How good (or bad) is the new Viltrox 75mm f1.2 AF Pro lens in Z mount for $549.00?

donaldejose

So you would like to shoot portraits at f1.2 but cannot afford (or CAN afford but cannot justify) $2,800.00 for the 85mm Nikon f1.2 lens? Me too. You can shoot portraits at f1.2 for only $550.00 ($2,300.00 less) by simply shooting in DX. Yes, you have "only" 20 mp but that is going to be enough to still print up to poster size and few people will print that large. Here is an example. You can click through to flickr for pixel peeping. Camera is Z8 in DX mode (but I could have produced the same results with my Nikon Z50), ISO 500, 1/200th sec. shutter speed. Eye AF focused on the eyes of the head of Michelangelo's David. The blue and white vases (and painting) are 3 to 6 feet behind the subject. The flowers in the corner are 10 feet behind the subject. This image will help you judge both sharpness in the subject and bokeh in the background at various distances from the subject. I personally think this is a great lens and more than adequate for me. When, if ever, Nikon produces a D500 replacement Z90 with about a 33 or larger megapixel sensor this lens will come into its own as a great portrait lens for crop sensor shooters. Feel free to post your opinion and/or experience with this lens.

donaldejose

donaldejose

Ton14

Looks great Donald and at that price, there are already several third-party lenses. Photo Rumors featured an article of the $400.- "Yongnuo 85mm f/1.8" lens, I quote:.

The Yongnuo 85mm f/1.8 lens is the third best lens ever tested by DxO Mark… yes, this sub $400 lens is better than all Zeiss lenses and many other high-end lenses. Only the Nikon NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM A lenses scored better (the Yongnuo 85mm f/1.8 lens is now available for Sony E-mount, Canon RF-mount, and is coming soon for Nikon Z-mount).

It is tested on the Sony and coming soon for the Nikon Z.

Who expected that, Yongnuo !!!!!. It was quite a shock to me that Nikon does not have the best lens. Well I have Yongnuo YN685 flashes for 12 years and they never miss a shot, in this case cheap does not mean bad.

We will see many more good third party lensen in the future.

donaldejose

Good find Ton. Yes, inexpensive Chinese lenses have become very impressive. See my posts in Photo of the Day this month. It seems the Chinese have developed good glass manufacturing and optical design recently. It is to the point where a pro could do pro work without paying three times more for Nikon glass, if someone just identified the good "cheap" glass for them. I especially trust third party lenses which Nikon adopts and puts the Nikon name on. I figure Nikon has tested the functioning such a AF consistency and AF motor longevity before adopting them as Nikon glass. In a month I will be in Maine for 10 days along the coast. I expect a lot of salt spray. So I am going to leave my expensive Nikon Glass at home and take all "cheaper" glass with clear filters on them. If salt spray or water harms them, the loss won't be as bad. No one is going to be able to tell the difference between the more expensive Nikon S glass and the "cheaper" non-S glass. I will take a couple of Nikon bodies in case one fails but I expect them to be well weather sealed.

Ton14

Great examples in Photo-A-Day Donald. We are not the only ones, who have discovered third-party lenses.

I also follow articles on the newsshooter site "https://www.newsshooter.com" Here, third-party Cine lenses are regularly featured.

I just started a new topic for third-party lenses. I found articles about the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8, a review and comparisons with Nikon lenses. Check it out in this new topic.