Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 Review

Viltrox is clearly a very ambitious company. I’ve had the unique opportunity to start from the beginning with them, reviewing their first 20mm F1.8 manual focus lens in early 2019. Then came an 85mm F1.8 manual focus, then their first autofocus lens right after that (also an 85mm F1.8). They spent a few years honing their craft with fairly standard “series” lenses (23mm, 33mm, and 56mm F1.4 APS-C lenses, then 35, 50mm, and 50mm F1.8 full frame lenses). But I first noticed them start to break out with a more ambitious lens in the form of the 13mm F1.4 APS-C lens, and then came the standout Pro series (27mm and 75mm F1.2 for APS-C) and the amazing 16mm F1.8 full frame lens, which was their first premium full frame lens. They have now diversified into their high performing yet lightweight “Air” series (20mm F2.8, 40mm F2.5, and 56mm F1.7) while also prepping the launch of the ultra high performance LAB series. Ambitious indeed. But part of what makes Viltrox unique is that they are simultaneously tackling both the high end of the market (LAB and PRO series) while also addressing the extreme budget end of the spectrum (AIR series). Nothing illustrates that better than their next two lens releases – the ultra high performance LAB 135mm F1.8 VCM and their cheapest lens yet – the Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 VCM micr-pancake lens that they have nicknamed “the Chip” (as in ‘as thin as a potato chip’. And at just 15.3mm in length, this is the second thinnest lens I’ve ever reviewed, and easily the thinnest autofocusing lens that I’ve ever tested. And at a price tag of just $99 USD, it’s a lens that anyone can afford. But is this tiny little thing worth buying? Find out in the video review, read the text review…or just enjoy the photos in the gallery.

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Thanks to Viltrox for sending me a review copy of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV and the Sony Alpha 1.

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This a very different kind of lens for Viltrox, as producing a lens this thin means that there are some things that will have to be compromised. For many such lenses, what gets sacrificed is image quality along with functionality. While the functionality is a little different here, fortunately the image quality is not.

But at the least, the functionality is different. This is the first “fixed aperture” lens for Viltrox, in that the 28mm Chip is always F4.5. Not bigger, not smaller. No aperture ring or aperture control from within camera. Aperture is fixed at F4.5.

There also isn’t any manual focus here. Whereas the only smaller lens that I’ve ever reviewed was manual focus only (the Brightin Star 28mm F2.8), the Viltrox 28mm Chip is autofocus only. There is no manual focus ring. Fortunately autofocus is good enough that you probably won’t miss it, and, frankly, the lens is so compact that there just isn’t room for any rings on the barrel.

So let’s dive a little deeper into the nuts and bolts of this extremely unique new lens.

Photos of the Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 VCM

Photo taken with the Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 VCM

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GEAR USED:

Purchase the 28mm “Chip” at Viltrox | B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Pergear

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Purchase the Sony a7RV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

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Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

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Purchase the Sony Alpha 1 @ Camera Canada | B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada |  Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

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