The Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro is an impressive camera lens with a wide aperture, making it a valuable addition to the Viltrox lens lineup. It is compatible with multiple APS-C camera mounts, including Fuji, Sony, and Nikon. It delivers coverage equivalent to 40mm, ideal for general-purpose use. Its bright f1.2 is wider and faster than other primes camera lenses in its class. Its quick and quiet autofocus performance makes it suitable for capturing moving subjects and shooting videos.
The Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro features a smooth, quiet clicked aperture ring. This means the aperture ring rotates smoothly as you change the aperture settings. If the budget is not your concern, or you want to select another option for your camera, the Viltrox AF 27mm f/1 2 is a lens worth considering.
Table of Contents
Body Quality and Design
The Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro is not a lightweight camera lens, weighing 560 grams, 100 grams heavier than Fujifilm 56mm F1.2. If you mount this lens on some small APS-C camera, it feels heavy and difficult to carry around. I mount this camera lens on my Fujifilm x-h2; it is excellent and well-balanced. Additionally, this lens is not equipped with an LCD screen, buttons, and switches, and it is a straightforward design compared with Viltrox AF 16mm F1.8 camera lens I tested.
Fujifilm x-h2 takes all sample photos with Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro lens.
Image Sharpness
When stopping at f1.2, the Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro lens offers impressive centre sharpness, even in high-resolution 40-megapixel photos.
Photographers can capture more clear and detailed images in the centre, even shooting pictures in wide open. The Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro also delivers good contrast performance, making photographs more vibrant. Regarding its corner sharpness, most camera lens has a slight drop in corner sharpness, but the Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro performs well in this regard.
When the Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro lens is stopped down to f/2, centre sharpness is significantly improved. Similarly, corner sharpness also improves at f2.
As you continue to stop down the aperture from f2.8 to f5.6, The Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro still delivers excellent image sharpness. At F5.6, the corner sharpness performs particularly well, offering many image details.
Some images may appear softer at F8 because of diffraction when taking pictures with Fujifilm x-h2. Therefore, it’s important to note that you may avoid shooting at extremely small apertures like f/8 to get some desired results.
Bokeh
The Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro lens produces a pleasing and attractive bokeh. When looking closely at these bokeh balls, you may find small transitions and beautiful rendering.
At f1.2, you may get some cat’s eye bokeh, adding a unique aesthetic to the background of your images. However, as you stop down the aperture to f/2, the cat’s eye bokeh ball will disappear. If you enjoy the aesthetic appeal of bokeh balls in your images, the Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro lens is a great option.
Vignetting Performance
At its maximum aperture of f1.2, the camera offers no noticeable vignetting in images. While you may notice a slight darkening in the corners, it remains within acceptable levels. When stopping down to f2, the vignetting may be pronounced. At f2.8, the vignetting is less noticeable.
Chromatic Aberration
All sample photos I took using Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro have little colour fringing. But if you look at this local test photo, there seems to be a bit of colour fringing.
Distortion
The Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro performs well in distortion control. While there may be a small amount of distortion near the edges of photographs, such as when capturing a brick wall, it is worth noting that distortion is a common characteristic of wide-angle lenses. Then you can use post-processing software like Lightroom to address this distortion.
Lens Flare
Based on my tests and observations, the Viltrox lens performs well in lens flare. I experienced a slight and minor lens flare when using the Viltrox lens to shoot videos. Additionally, its contrast remains excellent when shooting directly towards the sun. Furthermore, lens flare and ghosting remain excellent even when stopping down the lens to its minimum aperture of f/16. But there is a minor issue that it is a slight ghosting near the frame.
Sunstarts
When shooting at f/5.6 with the Viltrox lens, you observed that sunstars are visible and appear beautiful. This is a desirable effect for many photographers. Additionally, when stopping down the aperture, you may find that the trails of these sunstars appear sharp. But if you stop down the aperture to the minimum of f/16, the sunstars may become messy and lose their sharpness and definition. If capturing precise and well-defined sunstars is a priority for your photography, it may be best to avoid using the minimum aperture of f/16 with this lens.
Coma
I used this Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro for a while and found that this camera lens is an excellent choice for astrophotography. I shot some stars in my garden at the maximum aperture of f1.2. Then you can zoom in and look at many commas in images, appearing petty and impressive. But these commas look pretty small and you need to stop down the aperture; some excellent comma performance improved significantly.
Other Features
This camera lens can focus as close as 28mm/11 inches and offers photographers a 0.15-time maximum magnification ratio—this photo I took at f1.2 looks softer when zooming at 200. But if you stop to f2, the image’s sharpness dramatically improves.
Conclusion
This year, Viltrox has released three autofocus lenses that I reviewed. All Viltrox camera lenses improved a lot, one by one. The Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro has excellent performance in image quality, including sharpness, no noticeable distortion, great bokeh balls, etc. This lens is also versatile for many general purposes, such as street photography, portrait photography, etc. If you own an APS-C camera and have a limited budget, I suggest the Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 XF Pro for your general photography.
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