Making a case for the Viltrox 75mm F1.2 Pro
- 55 minutes ago
- 6 min read
This post is as much for me as it is for you, my dear readers. A while back, I wrote two posts about my favorite lenses of all time. Let's just say that this led to even more reflection on gear than usual. The thing it awoke most was my deep lust for a fast short tele prime. And since I stepped back into the Fuji system, this meant that the Viltrox 75mm F1.2 lens became an option to scratch that particular itch. But first, let me tell you how I got there.
I've been using the Zeiss Batis 135mm F2.8 over the last year or so and it is a great lens. It is not particularly fast for a prime, with it being f2.8, and I might as well use a 70-200mm if we are looking at just the aperture.
But I like two things about it very much. One is how it renders, I find it very pleasing at f2.8, which is pretty much the aperture I shoot at 90% of the time. The second thing is the weight. It only weighs a little more than 600 grams. Slap it on any of the Sony A7C cameras and you have a combo that weighs a little more than 1100 grams. Pretty good.
The downside, and this is where the itch began, is that 135mm is just a bit too long for my taste. I like to use short prime telelenses in combination with a second camera that has a lens on there ranging from 28mm, like the Leica Q's, or 35mm, like my current Sony RX1R iii. The megapixels in the tiny Sony give me an effective range of 35-50mm which is great for that standard human-eye perspective type of thing. Having a short telelens perspective next to it works wonderful.
There is something about that short tele perspective that draws my eye. Whether it is isolating something in a scene, or the beginnings of compression, I don't really know what it is but this view that is not yet true tele, but has the characteristics of tele, is very distinct. It also allows you to choose leaving things out. Whether it is landscape or more urban scenes, being able to focus on a single aspect often leads to interesting compositions.
However, 135mm is often too long when you are in an urban environment, and most of the time it is too short when you are out in nature. I feel like I need to optimize on either end of the 135mm. This means going longer or shorter. Going longer means I need to either sacrifice light if I want to keep the weight down, or go to the gym and bulk up.
Going shorter brings me in the domain of one of my favorite lenses of all time, the Nikon 105mm F1.4E. The pull is strong at the moment to just get it. I love that lens. The only thing, and I really mean the only thing, that is keeping me from buying it, is the weight in combination with a Nikon full frame body. The lightest option would be the Z5 ii or the Zf. The latter would have terrible ergonomics for the beast that is the 105mm. The Z5 ii would work but it still puts the combination at a bit under 1700 grams. I even looked at pairing it with the last DSLR Nikon ever made, the d780 but even without the FTZ adapter, that combo is heavier at over 1800 grams.
But boy what a lens it is. For those of you willing to deal with the bulk and weight, I'd say this remains the best short tele option for the Nikon system. In my honest opinion, I think it is a better choice than the Plena 135mm F1.8 or the 85mm F1.2 (more on that below). On a modern body with the FTZ adapter puts it in the same size but it is even a little lighter than its native Z alternatives.
Another shout out has to go to a very different, but wonderful optic in its own way; the Zeiss 100mm F2 Makro. I owned this lens twice, once pairing it mostly with the Nikon Df and I also shot with it on the Pentax K-1 Mkii where the lens mount was changed to K. It is a manual lens and being a macro lens, this means a very long focus throw which very useful for that purpose, but less so in everyday use. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this lens with that lovely 100mm perspective. It is a very sharp lens, almost too sharp, and it lacks the creamy soft sharpness the 105mm Nikon has.
I can of course go a little shorter still and look at 85mm. There are many more options available here. When reviewing the photos I took with 85mm lenses, I noticed that this is just not long enough for me. I have not shot with a lot of 85mm options. The lens I used the most is the Zeiss Batis 85mm F1.8. I still think that is a wonderful option for the Sony E-mount system. Outside of the 85mm F1.4 options from Sony and Sigma, I think the Batis 85mm is probably the third best option in this focal range. But I personally find 85mm to be too short.
In some way, 85mm lenses feel to me like neither meat nor fish, as we say in Dutch. Maybe it is time to become a vegetarian. I don't know. What I do know is that this focal length just doesn't gel as much with me. Despite the amazing lenses available in this range. Arguably, some of the best lenses out there are 85mm lenses.
Back to the Viltrox 75mm F1.2. I bought it. I actually owned it once before but for some reason, it did not gel with me at the time. Looking back at the photos, I fail to understand why to be honest. I think they look great.
I recently took the Viltrox on a trip to Rhodes in Greece and I think it ticks a lot of the boxes I mentioned above. It has the right perspective with 75mm being about 112mm so in my beloved range. It is heavy for a Fuji X-mount lens but the combination with the X-T5 puts it at about 1200 grams which means I can take my Sony 35mm RX1Riii and still remain under the weight of a Nikon full frame body with the Nikon 105mm F1.4. The F1.2 aperture means it can create some wonderfully creamy background and it is very sharp as well.
The focus performance on any Fuji is not as great as it is on Sony or Nikon but it is decent enough. If I could make it work with my miles long focus throw on the manual Zeiss 100mm, why would I not be able to make the Viltrox work? Outside of sports photography, I think we are all a little delirious about how great auto focus needs to be to be workable. I admit, I do feel spoiled by Sony auto focus, but come on, most camera systems these days are more than good enough for 99% of situations.
I never know how long my enthusiasm lasts, but I will enjoy it for as long as it is there. Right now, I like the Viltrox and X-T5 combo. Shooting it on the an X-E5 is less comfortable, you really do need a little grip like the X-T5 has for a lens with this weight. For the X-E5 there are other options, like the Viltrox 75mm F1.8, which I also bought. Did I already say I really like that focal length?
In closing, here are a few more photos, all shot on the Viltrox 75mm F1.2.
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