The New Standard: Using the Viltrox 35mm f1.7 for Fujifilm

When I got my first Fujifilm camera, which was the Fujifilm X T20, a camera I'm sure many of you know about or have even had yourselves, I was looking for a 35 millimeter lens which would be a 50 millimeter equivalent on full frame. Try to get my nifty 50 out there and just shoot the way that I enjoy because I do happen to like that focal length quite a bit. And I remember at the time really the best choice budget wise was the XF35mm F2. That's the Fujicron. And I remember picking up that lens in the Silver variation and I loved it. It was such a fantastic lens and some of my favorite shots Fujifilm came from using that lens. But over the years I'm so excited to see that Fujifilm has opened up their mount to work with third party companies. Whether that's official or not. I know early on some of the lenses from other manufacturers were being reverse engineered, but I believe there is an official partnership now and it's so cool to see so many lenses coming out. Now having said that, there is a litany of 35 millimeter lenses from all different focal lengths, sizes, shapes, you name it, from, from different manufacturers, especially manufacturers from China. And that's super exciting as a Fujifilm owner because I love the focal length and more options, the better. But as the cameras have progressed and as there has been a shift in consumer interest, whether you look at the, you know, x100 series or you look at some of the cheaper lenses that have just flown off the shelves, it's really cool to see companies still putting out new stuff. So I recently reviewed and Talked about the Ttartisan's 35mm f1.8 lens Mark II fantastic lens. The best bang for the buck right now on the market. But as of today, Viltrox has fully released the XF 35mm f 1.7. This is their autofocus lens, this is from their Air series. So the cool thing about this lens in particular is its size and weight. And when you pair it with a camera like the Fujifilm XM5, it becomes a really, really provocative option. So it's. Here it is on the camera. It is super tiny. I was sent this lens from Viltrox. Full disclosure, they don't even know I'm making this video. They're not going to see this video before you do. I wasn't paid. They just let me try out the lens and I'm very grateful for that. But I'm so excited for this lens. Because again, I love the focal length. It's a new option and at the price that this is launching at, which I'll put down in the description below, it's a really compelling purchase. So talking a little bit about the lens, I want to go over some of the basic specs before we dive into some real life examples.

All right.

I don't normally do specs on my channel, but I'm going to read through the specs of Viltrox sent me for this lens because I think it's pretty interesting. So the retail price is going to launch at 179, which again is more than the TT Artisan. But I think you do get your money's worth here. For that extra 54 bucks or so. You have this new multi layer coating which again, I know coatings are here and there, but I have had incredible results with this shooting kind of in sunlight. So a lot less ghosting than I've had on some of the early Viltrox lenses that they had put out. Super, super lightweight, 170 grams. You can feel the fact that it's.

Very light on this camera.

And when I did put it on my X T5, it was even more of a compelling option to have on that camera. So you've got a stepping motor which has been great. I've been loving the autofocus on here. It doesn't do that strange like zoom in and zoom out that the TT Artisan could do sometimes. But I think between the autofocus on the Viltrox and the TT Artisan, this is a lot better. What else? You've got nine aperture blades, 11 elements, nine groups. You've got one ED low dispersion lens. I think that is killer because the lenses that I've seen that have invested into that type of lens makeup, again, I'm not a lens designer. You get really good results wide open in F1.7. So I'll show you some options and examples of this lens shot wide open at 1.7 and it has been incredibly sharp in my opinion. So I think that's about it. Again, 52 millimeter filter size. It's a very small lens, 54.7 millimeters long. Very, very tiny. It fits really well on the XM5. So we're going to go on a hike. I'm going to take the XM5 with me with the Viltrox 35 1.7. I'm also going to take my Fuji XT5. I'm going to try this lens on the X T5. And I will tell you just before we even get into it, I've had great results with the Viltrox lens on the X T5 40 megapixel sensor. This X trans 5hr sensor is known for being pretty difficult for certain lenses to resolve. That fine detail at 40 megapix, I can tell you the TT Artisan unfortunately does not resolve on this sensor. You can think of it as similar to the 1680 F4. How zoomed in pixel peeping shots can look kind of soft with that lens on the HR sensor. But the Viltrox lens looks incredible on this sensor and definitely can resolve the 40 megapixels. For me that was a huge sell and that was why I'm probably going to be shooting more with the Viltrox than I am with the TT Artisan because I will be using my X T5 quite a bit. So all of that being said, I'm just excited, man. We've got new 35 millimeter lenses. I know we have a million of them out there, but these two new ones are fantastic and Viltrox has knocked it out of the park. So let's go on a hike, let's go check it out and let's see what we come up with.

All right, so we're out on the hike now. I wanted to share how to use this lens. Not like instructionally how to use it, but how I would use it. And so I've got it on the XM5 here. I think I've got it set to nostalgic negative. It's kind of a fall winter, part time of the year here in California. I hesitate because we never really have that. It's like spring, summer all year round. But you know, this 35mm f 1.7 from Viltrox is super nice. Right.

I'm going to test it on my.

X T5 on the 40 megapixel sensor because there is a bit of a question on how it performs on that. But I think pairing it with the XM5 it's a no brainer. I think between this and the TT artisan I would probably choose this. Unless, you know, every dollar counts, which the TT Artisan you're probably going to be able to find for 125 retail or I'm sure it'll probably go on sale for less than 100. The TTartisan makes sense, but I think for a few extra bucks you get less vignetting, less chromatic aberration. Some of those nuances with lenses but unless you're shooting wide open, they're really going to perform very similarly. So anyways, I think when you're looking for a 50 millimeter equivalent on this camera, it's a must have a prime, especially if you're newer to photography. Imagine you're somebody who is a target market for this camera and you love that, you know, film simulation dial that I abhor. But it's not for me, it's for the other folks who are gonna buy this camera. But again, you know, when you add this lens to this body, it's just so small. Got a lot of backlighting, sorry, but super, super small and you can really get a lot out of it, which I think is cool. So yeah, I can't stress enough how useful this lens is on this camera or if you have any of the x, e3x e4, any of the smaller bodies, it just makes a lot of sense. All right. Out in the wilderness right now on a little hike here in the outskirts of Orange county. And I think the big thing about this lens that it's good to keep in mind is that on the XM5 it's a no brainer. I don't know how else to say because to get a fast 50 millimeter equivalent ish lens 1.7 that's this small and this light that like I can just hold this by two fingers. I don't think that can be stated enough. I'm out on a hike here. I do have my sling, my camera.

Sling but like I could have easily.

Put this in like a jacket pocket or I found you know, an easier way to carry just on my neck. It just, it gets you everything you need. Now having said that, I think this lens, as strong as it is, there's this feeling of imperfectness with it and to be expected it's less than 200 bucks. But I know that if I put my 33 millimeter 1.4 Fuji XF LM OIS WR or that lens isn't OIS but you get the point like those higher end Fuji lenses that I own, I know that I'm going to get like a perfect photo even if I screw it up. And I think there's something to be said about that right where these cheaper lenses, as awesome as they are, you kind of are understanding well taking it with the cheaper lens. And yeah, there's going to be some chromatic aberration I can't fix in post and yeah, maybe there'll be a tiny bit of loca depending on the photo But I think ultimately if you don't care so much about that, especially if you're buying the XM5, it's, it makes total sense to run and gun with this. Now with a zoom lens, you know, maybe you're taking the 18 to 55, the original kit lens or the new 1650, which I also have. I again like the choices on this camera. If you're gonna bring one lens, I would say probably this one. Right. Because you know, Viltrox has just done such an incredible job making this lens so light, so compact, so strong. The focus motor in it, I believe it's a stepping motor. Yeah, it's an STM motor. So I mean it's strong enough to get the focus you need. Now you're not gonna be doing sports or action, but if you're on like a hike like man, doesn't that make a lot of sense to like, you know, just get a 35 millimeter fast lens and take some awesome photos. So that's kind of my thoughts on it. Again, I think it's an incredible lens. I think it's a must own at this point for anyone who has the XM5. And I'm going to be testing it on my X T5 on this hike as well to see if it can resolve the 40 megapixel sensor.

I mean it probably does because it.

Does have these new spherical elements. And you know, I know that Viltrox is well aware of the new 40 megapixel sensors that are out there. So that being said, I love this lens. I want to share with you photos, I want to share with you some of the things I've done with it. And most of all, I've been shooting in nostalgic negative today. Not sure if you can see that on the film SIM dial, which I abhor, but I know there's a lot.

Of people who love it.

So I'm going to share some of those photos with you straight out of the camera. They're not going to be amazing photos, but some of them F 1.7 wide open, some of them are on F4 and so on. So thanks for watching and again, buy this lens. I don't know what else to say. It's awesome.

Take care.