The $578 Viltrox AF 27mm F1.2 Pro is an attractive lens for APS-C camera owners who want to get photos with the artistic, bokeh background look that's typical of full-frame optics. The prime matches an extra-wide aperture with perfectly sharp optics and sturdy construction, which means you can comfortably use it in dim light both indoors and outdoors. We also like that the lens is available for a few different camera systems—Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, and Sony E. The bulky design and relatively slow autofocus response are detractors, but the 27mm F1.2 Pro still earns our Editors' Choice award thanks to its bright aperture, top-notch image quality, and superb build.
Design: Bright, Wide, and Weather-Sealed
The Viltrox 27mm F1.2 Pro is larger and heavier than most other APS-C primes at 3.6 by 3.2 inches (HD) and 1.25 pounds, but that's a reasonable trade-off given its complex 15-element/11-group optical formula that realizes exceptional brightness. Plenty of larger primes exist for full-frame systems, though the Viltrox just seems bigger than you might expect on a slim camera like the Sony ZV-E10 II or Nikon Z 30.
The 27mm focal length falls into the wide standard range for APS-C since its angle of view matches up with a 40mm full-frame lens. It's a relatively underserved angle—the wider views of 23mm lenses (35mm in full-frame terms) are more familiar territory. I find the 40mm focal length extremely useful for everyday imaging and have an easier time creating interesting compositions with it compared with 35mm-equivalent alternatives.
The aperture is noteworthy, too. At f/1.2, the 27mm gathers twice as much light as smaller f/1.8 primes like the Sony E 35mm F1.8 OSS. That means you can use it in dimmer lighting conditions. It also blurs backgrounds more effectively than most other lenses—of course, you can always narrow its aperture to get more of a scene in focus or control light in bright conditions.
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This prime earns its Pro designation on merits, not just marketing. The exterior barrel is all metal and features a few useful control surfaces, such as a function button and an aperture ring. Weather sealing provides protection against dust ingress and splashes of water, while an anti-smudge fluorine coat on the front glass does a good job of keeping it free of water streaks and thumbprints. Weather protection and a fluorine coating are uncommon features among APS-C optics, so this lens has particular appeal in combination with a sealed body like the Fuji X-T5, Nikon Z 50, or Sony a6700.
In terms of accessories, the lens comes with a hood, front and rear caps, and a cloth pouch. It supports 67mm threaded filters and includes a built-in USB-C port for firmware upgrades via a Mac or Windows computer or an Android device. As mentioned, it's available for Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, and Sony E systems, but not Canon R or Micro Four Thirds.
Competition: No Peers Gather as Much Light at This Angle
At nearly $600, this lens skews toward the pricey end of Viltrox's catalog, though it still slots in as a midrange alternative to first-party options. The 27mm F1.2 doesn't have a direct peer across any of the systems for which it's made. Its closest competitors are the Sigma 23mm F1.4 ($549) and 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary ($339) primes, which are also available for Fuji, Nikon, and Sony. The Sigma lenses, which sit on either side in terms of angle of view, don't gather as much light wide open, so they can't quite deliver the same background blurring pizzazz and low-light picture quality.
Other alternatives vary based on the type of camera you own. Fuji offers the most APS-C lenses since that's the exclusive sensor format for X-mount glass. Its slim XF 27mm F2.8 R WR ($399.95) matches the Viltrox in angle of view and sports a pancake design but doesn't gather nearly as much light. The XF 23mm F1.4 R LM WR ($899.95) is closer in concept and execution, though it's not quite as bright either and has a slightly wider perspective.
Nikon Z photographers have far fewer options when it comes to APS-C lenses but can get the light, inexpensive Nikkor Z DX 24mm F1.7 ($279.95) or the full-frame Z 28mm F2.8 ($299.95) as an alternative. Both are smaller and more affordable than the Viltrox but don't catch as much light. There's also a pancake prime for the system for fans of light carry, the Z 26mm F2.8 ($499.95).
Sony sells the long-running Zeiss 24mm F1.8 Sonnar ($799.99) as its closest alternative, though it's about a stop slower and covers a slightly wider angle of view. I haven't tried either the full-frame Samyang 24mm F1.8 AF ($499) or APS-C Tokina atx-m 23mm F1.4 ($449 and for Sony E and Fuji X), but they are the closest autofocusing lenses available in focal length and aperture.
The bulk of top-end Sony lenses are for its full-frame system. If you add those to the mix, the FE 24mm F1.4 GM ($1,399.99) is worth a look if you own or plan to upgrade to a full-frame camera in the future. That advice is also sound for lenses like the Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG DN Art ($799) and 24mm F2 DG DN Contemporary ($639).
Handling: Satisfying On-Barrel Controls
The 27mm F1.2's large frame leaves plenty of room for on-barrel controls. Viltrox doesn't pack it to the gills but includes a dedicated aperture ring, an AF/MF toggle, and a function button. Although Fuji system owners might not see the aperture ring as a big deal (most Fuji X series lenses include on-lens aperture control), it's an uncommon feature on APS-C lenses for Nikon and Sony. The ring is knurled metal and turns comfortably. It clicks in softly at third-stops from f/1.2 through f/16 and supports smooth, continuous adjustment. A Click toggle swaps between the two modes.
The function button is on the left side, just below the AF/MF toggle. Most cameras map this button to AF-L (autofocus lock) by default, but you can change its function via your camera menu. On the a7R IV that I use for lens testing, for example, I've got it set to AF-ON instead. Remember that any change you make to your button via your camera settings will apply to all the lenses you attach.
Viltrox omits optical stabilization, which might be a point of concern, depending on your camera and use case. Nikon owners don't have access to any DX (APS-C) sensor bodies with stabilization, but Sony's a6700 and FX30 both include in-body image stabilization (IBIS). Several options from Fuji, including the X-S20, X-T50, X-T5, X-H2, and X-H2S, also have stabilized sensors. If your camera doesn't have IBIS, you should target a shutter speed of around 1/40-second or faster to avoid shake-induced blur for handheld photography. If your camera has stabilization, you can stretch it further—with the Sony a7R IV in its APS-C crop mode, I stretched handheld exposures to 1/2-second with some care.
Focus: Quiet (But Slow) STM Autofocus
The Viltrox 27mm F1.2 Pro uses a stepping motor (STM) to drive its autofocus. The motor provides quiet focus with smooth, pleasing transitions for video but lags behind linear focus systems for stills photography. The lens takes about a second to drive between a close and distant subject, for reference. It's also more prone to hesitate and hunt back and forth prior to locking focus compared with the bulk of the Sony, Sigma, and Tamron lenses I've tested on the a7R IV. On the plus side, focus is accurate once it locks.
The manual focus experience is superb. The huge knurled metal focus ring takes up the bulk of the barrel, making it easy to find by touch. The ring turns readily, with the proper amount of dampening to keep it in place when not in use and to support small, precise shifts to focus. The response is linear, which means that the change in focus depends on the rotation amount rather than the speed. Linear focus adds appeal for videographers since it allows a focus puller to repeat the same focus rack across multiple takes.
One note: The focus throw is very, very long. It takes roughly 300 degrees of rotation to go from the nearest focus distance to infinity. This makes it practical for deliberate, precise focus, but shifting focus from macro to distant subjects and vice versa requires some effort. Of course, it's a simple matter to swap to autofocus to drive the lens to the desired focal plane and swap back to manual focus for fine-tuning.
The optics show noticeable focus breathing along with shifts in focus. The angle of view is narrower by a good margin at the nearest focus distance compared with infinity, so you're likely to notice a blooming or shrinking effect in video shots that shift the plane of focus from one subject to another for dramatic effect. Breathing is less of a concern for other applications—video shots with locked focus or slight shifts to keep a subject in focus aren't a problem. Breathing is a nonconcern for the vast majority of stills photography, too.
The 27mm F1.2 Pro isn't a compelling pickup for macro specialists. Its 11-inch minimum focus distance limits its macro magnification to a meager 1:6.7, which isn't enough to bring tiny subjects like flowers, insects, and jewelry into close view. Typically speaking, prime lenses in this focal range provide either a bright aperture or macro focus, not both. For macro imaging, look to the Fuji XF 30mm F2.8 Macro, Nikkor Z MC 50mm F2.8, or Sony E 30mm F3.5 Macro instead; all focus close enough for life-size (1:1) reproduction.
Image Quality: Crisp Focus and Smooth Bokeh
I used Imatest and the Sony a7R IV (set to its 26MP APS-C capture mode) to evaluate the 27mm F1.2 Pro's optical performance in our test lab. It aces the sharpness test, delivering outstanding results (3,000 lines) for the 26MP image size at its widest aperture. The field of focus is flat, so the edges of the image are just as clear as at the center. Resolution is pretty steady at wider apertures (f/1.2-2.8) and kicks it up a notch from f/4-8 (3,500 lines). Diffraction softens images slightly at f/11 (3,100 lines) and has more of an impact at f/16 (2,700 lines).
Although detail takes a step backward at f/16, it's still a useful setting. The 27mm F1.2 draws dramatic, 22-point sunstars at its narrowest f-stop. A bit of ghosting (internal reflections cause false color) is visible in images at a small f-stop and with the sun or another bright light source prominent in the frame, though it's not problematic. At wider apertures, the 27mm F1.2 does a very good job controlling flare. I made some images at wide apertures with the sun directly behind a shaded foreground subject and noted that contrast held up well. The lens also avoided signs of lateral chromatic aberration (purple fringing around edges of in-focus objects) in this scenario.
Automatic JPG corrections compensate for some optical barrel distortion and a vignette, visible from f/1.2-2.0. If you use your camera in Raw mode, you need to apply a correction profile to enjoy those fixes. Without a profile, Raw photos render straight lines with an outward curve and show visibly dark corners from f/1.2-2.0. I processed images with Adobe's correction profile in Lightroom Classic CC, which was quite effective.
Blurred backgrounds are a big reason to choose an f/1.2 lens over one with an f/1.4 or f/1.8 aperture. Wide open, the Viltrox 27mm delivers plenty of background blur. Backgrounds melt into nothing in many situations, so APS-C system owners can get the full-frame bokeh look. On the downside, images at f/1.2-1.4 show a cat's eye shape in specular highlights toward the edges and corners of a picture, a result of the optical vignette. Closing down the 11-blade aperture to f/2 or smaller creates uniformly rounded highlights but also lessens the amount of blur. The highlights show little–if any—false texture.
If you look closely, you can likely spot some longitudinal chromatic aberration (LoCA) in the bokeh. The LoCA effect draws soft green and purple halos around subjects that are just off the plane of focus and is nearly impossible to remove from a photo with software tools. It's most visible at f/1.2-1.4 with this lens, but not a major concern (I had to zoom into images to see it in most instances). The LoCA effect isn't nearly as visible as with some other extra-fast lenses like the manual focus Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm F0.95.
Verdict: Sharp, But With Background Blur Aplenty
The Viltrox 27mm F1.2 Pro might come from a value brand, but it's worthy of its Pro moniker. The APS-C prime impresses us with its outdoor-ready construction, a quality set of on-barrel controls, and of course, excellent resolution and rendering wide open. The large size and slightly slow autofocus motor are minor drawbacks, but they don't prevent the lens from securing our Editors' Choice award for crop-sensor Fujifilm, Nikon, and Sony camera owners who want to capture creative portraits and posed shots with a super-bright aperture. Meanwhile, the Sigma 23mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary, another Editors' Choice winner that costs slightly less, has faster autofocus and is available for all the same platforms.
With excellent construction quality and sharp optics, the Viltrox AF 27mm F1.2 Pro brings the full-frame bokeh look to APS-C cameras.
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