I can confirm you guys that it is indeed unlocking to f/1.6.I have compared the blades before and after and it was not wide open before, you could see like 3mm thick circle. After it worked, it just opened completely. Also I tried on mine several times with no luck and almost gave up, then I opened again the readme and noticed a keyword: "FULL". The secret guys is to do 4 FULL rotations after the focus is at minimum. Then the rest of the steps are easy. Good luck! And thanks Stefan for the amazing find.
Listen to this guy right here. I also tried a couple times calibrating but failed because I just turned the focus ring maybe a couple times. Do what he says and put a mark on your focus ring so that you know how many rotations you have put in after the focus is at the minimum.
On mine when it's at F1.6 you can see the blade still has a tiny lip. I think it's actually a F1.4 lens and could be opened up further. Makes you wonder why Viltrox would sell it as a F1.8 ? competing against Sony FE's F1.8 ? tax reasons ? Licensing ? I don't know ...
Little strange thing: I tried and succeeded with unlocking the 1.6 aperture. But only did it for fun. Now i downloaded and installed the current firmware version (UPD8518FEV117.DAT - V 1.1.7) from the viltrox website, installed and checked. V1.1.7 is installed but i can still set the apperture to 1.6 ??? if i connect the lens via USB i can look at the info file and ist says version is 1.1.7 Can anybody else confirm that ?
I've tried almost 20 times. On the last try at some point, when turning the focus ring, after maybe 12 turns, the aperture digit lit up orange instead white. This was never the case with the previous attempts. I then took the photo, waited briefly until the photo was written on the card, turned off the camera removed the battery and put it back in again. Then I turn the camera on again and: The Sony 7II shows aperture 1.6 now. Stefan, Thank You
Short update for those who come to this video: I did the update and it works! But I lost the ability to flash. The camera focusses and then it takes a second or two until the camera takes the picture. Installed a fresh official firmware (v1.20 at the time of writing) and I was able to use the flash again and ƒ1.6 was still available.
A few days ago I said I couldn't get the firmware to work on my Sony a7II. At the time I tried it 4-5 times to no avail. Well, I have an update. I persisted and after installing, reinstalling the firmware, and going through ALL the steps about 10 times I finally got the thing to go down to F1.6. The only thing I can suggest is be patient. You may have to try the whole routine like I did...10 times or a little less to get it to work but it will work, eventually. It just takes a lot of patience and if you don't have the patience to give in a good honest fair trial then this is not for you. To make a long story short, it finally worked for me.
do we need to re-do all the steps including re-install the firmware or just need to redo the calibration? i have the a6500 and tried re-do the calibration definitely more than 10 times still didn't work :(
I was really questioning whether this was legit however finally managed to get it working. At first I kept reinstalling the firmware although after reading the comments I found that this wasnt neccessary. I just kept doing the final steps (from when you attach the lens to the camera) and after several attempts I got it working. For all those thinking this was an April Fools joke or some sort of prank, have persistance and you will get there. Try manual focusing a little more / little less and same with battery (a little longer and a little shorter time) and eventually you will get the right combination. I have to say though, I hope in the future Viltrox make firmware updates a little easier including allowing firmware update when the lens is directly attached to the camera!
I tried it 3 times but didn't work until I switched to manual mode and rotated 15 times. I felt ah slight click while rotating and it worked! Thanks for this hack.
Hey Stefan, that's great news! And well put together tutorial btw! Do you know if it applies to the version II of this lens (Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8 FE II)? Thanks!
The lens come in other Mounts as well - so please be aware! You should mention that the linked FW is for Sony-Mount... this isn't mentioned anywhere, even not in the "included" txt file.
It works! After several tries I've noticed that you shouldn't turn off your camera immidietly, instead wait for 2-3 seconds after taking picture, then turn off the camera.
Telmo Santana it doesn’t work man. I’ve tried over 20 times and with Mac and PC. I downloaded the firmware multiple times with no luck. It actually made my autofocus inconsistent. Not trying to rain on your parade. The Viltrox works just fine with stock firmware
@@MagicianDerrickRose I did the firmware update to the latest version for the mark II and there is no f1.6 yet. I have heard it's supposedly in the works. Regardless though I am very happy with this lens it's much lighter than the mark I and the AF is much snappier as well as accurate.
Thanks for the hook up my man...took a couple times because I have a grip on my A7R4 and I was just pulling the batteries out of the grip...after I took the grip off and did it with the battery in camera it worked right away...👍👍
I just got my FE mount Viltrox 85 yesterday. Couldn't wait to try this hack. I tried probably 10 times yesterday and couldn't get it. Nailed it today on my Sony a7ii body. The difference was I wasn't turning the lens fully. This is no joke people, it actually works!
Absolutely fantastic, you have to turn the ring atleast 12 times ... 4 times didn't work for me. And after the update you can clearly see the IRIS open up more and you can see the image get brighter on the A7iii's LCD screen. So it's a good aftermarket update. Makes you wonder why Viltrox would develop what looks like a F1.4 lens (because that IRIS appears to look like it can be opened up a bit more) but sell it as an F1.8. Tax reasons / licensing reasons ? I don't know.
i checked the blades after successful update and procedure ofcourse.. its working dude! saw it a lil bit wider when im rotating the Aperture dial from 1.8 up to 1.6. LEGIT!
I initially thought this update was a sick joke as I failed the calibration about 10 times and I hate treating my Sony A7iii rough. It's my workhorse. The trick is rotating the lens atleast 10-15 times. NOT 4.
I gave up trying to do this a few months ago. Today I thought why not give it a go. It still works 😁 Slight difference in results from some comments I’ve seen as My a7iii indicates f1.6 and f1.8 where others have stated f1.6 and f1.7 but loss of f1.8. Happy days ✌🏾
For all those wondering, this only works with the Sony (im guessing) I tried with Nikon Z and did not work. however viltrox have the the firmware update 1.1.4_2 .this Optimize the focusing speed of the focus ring and Solve the problem of accidentally entering MF mode... Still, great video @stefanMalloch Thank you..
It is reported that this firmware update only works for the Mark I version (actually, I heard about this update only because I've read a testimonial about the Mark II and a note that this update doesn't work with the M2)
André Duarte It would be life changing if it actually worked. The lens works just fine with stock firmware. Not only did it not work, it made my autofocus inconsistent
That is a nice little secret upgrade! Only thing that I don't like of this lens is the lack of any weather sealing. I do find myself shooting in drizzling weather sometimes
Great tip! Thanks! It worked on my A7II. But unfortunately I lost my apature 1.8 setting. Now I have F1.6 - F1.7 - F2.0 and so forth. Worth it though.....
This does not work on the Mark II lens right? Cant get the Firmwire to update. It does everything, but in the textfile the Firmwire version is still 1.4.1
Hi man, great video! Just a question: I could buy it (FE version) with 5 years warranty. This procedure obviously kills the warranty. Do you know if I can restore 1.8 firmware (like a downgrade) if I need to use my warranty? Thank you so much and keep going!!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
learning from the best Thanks Stefan for great content as always! I never knew about this lens but after the this and the other review you made of it along with 2 other lenses I’m really going to consider it for my sony a6400. Greetings from Kenya Stefan!
When I do the firmware update using the link and instructions you did it shows it at 1.1.7 and does NOT let me go lower than 1.8 .... how do I get it to 1.6 ??? @stefanmalloch
"HURRAY"!! This did work Finally, Thanks Stefan Malloch and rest of them who confirmed the same by posting their comments. Initially after watching this video immediately i updated the firmware (1st May 2020) to give it a try, but after many attempts I din't succeed, so i gave up. Finally the Day arrived (6th December 2020) when i desperately wanted to give it a try after seeing all the positive comments, :) but after few attempts things didn't work as usual, without giving up instead of f4.5 i kept the f stop to f1.8 and followed the other instructions as said, to my "SURPRISE" the f1.6 got unlocked and the blades were wide open. so guys don't give up. I too doubt as @R A, may be it can be extended till further. THANK YOU GUYS.
I tried updating my lens to F1.6 and it did not work. I tried it on the Sony 6300 and the Sony a7II, still nothing. I tried it at least 4 times on each camera to no avail.
I tried that and it still does not work. I'll give it another try. If you have any other further tips I might try I am all ears. Please, do share, not only for me but for the rest of us who may be having trouble. Thank you for your input.
Thank you for sharing. Does it mean that at 1.8 be default the aperture is not fully open ? Did you make tests in manual mode with the same iso and shutter speed to see how much light you get between 1.6 and 1.8 ? It's also interesting to know if this feature will be always available in future updates
@@StefanMalloch It's very interesting. How the autofocus performs in low light and in a strong backlight ? Actually I try to choose between this lens and Sony 85mm 1.8. There are a lot of reviews saying that Viltrox sometimes has bugs with af and sometimes it freezes the camera even with latest firmware updates. Did you experience any similar issues ? Thank you for your answers :)
Hey, I just got this lens and "updated it". At f1.6 the apeture blades are fully retracted. In a long term does it harm the motor/blades? Btw thank you for this video👊🙏
Ok so can somebody shed some light for me. I am noticing my Sony A7iii freezing up occasionally after this update to the lens. If I set the APS-C/ Full Frame mode to "AUTO" in the menu it freezes the body. If I set it to Manual it works but then while I am using the camera after a while it can randomly freeze, screen goes black (you can still see the HUD but no picture). Anybody else notice this ? I have to say I am also using a third party battery grip with my A7iii so not sure if that has something to do with it as well.
So i just check but can't do that. I already installed a newest update and when i drop a older firmware version it doesen't downgrade :/ Any solutions?
I'm a bit late in asking this I guess but I just recently acquired a copy of this lens. I just want to ask, do we apply the same procedure on Sony's APS-C bodies? Really helpful video btw. Thank you for sharing and also thanks in advance to anyone who would be able to answer.
