Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8
Announced December 25, 2020
PixelMeter The PixelMeter is our 1–100 aggregate of reviewer scores from trusted publications and creators. Weighted by source tier — not a raw average, and not PetaPixel’s own review.
Reviewer Consensus
Good
Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 provides a compact, metal-bodied wide-angle option for mirrorless users that delivers excellent center sharpness and solid autofocus performance at a budget-friendly price. That said, the lens suffers from significant vignetting, noticeable distortion, and a lack of weather sealing that may limit its appeal for some photographers.
Weighted from 40 reviewer scores
Pros
- Excellent center sharpness and contrast
- Solid, lightweight metal construction
- Quiet and reliable autofocus
- Minimal focus breathing for video
- Affordable price point
Cons
- Lack of weather sealing
- Soft image quality in corners
- Strong vignetting and distortion
- Limited minimum focusing distance
- Rough or inconsistent aperture ring
- Launch price $379 (USD)
- Focal length & aperture 24mm f/1.8
- Mount & coverage Sony E, Nikon Z Full-Frame
- Stabilization None
- Close focus 30 cm (0.1x)
- Filter thread 55mm
- Autofocus motor Stepper motor
- Weight & size 370g (13.1 oz) · 70 x 86.7 mm (2.76 x 3.41 in)
What the Reviewers Say
All 40 expert reviews, weighted into the PixelMeter score.
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Viltrox’s AF 24mm f1.8 is an affordable wide-angle lens for modern mirrorless cameras from Sony and Nikon with the distinct feature of being the only third party lens to date which can autofocus on a Nikon Z camera body.
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I think you can safely get the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 if you’re a landscape photographer who sticks to the range from f/5.6 to f/16 and you don’t spend a lot of time in rainstorms.
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The bottom line is that this is a very nicely made lens that looks and operates like a much more expensive lens.
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[I]n terms of build quality, it's an awesome little package, nice and small and tough, works perfectly well and it could be especially useful for video work.
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When Viltrox sent this lens, they mentioned that this lens is primarily a video lens, and I see why now: de-clicked aperture ring, no focus breathing, and excellent center sharpness.
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For Nikon Z shooters it is definitely a nice addition to the Nikon Z lens library.
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At the end of the day guys, after testing this Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 lens extremely thoroughly, I cannot recommend it enough. It is a phenomenal lens, especially for the money.
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Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 has done a fantastic job with this lens. The pictures coming out of it are nice, they're sharp, they're well rendered, the coloring looks good, and while the autofocus is a little slower than Sony native lenses, it was good and it worked every time [...]
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It is an excellent value, so I highly recommend it.
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I don’t like the way the autofocus disengages every time the camera goes to sleep. And for me, that’s a rather large issue.
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I actually really like it for the price, it's probably the best one at the moment for the 24mm f/1.8, nice fast aperture and done.
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Images are crisp with lots of sharp detail even at 200%. Contrast is good with a good tonal range, and color reproduction is natural.
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I was definitely surprised by the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 lens. It definitely performed better than I expected, especially for its price point.
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Again, I highly recommend it.
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I think you get good value for money if you buy this lens. It's a beautiful, nice little 24mm fast prime and if you can live with the small defects that I showed in this video, I think you're doing a great purchase.
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[T]he image quality of this lens wide open at f/1.8 is not the best, although to be fair, even if you do shoot wide open quite a lot, this could still be a very good option for you because even with that not brilliant image quality at f/1.8, the autofocus is still very good [...]
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I think that that just bridges the gap even further, and like I said, if you're looking for a great lens, this is it.
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If you're looking for a solid full-frame, affordable lens that's wide angle to add to your Sony inventory, I think the Viltrox F1.8 24mm lens is a great option for the price. So, does it deserve a place in your camera bag?
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So this is definitely a cheap and cheerful lens that produces actually pretty decent results for the price. It's got great build quality and I think it would suit anyone who is on a budget beginners or even enthusiasts who just want a decent wallet friendly lens.
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It’s a lens that I really enjoy shooting with, a 24mm that I actually like a lot and one that I certainly highly recommend.
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So the Viltrox is the cheapest full-frame autofocus fast 24mm for Sony E and I think for the money it's doing a pretty good job.
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I think that for around $430 this Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 lens performs really good optically.
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[I]t's a lens that is a great performer wide open in the center but suffers from a few lens correction issues: vignetting, distortion, chromatic aberration, and soft corners wide open.
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So if you are looking for a budget friendly 24mm fast prime, well, I could definitely recommend this one for you and tell you to consider it.
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That is an amazing price point for this lens and I'd say it is 100% worth the $430 price tag.
- Wes Perry 49/60
I am very pleased with it; it looks great.
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When it comes to that, I can't say no to this lens; there's really nothing I don't like about it, and if you think about this Viltrox has another lens that I will be reviewing which is the 85 millimeter f/1.8 Mark II.
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I think the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 is a great addition to the Sony E-mount lineup. It's compact, lightweight, offers a ton of visual character, and all for a pretty reasonable price.
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When you take that into consideration and the glass that's inside it, it's really good and the end results are really good.
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[T]his is a great lens, guys. For traveling, for example, it's light, it's compact, it's a 24 1.8 with auto focus.
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I think it is a very good budget option if you don't have $800 to $1,200 to buy an actually nice high-end 24mm lens, so the price definitely is a benefit.
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If you're on a budget definitely I would get the lens.
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The Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 lens is probably one of the best value lenses that you can buy for a full frame camera [...] the 24mm focal length is so extremely versatile, and when you add that to an f/1.8 aperture, you've got an extremely versatile lens [...]
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[T]his 24mm is different, and this is a lens that definitely stays in my backpack, and let me explain why.
- Light And Matter 7.5/10
Ultimately, two of the main things that made the Viltrox attractive initially were problematic enough in my test lens to steer me away from it: the manual aperture ring was not smooth enough for practical use, and when shot wide open at f/1.8, the image quality suffered [...]
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[...] I'm really impressed with the Viltrox 24mm f/1.8 lens. Now I know it doesn't have the corner to corner sharpness like the Nikon S lenses, but for the price you really can't beat it.
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Just like the Canon version of Viltrox lens this one is amazing as well. It is certainly awesome to have in camera bag to have one prime lens with such low aperture.
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For photography, I had no issues with it. In fact, is one of my new favorite lenses for photography.
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I would give the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 a very positive review, especially for photography.
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[I]t's a solid product for a good price.
