The Viltrox TC 2.0 is the first third-party 2x teleconverter for Sony E-mount, and it cuts into Sony's own $600 option at just $280. That price gap alone is worth paying attention to, but the real question is whether the performance holds up.
Coming to you from Dustin Abbott, this detailed video walks through what a 2x teleconverter actually does to a lens and whether the Viltrox version delivers on its promise. Abbott tests it across several lenses, including the Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS, the Sony 70-200mm f/4 G OSS II, and the Viltrox 135mm f/1.8 LAB. A 2x teleconverter doubles your effective focal length without changing the minimum focus distance, which means it also doubles your magnification. Put it on a lens that already hits 0.5x magnification, like the Sony 70-200mm f/4 G OSS II, and you get a full 1:1 macro setup. That's a genuinely useful capability that most people don't expect from a teleconverter. The tradeoff is two stops of light loss, so a lens with a maximum aperture of f/4.5 becomes f/9, and something like the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS tops out at f/13 on the long end.
Build quality comes up quickly, and the Viltrox holds its own. It's slightly shorter than Sony's 2x teleconverter at 29 mm versus 42.7 mm, a bit wider in diameter, and marginally heavier at 225 g. It has a weather-sealing gasket and a USB-C port for firmware updates. One minor note Abbott flags is that the finish color doesn't quite match Sony's lenses the way Sony's own teleconverter does. On autofocus, Abbott's results shooting at 30 frames per second with the 100-400mm attached were largely strong, with only a brief dip when the camera switched between two subjects mid-burst. One detail worth knowing: when a Sony lens is attached through the Viltrox, the camera still recognizes it as a Sony lens, which means the 30 fps shooting limit that applies to third-party lenses doesn't kick in.
There's also a compatibility angle that sets this teleconverter apart from Sony's own offering. The Viltrox TC 2.0 works with Viltrox's own lenses and reportedly with certain Sigma lenses, including the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art and the Sigma 300-600mm f/4 DG OS Sports. Sony has kept teleconverter compatibility locked to its own lenses until now, so this is genuinely new territory for E-mount. Abbott does raise a legitimate concern about whether Viltrox could face pushback from Sony over this, similar to friction Viltrox has already experienced with Nikon over licensing. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's a real consideration, and the ease of firmware updates does give Viltrox a reasonable path to maintaining compatibility over time.
Check out the video above for Abbott's full optical test results, real-world sample images, and his final verdict on whether the Viltrox TC 2.0 is worth picking up.
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