Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mm

Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mm

Viltrox
68 Overall Score
vs
Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

Sony
92 Overall Score

What Buyers Say

Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mm

85 out of 100 medium confidence 23 reviews

The Viltrox 56mm f/1.7 is widely praised for its exceptional sharpness, lightweight design, and outstanding value for money. Users consistently highlight its impressive image quality, with sharp details and pleasing bokeh, often comparing it favorably to much more expensive lenses. While the autofocus is generally reliable for portraits and stills, some users note it can be noisy and not as fast as native Fuji lenses. A few isolated concerns about dust ingress and the plastic build have been mentioned, but overall sentiment is overwhelmingly positive.

Pros
  • Exceptional sharpness
  • Lightweight and compact design
  • Excellent value for money
  • Pleasing bokeh
  • Good low-light performance
Cons
  • Noisy autofocus (some users)
  • Autofocus slower than native lenses
  • Plastic build
  • Dust ingress reported
  • No physical aperture ring
👍 Image quality 18
👍 Value for money 15
🤔 Build quality 12
🤔 Autofocus performance 11
👍 Size and weight 10
👍 Bokeh 7

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

82 out of 100 high confidence 117 reviews

The Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens is widely praised as an excellent all-in-one travel and walkaround lens for APS-C E-mount cameras. Users consistently highlight its sharpness, compact size, light weight, and versatile 27-200mm equivalent zoom range. While many note it is not ideal for low light and some report significant vignetting at the wide end, the overall sentiment is very positive, with most considering it a great value kit lens upgrade.

Pros
  • Sharp image quality
  • Compact and lightweight
  • Versatile 27-200mm equivalent zoom range
  • Effective optical image stabilization
  • Fast and accurate autofocus
Cons
  • Significant vignetting at 18mm wide end
  • Not ideal for low light photography
  • Variable aperture limits brightness at telephoto
  • Some copies may have quality control issues
  • Slight autofocus lag compared to premium lenses
👍 Image quality 35
👍 Build quality 12
👍 Value for money 18
👎 Vignetting 6
👎 Low light performance 10
👍 Zoom range 25

Scores

Budget
Viltrox
61
Sony
96
Street
Viltrox
73
Sony
89
Portrait
Viltrox
64
Sony
89
Travel
Viltrox
74
Sony
89
Wildlife Sports
Viltrox
61
Sony
84
Video Cinema
Viltrox
62
Sony
82
Landscape
Viltrox
66
Sony
76
Professional
Viltrox
63
Sony
74
Macro
Viltrox
60
Sony
68

Specifications

Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mmSony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS
Optics
Typeprimezoom
Focal Length Min56 mm18 mm
Focal Length Max56 mm135 mm
Elements1116
Groups912
Aspherical Elements—1★
ED Elements4★2
Coatingmulti-layer coatings—
Aperture
Max Aperturef/16f/3.5
Min Aperturef/1.73.5-5.6
Constant✗✗
Diaphragm Blades9★7
Build
MountNikon ZSony E
FormatAPS-CAPS-C
Weather Sealed✓★✗
Weight0.19 kg★0.33 kg
Filter Thread52 mm55 mm
AF & Stabilization
AF TypeSTMLinear motor★
Stabilization✗✓★
Focus
Min Focus Distance550 mm450 mm★
Max Magnification1:9.09★0.29x

Pros & Cons

Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mm

  • Strong build (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
  • Strong af (85th percentile)85th %ile
  • Strong social proof (74th percentile)
  • Strong optical (72nd percentile)
  • Below average versatility (33rd percentile)
  • Below average stabilization (34th percentile)

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

  • Strong af (98th percentile)98th %ile
  • Strong versatility (96th percentile)96th %ile
  • Strong social proof (91st percentile)91st %ile
  • Strong aperture (83rd percentile)83rd %ile

Pricing

Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mm is CA$582 cheaper (4.0x less).

Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mm0.345score per dollar
vs
Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS0.118score per dollar

Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mm offers 2.9x better value for money

Viltrox AF 56/1.7 Z 56mm

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

Verdict

★ Winner: Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS

Scores 92 overall, wins 9 of 9 usage categories and 4 of 21 specs.

Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Better at:

MacroBudgetStreetTravelPortraitLandscapeProfessionalVideo CinemaWildlife Sports

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