{"id":69538,"date":"2025-04-02T12:58:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T11:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=69538"},"modified":"2025-04-04T15:19:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T14:19:39","slug":"review-viltrox-af-50mm-f-2-air-fe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/review-viltrox-af-50mm-f-2-air-fe\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air (FE)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Viltrox<\/span><\/p>\n

The Viltrox AF 50mm f\/2 is another addition to the company’s small, lightweight, and affordable ‘Air’ series. Though new, the few lenses released so far have shown impressive performance. This full-frame 50mm lens, with a maximum aperture of f\/2, is compact, lightweight, and budget friendly at $199\u2014but does its performance match that of its previous siblings? Let’s find out!<\/p>\n

\"camera-icon2\"I tested this lens on a 46 Mp<\/a> Nikon Z7ii<\/a> (Sample images with a Nikon Zf<\/a> ).
\n\"camera-icon2\"I used a Megadap ETZ21 PRO<\/a> E-to-Z adapter with the FE mount version of the lens on Nikon Z cameras.
\n\"\"You can see this review as\u00a0a\u00a0YouTube\u00a0video\u00a0here<\/a>!
\n\"\"Sample images in high resolution here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sample Images<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/2.8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/11<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Nikon Zf | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Sony A7iii | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Sony A7iii | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air | f\/3.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of the sample images in this review and many more can be found in higher resolution here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifications<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Focal Length<\/td>\n50mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Angle of View<\/td>\n47.4\u00b0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
# of Aperture Blades<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Max Aperture<\/td>\nF2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Min Aperture<\/td>\nF16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Min Focus Distance (Magnification)<\/td>\n0.51 m (0.11x)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Filter Size<\/td>\n58mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lens Mount<\/td>\nSony E, Nikon Z<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/td>\n205 g<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Size (D x L)<\/td>\n\u00d8 65 \u00d7 56.5mm<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elements\/Group<\/td>\n13 \/ 9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\"\"
Lens construction | Viltrox-50mm F2 Air (updated)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air FE on a Nikon Zf via a Megadap ETZ21 Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Buy new:<\/strong> VILTROX (8% discount)<\/a>, B&H, Amazon (anywhere)<\/a>\u00a0 (Affiliate links)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Disclosure<\/span><\/h2>\n

Viltrox kindly provided this lens for test and review purposes. Megadap kindly provided the E to Z adapter for test and review purposes.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Megadab ETZ21 Pro and Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Handling and Build Quality<\/span><\/h2>\n

The lens is made of hard plastic, though the mount plate is metal. The design is minimalist, featuring only one control point: the relatively large focusing ring. Electronic contacts on the mount plate allow communication with the camera, and a USB-C port on the metal mount enables firmware updates. Despite being part of the budget-friendly Air series, known for its compact and lightweight design, the build quality does not feel cheap.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air (FE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The lens lacks environmental sealing and in-body stabilisation. It comes with a lens hood, which has a matte interior to reduce reflections and can be reversed for compact storage. In addition to front and rear caps, the package includes a cloth pouch.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air, rear and front caps, lens hood, cloth pouch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The focusing mechanism is internal, so the lens does not change length, and the front element does not rotate during focusing. Autofocus is driven by a stepping motor (STM) with a lead screw, which should have the advantage of more accurate, quieter, and faster AF compared to geared STM motor.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air (FE) with lens hood via a Megadap ETZ21 Pro adapter on a Nikon Zf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The focusing ring can not be customised to do anything else than manual focusing.<\/p>\n

Optical Features<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"mtf-viltrox-50--2-air\"
MTF curves | Viltrox AF 50mm f\/2 Air<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sharpness (Infinity)<\/span><\/h3>\n

For the infinity sharpness test, we look at three areas of the image, centre, mid-frame, and corner, see highlighted areas in the image below!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Infinily Sharpness Points of Inspection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Sharpness near infinity | Viltrox AF 50mm F\/2 Air<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Excellent sharpness right from f\/2 in the centre of the frame, while the midframe and corner are very good.\u00a0Stop down to f\/4 and you get excellent sharpness even in the midframe and corner.<\/p>\n

At wider apertures, while sharpness is at least very good everywhere, there is a small sharpness dip in the midframe, which recovers from f5.6.<\/p>\n

Sharpness (Portrait)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s look at the points of interest for portraits at the portrait distance: the very centre, the centre\u2019s inner periphery\u00a0 (1\/3 rule intersection), and the centre\u2019s outer periphery (1\/4th intersection).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Portrait Sharpness Points of Interest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n