Viltrox AF 56/1.7 XF 56mm
Sony SEL18135
What Buyers Say
Viltrox AF 56/1.7 XF 56mm
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
Sony SEL18135
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
Scores
Specifications
| Viltrox AF 56/1.7 XF 56mm | Sony SEL18135 | |
|---|---|---|
| Optics | ||
| Type | prime | zoom |
| Focal Length Min | 56 mm | 18 mm |
| Focal Length Max | 56 mm | 135 mm |
| Elements | 11 | 16 |
| Groups | 9 | 12 |
| Aspherical Elements | — | 1★ |
| ED Elements | 4★ | 2 |
| Coating | high-definition nano-multilayer coating | — |
| Aperture | ||
| Max Aperture | f/16 | f/3.5 |
| Min Aperture | f/1.7 | 3.5-5.6 |
| Constant | ✗ | ✗ |
| Diaphragm Blades | 9★ | 7 |
| Build | ||
| Mount | Sony E | Sony E |
| Format | APS-C | APS-C |
| Weather Sealed | — | ✗ |
| Weight | 0.17 kg★ | 0.33 kg |
| Filter Thread | 52 mm | 55 mm |
| AF & Stabilization | ||
| AF Type | STM | Linear motor★ |
| Stabilization | ✗ | ✓★ |
| Focus | ||
| Min Focus Distance | 550 mm | 450 mm★ |
| Max Magnification | 1:9.09★ | 0.29x |
Pros & Cons
Viltrox AF 56/1.7 XF 56mm
- Strong build (88th percentile)88th %ile
- Strong af (85th percentile)85th %ile
- Strong social proof (81st percentile)81st %ile
- Strong optical (71st percentile)
- Below average versatility (34th percentile)
Sony SEL18135
- Strong af (98th percentile)98th %ile
- Strong versatility (96th percentile)96th %ile
- Strong social proof (90th percentile)90th %ile
- Strong stabilization (81st percentile)81st %ile
Pricing
Viltrox AF 56/1.7 XF 56mm offers 3.6x better value for money
Verdict
Scores 90 overall, wins 9 of 9 usage categories and 4 of 21 specs.
