The new Viltrox 135mm f/1.8 FE LAB lens is now available at at Amazon US&CA&EU, BHphoto, FotoErhardt, FotoKoch. In all cases you get 15% off starting from today!
And today a ton of youtuber shared their take on this lens:
SonyAlphaBlog reviewed the lens and concluded:
The Viltrox 135mm f1.8, the Samyang 135mm F1.8 AF and the Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM are clearly ahead of the Sigma, Zeiss Batis and Samyang MF.
The Samyang is the best one in term of sharpness , level of CA, resistance to flare It delivers very crunchy images and beautiful background blur , bokeh and excellent color rendering. It has a very efficient AF , It is lighter and 2 times less expensive than the Sony. Its only weaknesses is the AF in burst mode for sports.
The Viltrox delivers also excellent results , with excellent color rendering and a very good contrast , its AF is a tiny bit better than the Samyang but less than the Sony. Bokeh balls are equal vs the Samyang and a bit less rounded than the Sony. The big difference is the weight: +70% vs the Samyang, +30% vs the Sony which makes it very painful to carry for several hours. It will be less good in term of CA than the Samyang (but equal to the Sony for CA)
The Sony is also outstanding in term of sharpness but a tiny bit less sharp than the Samyang, It is the best one in term of AF for sports , it has a little bit better bokeh balls (more rounded as of F4) and a mure subtle and gentle color rendering
Between the 3, if money is not important, it is a matter of taste in term of rendering with more crunchy image with the Samyang , more subtle for portraits with the Sony and also a matter of AF efficiency for Sports where the Sony is superior and the only one compatible with 20fps on A9 and 30fps on A1 and also in tempo f weight you want to carry between 772g and 1230g
For the money the Samyang 135mm F1.8 AF is unbeatable