Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 Review

With the AF 24mm f/1.8, Viltrox is hoping that there’s still a market for budget, autofocus prime lenses that sacrifice some performance compared to name-brand glass. It’s not that the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 is a bad lens, but it’s definitely weaker than something like the Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 (or even Nikon 24mm f/1.8G) optically.

Still, for a $380 third-party lens, it generally does what it needs to do. The price is appropriate for what you get, and if you want a wide-angle, wide-aperture prime on a budget, you don’t have a ton of other options today. The performance won’t win any awards, but I wouldn’t say that the flaws are fatal, either.

Here’s how I’d sum up the pros and cons of the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8.

Pros:

• Great price of $380 for an autofocus-capable 24mm f/1.8
• Reasonably good sharpness performance overall
• Better-than-expected autofocus performance
• Physical aperture ring gives an alternative way to change aperture
• All-metal design

Cons:

• Lots of vignetting wide open, which remains noticeable even at narrow apertures
• Potential sample variation issues, based off my copy of the lens
• High levels of wavy field curvature that will reduce sharpness for certain subjects (such as overlooks where everything is at infinity focus)
• Relatively weak sharpness in extreme corners
• Some focus shift upon changing aperture
• Middling flare and sunstar performance
• Minimalist handling, without an A-M switch
• No weather sealing

I didn’t start testing the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 with particularly high expectations. And although the lens performed better than I thought it would, it’s not good enough to get my full recommendation.

Don’t get me wrong – depending on the situation, it still makes sense to pick this lens over the alternatives. It’s nice and cheap at $380, and some of the flaws (like corner sharpness wide open) are non-factors for many types of photography.

I think you can safely get the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 if you’re a landscape photographer who sticks to the range from f/5.6 to f/16 and you don’t spend a lot of time in rainstorms. I also think that travel photographers who want to shoot at f/1.8 on a budget should consider it, as long as extreme corner sharpness, vignetting, and weatherproofing are not major concerns to you.

To sum things up, you can definitely find better lenses than the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8, but you probably need to spend more than $380 to do so. For that reason, it earns a place on the market despite its flaws – many of which can be worked around, anyway.

I hope that you found this review of the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 to be helpful in making your decision! If you want to purchase the lens, you can thank us at Photography Life for all the work that went into this review by using the link below:

• Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 at B&H – Current Price and Sales

The next page of this review has some more sample photos from the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8, followed by reader comments on the final page. So, click the menu below to jump to the section you want: