The Viltrox 27mm f/1.2 Pro lens is the second offering in the company's line of lenses designed to appeal to professional photographers. In this review, we will find out if this lens has what it takes to get the job done for serious amateurs and professionals alike.
The first lens released in Viltrox's Pro line was the 75mm f/1.2, which, in addition to the fast f/1.2 aperture, featured an improved autofocus system, superior image quality, and a robust build with multiple gaskets throughout, including around the lens mount. The 27mm f/1.2 Pro, like its older brother, has retained all of these elements, and is delineated by a "Pro" badge, which sets it apart from other Viltrox lenses. I have linked my YouTube review to this print review as well, so feel free to watch it if you prefer.
Build Quality
Let's start with the build quality. The 27mm is constructed of metal, with a metal mount, metal barrel, and metal focusing ring. The mount has an integrated USB-C port for firmware updates. The lens is heavy and would be considered bulky by most Fujifilm users who are typically using smaller lenses and bodies. It also features an aperture ring with a very refined mechanism that clicks softly from one stop to the next. The aperture ring is well done and large enough to find while looking through the viewfinder without issue, as is the focusing ring. The first thing I noticed about the lens when unboxing it was how well-made it was, and on the Fujifilm X-T5, it feels like a professional combination. I didn't find the lens to be too big, but I am used to using a 16-55mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1 lens, so when compared to these, it felt compact to me. After using it for about a month at multiple location shoots, including an outdoor jazz concert where it began to rain, I am pleased with the build of the 27mm, as well as the overall handling of the lens. The one negative about the design is that the lens does not feature a locking switch for the aperture ring, which means that in the "A" position, it can accidentally be moved.
Image Quality
I had the opportunity to shoot street, nature, and two fabulous jazz concerts with the 27mm and the Fujifilm X-T5 as well as the X-T50. As I mentioned, one of the concerts was outdoors, and it began to rain in the middle of the festivities. Eventually, the concert moved indoors, and I was very glad to have such a fast lens to photograph musicians in what became a house concert.
The 27mm is incredibly sharp, even wide open. It renders a ton of detail, and I found it to be a wonderful pairing with Fujifilm's 40-megapixel sensor. The colors are vibrant, and the images have a beautiful amount of contrast and detail. Since I absolutely love to shoot wide open, I found the 27mm to offer very pleasing bokeh and a natural separation between the background and subject. Viltrox continues to up their game when it comes to image quality, and the 27mm felt right at home with my Fujifilm lenses, an impressive feat. The 27mm also has excellent close focusing distance, which makes it suitable for nature and other macro applications as well. The f/1.2 maximum aperture was a huge advantage while shooting both concerts, one in a theater with minimal stage lighting and then, as I mentioned, inside a house. I also used the Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 lens in both of these situations, and I was reminded of how much more light-gathering ability the f/1.2 aperture offers over an f/2.8 lens. I was able to use much lower ISO values with the Viltrox, and the resulting images have considerably less grain. As someone who often shoots small concert venues that are poorly lit, I appreciated the f/1.2 aperture of the 27mm very much. One of the best parts is how sharp it is wide open. The images look stellar at f/1.2, so don't be afraid to shoot wide open, like I love to do!
Autofocus Performance
The autofocus performance is where I noticed the biggest difference between this lens and my Fuji lenses, especially the 16-55mm f/2.8. The 27mm's stepping motor autofocus system is not bad, but I felt like it lagged at times before locking my subject in focus, although when it locked onto the subject, the image was sharp without a false positive. It struggled most in backlit situations, on both the X-T5 and X-T50. I decided to use the “old school” method I learned growing up, which was to use a single focusing point in AF-S, and then lock focus and recompose when necessary, or just manually move the focusing point to the desired area. I did shoot in AF-C and use face/eye tracking as well, but I found it to be sluggish, especially compared to the 16-55mm's linear motor. My X-T5 has the latest firmware update to date, version 4.0, which people have also complained about regarding the reliability of the autofocus in general. I think the best way to describe the autofocus is as “comparable” to Fujifilm lenses with a stepping motor, and perhaps a touch slower. The 27mm focusing motor is silent, however, which is great, and although I didn't do a ton of video, it did well on the clips I created, which you can see in the attached YouTube video.
Focal Length
Finally, I want to discuss the focal length of this lens, which is equivalent to 40.5mm in full frame terms. At first, I felt like this focal length was sort of good for everything and ideal for nothing, a sentiment I echo in my YouTube review. But the more I use it, the more I am appreciating the 40mm lens for what it is, although I do still feel like it is great for general use but not really perfect for anything. It's a standard lens, and I think a 40mm is even more of a "human eye" lens than a 50mm, which already has a touch of "zoom" to it, in my opinion. But, I was able to take portraits, nature, concerts, street photos, and family photos with the lens, and it was good for all of the above. As an “all around,” super-fast lens, the 27mm is tough to beat, and if you love shooting prime lenses like me, the focal length will force you to move your feet in order to bring your creative vision to life, all while providing images that you will absolutely love.
What I Like
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Professional build quality
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Stellar image quality
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Aperture ring
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Fast f/1.2 aperture
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Close focusing ability
What I Didn't Like
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No Aperture Ring Lock
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Laggy Autofocus
Specifications
- Focal Length: 27mm (35mm Equivalent: 40.5mm)
- Maximum Aperture: f/1.2
- Lens Mount: FUJIFILM X
- Lens Format Coverage: APS-C
- Focus Type: Autofocus
- Image Stabilization: No
- Filter Size: 67 mm (Front)
- Angle of View: 55.3°
- Minimum Focus Distance: 11" / 27.9 cm
- Optical Design: 15 Elements in 11 Groups
- Diaphragm Blades: 11
- Dimensions (ø x L): 3.2 x 3.6" / 82 x 92 mm
- Weight: 1.2 lb / 560 g
Get a Viltrox 27mm f/1.2 Pro lens here.
I agree with a lot of what you said. I have the 16-55, too, but don't use it much. I also have the XF 23 1.4 LM and 33 1.4 LM. Used to have the 35 1.4 LM and do miss the character of that lens with the more "boring" 33. I was curious if the 27 could replace both primes and even my underused 16-55. Short answer, no.
Physically, a pet peeve is the AF on/off switch. My X-t5 has one, it's what I use for all my other lenses. It does nothing with the 27. For me it's not intuitive to use the lens barrel switch on a prime. Didn't like the focus clutch lenses for the same reasons either.
The AF comments are spot on. It really doesn't compare to the Fuji lenses. It is at its worse with subjects moving towards you using AF-C. This isn't the now almost hysterical reporting on the Fuji AF, it's simply much less responsive than the native lenses with the same camera (x-t5). You just need to be aware of it.
I've managed to shoot hummingbird hawk moths with the 23 1.4 thanks to it's minimum focus distance and rapid AF quite well. I tried it with the 27 - the MFD just isn't as good, while not bad either. But from nearly 200 shots of these fascinating moths, unlike an almost 50% hit rate with the Fuji, I got precisely 0% with the Viltrox. A lens for more static subjects!
I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the FL, but grew into it. It's a nice FL for a one and done, and where you want the subject to pop out while maintaining a little more foreground. However, you get shallower depth of field with the 33 1.4, which considering the much smaller lens, AF, potential for video is something you need to really want. I have travelled with it, but would have been just as happy with the 23 or 33.
You don't mention the flaring and ghosting, which for me are the biggest negatives of this lens. Even with the hood on and the sun not in frame you will get ghosting, but worse is the regular and flaring. I shot a parade with it to get more foreground plus separation of the main protagonists. First I had to fight with the AF as they were moving towards and across me. But they were also blowing bubbles - so what I had was thousands of specular highlights, and each of them had its own flare. Plus I of course wide open the bokeh is not at all uniform or smooth, but round the edges super swirly with bokeh "balls" almost diamond shape. So imagine a vortex of diamond shaped bokeh balls, each with rainbow flares. There's a lot to be compensated for that can't be fixed in post.
The big, big, positive with the lens however is the character. All that negative stuff about the optics results in a lens that can be used for very sharp (and boring) sharp images. But so what, that's the most boring criteria for a good image. But open it wide open, embrace the swirl with lots of highlights, foliage or flowers, or any busy background and invite a bit of the easy to achieve flare.
And for this reason instead of replacing three lenses, I gained one!
Wide open, it's a dream! I agree.
Much of the appeal of the x séries is that the bodies are (used to be…) smaller than FF with little diminution in image quality. I still love using my XH2 with small primes or the excellent compact sigma 2.8 zoom. I love the image quality from the 16-55 but it is too big and defeats the very point of using APSc. This lens takes things even further. No interest at all in putting a thumping big prime in a Fuji. Better off putting a 35mm prime on my R5 thanks
There are still a bunch of small options for Fuji in terms of cameras and lenses. The 16-55 on the X-T5 feels compact to me when I compare it to my R5 and 50 f/1.2 haha. But of course it's all about finding what works best for your shooting style.