jrscls wrote:
Be careful on Amazon. I received two used Viltrox lenses recently. Even worse, I ordered the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 S and it arrived with no protective packaging as usual, but the Nikon box contained a heavily used Viltrox 50 f/2. All went back of course.
Yeah, I have some first hand experience here, but unfortunately my family just LOVES giving me amazon gift cards instead of B&H You've got to pay close attention to who is selling it. In this case, it's Sirui US.
I bought from the official Viltrox store on Amazon and got two obviously opened boxes and the Nikon one was sold/shipped by Amazon. Good luck, and I hope you get a good copy.
Wow. That bad copy is atrocious. I'll be interested to see how you get on with the 35/1.4. My used store has one of them, and I've thought about giving it a shot. Obviously I'd test it before buying.
Jman13 wrote:
Wow. That bad copy is atrocious. I'll be interested to see how you get on with the 35/1.4. My used store has one of them, and I've thought about giving it a shot. Obviously I'd test it before buying.
Long term, I'm planning on doing a little combo review of both the 35 and 85, shooting the same scenes just to give maybe some more context about how they differ.
I've read the 35 is the weaker rendering lens and so far in testing I think I'd agree with that. It definitely has more character than the 85, though not as much as the Z 35/1.4 seems to have. It's giving me exactly what I want which is a sharp center wide open with a bit of swirly bokeh and little LoCA.
Was smearing vaseline on the front element part of the testing process? RoamingScott wrote:
Holy copy variation, I'm glad I ordered two of the 35s! This is worse than any bad copy I've seen on Youtube.
Picked up the Viltrox 85/1.4 to compare against the Aurora. First impressions are exactly what I anticipated them to be. Viltrox lenses constantly struggle with transition zones, notably just behind the plane of focus, and they sacrifice this for absolute sharpness on the plane of focus.
The Viltrox Pro is no different. It's bitingly sharp all the way to wide open with better microcontrast than the Aurora, and it has noticeably worse bokeh at wide apertures. Note in particular the lettering on the lens barrel in the background, its bright lines are ghosting on the Viltrox where they are smooth on the Sirui. I'm seeing some CA on the Viltrox that isn't present on the Sirui as well.
Notably on the Pro, I'm seeing far less of the annoying yellow color cast that the Viltrox 85/2 EVO displays, and the Pro and Aurora meter nearly identically with very nearly identical light transmission. The Viltrox images IS warmer at identical WB values, though, with the Sirui rendering a more neutral and somewhat flatter color profile.
If you combine the sharpness/contrast of the Viltrox and the bokeh of the Sirui, you get the Z 85/1.2 Otherwise you have to pick your poison.
Images unedited short of crop and enabling lens profile corrections in LR.
This is why i stick to the Nikkor 85 1.8. I have wanted the sirui for a while now but I guess i'll stick to the Nikon. Wish i had the need for the 85 1.2 but as a hobbyist, i can't justify that.
RoamingScott wrote:
If you combine the sharpness/contrast of the Viltrox and the bokeh of the Sirui, you get the Z 85/1.2 Otherwise you have to pick your poison.
Glad I went with the 1.2 Z It's big but not enough to cause handling issues.
Sorrymanagement wrote:
This is why i stick to the Nikkor 85 1.8. I have wanted the sirui for a while now but I guess i'll stick to the Nikon. Wish i had the need for the 85 1.2 but as a hobbyist, i can't justify that.
I picked mine up during the April 2025 refurb sale to downplay the sticker shock.
Sorrymanagement wrote:
This is why i stick to the Nikkor 85 1.8. I have wanted the sirui for a while now but I guess i'll stick to the Nikon. Wish i had the need for the 85 1.2 but as a hobbyist, i can't justify that.
I enjoy the Sirui a lot more than I ever liked the Z 1.8 fwiw, and for the price, it feels like a better value all the way around. I sold off my 1.2 to keep the Sirui.
I am reasonably happy with the Z 85. I got an old 8.5cm f2 LTM nikkor and it's by far a more enjoyable lens to shoot with. Even with the imperfections and flares that it brings with it.
You've got to pay close attention to who is selling it. In this case, it's Sirui US.
Otherwise you have to pick your poison.
It's big but not enough to cause handling issues.