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Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air
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Viltrox · 56 mm · f/1.7 · Sony E, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z mount

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air

From $180 — 1 offer
KEY FACTS
BrandViltrox
Announcement dateDec 2023
Released2023
Production started2023
Production statusIn Production
What We Like
+Exceptional sharpness across the frame, even wide open at f/1.7, with 40% sharper corners compared to the older f/1.4 model
+Ultra-lightweight at 170g with compact 65 x 54.7mm design, making it highly portable for travel and street photography
+Exceptionally affordable at $139-180 USD while delivering optical quality that punches well above its price point
+Beautiful, smooth bokeh rendering with minimal focus breathing makes it excellent for both stills and video
+Silent, fast STM autofocus with support for eye/face detection
+Perfect 85mm full-frame equivalent focal length ideal for portraits and street photography
Worth Knowing
−No physical aperture ring; aperture must be controlled via camera body, which some photographers find inconvenient
−Vignetting at f/1.7 is noticeably high (1.3 EV) and lacks auto-correction, requiring manual post-processing
−Plastic construction feels lighter than expected and may feel less premium despite solid build quality
−No weather sealing, limiting suitability for harsh environmental conditions

General

Brand
Viltrox
Announcement date
ⓘ
Refers to the date the manufacturer publicly announced the upcoming release and general specs of this camera.
Dec 2023
Released
ⓘ
Refers to the year this camera was officially made available for sale.
2023
Production started
2023
Production status
ⓘ
Current status of lens manufacturing (e.g., in production, discontinued).
In Production
Read our notes on general
The Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 has a slightly slower aperture than Viltrox's F1.4 model but compensates by being extremely sharp. The lens is very compact and lightweight while feeling sturdy and well made. It delivers good image quality with nice bokeh and comes with a price tag that keeps budgets happy. At this price point, it is clearly a value king.

Optical

Minimum Aperture
F16
Focal Length Equivalent
85mm (full-frame equivalent)
Elements/Groups
11 elements in 9 groups
ED Elements
4
High Refractive Elements
3

Focus AF

Autofocus Type
STM (stepping motor)
Autofocus Speed
Fast and quiet
Focus Mechanism
Internal focus, by-wire manual focus

Build design

Construction
Plastic body with metal lens mount

Features

Coatings
HD nano-coating, waterproof coating, anti-fouling layer
Focus Breathing
Minimal
Aperture Control
Electronic aperture, no physical aperture ring
Firmware Updates
USB-C port for firmware updates
Weather sealing
ⓘ
Weather sealing capabilities will give you more confidence when shooting in unfavourable conditions.
No

Performance

Distortion
Negligible
Chromatic Aberration
Minimal
Vignetting
1.3 EV at f/1.7 (reduces with stopping down)
Bokeh
Smooth with 9 aperture blades

Optics

Min focal length
56 mm
Max focal length
56 mm
Focal range
ⓘ
Shortest to longest focal length of the lens (zoom range start - end )
56 mm
Zoom lens
ⓘ
Zoom allows you to vary the focal length, change between long shots and close-ups
No
Max aperture wide
1.7
Max aperture zoom
1.7
Blades
ⓘ
Number of diaphragm blades in aperture
9020
Autofocus mode
Yes
Closest focusing distance
ⓘ
Minimum distance for a subject to be in focus.
55 cm01500

Physical

Lens mount
ⓘ
The lens mount will tell you what type of lens range you can fit onto the camera body. Often the same camera company will have different lens ranges for different cameras.
Sony E, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z
Lens weight
170 g
Lens diameter
ⓘ
Width of the lens at its widest point
65 mm
Lens length
ⓘ
How long the lens is from front to back.
54.7 mm
Front filter size
ⓘ
Diameter of attachable filters.
52 mm