This is my real world review of the new Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO lens. I’ve been using the Nikon Z version on my Nikon Zf and Nikon Z6III. But this new EVO lens is also available for Sony FE mount. I’ve used the lens for a few weeks now and have even brought it with me on my holiday.
In this review I’ll tell you if this lens is good enough to be an alternative for the Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8 lens. I’ve owned the Nikon 26mm as well and know the Nikon lens provokes some strong opinions. It seems to be hate or love for the Nikon. Let see how the new 319 Euro Viltrox EVO does.
Interested to buy? If you use my discount code RICKSREVIEWS on the official Viltrox Shop you’ll receive a 5% discount.
Ricks Reviews verdict
Pros
- Very small
- Affordable – cheaper than Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8
- Very good image quality
- Very good build quality
- Aperture ring
Cons
- Veiling flare in some situations
Best for:
People looking for a small high quality lens. Turns any full frame camera in to an (almost) pocketable every day carry camera. Great for documenting life, documentary and travel.
Not ideal for:
Sports and action – also not my first choice for portraits.
Would I buy it again?
Yes, definitely – this is a lens you want in you bag. So small you won’t even notice it is in there.
Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO
Viltrox already has a full frame pancake lens in their line-up. The Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5 I’ve reviewed before. But besides being a little bigger I can assure you the new Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO is a completely different beast.
For starters, this new lens is placed in the EVO line by Viltrox. At Viltrox EVO is comparable to the S-line for Nikon or G(Master)-line for Sony. It signals that Viltrox has used its highest quality optics and coatings for this lens. This also means this lens is in a different price range than the very affordable 28mm. That lens is available for around 109 Euro. Luckily the new EVO can still be considered a very affordable lens with its MSRP of 319 Euro (or 299 Dollar).
Body and build
Looking at the Viltrox 26mm f/2.8 EVO it quickly becomes apparent that this lens was built to offer pro-grade quality in a tiny package. The lens still only weight 170 grams, despite having an all metal construction. The lens has a full metal mount, that is sealed with a rubber gasket. Viltrox doesn’t promise any weather resistance, but the gasket will help to keep moisture and dust out of your camera. The mount has an USB-C port for updating the firmware. The rest of the body is also made of metal and the fit and finish is very good. As we have come to expect from Viltrox.
Other small pancakes like the Viltrox 28mm and the Nikon Z 26mm only offer one control ring. Viltrox however has managed to fit both a control (focus) ring and a dedicated aperture ring to the tiny body of this lens. Very impressive for a lens that is just under 2,6cm deep. The aperture ring makes it a great match for cameras like the Nikon Zf.
On the front of the lens you will find a small hood that can be removed to make the lens even smaller. The hood is needed when you want to mount a filter and it has a 43mm thread. The focusing system is the same as on the Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8, meaning the whole optical unit moves in and out when focusing. This makes it possible to achieve the small minimum focusing distance of 0,2m. And makes sure the lens stays sharp at MFD. I’d advise to protect the moving optical group from water and dust to prevent it getting in to the lens.
Optical design
When building a lens this small you have to make compromises. Despite the small size Viltrox has still managed to fit no less than 8 elements in 6 groups in this lens. Of the 8 elements there a two aspherical and one HR element to ensure sharp images and to control aberrations.
An other impressive feat is that the lens still offers a minimum focusing distance of 0.2 meters. With the wide 81.2 degree field of view this doesn’t make it a true macro lens (maximum magnification is 0.2x). But it does ensure extra freedom for creative compositions.
Sharpness
Viltrox states the Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO offers very good central sharpness. And I can confirm this is the case. The central portion of the image is impressively sharp even wide open at f/2.8. Stopping down the aperture to f/4 or f/5.6 brings some marginal improvement in center sharpness and contrast, but you will be going from fantastic to magnificent.
The corners and mid-frame are already usable at f/2.8 but clearly behind the center of the image. Mid-frame does clearly improve when going from f/2.8 to f/4. Corners improve marginally when going to f/4 or f/5.6 but the highest sharpness over the whole frame is realised at f/8. In my opinion this lens is sharp enough for landscape photography when stopping down to f/5.6 or f/8.
Vignetting
As expected for a pancake full frame lens there is quite some vignetting when using the lens wide open. I’d say the lens has almost 2-3 stops of vignetting in the corners at f/2.8. You can make it less apparent by stopping down a little, but not fix it completely.
I personally don’t mind vignetting in any lens at all. I like the look and when I need it gone it is relatively easy to correct in post processing. But if this bothers you I’d say a pancake lens isn’t for you since they almost all suffer from this – a trade off for the small size. The Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5 has even stronger vignetting – and because that lens doesn’t have aperture control you can’t improve that by stopping down. The Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8 also has strong vignetting, that is comparable to the Viltrox EVO.
Flaring and ghosting
The older Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5’s most apparent flaw was the heavy flaring when shooting against a bright light source. Using the new Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO you can clearly see that Viltrox has chosen better coatings to correct flaring. But I still see veiling flare when you have high contrast or bright light sources.
Wide open the lens has very little ghosting. But the veiling flare is apparent, sometimes even in situations when the light source isn’t directly in the frame. For instance when a bright lamp is just out of the frame it will cause some veiling and loss of contrast. Trying to block the light with the hood or shading the lens with your hand doesn’t always completely fix it. Closing the aperture does help to reduce veiling.
In conclusion I can say the EVO is much better when it comes to flares and ghosting compared to the older 28mm Viltrox but it isn’t completely free of problems. In this regard the Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8 performs better.
Bokeh
Bokeh isn’t the first thing to look for in a wide and not extremely fast lens. But the Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO puts in a good effort. Because of the wide angle and limited maximum aperture it isn’t easy to blur the background at mid to long distances. But when you get close using the short minimum focusing distance it still is possible to make your subject stand out from the background. When you do this the Bokeh is surprisingly neutral and smooth. Highlights don’t stand out in a negative way and are evenly lit. I’d even go so far to say its Bokeh is quite pleasing.
Background blur at longer distances is limited, but still looks surprisingly good.
Autofocus
Autofocus performance on my Nikon Zf and Nikon Z6III has been good. This isn’t the fastest focusing lens and I wouldn’t advise it for sports and action, but it will suffice for almost anything you will shoot with this lens. Going from minimum focusing distance to infinity takes quite some time. Small adjustments are quick and accurate. On Nikon all advanced AF functions like face and eye detection work flawless with this lens. As I understand this is the same on Sony.
The focusing is a lot quieter than on the Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8. The Nikon gets a lot or critique for its rather slow and noisy focusing system. I must admit the Nikon does sound a little scratchy especially when using continuos AF and it isn’t Nikon’s fasted focusing lens by any means. I personally found this a downside for the Nikon and one of the reasons why I ultimately sold this lens again. The Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO doesn’t have this problem. Despite having a similar focusing system as the Nikon the focusing on the Viltrox is much quieter. Viltrox probably saw all the hate the Nikon got online and made sure to make the EVO perform better.
Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO vs Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5?
In my opinion there is no real comparing these lenses. The 4.5 is a cheerful and cheap fun lens that offers impressive sharpness but isn’t a tool for all-round use when you need the best image quality. Not being able to adjust the aperture limits its usability in many situations. And the extreme flaring and ghosting when shooting against the sun rule it our for most serious shooting. The Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO is a much more high end lens, is also small but the (image) quality is in a different league (as is the price).
Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO vs Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8?
This is where it gets more interesting. The Viltrox scores with a much lower price, an aperture ring and quieter focusing. The Nikon can only claim marginally better flare resistance. On all other accounts these lenses are very comparable. They both offer very high image quality in minuscule packages.
But when looking at it rationally I think there is only one real option: the Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO. The price difference is too big and even when the prices were comparable it outperforms the Nikon in a few ways. Unless flare resistance is your only priority the Viltrox wins hand down.
Conclusion
The Viltrox AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO lens is a great little lens for both Nikon and Sony users. The lens is small, affordable, feature rich and has great image and build quality. For Sony users I don’t think there is a completely comparable alternative for this lens, besides perhaps the old Sony Zeiss 35mm f/2.8. But that lens is quite a lot more expensive, less wide and it doesn’t outperform the Viltrox.
For Nikon the obvious alternative is the Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8. That is a very good lens, that has great image quality and is just as small as the Viltrox. It is unfortunately let down by its slow and noisy focusing system. How much that bothers you is personal. But the 250 euro price difference makes the choice easy if you ask me. When you get the Viltrox you get quiet AF, an aperture ring and a lower price with about the same image quality. Easy win for the Viltrox.
Interested to buy? If you use my discount code RICKSREVIEWS on the official Viltrox Shop you’ll receive a 5% discount.