One of the first reviews I wrote here was for the Nikon AF-S 20mm 1.8G in 2016. A lot has happened since: Nikon now has its own mirrorless system, many new ~20mm lenses have been released in the meantime and also my testing methods have improved. A lot of reasons, to have another look at this lens.
Update April 2026: complete rewrite of the review.
Viltrox has just released two new full-frame lenses in its EVO series—a 35mm f/1.8 and a 55mm f/1.8—both featuring APO designs for improved correction of chromatic and spherical aberrations. Here, I’m testing the 55mm lens.
Based on Viltrox’s earlier Air and EVO lenses, which delivered exceptional sharpness, I was curious to see if this new 55mm can reach the same level as Nikon’s 50mm f/1.8 S—a lens I regard as the best “nifty fifty” Nikon has ever produced, with outstanding sharpness and overall optical quality. Let’s find out.
Available for Sony E, Nikon Z, and Leica L mounts.
The Sony FE 50mm 1.4 GM is a lens I surely hadn’t expected when it was released – especially only two years after the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM hit the market. Some people say this one is better than the half-a-stop faster f/1.2 lens, but is that really the case? Let’s find out in this review!
Today I’m looking at another Carl Zeiss lens from the Milvus series—the 35mm f/2. A lens that is popular for street, travel, and everyday photography. As Zeiss’s final DSLR-era lineup, the Milvus lenses benefited from decades of optical experience, aiming to deliver high image quality in a more practical, less bulky package than the no-compromise Otus line. I was impressed by the Milvus 21mm’s build and manual handling. Let’s see how it performs.
I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.
Let’s take a look at a lens from one of the industry’s heavyweights, Carl Zeiss—the 21mm f/2.8 from the Milvus series. It offers the immersive field of view that many people love for landscape, architecture, and environmental portrait photography, without being so wide that composition becomes tricky. As Zeiss’s final DSLR-era lineup, the Milvus lenses benefited from decades of optical experience, aiming to deliver high image quality in a more practical, less bulky package than the no-compromise Otus line. Let’s see how it performs.
I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.
