Superb Lens for Nikon Z at Half the Price! Viltrox 85mm f/1.8 Z Portrait and Telephoto Review 

So you are saying that the Nikon 85mm lens is way better … I should buy Nikon then 📸😎

Performance is one of those broad terms. Performance in which area? Was it the focussing accuracy? Focus speed? Image quality? Weight? Build quality? Longevity? Weather resistance? And which are you comparing? Is that 'current gen Nikon' vs 'current gen 3rd party'? For each of those items I can imagine that a certain comparison will lean towards Nikon: they may be a bit faster, a bit sharper, etc. But not in all comparisons/categories, vs all 3rd party options. And, if they are better, how much better are they, and does that warrant the 50-70% price difference, do you need that particular aspect of the lens to be the very very best. If you're a studio photographer primarily, does lack of weather sealing matter, for instance? I don't think you can say any longer that 3rd party is by definition lower quality. Anyways... IMHO, a lens is a tool, and you need to feel comfortable with a tool to use it. And if that means for you that you want/need Nikon glass then you get Nikon glass!

I had the 85 AF-S which is/was a top lens. Bokeh great, sharpness great. ... but I got so annoyed because of the CAs wide open. I just could not use so many shots just because of that. So I replaced it and considered both the Nikon 85 Z and this Viltrox. After some extensive online research I came to the decision to go for the Nikon "original". As I got it on a sale it was still considerably more expensive than the Viltrox but I think it is worth it. Don't get me wrong the Viltrox seems to be a very good choice at an extremly good price-point. But all of the reviews I saw showed a few (minor) issues and also the one that made me look for a new lens in the first place: CAs. While the F-Mount Nikon (at least my copy) gets a really bad, hard-to-correct purple fringing, the Viltrox tends to go rather green/yellow-ish - not as hard to correct as the F-Mount lens but still noticeable and clearly worse than the "Z". For me this was the main reason to go the Nikkor Z route as to me this was the obvious feature difference I cared about. While with the Nikkor 85 Z it is not impossible to produce CAs it is still very, very difficult. If I tried to get them in my shot intentionally (backlit tree branches), Lightroom had no problem to deal with them (something that was a no-go with the F-Mount Nikkor). In this and in many other regards like micro-contrast etc. the Nikon Z is just slightly better than the Viltrox. Many differences are small but they are visible. If you are on a budget and don't care about CA, I think you cannot go wrong with the Viltrox. And if you cannot compare them side-by-side you probably don't recognize much of a difference as the results will probably be great anyway (beware the CAs!). But the Nikkor 85 Z is so good that I am really happy to have spent the money. And (if I ever have to sell it) it probably has a better resale value, too. My shop did a discount on all items, so I got the last 85 Z - at about 2/3rd of the regular price (while most online shops were out-of-stock - I was so lucky). I got mine brand new even cheaper than the average Ebay "used"-price. While the Viltrox used prices on Ebay already dropped about 100 Euros (~25%) below retail price. So in the end it depends on your priorities if you go with the Viltrox or the Nikon. But I just wanted to mention the CA "topic" as this is widely missed in the reviews but can be a dealbreaker for some (at least it was for me).

@@mrvdh Does the CA go away at f/2.8 on the AFS 85mm? thanks!

@@MrSimonj1970 Don't have it any more but as far as I can remember the CA were present on my copy of the lens up to f4. That's why I sold it ...

@@mrvdh thanks a lot, very useful! I love the lack of CA on my only z lens - 24-120mm!

How was it. I am very pleased with its performance with my a73 but wanting to switch to nikon z6ii and viltrox lenses

That sucks. Where did you buy from?

@@k3n12ock Amazon

I'm on my third copy. First one was soft. Second one dead on arrival. And this one is perfect but slow af.

You may relax assured, this Viltrox may be somewhat comparable with F-mount lenses, but it's light years behind Nikons new S-line. Especially when it gets to things like coma, corner sharpness, color fringing etc.

@@barmalini it's not light years difference cmon, yeah Nikkor is better overall, but difference is marginal. And if you're shooting subjects , which you generally do with 85mm , corners are already in blurred area, so not an issue. Autofocusing speed is very similar , I didn't find even small difference. I tried Nikkor Z 85mm for a day, yeah it would have been great to have it, but I ended up buying Viltrox , open box for 300USD locally. It's a value impossible to beat currently, and me and the clients don't care about marginal differences. Tweaking and AF fine tuning surely improves experience with this lens. I had also F 85mm 1.8G lens, Viltrox is better than that, plus silent AF and no use of FTZ adapter.

I love the lens, had it a week, and tried to check the firmware on my brand new 85 1.8 Z and killed my lens. It’s brain dead, will no longer autofocus, won’t report any F-stop to the camera. I could never get any of my 4 PCs (Windows 10) to recognize, except one time I got an error message saying Windows could not connect to the USB device because it was defective. And I tried 6 different cables. That was Viltrox’s guidance, nothing worked. So disappointing. Waiting to hear back from B&H as to what to do next.

One of the reasons that both SIGMA and TAMRON have not yet started with Z mount lenses is Nikon's closed system architecture and their refusals (unlike SONY) to open their systems directly to 3rd party lens companies. Given SONY's dominance in the mirrorless market, is it any reason that both TAMRON and SIGMA have been reticent to jump in with both feet? At the same time, TAMRON continues to discontinue F mount lenses, to include those that were on the market for relatively short periods of time (in both the F mount and Canon versions).

Naulan kantaan!

It is not sealed

Check out Matt Irwin he discussed it vs the 85 1.4 and it blew it out of the water

I have only owned a 35mm DX Nikon lens before, and a LOT of others (Sigma, Tamron, and now this Viltrox) and only had issues with the Tamrons on the FTZ adapter (which was expected, since they couldn't be updated, they were one generation too old). I can't say I recognise this. Not saying it can't happen of course, maybe it's a very particular combination of camera firmware, with lens firmware, or something. But I haven't seen it at least. Can't speak too much on the Viltrox yet since I've only just received it.

@blsessex I traded my Z6 in and my Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 G2. And I came home with the a7r4, the Sony 85mm f1.8, the Sony 90mm f2.8 macro, and the Tamron 70-180 f2.8. And I am truly blown away by how sharp each lens is. The 90mm is so sharp I have to take some sharpness away while editing portraits with people with fair skin. I picked up the Rokinon 35mm f1.4 and it's just as sharp as the rest of them. They all auto focus very fast. And the focus tracking and eye AF is beyond nikon. And I thought the eye AF was very good on my Z6 and z5. Nothing like sony's . I tried pre-ordering the Nikon 70-200 F 2.8 s and after 10 months I said the hell with them. Then I pre-ordering the z7ii and after the 2nd notification saying it will be delayed for another month I said enough is enough. I stuck up for nikon countless times and after 2 years and I still have to go and buy f mount lenses just to get some good glass. Nikon want to come out with too much at a time when they can't deliver on the previous stuff. Nikon's 50mm f1.2s and the grip for the z6ii or z7ii, you have to be a RU-vidr or a big name nikon photographer to get that lens and grip. Yep by the end of the year I will be fully switched to Sony. The a7r4 is beyond what I expected and takes the sharpest pictures than my most expensive nikon lens. It's that good. Sorry for the long rant but I really want nikon to do well but I am not waiting for that to happen.

Yes

My new Viltrox for Z died as well, but I think it happened after I connected it to my PC to check the firmware. It sounds like yours died during a shoot, so now I’m not so sure if I killed mine connecting the USB or if it died “of natural causes” . I get the Sam F- in the top display, the lens won’t autofocus and cannot be manually focused, like the camera doesn’t even know a lens is attached. I have contacted Viltrox and B&H for support.

@@Watcher239 I contacted Viltrox and they replied me saying their engineer asked if I removed the lens while the camera is on. They said that it can burn out the lens if it was removed while the camera is on. I told them I can't be sure since I was shooting and changing on the fly. While I do try to turn off camera while changing I can't guarantee that I did that 100% of the time. They later on told me that it was a defective lens and asked me to return it or to bring it in for repair. I sure hope it's a one of problem. If the lens can easily burn out if I accidentally remove it while the camera is on, that itself is also an issue hahaha. Hopefully it's a fix that can be easily addressed over a firmware update if it happens again in the future.

@@vincekhoo3278 thanks for the info, that’s good to know, and since I too am guilty of removing my lenses while the camera is ON, that may have been my issue. I am getting a return/exchange from B&H, and I’ll be very careful with my new one.

You should look at the Viltrox 56mm1.4. Very nice portrait lens. My go-to portrait lens choice. I have the Fuji X version.

Sigma makes some beautiful lenses. When you pick one up you know you have a quality lens.

Yes

Two years down the line and the Nikkor 85mm f1-2 S is a reality. I've been really tempted but I'm unconvinced that I'll reap the benefits often enough to justify spending 3x the cost of the Nikkor 85mm f1.8 S, which appears to be sharper up to f2.8. This Viltrox is 10x cheaper and any deficiencies don't appear to impact its effectiveness as a portrait lens, yet the 1.2 S continues to weigh on my mind (no pun intended). I'm just curious whether the big new Nikkor got your vote in the end.

Just get the 50mm f/1.8 S instead, close to the same 'equivalent' focal distance and it's one of the best lenses ever made.

What? How?

@@petar3683 It's true, a quick google search should turn up a description of the process, which is not quite a simple as doing a regular firmware update according to the RU-vid tutorial I just watched. I haven't provided a link because RU-vid don't always like it but it was demonstrated using an e-mount version of the lens on a Sony camera which was integral to the procedure. Would it work the same way with a Nikon? I don't know and f/1.8 to f/1.6 is arguably too small a benefit to take the risk. So, while I have this lens, I'm disinclined to do something with it that Viltrox could and surely would have done if there were no negative consequences.

The viltrox is a Z mount lens.....

Not everyone can afford all the $1000 lenses.

He hates Nikon and has an agenda. Most people with a modicum of intelligence reckon he's clueless, and I agree with that assessment.

@@grantking4681 That's why I cancel my subscription to Jared Polin. His interests are too obvious.

Jarid Can be a tool in most of his videos. But I can't speak for the new z6ii and z7ii with their new firmware. But I had the z6, z5, and z50. I just traded in my Z6 for the Sony a7r4 cuz my z7ii pre-order kept getting delayed for the 2nd time so I decided to give sony a try. But the auto focus on the a7r4 is that much better than Nikon's. I still have my Z5 and I think it auto focused better than the z6. And focus tracking and eye AF is a lot better at further distances and hits more than the Nikon. I didn't want to believe it but after trying it I hate to say but the tool has some truth to his comment. Don't get me wrong their is still a lot I love about my Nikon, ergonomics, menu's, and I like Nikon's colors. But the auto focus is not up to par with sony

Jared Polin is becoming dangerously close to Ken Rockwell on many topics now including Nikon. His agendas are seriously straining the credibility he used to have at the start of his channel. I liked him much better back when he was just annoying and accurate instead of lately where he is annoying and paid for.

I don't believe anything Jarid says but Nikon is behind Sony and Canon in terms of AF speed and continuous tracking hit rate. From my own experience, even the cheapest junk Canon RP performans snappier than Nikon Z6 and Z7 at less than half of the price. And FTZ is junk compared to Canon EF-RF adapter.