Cheap apochromatic lenses are becoming more common. But is APO a game-changer or just hype?

There's a term that I've been seeing over and over in the latest rounds of lens announcements: apochromatic or APO lenses. But what are APO lenses, and does the tech really matter, or is it all hype?

I’ve been banging on about APO tech for a while but, for beginners, that can sound like just another one of the abbreviations in the world of camera lenses. This is what the tech means and why it matters.

What is an APO lens?

APO glass is engineered to deal with a range of aberrations – unwanted visual artefacts in images – that sometimes occur when light refracts through a lens.

An apochromatic or APO lens is designed specifically to avoid color defects. If you've ever zoomed into a photo, particularly a high contrast shot with fine lines such as backlit tree branches, you may have noticed purple or blue colors along the edges that shouldn't be there. That's an optical phenomenon called chromatic aberration.

APO lenses use optical designs to fight this color flaw for cleaner images with less distracting colored fringing. Software can, to an extent, also help correct this with lens profiles.

Is APO becoming more common on budget lenses?

APO isn't a brand-new lens technology – high-end lenses have long tried to correct colored fringing. But where I've been seeing the term APO even more is among some budget lenses – which are notoriously worse at colored fringing than high-end pro optics.

Case in point? Viltrox just announced the EVO AF 35mm f/1.8 II and the EVO AF 55mm f/1.8 for Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount. These are APO lenses, and our hands-on testing showed that they're quite good at minimizing those common color flaws, despite being more affordable primes.

Image 1 of 4

Image samples from the Viltrox Evo AF 35mm f/1.8 II

Viltrox has made a big deal about its APO glass since launching the Evo series last year, and some might think it’s nothing but a load of marketing hype. However, my colleague, Matthew Richards, has already reviewed all of the Evo lenses – yes, even the two announced this week at NAB – and he’s been impressed by just how well each lens renders colors and sharpness across the frame.

Speaking about the new 35mm f/1.8 II, Matthew has said: “The roll-off between focused and defocused areas looks nice and natural, and there’s virtually no lateral or axial chromatic aberration to be seen. The latter, often referred to as ‘bokeh fringing’ can often be a problem with fast lenses. As such, the lens earns its apochromatic credentials.”

Image 1 of 4

Images taken with the Viltrox AF 55mm f/1.8 EVO

I'm not trying to convince you to go and buy a new Viltrox Evo – these aren't the only lenses with APO. But what's fantastic is that these corrected lenses seem to be becoming more affordable than before.

I am excited to see a lineup of lenses that, so far, seems to actually be the solution to the chromatic aberrations that have so often plagued my images, and for a reasonable price, too.

You might also like

Check out the best cheap lenses, or read our expert reviews of the AF 35mm f/1.2 Lab, Viltrox’s pro-level 35mm prime.