 18 surfaces. Like so many of the makers, Sony went hard with asph surfacing, and the GM has four such elements; and it uses depth-defeating, low density ED glass elements - five of them. Viltrox exercised restraint, using just two asph elements and two HRI elements, albeit with four ED elements, which they have managed to work well with, here as elsewhere. And depth is less concerning with UWAs. A better balance, and the Chinese HRI glass is a secret weapon. Viltrox hails from Shenzhen, same city as DZOFilm and Thypoch.
Above, the V images are (to my vision) more contrasty, with excellent color balance and, most importantly, image depth. 58mm filters too. The f4 results are impressive, a clear step above the Sony lens. It peaks at f4. See the chair mesh, and the vibrant tonal scaling, where the Sony has flat blacks. It resembles the CV 15/4.5, but 120g lighter and much better spec, a 12/9 vs a 11/9, MFD of 0.13m (!) vs 0.3m. Just a little barrel. I'll get one, why wouldn't you?
p.2 #14 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
I forgot to add that my copy is perfectly centered. Luck? Or maybe Viltrox is doing a good job with build quality. I’m interested to see other people’s experience.
Tomorrow I’ll try and take it out for some desert landscapes.
p.2 #15 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
mudlake wrote:
I forgot to add that my copy is perfectly centered. Luck? Or maybe Viltrox is doing a good job with build quality. I’m interested to see other people’s experience.
Tomorrow I’ll try and take it out for some desert landscapes.
Just saw a user report a serious de-centered problem and provided test image, so you must be lucky.
p.2 #16 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
I braved the wild and stormy Arizona thunderstorms today! I'll post more as time goes on, but it is safe to say that I'll be keeping this lens and using it often. First shot is my windshield view before heading out!
p.2 #19 · Viltrox 14mm f/4 and 9mm f/2.8 - unbelievable performance for the price?
smooth focus fade; settled middle-to-distant bokeh that still retains detail; excellent spatial integrity of motifs at different distances - Chinese lens contextual imagery. Plenty of contrast, vividness and naturalism. Would be interesting images even without the spiky one.
