Viltrox 28mm F/4.5 VCM

Specifications01

MountSONY FE

Focal length28mm

Max aperturef/4.5

TypeCinema · Wide · Prime

Weight60 g

Physical length60.3 mm

Min focus distance0.32 m

Max magnification0.1099

Aperture blades7

Optical elements6

Groups6

Lens hood–

Additional Info02

Category["Sony FE (Full Format)"]

Keywords["E-mount","Prime","Viltrox"]

Review AuthorKlaus

Review Rating4

Other FeaturesLens cap slider

Review VerdictThe Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5 VCM is an interesting interpretation of the pancake lens theme. Performance-wise, it's not great on a high-resolution sensor. The broader center quality is actually pretty good, but the borders aren't overly impressive and the corners are soft (and our sample was a bit uneven). Image distortions are surprisingly low, whereas vignetting does benefit from auto-correction. Lateral CAs are quite high in the image corners as well. While not aligned to shallow depth-of-field photography, the technical quality of the bokeh is Ok for a wide-angle lens. Veiling glare can be an issue in certain scenes. The build quality is generally good. Surprisingly there's a metal mount and the quality of the plastic for the body is decent. The tiny built-in lens cap mechanism feels a bit flimsy but it's good to have it on board. Other than that, there isn't much to report here. There are no buttons nor control rings on the lens. The AF is quite fast and silent. Manual focusing is not supported. The biggest question is probably for which user groups is targeted here. A fixed aperture of f/4.5 is quite exotic for an 28mm lens. It's certainly not meant for landscape photographers because at f/4.5 the foreground just won't be sharp in infinity focus scenes. If you want high corner-to-corner quality, it's also not for you. There are, however, a couple of scenarios where this lens could make sense. Using it with a small Sony camera on a drone comes to mind. 4K video is just about 8 megapixels and the Viltrox lens can do that. If you are looking for a lightweight lens for "talking & walking head"-style YouTube videos could be another one. f/4.5 won't matter much here. And, of course, street and social photography, where you tend to shoot quickly just to capture the moment - "Lomography" is a thing out there for many enthusiasts. In conclusion - make sure that the Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5 VCM fits your shooting style.

Review Criteria{"Build Quality":6,"Optical Quality":4,"Price / Performance":8}

Review Published2024-09-26T20:53:51+00:00

Optical Construction6 elements in 6 groups (2x ED, 2x aspherical)

Field Notes02

Viltrox 28mm f/4.5 VCM is a fixed 28mm prime lens for Sony FE full-frame/mirrorless systems, intended for general wide-angle use. It uses a compact, cinema-oriented focus/drive design with VCM.

AI-assisted summary — verify against linked sources

Catalog note · source: opticallimits

Sources03

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Other Mounts03

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