The Viltrox is going back to Amazon. I decided not to wait for another freeze.
To be fair, it only happened once. And Viltrox support really did try to help over email. Full credit to them for that!
But there’s another issue. In my use, the lens seems to drain the camera battery significantly faster. With roughly the same number of shots, the Viltrox used about 40% of the battery, while my 35GM used only around 20%. That’s pretty inconvenient.
I just don’t feel like waiting for everything to get sorted out or being a beta tester in the meantime.
So, the lens has gone back to Amazon. It’s so sad, because optically I really liked it. Optically it is just an amazing lens.
vaptre wrote:
The Viltrox is going back to Amazon. I decided not to wait for another freeze.
To be fair, it only happened once. And Viltrox support really did try to help over email. Full credit to them for that!
But there’s another issue. In my use, the lens seems to drain the camera battery significantly faster. With roughly the same number of shots, the Viltrox used about 40% of the battery, while my 35GM used only around 20%. That’s pretty inconvenient.
I just don’t feel like waiting for everything to get sorted out or being a beta tester in the meantime.
So, the lens has gone back to Amazon. It’s so sad, because optically I really liked it. Optically it is just an amazing lens....Show more →
Sorry that it didn't work out. Somewhat mirrors what happened when I tried out the Sirui 85/1.4 lens, thus I ended up sending it back.
I know full well that the Chinese companies will figure out the issues in terms of optimal performance, AF speed and accuracy, quality control, even branding, marketing and service, but meanwhile I've decided that I am not going to experiment and beta test all that stuff, and stick to lenses I know and love, and focus on skill and artistic improvements instead.
Please, forgive me! But I've just ordered 85 EVO again. ))) It's rendering.. It found a place in my heart. This lens really won me over. I don't know how to express it more.
The quality control of Viltrox lenses should be improved…. The second lens much worse in behavior of f-stop ring. Almost no clicks. Quite easy to rotate. A slight decentering issue is clearly visible… the first one was better lens.
Hmmm… yes and no. I think it’s a great lens optically still. But bad lens in terms of quality. We pay for what we pay for. Cheap price has some quirks
Am I upset? Yes!
I can’t find acceptable 85mm except this Viltrox. If I don’t need GM and I hate rendering of native 1.8… I have a lot of bad options with lots of compromises.
I really do love the Viltrox 85/2 EVO. Optically? Absolutely stunning. Straight-up 12 out of 10. But the AF... not bad, but nowhere near where it should be. And it's not just about speed. Face and subject detection runs 2-3x slower than Sony. I haven't seen a single YouTuber bring this up. They're too busy praising everything to keep their sponsors happy. In real-world use, the AF seriously needs work. Not saying it's bad, just nowhere near what I expected.
Second issue: pricing. The Viltrox 55/1.8 is €429 on Amazon. Sony 55/1.8 sits around €519. So we're talking a €100 gap. But SONY gives you 4 years of warranty and full local service here in Spain. Viltrox gives you... nothing. Why does nobody factor in the cost of ownership? If the lens breaks, you're shipping it back to China. Nobody's fixing it locally. Seller support in Spain is a joke. Sony will sort it out almost immediately. So the real price of Viltrox should be significantly lower, enough to actually account for all of that.
As for me, I'm done with Chinese brands for now. I'll wait until the service network and pricing actually match the quality.
vaptre wrote:
Face and subject detection runs 2-3x slower than Sony. I haven't seen a single YouTuber bring this up. They're too busy praising everything to keep their sponsors happy. In real-world use, the AF seriously needs work. Not saying it's bad, just nowhere near what I expected.
What no one has seemed to piece together except for me (on the Nikon side) is that Viltrox basically requires AF-C to be remotely competitive in AF. Nikon first party lenses are fastest and most accurate in AF-S, yet Viltrox lenses are 2-3x slower in AF-S than they are in AF-C. Curious how AF-S compares to AF-C on Sony.
RoamingScott wrote:
What no one has seemed to piece together except for me (on the Nikon side) is that Viltrox basically requires AF-C to be remotely competitive in AF. Nikon first party lenses are fastest and most accurate in AF-S, yet Viltrox lenses are 2-3x slower in AF-S than they are in AF-C. Curious how AF-S compares to AF-C on Sony.
I'm happy to help but I don't have any Viltrox lenses anymore
))) It's rendering.. It found a place in my heart. This lens really won me over. I don't know how to express it more.