Opticallimits Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 AF Review: “A Serious Alternative to the Aging Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R”

Opticallimits (former photozone) published its Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 Fujifilm X mount lens review.

From their conclusions:

[…] the verdict has to be about context. And the context is that this is about a $280 lens costing less than half of the Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R and this Fujinon is far from being flawless.

The Viltrox lens actually shares many characteristics with this lens. In terms of resolution, it is quite sharp in the image center at f/1.4 and f/2 whereas the outer image field is soft. Stopping down results in a gradual increase in quality reaching its peak at f/5.6. Images are sharp across the board at this setting although there’s still some room for improvement here.

Lateral CAs are low and nothing to worry about.

If you are into architecture photography, you may spot a tad of pincushion distortion.

There is also some vignetting when shooting at f/1.4 but it’s not out of the ordinary really.

[…] A positive aspect is the quality of the bokeh. It deteriorates somewhat in the far corners but generally, it is pleasing. This is especially true for the out-of-focus highlights.

[…] mechanical quality is surprisingly high.

[…] The AF is both speedy and noiseless – something that can’t be said about the Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R actually.

[…] Overall, it may not the last word in terms of sharpness at large apertures but the Viltrox AF 33mm f/1.4 XF is a killer offering in terms of value and a serious alternative to the aging Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R.

You can check out the full review at opticallimits here.

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Viltrox 33mmF1.4 and 23mmF1.4 Firmware Updates Released

Viltrox has released firmware updates for the following Fujifilm X mount autofocus lenses

Both bring the following big fixes and improvements:

  1.  Solved the problem of unreasonable jump to A mode at f 1.4
  2. Optimized the problem of inaccurate position at infinity, resulting in blurring of auto focus at long distance
  3. Solved the problem of not being recognized on X-T100, and prevented flashing screen after booting on some camera models
  4. Optimized the waiting time after releasing the shutter on X-T20
  5. Optimized the problem of displaying errors on EXIF

Go to the Viltrox firmware download page here to get the latest firmware update.

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Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 Quick First Impressions and Comparison

Mattias Burling started its coverage about the Viltrox 33mm f/1.4.

He just shared his very first impression about the lens. Here they are:

  • all metal lens hood
  • pretty small but long. Would feel a bit long on something like an X-E camera
  • it can’t cover full frame, which is why size is contained (compared to the Viltrox 85mm f/1.8, which also fits on full frame cameras, hence the lens is bigger than it would be, if designed only for APS-C)
  • autofocus: it’s good. Single AF is quick and snappy. It’s much more quiet than the XF35mm f/1.4.
  • continuous AF seems to work well too. At least in bright conditions, which is where he tested it
  • aperture ring is step-less. He’d have preferred 1/3 stop clicks on aperture ring. It does not feel very smooth, unlike the focus ring, which is smooth like butter.
  • nice image quality. Fringing is under control but present. Vignetting behaves very well. Decently sharp at f/1.4 and of course much sharper when stopped down
  • it can easily catch haze when shooting strongly backlit subjects (also Viltrox 85mm f/1.8 behaves like that)

He then compares it to the Fujinon GF63mm f/2.8 mounted on the Fujifilm GFX 50R as well as to the cheap Canon 50mm. The Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 was the fastest focusing lens in the test.

The Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 AF is the second AF lens for Fujifilm X by Viltrox. Other two lenses, the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 and Viltrox 56mm f/1.4 will follow later on.

We remind you that Tokina will also launch a 23mm/1.4, 33mm f/1.4 and 56mm f/1.4 lens in 2020, as we reported here. They look like re-branded Viltrox lenses. It will be interesting to see, though, if also the Tokina lenses will have a clickless aperture ring, too.

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Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 to Cost $279 and Pre-Orders Start April 15

We have recently covered the upcoming Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 in two posts:

Now Viltrox announced the price and pre-order availability.

The Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 will cost $279 and will be available for pre-order on April 15.

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Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 More Sample Images

The Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 is the first lens of the upcoming Viltrox autofocus lenses for Fujifilm X mount to come this year (the others are the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 and Viltrox 56mm f/1.4).

Very recently we shared a huge Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 roundup, where you see autofocus test videos, lots of samples and initial feedback by beta testers.

Now Viltrox continues to tease the lens on their various social media. Down below you can see the latest set of images. For more images, check out our previous coverage here.

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New Sample Images

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Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 Sample Images and Autofocus Demo Videos

The Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 will start shipping on April 21, as we reported here.

Of course there are photographers testing the lens, and Viltrox has re-shared all their sample images on Chinese facebook equivalent weibo.

I will share first the (google translated) feedback the various photographer gave, then their images and of course all the links to weibo.

  • Bearsce says: he overall feeling is pretty good except that the aperture is fully open and the dispersion is a bit large …
  • Ares_chen says: this lens works really well, and the focusing speed is also very fast , Imaging sharpness and focus are not bad, there will be purple fringes under high light ratio

Last week Viltrox also shared some autofocus demo videos, which I share for your convenience also on my youtube channel.

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Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 Videos + Samples

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Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 Official Product Page Online

As we told you, Viltrox started taking pre-orders on the Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 AF lens.

They have also the product page up on their website since 1 week now, but apparently some missed it, so I share it now with all of you.

You can see the core specs of the lens as well as product images below.

The lens is available only in China for now, but I expect BHphoto & Co to get samples soon.

The other two Viltrox lenses, the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 and the Viltrox 56mm f/1.4, should follow later on.

Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 AF

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