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Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air First Look Review

Known for their range of affordable camera lenses, adapters, and accessories, Viltrox kicks off 2025 with the launch of a new series of Air lenses. The Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens is the first to arrive in the series, which is designed to be extremely compact and lightweight. This prime lens offers an equivalent full-frame focal length of approximately 52mm, placing it firmly in the versatile and super-popular standard range, that’s ideal for almost any type of everyday photography.

Available for Fujifilm X Mount, Nikon Z Mount, and Sony E Mount crop format cameras, the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air brings quality performance with portability. In our Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air First Look Review, we delve into the specs and showcase supplied sample images, helping you to decide whether this is the perfect affordable APS-C lens for your general photography.

Let’s begin by exploring the price, which may come as a bit of a surprise if you’re unfamiliar with the brand.

Sample portrait. Camera settings: Exposure 1/4000 sec. f/1.7. ISO 250

Price and Availability

The Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air launched at the very end of 2024, but is available to purchase from January 2025 at a price of £139.00 for any of the three XF, Z, and E mount versions. This offers exceptional value when compared to similar autofocus 35mm lenses and reinforces the popularity of Viltrox among its growing user base.

Sample low light portrait. Camera settings: Exposure 1/80 sec. f/1.7. ISO 500

Who is Viltrox?

Before diving deeper into the lens itself, let's start with a brief history of Viltrox. Founded in 2009, Viltrox quickly rose to become one of the largest Chinese manufacturers of lens adapters. They developed their first camera lens in 2018 and their first autofocus lens in 2019. Today, Viltrox offers a comprehensive variety of cinema and photography lenses for XF, E, Z, and EOSM camera systems.

Their popularity can be attributed to their ability to strike a balance between affordability and quality, offering optics that cater to beginners and enthusiasts who want to experience the joy of content creation without the high cost typically associated with camera lenses.

With this reputation for delivering solid performance at an accessible price point, it’s no wonder the new AF 35mm f/1.7 Air lens is set to make waves amongst photographers. Let’s continue with a closer look at the types of subjects this 35mm lens (52mm equivalent) is suited to capture.

What is the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens good for?

The Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens is very versatile and suitable for a broad range of subjects. With its 52mm equivalent focal length, 9-bladed f/1.7 aperture, and incredibly lightweight design, it’s perfect for street photography, portraits, landscapes, everyday snapshots, and general-purpose shooting, including low-light photography.

The wide aperture allows for excellent subject separation, producing smooth background bokeh and soft out-of-focus areas that help make your subject stand out in the frame. The 50mm focal length is renowned for this ability, and f/1.7 is more than capable of providing beautiful foreground-to-background separation.

Sample low light outdoor snapshot. Camera settings: Exposure 1/320 sec. f/1.7. ISO 500

While ideal for subjects visible to the naked eye, such as portraits or landscapes, this lens isn’t suitable for wildlife, sports, or distant subjects where longer focal lengths are more appropriate. These are typically for telephoto rather than standard lenses.

In short, the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens is a great all-rounder for day-to-day photography, and it’s small enough to carry and handhold comfortably in any situation. Do note, however, that it lacks weather sealing, so it’s best to protect the lens in harsh weather conditions.

Next, let’s take a deeper dive into the lens's optical design and image quality.

Sample low light. Camera settings: Exposure 1/125 sec. f/1.7. ISO 1000

Optics and image quality

The Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens achieves impressive image quality thanks to a well-considered optical design, especially for its price point. Optics incorporate one ED lens to enhance dispersion control, helping reduce chromatic aberration and colour fringing, a common issues in more affordable lenses. By using two high-refractive index lenses, Viltrox ensures high-quality image performance while maintaining the lens's compact size.

The inclusion of an aspherical lens further reduces distortion, making sure that images are sharp and clear across the frame, even towards the edges. The lens’s HD nano multi-layer coating reduces flare and ghosting, with higher contrast and detail maintained in challenging backlit scenes.

In terms of performance, the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air delivers high-resolution detail with sharp focus, while also providing beautiful background bokeh thanks to its wide f/1.7 aperture. This results in a smooth and pleasing depth of field, ideal for portraiture and subject isolation.

The lens renders accurate true-to-life colours, with vivid, and nuanced tones as you can see from the samples here, making it a great choice for a variety of photography styles, all while offering great value for money.

Autofocus

Autofocus performance plays a key role in achieving sharp results, and the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air includes an STM (stepping motor) for reliable and quiet autofocus. The lens is also fully compatible with face and eye autofocus detection systems on compatible cameras, allowing you to lock and maintain focus on your subject using the advanced autofocus systems from respective manufacturers.

Sample naturally lit daylight portrait. Camera settings: Exposure 1/4000 sec. f/1.7. ISO 250

Build and Handling

As the first in the “Air” series, the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens boasts an amazingly lightweight design, weighing just 170g and measuring a compact 64x54.7 mm. With this small form factor it features a 52mm lens filter thread, which is perfect for easy access to affordable filters that can help with image control. The lens also has a very minimalist design, with virtually no controls on the barrel, ensuring a simple, intuitive experience when shooting.

While the lens does not feature in-lens stabilisation (as is common at this focal length), it works with camera's in-body image stabilisation (IBIS), allowing for smoother handheld shots, especially in darker environments.

The simplicity and lightweight design combine for good handling, making it a great choice in a variety of situations where you simply want to enjoy the experience of photography. It also works well for video making and is suitable for hybrid content thanks to the competent and near-silent AF, along with well controlled focus breathing.

The Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens is a well-designed and affordable lens, perfectly suited for smaller APS-C sensor cameras. With this compact size, lightweight build, and high-quality imaging performance, it offers excellent value for anyone looking to elevate their general photography.

Whether you're using it on a Sony A6700, Fujifilm X-M5 Camera, or Nikon Z50 II, this lens provides a versatile standard option for a variety of ever-popular subjects, including street photography, portraits and landscapes.

Its fast f/1.7 aperture and sharp performance allow for creative growth, while its simple design ensures a hassle-free shooting experience that is ideal for beginners and intermediate photographers. If you're looking for an affordable yet high-performing prime lens for everyday photography, this Viltrox model could be exactly what you need.

Simply choose the model made for your camera and start exploring new creative avenues today:

• Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens for Nikon Z Mount
• Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens for Fujifilm X Mount
• Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C Lens for Sony E Mount

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By Nick Dautlich on 10/01/2025