While Viltrox uses silent and very fast Voice Coil AF motors in its LAB series, its autofocus reliability isn't quite on par with OEM products, which is inevitable when you have to reverse engineer the communication protocols.
IBIS effectiveness isn't always at the same level either.
Look at the reviews on B&H, lots of issues with focusing on their LAB lenses including the 135mm.
This also becomes very clear in Matt Irwin's review.
Unfortunately, it's not possible to link to it with a set timestamp here in the forum; skip to minute 17 and 56 seconds.
Another criterion is that some features, like the focus limiter, only work with Nikon Z OEM lenses, which could affect other features in the future as well.
Then there's the problem of the lack of a service network.
Once the official warranty expires, there's no way to get it officially repaired if a problem arises.
At least in my location, Germany, a large market in Europe, there isn't a single Viltrox service partner for repairs.
This means that after the legally mandated one-year warranty period, you can throw the lens away if it has a technical problem.
Factors that unnecessarily increase the risk of errors.
Moreover, this raises the question of what the point of an expensive and super fast Z8/Z9 body is if, in very demanding scenarios, the bottleneck for autofocus is the lens and the communication with the camera.
Even if this only occurs in demanding scenarios, these are absolutely essential criteria.
Criteria in the form of maximum reliability and guaranteed compatibility, and thus maximum possible AF system performance in all situations, which only OEM lenses fully meet.
Especially for the category that the ambitious LAB series targets, aimed at enthusiasts and semi-professional users, optical excellence alone isn't enough.
This is also reflected in the achievable used prices, where the depreciation after purchase is significant.
All these factors are likely to considerably increase the return rate.
This is certainly less of a problem with the more affordable series, such as the Evo.
I bought the Viltrox 135 for its optical qualities, not its ability to focus on a running subject. Oh, and then there's the price point. Even used Plenas are more expensive than the Viltrox. I probably would not have bought the Viltrox if it hadn't have been for the Black Friday sale. Nikon will want to shut any Viltrox lens option down which directly competes with a Nikon lens product. So, say good-bye to the f1.2s, f1.4s and any focal length that Nikon offers. Glad I have my 16/1.8. ps. if Nikon really wanted less economically well-off users to adapt older Nikkors to Z bodies, they would also have come out with a an AF/AFd lens adapter. They had the Sony template to work off of. Nope. I'm good. No more firmware updates. Most of my Z bodies are due for a new model soon or will be retired out to the Nikon pasture, like the Z7ii or the Zfc.
Vento wrote:
While Viltrox uses silent and very fast Voice Coil AF motors in its LAB series, its autofocus reliability isn't quite on par with OEM products, which is inevitable when you have to reverse engineer the communication protocols.
IBIS effectiveness isn't always at the same level either.
Look at the reviews on B&H, lots of issues with focusing on their LAB lenses including the 135mm.
This also becomes very clear in Matt Irwin's review.
Unfortunately, it's not possible to link to it with a set timestamp here in the forum; skip to minute 17 and 56 seconds.
Another criterion is that some features, like the focus limiter, only work with Nikon Z OEM lenses, which could affect other features in the future as well.
Then there's the problem of the lack of a service network.
Once the official warranty expires, there's no way to get it officially repaired if a problem arises.
At least in my location, Germany, a large market in Europe, there isn't a single Viltrox service partner for repairs.
This means that after the legally mandated one-year warranty period, you can throw the lens away if it has a technical problem.
Factors that unnecessarily increase the risk of errors.
Moreover, this raises the question of what the point of an expensive and super fast Z8/Z9 body is if, in very demanding scenarios, the bottleneck for autofocus is the lens and the communication with the camera.
Even if this only occurs in demanding scenarios, these are absolutely essential criteria.
Criteria in the form of maximum reliability and guaranteed compatibility, and thus maximum possible AF system performance in all situations, which only OEM lenses fully meet.
Especially for the category that the ambitious LAB series targets, aimed at enthusiasts and semi-professional users, optical excellence alone isn't enough.
This is also reflected in the achievable used prices, where the depreciation after purchase is significant.
All these factors are likely to considerably increase the return rate.
This is certainly less of a problem with the more affordable series, such as the Evo....Show more →
It's a kind of strange situation. Normally the warranty for products sold in Germany or Europe is 2 years by law.
No repair center suggests they replace a defective product with a new one.
Rollei in Germany offers a 2 year exchange warranty on Viltrox lenses bought in their store ('2 Jahre Austausch-Garantie')
The 85 EVO and 14 AIR I bought on black friday where cheap lenses.
But with their more expensive Pro lenses targeting the professional, heavy duty market, its another story.
Only 1 year warranty outside of the EU and no chance of repair, might scare off some customers.
harvey steeves wrote:
I bought the Viltrox 135 for its optical qualities, not its ability to focus on a running subject. Oh, and then there's the price point. Even used Plenas are more expensive than the Viltrox. I probably would not have bought the Viltrox if it hadn't have been for the Black Friday sale. Nikon will want to shut any Viltrox lens option down which directly competes with a Nikon lens product. So, say good-bye to the f1.2s, f1.4s and any focal length that Nikon offers. Glad I have my 16/1.8. ps. if Nikon really wanted less economically well-off users to adapt older Nikkors to Z bodies, they would also have come out with a an AF/AFd lens adapter. They had the Sony template to work off of. Nope. I'm good. No more firmware updates. Most of my Z bodies are due for a new model soon or will be retired out to the Nikon pasture, like the Z7ii or the Zfc. ...Show more →
My post was in response to Roaming Scott's post and the unusually high return rate for Viltrox.
My post is solely about outlining the reasons and causes for this.
It's logical that some of these factors might be less relevant depending on the user and their profile.
I don't want to discourage anyone from using their personal Viltrox; rather, the point here was to outline the reasons for high return rates, and these reasons tend to lie outside of optical performance.
The actions of camera and lens makers will very much depend on their market share and revenue and it's development over time. These have been 25 wild and unsteady years in camera business and a lot of money will have been earned and burned. Are there indicators that give an idea how companies fare in this respect?
Rollei, a big Viltrox importer in Germany introduced 2 new AF lenses under the Rollei brand today.
A 24 1.8 and a 35 1.8 lens. They do come with a 2yr exchange warranty.
The 85mm 1.8 is a bit longer on the market.
They don't look like Viltrox lenses. Somebody in the digitalcameraworld report mentioned the 85mm lens is a rebranded 7Artisans AF 85mm f/1.8.
Nikon should be looking at popular 3rd party lenses and adapting accordingly.
There's large interest in compact prime lenses with aperture rings to match with the Nikon Zf. There's a big opportunity to build an aesthetically complete system around the Zf (or a possible rangfinder styled Nikon) and be the only game in town for retro full-frame. We've been adapting older lenses, voigtlanders, etc to fill this void. I would much prefer to get Nikon lenses with a build quality equivalent to Pentax limiteds or Fuji's primes than need to adapt.
Well this is an interesting development. Viltrox is filing a patent in China for a "claw-like" internal mounting system for their lenses, bypassing the native Z mount's functionality.
Would likely mean the release button is on the lens itself. If Viltrox is making this move, probably not a great sign of their relationship to Nikon.
That looks like ETZ mount adapter permanently attached.
Viltrox has a point, Nikon has no problem with people slapping E/EF/M lenses on Z.
Sigma did something similar to their DSLR lenses when transitioning to mirrorless lenses, not to bypass any restrictions instead to avoid redesigning the lenses.
PetaPixel has been requesting comment from Viltrox since news of the lawsuit first broke online, and has only just now heard back. Viltrox’s statement is presented in full below:
Viltrox is committed to respecting intellectual property rights and approaches compliance with great care across all markets in which we operate. We are currently working closely with our legal advisors to review and address the situation through appropriate legal channels. As this is an ongoing matter, we are not in a position to comment on specific details at this time.
That said, our operations and product roadmap continue as planned. Viltrox remains focused on developing accessible, high-quality imaging tools for photographers and filmmakers worldwide.
We believe that a diverse and innovative ecosystem ultimately benefits creators, end users, and the industry as a whole. Healthy competition and technological advancement have long played an important role in expanding creative possibilities, and we remain committed to contributing positively to that process.
We value the trust of our users, partners, and the broader creative community, and will continue to support them while this matter proceeds through the appropriate legal framework.
I am sure Viltrox will pay what is owed to Nikon. Viltrox is great for the Z mount ecosystem. I ordered the 85 f2 EVO when it was first launched and i throughly enjoyed using it. But I got the 85 Nikkor 1.8 recently and even my hobbyist eyes can see subtle differences.
