The Viltrox AF 85mm f/2.0 EVO is a 340g full-frame autofocus portrait prime sold for Nikon Z and Sony E mounts at $275. Digital Camera World tested both mount versions and praised its compact metal build, aperture ring with click/de-click switch and image quality, with its only reservations the f/2 aperture and the lack of an aperture ring lock. Photography Blog, testing the Sony version on an A7CR, found excellent centre sharpness even wide open and attractive bokeh, but obvious vignetting from f/2 to f/4 and autofocus that is not quite as quick as Sony's own lenses.
Full review
A small 85mm with full-size controls
Digital Camera World describes the EVO as the first of a Viltrox series that puts the handling of the company's larger Pro lenses into a body closer to its lightweight Air lenses. It weighs 340g and measures 69x76mm with a 58mm filter thread, against 800g for Viltrox's own 85mm f/1.4 Pro, and still carries an aperture control ring with a click/de-click switch, a customisable function button and an AF/MF switch. The review scores features, design, performance and value at five stars each.
Photography Blog reports a more mixed build: the barrel is all plastic with a metal mount, though the lens 'feels solid and well made', and the rubber-sealed mount and coated front element give it dust and moisture resistance that Viltrox stops short of calling weather-proof. A soft case and a plastic lens hood are in the box.
Sharpness, bokeh and vignetting
Photography Blog found excellent sharpness in the centre of the frame across almost the whole aperture range, including wide open, with the edges needing to be stopped down to match. It saw little distortion or chromatic aberration and rated the bokeh very attractive. Its one optical complaint is obvious vignetting when shooting at f/2 to f/4.
Digital Camera World, shooting with in-camera corrections switched off, judged vignetting only fairly subtle at f/2, chromatic aberrations negligible and distortion very slight, and its test shots showed excellent sharpness with smooth bokeh.
Autofocus on Sony and Nikon bodies
On the Sony A7CR, Photography Blog found the STM motor almost silent and fairly quick with very little hunting in good or bad light, but 'not as quick to find and lock onto the focus point as rival Sony lenses'. Digital Camera World's reviewer tested the Sony E version first, then bought the Nikon Z version, and reports that both work flawlessly, with face and eye detection working well for portraits on both systems.
Price against the alternatives
Photography Blog gives the price as £265 / $275 and names the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 as the main rival: the Viltrox is slower by a fraction of a stop but smaller and lighter. It scores value for money 5 out of 5. Digital Camera World calls the lens 'an absolute bargain at the price' and points buyers who want a faster aperture to the larger, heavier and more expensive Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.4 Pro.
Strengths
- +Excellent centre sharpness even wide open and attractive bokeh from the 9-blade aperture, per Photography Blog
- +Aperture ring with click/de-click switch, customisable function button and AF/MF switch, features Digital Camera World rates five stars
- +Weather-sealed mount and a USB-C port for firmware updates
Watch-outs
- −Obvious vignetting wide open from f/2 to f/4, according to Photography Blog
- −Autofocus is not quite as quick as Sony's own lenses on the A7CR, per Photography Blog
- −f/2 is not the fastest aperture for an 85mm prime, and there is no aperture ring lock switch (Digital Camera World)
How it compares
At 340g the Viltrox AF 85mm f/2.0 EVO is lighter than the 425 g Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM and gives the same 85mm framing to Nikon Z and Sony E cameras, though its f/2 maximum aperture is a third of a stop slower than the f/1.8 lenses on this page. The Sony FE 50mm f/1.8, Canon RF50mm F1.8 STM and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM are lighter still at 186g, 160g and 159g.
Rating sources
Counts as 4.77/5 in our score — this publisher's 55 scores on the site average 4.42, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
Counts as 4.39/5 in our score — this publisher's 9 scores on the site average 4.33, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
Our 4.6 score is the average of these published ratings, each adjusted for how strictly its publisher scores. More about methodology.
