Viltrox has been very active this year. If you’ve been keeping up with their releases, they’ve introduced several lenses, such as the Viltrox 56mm f1.7, Viltrox 28mm f4.5, Viltrox 135mm f1.8 Lab, and two others. With the announcement of the Viltrox 35mm f1.7 today, the company has now released six lenses. That’s a notable number of launches in a single year, although not all of them are X-mount lenses.
Intro
Viltrox has previously released a similar focal length, but it was brighter, heavier, and more expensive. There was a gap in the entry-level segment, which Viltrox recognized, leading to the introduction of their Air series, starting with the Viltrox 56mm f1.7.
Viltrox has been quite open about their new Air series lens, sharing updates and organizing one giveaway on social media leading up to the release. On December 18, 2024, they introduced the second lens in the Air series, the 35mm f1.7. The 50mm (full-frame equivalent) is a favorite among professionals, and this new lens complements it, designed to attract a broader audience of aspiring photographers.
Design and Build Quality
The design of this lens is identical to its sibling, Viltrox 56mm f1.7. Simple, minimalistic, and clean. That said, it does not come with an aperture ring. In my opinion, the lens design is somewhat similar to the Sigma Contemporary prime lenses, i.e. Sigma 30mm f1.4.
This lens has a plastic construction, but surprisingly, the build quality is quite good. It doesn’t feel cheap when held. I also found it interesting that the plastic material appears to be resistant to fingerprints.
As for weight, it is just 170 grams and comes with a small 52mm filter size. It’s quite lightweight and easy to handle, and I have no problems using this lens. It does come with a petal-like lens hood, and it is made of plastic.
Image Quality
The image quality is sharp at wide-open but not as tad sharp as XF33mm f1.4, and the contrast is punchy. Vignetting is there and it may seem mild to me, but it can be obvious to some. For chromatic aberration, it isn’t obvious to my eyes. This exceeds my expectations of an entry-level. That said, I feel it is quite usable for most photographers. If you do pixel peeps, I suggest the Fujifilm prime lenses will not go wrong, especially the XF33mm f1.4.
Right: Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 35mm f1.7 @ 35mm . f1.7. 1/80″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative
I like how the rendering of the background blur is not messy and does not disturb the main focused subject.
For sun star lovers, the result of this lens is not so usable, at least in my opinion. It lacks defined lines and is kind of a bit messy. But I think this is not important as this is not what many photographers are looking for.
Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)
This lens has a 33cm MFD, which is pretty decent for an entry-level lens. I did not see much degradation in the image quality as well, but a little lost in contrast.
Focusing
Like all third-party autofocus lenses, it comes with a Stepper Motor (STM) to drive the focusing system. However, the focusing speed may be a little slow if you are shooting from MFD to infinity and vice versa. It will have that split-second undecisive focusing moment before its focus is locked successfully. The good thing is that I did not experience any misfocus in my shots.
Right: Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 35mm f1.7 @ 35mm . f5.6. 1/1600″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
When it comes to lens breathing, there is a small breathing gap between the MFD and infinity. Videographers probably need to take note about it.
The eye tracking from both X-T5 and X-M5 works fine with this lens. No major abnormal behavior is observed during my testing. However, I do have some misses where the lens decides to give me a pull-focusing when the subject is in focused.
Right: Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 35mm f1.7 @ 35mm . f1.7. 1/2700″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Price Point
At 180 USD, it is priced the same as its sibling and very competitive. For reference, XF 35mm f2 is priced at 399 USD, XC 35mm f2 is priced at 199 USD, Sirui 33mm f1.2 is priced at 280 USD, and Meike 33mm f1.4 is priced at 230 USD.
Right: Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 35mm f1.7 @ 35mm . f1.7. 1/200″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Others
At this price range, it comes with a waterproof coating. Mind you, it is not weatherproof resistant. So I assume that this lens is fine when facing drizzling.
Right: Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 35mm f1.7 @ 35mm . f1.7. 1/2900″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Also, the official stated it comes with an Anti-Fouling layer. While it does not give more information about this other than “Keeps your lens clean and clear,” so my another assumption is it could have some coating in the front lens element that helps to prevent some level of smudge.
Lastly, similar to all Viltrox lenses, it comes with a USB-C port solely for one purpose; firmware upgrades.
Who is this for?
At this price point, this lens is perfect for budget-conscious photographers who don’t want to compromise on image quality. It’s versatile enough for various genres, including portraits, street photography, documentary, landscapes, and everything in between. Additionally, it can serve as a backup lens for full-time photographers who are just starting out or for professionals seeking a lightweight gear setup during their days off or vacations.
Right: Fuji X-T5 . Viltrox 35mm f1.7 @ 35mm . f1.7. 1/6000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative
Conclusion
Viltrox has made impressive strides, excelling not only in their Pro series, like the Viltrox 75mm f1.2 and Viltrox 27mm f1.2 but also in this segment. It seems they aim to capture a broad market and become the top third-party manufacturer.
This is a highly capable budget lens that raises the bar for competition in this category. For those seeking a solid prime lens without a hefty investment, this is definitely worth considering. While we have seen 2 of the 3 focal lengths released, I am not surprised that Viltrox will release the 23mm focal length to fill up the Trinity lens set-up.
On a separate note, I look forward to seeing the white version of this lens, along with its sibling for the X-mount.
Thank you for reading.
Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. Most of the shots are straight out of the camera with some shots edited via In-Camera Raw Processing.
3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:
If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.
If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.
Alwin Kok 