7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 vs. Viltrox: Which One Is Actually Worth Buying?

Choosing between the 7Artisans 135mm f/1.8 and the Viltrox 135mm comes down to a real tradeoff: raw optical and autofocus performance versus a lighter, smaller package at a lower price. At $689, the 7Artisans sits well below the Viltrox, and that gap raises a fair question about what you're actually giving up.

Coming to you from Toms Jurjaks, this detailed comparison video puts both lenses through real model shoots to find out where each one earns its place. Jurjaks notes right away that the 7Artisans arrives in noticeably better packaging than older 7Artisans lenses, with custom foam and a heavy-duty box that signals a shift in how the brand is positioning itself. The lens itself features a weather-sealed metal alloy barrel and lands at roughly 1 kg, about 220 g lighter than the Viltrox. That difference is subtle on paper but genuinely noticeable after a long shoot, particularly on a full frame Sony body.

Where the two lenses split most clearly is in control layout. The Viltrox gives you an LCD screen, an infinite declickable aperture ring, and a range limiter button. The 7Artisans skips all of that in favor of a traditional clickable aperture ring with a dedicated auto lock and hard stops at each end. Jurjaks actually prefers the 7Artisans approach for portrait work, where feeling the aperture ring reach its limit matters more than reading an f-stop off a screen. Both lenses share two custom buttons, an AF/MF toggle, rear rubber gasket sealing, USB-C firmware updates, and an 82mm front element, with the 7Artisans edging slightly closer at 68 cm minimum focus distance.

On image quality, Jurjaks is direct: the Viltrox is sharper, and he calls it the sharpest lens he has ever tested. But the gap only shows up wide open at f/1.8. Stop down to f/2.8 and the two lenses look nearly identical. His model shoot photos with subjects in varied lighting, including shooting against the sun during golden hour, show the 7Artisans handling real professional conditions without obvious weakness. The autofocus story is more nuanced. The 7Artisans uses STM motors rather than the Viltrox's VCM system, and Jurjaks found it tracked well in most situations, locking onto a subject's eye reliably even mid-spin. The STM did show its limits during a walking-toward-camera burst sequence, where it struggled to keep pace. That's a specific, predictable scenario rather than a general failure, and worth knowing if fast-moving subjects are a regular part of your work. Jurjaks ends up selling the Viltrox and keeping the 7Artisans, citing the size, the aperture ring feel, and sharpness that clears the bar for his needs.

Check out the video above for the full rundown, including Jurjaks' side-by-side image comparisons and autofocus test footage, from Jurjaks.