As a photographer, every now and again you find a lens that really surprises you. For me, one of the biggest (and most pleasant) surprises was the Viltrox 85mm f.1.8 for Nikon Z mount - a lens that costs just $399 / £282 / AU$769 brand new.
Reading reviews, I knew that this lens would be good but I was slightly sceptical in terms of just how good. Third-party lenses often have the reputation of being slow to focus, of being slightly unrefined, and of having idiosyncratic image quality. Viltrox was one of the first third-party companies to offer autofocusing lenses on the Z mount too, so I wasn’t expecting the company to hit it out of the park on its first try.
I’d challenge anyone, however, not to be impressed with the Viltrox 85mm. For starters, you’d be pleasantly surprised at just how rock solid this lens feels in hand. Unlike most cheaper lenses, this one is fully metal with a silky-smooth focusing ring that reminds me more of my pro-level Olympus lenses than a cheap Chinese model. While it’s not weather-sealed (and the less written about the included lens hood the better) the Viltrox 85mm feels like a lens that could easily cost double.
Speaking of which, at $399 the Viltrox is exactly half the price of the first-party Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S ($799). Personally, I haven’t used the Nikon 85mm so I can’t draw a direct comparison but the Viltrox looks to be a compelling budget alternative based on the images I’ve been able to get out of it. At the time of purchase, I agonized over whether to cough up the full amount for the first-party lens or to ‘cheap out’. Aside from the lack of weather sealing (which remains annoying), I think I made the right choice now.
From back up to first choice
Initially I bought the Viltrox as a ‘just in case’ lens for a trip to Japan. Generally speaking, I carry a minimalist setup of just a wide-angle prime and a narrower telephoto prime. In this case, I was intending for the 85mm to be a secondary lens to the Nikon Nikkor Z 40mm f/2; another fantastic budget lens that punches well above its weight. As it turned out, the 85mm quickly became my number one lens for the entire two-and-a-half-week trip.
While undoubtedly useful for the occasional scene, I found the Nikon 40mm too wide for the extremely busy tourist-packed streets of Kyoto and Tokyo. Having an 85mm really allowed me to isolate my subjects and get a different perspective to the usual holiday snaps. When the streets are busy, sometimes it’s great to shoot past people rather than include them in a busy and cluttered frame. It’s hard to believe now that I almost left the 85mm at home to try and cut down on weight.
85mm is such a unique focal length for street work, too. While classically known as a focal length for portraits, it can be so much more if you’re willing to switch up the perspective. An 85mm allows you to focus in on the details, get some superb abstract shots, or alternatively back up and get some distance from your subject. A lens like the Viltrox 85mm isn’t exactly inconspicuous like the smaller primes but it’s smaller than most zooms and much better for low-light work, too.
The right lens for the right job
Perhaps my favorite shots from the entire trip were on a particular rainy night in Tokyo. Using the 85mm, I was able to isolate a few bystanders as they stood in quiet contemplation at a designated smoking area in an otherwise busy high street. It doesn’t sound exciting, but the combination of raindrops on the shelter’s glass, the backlit figures, and the neon backdrop resulted in some of my all-time personal favorites. Even better still, they’re the kind of abstract images you’d easily miss if you were using the usual wide-angle street prime.
Snapping street candids, I was surprised at just how good the images turned out with the Viltrox too. There’s a little softness at the widest f1.8 aperture but f2.0 and up offers plenty of sharpness across the frame - more than enough for my Z6’s modest 24MP sensor. Colors are deep and saturated, and the bokeh? Well, to my eyes it's perfectly adequate. It’s not the most ‘characterful’ bokeh I’ve ever seen, but there’s more than enough on tap here to seriously blow out your backgrounds and afford plenty of creative opportunities.
Perhaps the most important thing about my time with the Viltrox, however, is not once did I wish I had another lens for these snaps. I never fought the lens in terms of autofocus, never struggled with its design (aside from the lens hood), and was never once disappointed with the sharpness. In fact, I forgot about the lens and instead completely focused on the task at hand - capturing images to the best of my abilities.
Perhaps my standards when it comes to equipment are low as a hobbyist, but I’d say these are the markers of a pretty damn decent lens - and for $399? It’s hard to complain here. If you want solid weather sealing then by all means go for the Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 but I’d definitely recommend the Viltrox if you need a solid budget mid-length prime on the Z-mount.
And let's face it, for a hobbyist like myself - the potential $399 in savings versus the first-party option is substantial. It’s enough to pick up another budget lens, get a whole set of filters or presets, or even book a plane for your next vacation. While my bank balance won’t afford another trip to Japan anytime soon, I’m fairly sure the Viltrox 85mm will be a common feature in my kit bag for a good few years based on how well it’s performed for the price so far.
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