Review: Viltrox AF 14mm F4.0 Air

Lens manufacturer Viltrox continues to impress us with its low-cost prime lenses, and after reviewing its $300 50mm f/2.0 lens recently, we were keen to try out something wider from the company.

Enter the Viltrox 14mm f/4 Air for Sony E‑mount.

Viltrox describes it as an ultra-wide prime that performs well across landscape, travel, and architectural photography. With a 112° angle of view, it promises expansive scenes with minimal distortion, making it suitable for sweeping outdoor vistas as well as interior spaces.

However, the lens enters an already crowded 14mm market. This isn't an exhaustive list, but at the premium end, there’s the Sony FE 14 mm f/1.8 GM (around $1,800) and the Sigma 14 mm f/1.4 DG DN Art (about $2,300). These are big, fast primes, and their price tags confirm that. 

On the more affordable side, there’s the Samyang (Rokinon) AF 14 mm f/2.8 FE, Samyang MF 14 mm f/2.8 (manual focus), and the TTArtisan 14 mm f/2.8—all priced between about $400 and $1,000, but also offering faster maximum apertures than the Viltrox.

By comparison, the Viltrox 14mm f/4 Air costs much less, around $230, but comes with a slower f4 aperture, and no weather sealing or other nice to haves.

All this is to say the Viltrox is really on its own in its price bracket. So, with that out of the way, how does it perform in the field? I took my sample to Tasmania’s East Coast to find out.

Build quality

The Viltrox 14mm f/4 Air is compact and lightweight, at around 17g, making it easy to carry on extended shoots. Build-wise, it is largely plastic, with a pretty dead feeling focus ring, and no other buttons or extras included.

However, that stripped-back design has its advantages. I found it easily fit into a pocket, allowing me to carry it in my jacket while using other lenses on the camera, and sometimes even letting me go without a camera bag entirely.

Internally, it uses a 12-element, 9-group construction, including ED and aspheric elements, and the lens includes a 58mm filter thread and reversible hood for added versatility.

It's worth noting that cheap price doesn't extend to any kind of weather sealing, so care is needed in wet or dusty conditions.

Image quality

In use, I found the Viltrox 14mm f/4 Air delivered surprisingly sharp centre performance at f/4, with very good corner sharpness by f/5.6, improving further up to f/11 and beyond.

Chromatic aberration and distortion were surprisingly well controlled, and images had a nice tonal rendering when paired to my Sony A7 IV.

As you might expect, vignetting is pretty noticeable wide open, but it did improve when stopped down.

Like with the 50mm F/2.0, I did find the lens struggled at times with flaring compared to more premium optics. But we'll it slide at this price point. 

In fact, really the only downside to the 14mm f/4 Air is the f/4 aperture limits its low-light performance and shallow depth of field. So while it is capable of astrophotography, a faster lens would be my preference for this kind of work.

Autofocus

Powered by an STM motor, the AF on the Viltrox 14mm f/4 Air is quiet and pretty snappy by and large, and it's nice to see it supports Sony's eye and face detection as well. In low light I did find it hunted a bit however. 

The wrap up

There's a lot to like about the Viltrox 14mm f/4 Air. It's a capable and practical ultra-wide prime, offering excellent sharpness and portability at a very reasonable price. It is a strong choice for photographers seeking a lightweight lens for landscapes, interiors, and general wide-angle work, although those requiring full weather sealing may need to look higher in the range, and it wouldn't be my first pick for any low light work.

But if you're looking for a cheap and cheerful prime lens that will allow you to shoot with the uniqueness of a 14mm focal length, there's a lot to enjoy here. 

Results

Build quality ★ ★ ★ 

Sure, it's pretty basic and feels a bit cheap, but for the price you can't really complain.

Image quality ★ ★ ★ 

Surprisingly very good. Little to complain about here with the exception of flare, which does test the lens a little, and some vignetting wide open.

Autofocus ★ ★ ★ 

Quiet and fast, and pretty solid, although I wouldn't trust it in particularly low light.

Value for money ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

For just $230 AUD, this lens is a serious bargain, and like Viltrox's 50mm F/2.0, a great example of how smaller lens manufacturers continue to shake up the bottom end of the imaging market.

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