Viltrox AF 28mm f/4.5 'Chip' pancake lens review

I've had so much fun with this lens - unboxing it made me laugh when I saw the size of this thing.

Thank you for this review!!! This lens could be the smallest camera option combined with my ZV-E10!! I love the 27mm F1.2 on my a6700, but this could be perfect walk-around-alternative!

Edit: bought on indiegogo. Currently ~80€ including shipping to Germany. Thank you again!

only question is, why have they make a bladed opening, if it isnt a variable aperture? could be round for better bokehm or not?

thank you for testing it out on an apsc body!

I see little point in having a lens shorter than the camera grip. If extra 5mm would mean variable aperture or slightly brighter aperture, in my book it would be worth it.

I'm a little disappointed, how few copies were listed in their early bird specials. By the time I woke up on the first day of the indiegogo they were all already gone.

That said, the full price isn't that bad. and it is very interesting. I wonder if it's more interesting than the aps-c 20 mm I've already got

Great video Chris. I will buy one of these in a heartbeat if it becomes available in full-frame Nikon Z-Mount.

This looks really good and I would happily have used it on a Canon if it weren't for Canon's proprietary mount stupidity.

I have made something similar..... I took a zeiss tessar 35mm f3.5 from a dead Yaschica T4 and put it on an Industar-22 (without the 50 3.5 unit) , added a disk with a hole which made it f5.6 . Manual focus of course. Great on a Sony Nex 5. Not so good at the edges on FF

Viltrox is doing some amazing things! I have no use for this on FF, but would love to see this on XF.

Please make it for X-mount!!!!

For about the same price you can get the Sony 28-60mm f4-5.6... which isnt that much bigger and has an aperture mechanism. Sooo personally I think I'll stick with that.

Sweet little lens. For street photography this should do very well. That's also where the corner softness and vignetting won't matter. It'll probably be a bit of an asset for that style of photography. AND, on APS-C this works out to 42mm, which is very handy again for street photography :)

will it work with apsc

Hmmm... OK if you are on a really tight budget. I tried finding a second hand below 100 € that was better but could not.

Fuji X mount please.

Canon’s 28mm f2.8 is just slightly thicker but it’s fully functional

This lens looks similar to the Funleader 18mm f/8.0. While the Viltrox AF 28mm’s autofocus is convenient, the fixed f/4.5 aperture and no manual focus make it less suited for street photography. Street shooters often prefer apertures like f/5.6 or f/8, like the classic Leica 28mm f/5.6.

I NEED this for my Fuji!!

As a breakthrough, this lens product is great. However, a small-sized lens mounted on a large and fairly heavy full-frame camera, in my opinion, is not the right combination. Unless, for example, a similar lens is designed for smaller and lighter APS-C cameras.

I'd preorder this from the kickstarter campaign, but I'm afraid we get heavy custom charges ordering from the UK to the EU.

Can you use this for aps c

This lens + sony nex c3 = cheap pocket king

Edit : guys ive just read official post from viltrox and NEX cameraa arent compatible with this lens

It's basically auto-focusing body cap lens

Wow this is amazing. I think I’m going to get one now. Great video.

Why not just use an iPhone 😄

I'm so glad they went for optical quality over a larger lens with a larger aperture.

Being able to resolve really good center and mid frame detail on full frame and good corner to corner sharpness on APS-C, all while having vasically no distortion in a lens the size of a body cap is amazing.

I’d love to see Sony or sigma use this as inspiration and make a similar lens at a $3-500 price point with better optical qualities and solves a few of the quirks.

I just received mine, fantastically small, but also seems a bit of an oxymoron to have on a $3000 a7cr

very stupid to make a protruding rear element on a lens that suppose to replace a camera cap. you should be able to take off camera cap without worrying of damaging it

I want this for the fuji x mount :((

Well, actually, ol'harry was married 22 years to his first and 4 years to his second wife. And the last one got five years.... That's plenty of time for quite some lens reviews....

Buyers beware. This lens is not compatible with Sony NEX cameras. The compatibility list is at the very bottom of the Viltrox Website where few people venture. I have a NEX-6 and the lens. The camera doesn't even power on with the lens attached. It's a real pitty because the two are the right match for a pocketable (almost) photography kit. I can confirm that the lens does look somewhat out of proportion on a larger body, like my a6700. Naturally, on a full frame it would be even more so.

Just got mine. The Cokin Point-and-Shoot filter holder works just fine with it, so if you want to use filters and have Cokin Series A filters, it's totally doable.

Greetings from the Philippines 🇵🇭 🇵🇭🇵🇭
Just want to ask if this pancakw lens us sharper than the kitlens 16-50mm

除了能揣兜里，没有啥优点了

I didn’t expect this lens to perform at all well but you know what that’s actually outstanding for the size fair play viltrox fair play

why APSH lens is compatible with full frame camera?

I join the product "Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5 FE Chips-Size Ultra-Thin Lens" crowdfunding project from indiegogo, and i still not receive my product. And Unfortunately, now products already sales on Taobao, and the actual selling price (USD70) is obviously lower than the price of i join (USD89). I fell very angry about the fraudulent behavior.

Warning: The copy of this lens they shipped to me does not function at all. Viltrox customer service is basically a bunch of internet trolls!

It always amuses and baffles me why some photographers want to buy expensive full frame cameras and then fix onto their cameras tiny lenses with restrictions/flaws.

It sounds like Oh I’ve got a bulky camera body which I really hate. Now I want to reduce my camera setup. So I need to pair it with the tiniest lens possible.

Or do they do it merely because they can do so?

Fixed f/4.5. What am I going to do in bright conditions?! Fixed focal length. Soft corners.

Why would I subject myself to all these restrictions?

Surely you got a full frame camera for specific reasons.

If you want a casual light street photography style camera, you should really be looking at the OM system or one of those capable compact cameras from Sony/Ricoh.

Just my 2 cents!

Lenses like this make Sony the number one fun camera.
That`s what`s it all about.

Wow, that Henry VIII joke. 😂

Fixed f4.5 aperture is a real deal breaker here. Was really looking to purchase this lens before I have heard its aperture value is fixed. F4.5 is way too low for street photography and way too high for shallow DoF and low light. Any mobile phone or a kit lens would be much more versatile than this lens.

Thank you for the review mate, but has anyone used the Viltrox AF FF 28mm f4.5 pancake lens on a Sony A6300? I'm experiencing a focusing issue with it.

How it compares to Samyang Remaster Slim?

This lens would be amazing for Fujifilm X mount, a nice pair with the new Fuji X-M5 for sure

FYI there is an update for this lens firmware , and surprisingly to me it updates via the viltrox app and does so over bluetooth , you just apply power to the usb c connector, launch the app and away you go.. "simples" Version 1.05 Is the new firmare if i remember correctly.

Totally off topic but that bookshelf has some real classics on it.

man, i bought the TTartisan 27mm 2.8 and got back from Japan a week ago, enjoyed that lens but.. i think i could have been more compact with this lens omg.

I want this lens on Fuji X Mount!