Viltrox AF 75mm 1.2

The Viltrox AF 75mm f/1.2 PRO XF caused quite a stir when the first rumors emerged. A 75mm f/1.2 lens is quite something after all. And it's not just about the paper specs - the lens is capable of delivering beautiful results. The f/1.2 setting is perfectly usable with a very sharp center quality and pretty good corners/borders. The center is tack sharp at f/1.6. The outer image field doesn't improve that much when stopping down but they have a nice peak quality at f/5.6 if you want to push it. Lateral CAs as well as image distortions are basically absent. Surprisingly, axial CAs (LoCAs) are also very low at f/1.2 and gone from f/2 already. We also didn't notice any purple fringing at large aperture settings. The vignetting is a bit on the high side at f/1.2 but image-auto correction can mostly fix this for you. Besides being capable of producing a very shallow depth-of-field in the first place, the bokeh is also very nice, especially in the image background. Out-of-focus highlights are a bit too prone to producing "cat eyes" though. Another highlight of the Viltrox lens is its high build quality which is easily on the level of the best Fujinon lenses. The lens feels reassuringly sturdy thanks to a metal body and the inner focusing system. The added weather-sealing also illustrates the high ambitions that Viltrox has with this lens. The lens is fully coupled thus besides producing EXIF data and a camera-controlled aperture, it also features an AF motor. The AF may not be the fastest on the planet but it does a decent job. The Viltrox is becoming a force to be reckoned with now. Given the degree of refinement of the AF 75mm f/1.2 PRO XF, they are now truly competing with the big boys - at a much lower price. While not perfect in every aspect, it is impressive what the lens can do for you straight from f/1.2. As such, it receives our "highly recommended" badge.