Lens Test: The Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 is a ‘Nifty Fifty’ for Fuji Photographers
If you’re a Fuji user looking for an equivalent to the “nifty fifty” lenses available for Nikon and Canon DSLRs, you’ve probably considered picking up Fuji’s old XF 35mm f/1.4 or the XF 35mm f/2. But what if there was a more affordable, faster option out there? The Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 wants to be that lens.
Over the course of the video, Andrew compares this $280 lens against the slightly more expensive and slower $400 XF 35mm f/2R WR, pointing out the various downsides that you’ll need to put up with in order to get that additional bokeh and extra stop of light, at a lower price point.
Here are few of those downsides, which he illustrates with chart shots and 100% crops:
- The Viltrox lens has some noticeable chromatic aberration wide-open, which doesn’t entirely go away until about f/4
- The Fuji XF 35mm f/2R WR has a much shorter minimum focus distance, allowing you to get closer to your subject
- The Viltrox is a tiny bit softer in the center and the corners until you get to about f/2.8
- In practice, you only really get about 1/2 stop more light compared to the Fuji XF 35mm f/2
- There is currently an issue with auto-exposure, which Viltrox has promised to fix with a firmware update coming soon.
And here are some sample images so you can see how much these downsides do (or don’t) have an impact in the real world:
As with most affordable third-party lenses, the moral of the story can be summed up in a single (compound) word: trade-offs. There’s a performance and build quality penalty when you go from one of Fuji’s own XF lenses down to the cheaper Viltrox.
Yes, you’ll save some money—the Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 costs $600 and the XF 35mm f/2R WR costs $400—but unless you need the faster aperture or the physical aperture ring, you can save even more money by going with the ultra affordable Fuji XC 35mm f/2. At least based on this review, it seems that the Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 is only worth it if you absolutely need that extra stop.
Check out the full review up top to hear more about this lens and dive deeper into the side-by-side comparison images. And if you want to see more Fuji lens reviews and tests like this, definitely check out Andrew & Denae’s YouTube channel.
Image credits: All photos by Andrew & Denae, and used with permission.
