Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE review – a sub $400 all rounder with striking sharpness

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE review at a glance

• Price: $395 / £385
• Filter Diameter: 58mm
• Customisable function button
• Weather sealed
• Weight: 355g
• Lens Mount: Sony E, Nikon Z

Thirty-five millimetre lenses come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny Sony FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Zeiss Sonnar T* to the much larger Viltrox AF 35mm F1.2 LAB (review coming soon). The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE sits somewhere between the two, making it a relatively compact and lightweight lens that feels equally at home on a full-frame camera such as the Sony A7R VI or an APS-C model like the Sony A6700.

The 35mm focal length has long been a favourite for street photography, travel, documentary work and environmental portraiture because it strikes a pleasing balance between including enough of the surroundings to provide context while avoiding the exaggerated perspective of wider optics. It’s also a focal length that many photographers leave on their camera for everyday shooting.

At £385, the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE is priced below many competing full-frame 35mm F1.8 lenses, yet it promises an apochromatic (APO) optical design, weather-resistant construction, fast autofocus and excellent sharpness. That’s an ambitious specification for the money, so I was keen to find out whether the real-world performance lives up to expectations.

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE – Features

The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE is constructed from 13 elements arranged in 10 groups, including two Extra-low Dispersion (ED) elements, three High Refractive (HR) elements and one Ultra-precision Aspherical (UA) element. Together they create an apochromatic (APO) optical design that aims to bring different wavelengths of light into the same focal plane to minimise chromatic aberration while maintaining high sharpness across the frame.

The f/1.8 maximum aperture gives the lens plenty of versatility, enabling faster shutter speeds in low light than slower optics while making it easier to isolate a subject from its surroundings. Meanwhile, the nine-bladed diaphragm is designed to create attractive out-of-focus areas, making the lens suitable for portraits as well as documentary and travel photography.

The autofocusing is driven by a Stepping Motor (STM) with an internal focusing mechanism, so the front element doesn’t rotate during focusing and the lens remains the same length throughout its focus range. The closest focusing distance is a useful 34cm, giving a maximum magnification of 0.15x.

Viltrox has also paid attention to practicality. There’s a rubber seal around the lens mount to help keep out dust and moisture (although there’s no mention of sealing around the controls and moving parts) while the front element has a coating that repels fingerprints, dirt and water droplets. The 58mm filter thread also keeps filter costs down and a USB-C port allows firmware updates to be installed without a separate dock.

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE – Build and Handling

At 355g, the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE is light enough to leave mounted on your camera all day without becoming tiring – I used for all four days of a trip to Valenica. It balances particularly well on the Sony A7R VI, but it’s also a good option for smaller APS-C format cameras.

The barrel feels solid and well-made despite the modest price, and the focus and aperture rings have a pleasing action.

Unlike some af/fordable prime lenses, Viltrox has included a customisable function button as well as an AF/MF switch. The available functions depend upon the camera body, but on the Sony A7R VI, I find it useful to assign it to Subject Recognition in AF. This enables me to switch subject recognition on and off quickly without delving into the camera’s menus. Other photographers may prefer to assign AF-ON or Focus Hold, but whichever option you choose, it’s useful to have a programmable button on a lens at this price.

The function button is easiest to reach when shooting in landscape orientation because it’s positioned on the left side of the barrel, but it remains usable when the camera is held vertically.

The AF/MF switch is well positioned for quick changes between autofocus and manual focus. As with most modern mirrorless lenses, the focusing is by wire, so there are no physical end stops to the focus ring and no distance scale on the barrel. That’s unlikely to surprise anyone because it’s now common practice. As soon as the focus ring is rotated, the image in the electronic viewfinder or on the rear screen enlarges automatically to make critical manual focusing easier.

The focus ring itself has a smooth movement with just the right amount of resistance, making precise manual adjustments straightforward.

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE – Autofocus

I find the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE’s autofocusing swift, accurate and near silent. Mounted on the Sony A7R V, it works seamlessly with Sony’s subject detection system and consistently locks onto people and animals without hesitation.

The lens also copes well with changing subject distances, and I found it had no difficulty keeping pace during general photography.

There is some focus breathing, however, so the framing appears to tighten slightly as the focus distance becomes shorter. Videographers may notice this during focus pulls, but it isn’t excessive and I don’t think it will trouble most photographers.

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE – Image quality

I tested the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE on the 61-million-pixel Sony A7R IV and 66-million-pixel Sony A7R VI, which are demanding cameras for any lens, and I’m pleased to find that it captures an impressive level of detail throughout the aperture range.

Even at f/1.8 the central sharpness is impressively good, with only subtle fall-off towards the corners of the frame. Stopping down brings only marginal improvements because the lens is already performing at a very high level. The results at f/11 are fractionally sharper than those at f/16, but I really do mean fractionally. In practice, I’d happily use whichever aperture best suits the subject.

Thanks to that APO design, chromatic aberration is controlled extremely well. Even around high-contrast edges there’s very little colour fringing in my images. It’s one of the lens’s strongest optical characteristics.

Curvilinear distortion is also well controlled. There is a hint of barrel distortion, but I don’t find it problematic and it isn’t something that would concern me for landscape, travel or everyday photography.

Similarly, vignetting is only slight at f/1.8 and f/2 before becoming negligible by f/2.8. In most situations it isn’t noticeable enough to require correction.

Flare is also controlled well. The only time I encountered any issues was when I was shooting directly into the bright Valencian sun. Under those extreme conditions, I noticed a slight reduction in contrast together with some hot spots and colouration in some images. Even then, I found it often adds to the atmosphere rather than spoiling the photograph.

The combination of the f/1.8 maximum aperture and nine-bladed diaphragm enables the lens to produce attractive bokeh with smooth transitions between sharp and out-of-focus areas. Subject separation looks natural rather than exaggerated, making the lens well-suited to environmental portraits while retaining enough background detail to tell the story. 

Small out-of-focus highlights generally look great in my images from the lens. I can’t see any onion rings, chromatic aberration or harsh edges, just a (not unusual) transition to a cat’s-eye shape away from the centre of the frame.

Overall, the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE produces impressively good images with very few optical compromises. The consistency of its sharpness is particularly striking and it’s all the more impressive when you consider the asking price.

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE – Verdict

There’s a lot to like about the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE. It feels well-made, handles comfortably and delivers the sort of image quality I’d expect from a considerably more expensive lens.

The customisable function button, AF/MF switch, weather-resistant mount seal and USB-C firmware updates all help to give it a more premium feel than its price suggests, while the compact dimensions make it an easy lens to carry throughout the day.

Most importantly, the Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE captures impressively sharp images across its aperture range with excellent control of chromatic aberration, minimal distortion and only slight vignetting at the widest apertures. The autofocus system is quick and reliable, while the attractive bokeh broadens the lens’s appeal beyond street and travel photography to environmental portraits and general everyday shooting.

There are a few minor compromises. The focus breathing is noticeable during focus pulls and flare can become visible when a bright light source is included in the frame, but neither issue proved significant during my testing.

Considering it costs less than £400, it’s difficult to criticise. The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE offers excellent value for money and performs beyond what its price suggests. If you’re looking for an affordable 35mm prime for Sony E or Nikon Z, it deserves to be high on your shortlist.

Viltrox AF 35mm F1.8 EVO II FE – Full Specifications

Related reading:

• Viltrox 35mm and 55mm F1.8 EVO lenses released for stills and video
• Viltrox AF 85mm F2.0 EVO review – Pro portrait lens for under £300
• Affordable and Pro? New Viltrox 85mm F1.4 portrait lens promises to be both
• Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 Pro FE review – pro quality at a bargain price?

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