Is the Viltrox 13mm f1.4 lens the best wide-angle APS-C lens on the market, lets find out!

So Viltrox has sent me this lens to review, but I’ve not been paid for the review and I can and will be honest about the lens.

This lens is 13mm for APS-C sensor, which is approximately 20mm equivalent on full frame. It has a very bright maximum aperture of f1.4, making this a fast lens, letting in a lot of light. 

It also has autofocus which is a huge plus, putting it on par in terms of specs with the popular Sigma Trio of lens particularly the Sigma 16mm, which has a very similar focal length.

The price is currently around $429 from their official site or Amazon. So not a budget lens, especially in the APS-C space, but for a wide angle bright aperture lens, with autofocus you’re unlikely to find these specs any cheaper.

So let’s have a closer look at the lens – it comes in a surprisingly large box, with the usual suspects of carry case and documentation. It’s very securely packaged in hard foam packaging.

The construction of the lens is mostly metal and has a weighty feel to the lens. At 418g you will feel that weight when paired with a more compact camera, such as the ZV-E10 or the a5100.

The Aperture ring is the smaller of the rings of the lens, and has a smooth action all the way through to F16 where there is a slight ridge to hold its position, then the A is for auto aperture which is a nice feature to have.

Under the plastic rear cap are the electronics for the autofocus system, as well as a USB-C port. This is for lens firmware updates.

The lens cap is plastic and the lens element is convex in shape. The lens hood is petal-shaped and also made out of metal and screws on.

The focus ring is larger than the aperture ring, is continuous, and has a smooth action.

Printed around the lens element is the minimum focusing distance of 0.22m or 0.73ft

Autofocus 13mm f1.4

And the filter thread size of 67mm

Let’s get straight into some example photos and videos taken with this lens. All of these examples have been taken using the Sony ZV-E10 with no colour or image correction applied.

With its wide aperture, you can see you can very smooth and professional looking out of focus backgrounds. And its wide-angle makes it a really solid choice for wide landscape photography and paired with the wide aperture you get excellent low-light performance. I imagine it would be perfect for astrophotography.

The image quality is incredibly sharp, especially in the middle of shots, and is still sharp at the edges. You will notice vignetting, which is the darkening of your photos, especially at the widest aperture setting of f1.4, but depending on your composition, this may be desirable.

The autofocus on the Viltrox 13mm performs well, seeing as it’s a third-party lens. It’s quick and accurate, and the focus motor isn’t too loud. 

A couple of things to note, the Viltrox 13mm has no stabilization built into the lens, so for video, you’ll have shakier images or be relying on the camera’s stabilization, with the ZV-E10 for example, which has digital stabilization.

Also, the wide angle of this lens isn’t suited to portraits, as even though it will be a clear image, it does make features look exaggerated such as noses looking bigger.

So who is this lens for? If you want a super sharp lens with a wide angle with autofocus this is one of the best on the market, even rivaling the Sigma 16mm, which is an excellent lens.

For astrophotography, landscapes you will struggle to find a better APS-C lens at this price point.

Like the look of the lens, or already got one let me know in the comments below.

And if you’d like to pick one up, buy the Viltrox 13mm f1.4 on Amazon*

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. There is no additional cost to you.