Viltrox Announces The AF 35mm F1.4 Pro FE/Z Lens
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A fast 35mm prime is what many professional photographers consider to be the ultimate storytelling lens, and Viltrox recently announced a strong contender for Sony E and Nikon Z mount cameras. The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.4 Pro is fully weather sealed, sports a minimum focus distance of only 0.3m, and eleven aperture blades for beautiful rendering of out of focus areas. First, let's have a look at the lens itself.
Viltrox says that the AF 35mm F1.4 Pro FE/Z combines a classic focal length with a professional-grade optical design featuring 16 elements in 11 groups, and it’s capable of maintaining edge-to-edge sharpness even at its maximum F1.4 aperture.
Excellent distortion control helps render straight lines and natural architectural forms across the frame, which is especially valuable in wide-angle photography, where barrel distortion can make buildings, interiors, and objects near the edges of the frame appear curved or stretched.
The specialized glass addresses common optical challenges:
- 2 UA (Ultra-Precision Aspherical) elements help reduce “onion-ring” bokeh, rendering backgrounds smoothly and naturally.
- 3 ED elements effectively correct axial chromatic aberration, producing crisp images with minimal color fringing.
- 4 HR elements balance portability with optical performance.
The Viltrox HyperVCM Focus System is driven by high-thrust voice coil motors for swift, smooth, precise and ultra-quiet autofocusing. Paired with accurate face and eye detection, the lens delivers rapid, responsive tracking in dynamic shooting scenarios. Focus breathing is minimized to ensure smooth focus transitions during videography, while also supporting precise focus stacking for photography.
The sample images from this lens are already looking quite promising:
Professional grade 35mm 1.4 lenses have historically been double the price of this lens, so it's safe to say that it's going to be giving native Sony and Nikon lenses some serious competition. The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.4 Pro FE/Z lens is available now.
