This is my review of the new Viltrox Air lenses for L-Mount. For this review I’ve been using the Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 L-mount and the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 L-mount on the Panasonic S5. I’ll tell you if these new light and compact ‘Air’ lenses are the small lenses L-mount has been waiting for.
After Viltrox joined the L-mount alliance in 2025 it took a while for Viltrox to get in to the L-mount groove. They introduced the 16mm as their first real L-mount lens. After that they followed with the fun and funky Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5, which I’ve tested before (read my full review here). And now the Air lenses are available in L-mount.
The Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 is available for 189 euro/ 176 dollar. And the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 is available for 229 euro/ 199 dollar. Both are sold in the the Viltrox store.
Ricks Reviews verdict
The verdict is true for both the 40 and 50mm since they are very much alike, besides the focal length.
Pros
- Compact & light weight
- Affordable
- Good image quality
- Nice build quality
- Quick autofocus
- Metal mount
Cons
- Reasonable flare resistance, but not perfect
- Not weather sealed
- Plastic body
Best for:
People looking for affordable and compact lenses for their L-mount camera. The 40mm and 50mm are great every day lenses that will work in a wide range of situations.
Not ideal for:
Sports and action or working in extreme condition due to lack of weather sealing.
Would I buy it again?
Yes, these lenses are well worth their affordable price. Small, good image quality and work very well.
Quick specifications
Specs for the Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 ‘Air’
- 40mm focal length
- Full Frame compatible
- 10 elements in 6 groups of which 1 ED, 3 HR and 1 aspherical element
- Just 169 grams
- f/2.5 maximum aperture
- 0.34m closest focusing distance
- 0.14x maximum magnification
Specs for the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 ‘Air’
- 50mm focal length
- Full Frame compatible
- 13 elements in 9 groups of which 3 ED, 4 HR and 1 aspherical element
- Just 205 grams
- f/2 maximum aperture
- 0.51m closest focusing distance
- 0.11x maximum magnification
The Viltrox ‘Air’ series for L-mount
There are 4 full frame lenses in the Viltrox Air series that have been converted to L-mount. These are:
- Viltrox AF 14mm f/4
- Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8
- Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5
- Viltrox AF 50mm f/2
When you combine 2 of the Air-lenses you’ll be able to photograph a wide range of situations. Of course I had the two longer 40 and 50mm lenses that don’t make too much sense to use as a kit as they are quite close in focal range. But for a holiday I’d happily take the 20mm & 40mm to create a lightweight, high quality and small kit.
If you combine 2 of these with something like a Sigma Bf, Panasonic S9 or even with the Panasonic S5 you’ll easily fit everything in a small bag. For instance I’ve kept the lenses and my Panasonic s5 in a Tenba DNA 9 shoulder bag and had room to spare in my bag for my Ricoh GR IV and some extra batteries. Two of these lenses combined with the Panasonic S5 are just a hair over 1 kg in weight (2.2 lbs). This makes for a perfect travel or everyday kit.
Interested to buy one of these lenses? Use my link to the Viltrox store to support my website.
Build and features of the Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 & Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 Air
With prices of around 200 euro you can’t expect these lenses to offer the same build quality as Sigma’s magnificent Contemporary primes for L-Mount. In stead of metal, the body of the Air lenses is made of plastic which helps to keep the weight down.
But there is good news. Despite the affordable pricing Viltrox has fitted a full metal mount on the lenses. The mount has a USB-C port for updating firmware. And the body feels well made, despite being made out of plastics. These lenses don’t feel cheap or insignificant. The fit and finish on the lenses is very good and the focus ring turns smoothly dampened.
As can be expected at this price point the lenses don’t have weather sealing and no external controls besides the focus ring. This means you can only turn on and off autofocus in the camera menu.
Image Quality
Sharpness
At this price point you might expect these lenses to offer subpar sharpness. But this isn’t the case at all. Both the 40mm and the 50mm offer very high sharpness wide open in the center of the image. Looking at mid-frame and extreme corners there is a difference between the lenses.
Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5
Wide open the 40mm offers good sharpness mid frame and reasonable sharpness in the corners. When you stop down sharpness improves, with mid-frame being very good from about f/4 – f/5.6. Corners on the 40mm gradually get better when stopping down but don’t reach their best performance until about f/8.
Viltrox AF 50mm f/2
For a nifty-fifty expectations are high. And the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 doesn’t disappoint. Besides the very high centre sharpness, like on the 40mm, the 50mm also offers high mid-frame and corner sharpness, even wide open at f/2. Stopping down to f/2.8 or f/4 makes the whole frame very sharp.
Distortion, aberrations and vignetting
Both the 40mm and the 50mm offer virtually zero distortion. You’ll have to have a really sharp eye to see it when shooting a brick wall, let alone in normal use.
Both lenses show some chromatic aberrations. The Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 performs best in this case with barely visible chromatic aberrations (purple fringing). I wouldn’t even bother to fix CA in the 50, since it is so little. The Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 shows more CA. For the 40 the CA can be visible enough for me to want to correct it in the final image. Luckily this is easily fixed in any editing software (or in camera when shooting JPEG).
Vignetting is quite high in both lenses, as is often the case with brighter prime lenses. Both lenses have about 2-3 stops of vignetting in the extreme corners of the image. Nothing that can’t easily be corrected in post.
And a big advantage of these lenses being officially licenced L-mount products is that in-camera corrections will be available on L-mount bodies. So if needed CA and vignetting can be corrected by the camera body for the JPEG images.
Flares Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 & Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 Air
When shooting right in to a very bright light source you will run in to some flaring in both the 40 and 50mm Viltrox. Wide open the 40mm can suffer from moderate veiling flare and a in some cases some ghosting flare. Flares can have some funky shapes in some instances. Stopping down, adjusting the position of the light source in your image or shading the lens with your hand can help.
The 50mm has more veiling flare when shooting wide open. When stopping down this quickly clears up. Stopping down further can lead to ghosting, sometimes with rather warm red-like tones. If you require perfect performance in this department these aren’t the lenses for you. But performance still is very acceptable at this price point.
Image Quality conclusion
In the image quality department both these lenses offer performance way above their price point. Both lenses are very sharp, with the 50mm going above and beyond. And they are virtually free of distortion. They do have some vignetting and chromatic aberration, but this is easily corrected in post production or by the camera body.
It is only the flare resistance where improvement could be made. But then again, the overall performance of these lenses is far above what I’d expect at this price point. It’s easy to forget that these lenses cost around 200 euro/ dollar and they can still compete with lenses costing 2-3 times that.
Bokeh of the Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 & Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 Air
Bokeh is a matter of personal taste and is not measured by the amount of out of focus blur, but more about the quality of the blur. And since everybody knows you can’t take a decent photo unless you use a f/1.4 or brighter these lenses must suck, right?
I’m glad to report that isn’t true. Both these lenses have nice out of focus area’s, with smooth looking bokeh in most situations despite the moderate maximum aperture. As you can imagine these aren’t bokeh monsters, but I found the out of focus look pleasing and not distracting in a bad way.
If you are looking for a portrait lens the Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 will do a fine job. But of course the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 is brighter and longer, so it will be able to create a shallower depth of field. For all-round shooting both are able to isolate objects and make them stand out.
I don’t think the difference in the bokeh would be a deciding factor when choosing between these two.
Compatibility and AF speed
Since both the Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 and the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 are officially licenced L-mount products they should work perfectly on all L-mount camera’s. I’ve tested the lenses on the Panasonic S5 and found operation to be smooth. Autofocus on the Panasonic S5 was dependable and quick.
When focusing from closest focus to infinity it takes the focus motors a while to move the elements. These aren’t as fast as say a 24-70 2.8 or 70-200 2.8, but for regular shooting they are fast enough and I didn’t have any trouble tracking people or animals.
Conclusion for the Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 & Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 Air
If you are looking for a small and lightweight lens for your L-mount camera the new Viltrox Air lenses definitely deserve your attention. The Air lenses for L-mount are available in 14mm, 20mm, 40mm and 50mm. With two of these lenses you can build a small and light kit that will offer high image quality for a reasonable price.
Viltrox AF 40mm F/2.5 Air
The Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 is a great all-rounder. The focal length works well as a walk-around lens and with the maximum aperture of f/2.5 you are able to use it in moderately low light and for the occasional portrait. For about 189 euro you will buy a lens with very good image quality. Add a small wide angle to it and you have the perfect holiday or travel kit.
Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 Air
The Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 offers even better image quality and is brighter. This might make it more appealing, but you have to choose if you want to accept a longer focal length in exchange for those qualities. For portraits this would be my first choice, for all-round use the 40mm might be better. Especially since the 40mm image quality is perfectly acceptable. At 229 euro the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 is a fraction more expensive than the 40mm as well, but still well worth the money.
These lenses might not be perfect. But both these lenses have character and operate way above their price level, and 5 years ago I wouldn’t have believed it was possible to create lenses this good for this money. I think Viltrox is proving to be a valuable member of the L-mount alliance offering interesting and affordable alternatives to the existing L-mount lenses.
Interested to buy one of these lenses? Use my link to the Viltrox store to support my website.