Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE Review
Viltrox recently announced its new AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE, which joins the existing AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE, as the company’s second full-frame entry in its Pro Series, engineered specifically for Sony E-mount cameras.
It features an advanced optical design including 15 elements and 11 groups, which is claimed to deliver exceptional sharpness and excellent control of coma aberration. It also has 11 aperture blades. The AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE also has an optical design including 15 elements and 11 groups.
Key features
- Full-Frame | f/1.4 to f/16
- Fast Portrait-Length Lens
- Dual Hyper VCM Motors
- Customizable Fn Button & Switches
- 9 HR, 3 ED, 1 UA Lens Elements
- 1.48′ / 0.45 m Minimum Focusing Distance
- HD Multilayer Nano Coating
- Weather-Sealed Metal Body
- Dust- and Splash-Resistant Construction
- USB Port for Firmware Updates
The Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE leverages an ultra-large, precision aspherical lens. It is claimed to achieve peak aberration control and onion ring control even at F1.4, delivering consistent sharpness from center to edge.
The lens also includes three low-dispersion ED elements to minimize chromatic aberration, and nine high-refractive index elements that maintain clarity. Viltrox’s advanced nano-coating minimizes ghosting and flare, even in challenging lighting such as backlit scenes.
AF
Viltrox’s HyperVCM autofocus motor is claimed to deliver exceptionally fast, quiet, and smooth focusing. In the AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE, the dual HyperVCM motor is said to outperform traditional STM motors, offering significantly faster focus speed, lower focus noise, and superior precision. This translates to a 150% boost in focusing speed, enabling near-to-far focus shifts in just 100ms. With micrometer-level positioning accuracy, the lens achieves reliable focus even under extremely shallow depth of field conditions. Combined with real-time eye and face detection (compatible with a wide range of cameras), it maintains accurate focus on moving subjects. Crucially, the motor’s quiet operation and smooth, precise focus transitions ensure highly reliable video performance. When manual control is preferred, users can instantly switch via the dedicated AF/MF switch.
The AF performance is generally pretty good. We tried the lens out with the Sony FX3, and for the most part, it performed well. It did struggle a bit in high contrast, backlit environments that were dark, but that is probably a camera limitation as well. In saying that, I didn’t think the AF performance was as good as the 85mm.
Size & Weight
The lens weighs in at 800g / 1.8 lb, and it has dimensions of ø: 3.3 x L: 4.4″ / ø: 84.5 x L: 111 mm.
This makes it exactly the same weight as the AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE.
| WEIGHT | |
| Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE | 800g / 1.8 lb |
| Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM Lens | 516g / 1.13 lb |
| Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE II | 420g / 0.92 lb |
| Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art | 660g / 1.45 lb |
Above, you can see how its weight compares to some of the competition. The Viltrox is quite a bit heavier than the other lenses.
I personally didn’t feel like the lens was that heavy, and it is easy to use with small-sized cameras like the Sony FX3.
Build Quality
The Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE is dust and splash-resistant. It features a full metal construction, and as I just previously mentioned, it is heavier than other competing options.
It is certainly solidly made and well constructed. The manual aperture ring has a nice amount of dampening to it, and it is smooth to operate.
Focus Breathing
The lens has very little focus breathing, which is nice to see. In the example footage down further in the review, you can see that even with quite large focus throws, there is very little evidence of breathing.
Other Features
There is a customizable focus function button; an aperture ring click switch, switchable between stepped and stepless, which is ideal for hybrid photo and video use.
The stepless aperture ring works well, and it has a nice amount of resistance to it.
You can also use the Viltrox App for firmware updates and function customization via the USB-C input on the lens.
The lens supports EXIF data transmission with compatible cameras and accepts a standard 77mm filter.
Above, you can see that I have attached a VND to the lens.
Sharpness Tests
The Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE is pretty sharp even when used wide open at F1.4, but it does improve quite a lot once you hit F2.8. There is a little bit less contrast when it is used at F2 and below.
Lens Flare Tests
The flare from the lens at F1.4 produces quite a bit of halation, and it does have some character. At F5.6, the halation gets greatly reduced.
Focus Breathing Tests
The lens has very well-controlled breathing, which makes it suitable for video use. Please note that the AF examples in the above footage will not be great as the lens is being used on a Nikon ZR with an adapter and not a native Sony E-mount camera.
Real World Use
The lens performs well. While it doesn’t have a lot of interesting optical characteristics, it’s pretty sharp and clean. Having the ability to shoot at F1.4 and still capture sharp images can be very handy, especially in low-light environments. At F1.4, it does have a bit less contrast, and it certainly sharpens up when you shoot at F2.8. Wide open, you will get some light loss out in the corners, but that disappears at F2.8. This decrease in sharpness and contrast, and the light loss in the corners when shooting at F1.4, might sound off-putting, but for people primarily shooting video, these might actually be traits you want.
The bokeh is nice and pleasing, and there are no signs of onion rings.
A lot of fast and affordable prime lenses can show signs of CA when used wide open, but on the 50mm Viltrox, it is very well controlled. There are almost no signs of CA when shooting in real-world conditions.
There is some ghosting and a bit of veiling when shooting bright light sources wide open, but again, you may actually like that. For shooting video, there is a lot to like about this lens, with the manual aperture ring and almost no discernible focus breathing.
Above, you can see some quick footage that was taken by a colleague of mine who owns a Sony FX3. He liked using the lens and found it to be nice and sharp. He also thought the AF performance was pretty decent for a non native Sony lens, particularly at this price point.
As a comparison, above is some footage taken with the AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE.
For a sub $550 USD full-frame prime lens, the performance is pretty good.
Price & Availability
The Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE is now available for $598 USD.
Above, you can see how that price compares to the competition.
Thoughts
Just like the AF 85mm F1.4 Pro FE, the Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE produces nice, sharp images even when used wide open, although it does lack a bit of contrast when used at F1.4. The lack of focus breathing and the AF performance make it a good option if you are shooting video. At $549 USD, it is more affordable than the Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM Lens and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, although it’s not going to be as sharp and offer as good performance as those lenses when used at F1.4.
Viltrox continues to step up its game, and their latest lenses offer a very good balance of cost v’s performance. While there is nothing that makes the lens stand out, it is a solid offering.