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Viltrox AF 33mm f/1.4 XF (Fujifilm) - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Fujifilm X
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published May 2020
Introduction
In our previous review, we discussed the Viltrox AF 23mm f/1.4 XF, a good quality, affordable lens - and it has an in-house cousin, the Viltrox AF 33mm f/1.4 XF. If it wasn't for the specs printed on the lens barrel, the two would be almost indistinguishable. However, their scope is, of course, different. While the 23mm f/1.4 is a moderate wide-angle prime lens, the 33mm f/1.4 is a standard lens. In terms of speed, it competes against the old Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R although the newer XF 35mm f/2 R WR is certainly also on its radar. The Viltrox lens is undercutting the price tag of both Fujifilm lenses by quite a margin so if you are on a budget you will be interested to hear that it is available for less than $280.
Given the similarities with the AF 23mm f/1.4 XF, we can pretty much repeat our summary about the build aspects here. So while you may think that the very affordable pricing has an impact on the build quality but this is not the case. It doesn't feature weather-sealing but the overall quality is actually very good indeed. Most of the lens is made of metal including the large focus ring. It also features a dedicated, step-less aperture ring (plastic here). This may not be ideal for photography purposes at least but it's not really an issue in our book. You can, of course, also control the aperture via the camera when setting the aperture ring to A-mode. The length of the lens remains constants throughout the focus range. A petal-shaped lens hood - made of metal - is provided. The hood is slightly deeper than the variant of the 23mm to reflect the longer focal length.
Note: A word of caution for owners of Fujifilm X-Pro 3 cameras - the lens is currently not compatible with this camera because the lens release button on this camera interferes with the diameter of the lens.
The Viltrox lens uses a stepping motor for auto-focusing. It works fast and noiselessly. Manual focusing works, as usual, by wire and is about as good as on modern Fujifilm lenses. EXIF data is provided. On the downside, there is no built-in correction profile thus you have to rely on the raw optical capabilities of the lens in JPEG mode.
| Specifications |
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| Equivalent focal length (full-format) | "51mm" |
| Equivalent aperture (depth-of-field, full-format) | "f/2.1" |
| Optical construction | 10 elements in 9 groups inc. 1xED and 1xHR elements |
| Number of aperture blades | 9 (rounded) |
| min. focus distance | 0.4m (max. magnification 1:10) |
| Dimensions | 65×72mm |
| Weight | 270g |
| Filter size | 52mm |
| Hood | barrel-shaped (bayonet mount, supplied) |
| Other features | Micro-USB connector for firmware updates |
| Mounts | Fujifilm X |
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