Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 56mm

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 56mm

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

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

Sony
90 Overall Score

What Buyers Say

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 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
66
Sony
100
Video Cinema
Viltrox
88
Sony
83
Street
Viltrox
82
Sony
87
Portrait
Viltrox
84
Sony
87
Travel
Viltrox
66
Sony
85
Wildlife Sports
Viltrox
64
Sony
84
Professional
Viltrox
80
Sony
73
Landscape
Viltrox
58
Sony
73
Macro
Viltrox
65
Sony
68

Specifications

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 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 Elements12★
Coatingmulti-layer coatings—
Aperture
Max Aperturef/1.7f/3.5
Min Aperturef/1.73.5-5.6
Constant✓★✗
Diaphragm Blades9★7
Build
MountFujifilm XSony E
FormatAPS-CAPS-C
Weather Sealed✓★✗
Weight0.19 kg★0.33 kg
Filter Thread52 mm55 mm
AF & Stabilization
AF TypeautofocusLinear motor★
Stabilization✓✓
Focus
Min Focus Distance56 mm★450 mm
Max Magnification0.11X0.29x★

Pros & Cons

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 56mm

  • Strong bokeh (96th percentile)96th %ile
  • Strong aperture (95th percentile)95th %ile
  • Strong build (94th percentile)94th %ile
  • Strong stabilization (80th percentile)80th %ile
  • Below average social proof (17th percentile)17th %ile
  • Below average versatility (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 (90th percentile)90th %ile
  • Strong stabilization (80th percentile)80th %ile

Pricing

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 56mm is $654 cheaper (5.5x less).

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 56mm0.524score per dollar
vs
Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS0.113score per dollar

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 56mm offers 4.6x better value for money

Verdict

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

Scores 90 overall, wins 7 of 9 usage categories and 4 of 21 specs.

Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 Air 56mm Better at:

ProfessionalVideo Cinema

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

MacroBudgetStreetTravelPortraitLandscapeWildlife Sports

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