NIKON Z 8 (28mm, f/2, 1/250 sec, ISO125)
My only lens for Nikon Z so far that is not from Nikon. So how good is it?
Third party lenses usually mean a lot of compromises. That’s especially true if the mount is not open yet for third party and the lenses need to be reverse engineered. I usually stay away from that but a. I wanted a 28mm lens and b. the price and therefore the risk is low.
What it is: The Viltrox AF 28mm F 1.8 Z is a wide angle lens with a rather fast f1.8 aperture. 28mm used to be a very popular focal length but today it seems it got a little out of fashion. I think it is still perfect for street/reportage photography because it is not ar tight as a 35mm. My Ricoh GR had a 28mm lens and even though I didn’t like the erratic Auto-WB, strange colours and slow AF I loved the pictures I got with the Ricoh and I think it was the lens I liked most. 28mm is also great for environmental portraits.
In short: I think 28mm is great and f1.8 on full frame allows for some subject isolation too.
Mechanical quality and design: The bad news first. If you love the idea to have an aperture ring on a Nikon lens again be warned: it’s just the worst. It doesn’t click but it isn’t smooth either. It makes a coarse grinding sound when operated so I put it on A and I will leave it there. I meanwhile got used to change aperture on the front wheel again. The lens shade is made of the cheapest looking plastic known to mankind but at least it is small and short. The rest looks solid, the lens has a metal barrel.
AF performance: I expected some problems here but coming from Fuji X I have not been spoiled regarding AF. AF is fast and silent and I have not experienced any hunting yet. My Z-lenses are still focusing a little faster but the Viltrox is not slow focusing at all. I think it focuses like my Z 26mm F 2.8 which is fast enough 99% of the times.
Optical quality: My take here is similar to what I wrote regarding AF performance. It’s not as good as my Z lenses. Especially Nikons S-lenses. It is still a very good lens. Wide open it’s a little soft but I would not hesitate to shoot wide open if I want the subject separation. I once shot with the Nikon AF 24/1.4 ED of a friend and loved the experience but I think the old Nikon lens is softer than the Viltrox.
My wish list: Either make a real aperture ring with nice clicks or just skip it. A different kind of plastic for the hood would be nice or even a metal one. But considering the price of this lens this is nitpicking.
Summary: It’s not perfect but it’s perfectly fine especially for its price.