Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air review: This slimline, featherweight contender delivers an immensely wide-angle perspective for full-frame cameras

Viltrox has been launching a growing range of ‘Air’ lenses for both APS-C format and full-frame cameras. APS-C contenders include the Viltrox AF 15mm f/1.7 Air, Viltrox AF 25mm f/1.7 Air, Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7 Air and Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 Air. Full-frame lenses include the Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Air, Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 Air and Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 Air.

I like the common theme to the design, with most of the lenses being almost exactly the same size and weight. And while I’m at it, the size is astonishingly small and the weight is tiny. The newest pair in the line-up are ultra-wide-angle primes for APS-C and full-frame cameras, the full-frame AF 14mm f/4 having a slower aperture than its siblings but the upside is that, as I’ve mentioned, it maintains a very similar size and weight. If it can deliver on its promises, it’s destined to be one of the best wide-angle lenses, and a top option for Nikon Z and Sony E mount cameras.

The other lens in the new pair is the Viltrox AF 9mm f/2.8 FE Air, which is an APS-C format lens that gives a very similar viewing angle on crop-sensor Fujifilm X, Nikon Z and Sony E mount cameras.

Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air: Specifications

Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air: Price

Big viewing angles often cost big bucks. And you’ll also often find a 14mm focal length is only available in a zoom lens, like the Sony FE 12-24mm f/4 G ($2,298 / £1,399) and Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S ($1,347 / £1,349), or a faster prime like the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 G ($ / £1,399). But what if you’re among the large number of photographers who only tend to use an ultra-wide zoom at or near its shortest focal length, or don’t feel the need for a fast f/1.8 aperture? This Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air fits the bill in every way, with a supremely budget-friendly price tag of just $199 / £190.

Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air: Design & Handling

Not all ultra-wide-angle lenses are big and heavy. The Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S is a notable exception, with it’s relatively compact, retractable design. Even so, it measures 89x85mm / 3.5x3.3” when retracted and weighs 485g / 17oz. The Viltrox 14mm prime is relatively tiny and it’s a real featherweight, measuring a mere 65x56mm / 2.6x2.2" and tipping the scales at just 170g / 6oz.

It’s incredibly small and light for a full-frame compatible rectilinear rather than curvilinear (fisheye) ultra-wide lenses with such a generous 112-degree viewing angle. The upshot is that I can squeeze this lens into a spare pocket or a corner of a daily bag without even noticing the additional size and weight, and take it along for the journey, whether I’m trekking across tricky terrain in search of landscape photo opportunities, pounding city streets or going on a lengthy search for interesting architectural shots.

It's not just the build that’s small and lightweight – the same goes for the price tag. I never used to expect much for this sort of financial outlay, but that’s before I started using and buying Viltrox lenses, which have really changed my experience. Like others in the ‘Air’ lineup, the 14mm is designed to be simple, small and convenient, but that doesn’t mean it lacks good glass.

Indeed, the lens features 12 elements arranged in 9 groups, and includes two aspherical elements, four ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and two HR (High Refractive index) elements. It therefore aims to be no ‘lightweight’ in terms of performance, intending to deliver good edge-to-edge sharpness, impressive clarity, contrast and color rendition, along with minimal aberrations.

Something else that’s common to Viltrox Air (and many other recent lenses from other manufacturers) is the use of a leadscrew stepping motor to drive autofocus. As usual, it gives speedy focusing for stills, along with smooth and virtually silent transitions when shooting video. The latter is a specialist area of interest for this lens. The wide viewing angle and short minimum focusing distance of just 0.13m / 5.1” makes the lens ideal for handheld vlogging, when you want to present to the camera and squeeze in a sizeable portion of your surroundings to set the scene.

I’m personally not a great one for taking selfies or vlogging, but I do love to use ultra-wide-angle lenses for landscape photography. I’m frustrated that many ultra-wide primes and zooms have a built-in, integral hood, designed to protect the bulbous front element. This makes it difficult or impossible to use the likes of ND Grads (Neutral Density Graduated), high-density ND filters for long exposures, and Variable ND filters, that I often rely on in landscape photography. There’s no problem with the Viltrox, as it has a separate, bayonet-fit hood and a regular filter attachment thread with a modest size of 58mm.

The hood itself has an efficient petal-shaped profile and, as usual, is reversible so you can store it on the lens without any increase in physical length. When in use, in its forward facing orientation, it doesn’t extend very far. I also like that the lens is supplied with a pinch-action front cap, which makes it easy to attach and detach even with the hood in its forward-facing business mode.

Shifting my attention to the back end of the lens, its mounting plate is made from metal and feels really solid. Many lenses nowadays that are designed to be compact and lightweight have plastic mounting plates but I’m pleased that Viltrox held out for a metal mount. It includes gold-plated electronic contacts and a USB-C port, the latter being featured for firmware updates if they become necessary. The only thing that’s lacking is any weather-seals but I certainly wouldn’t expect those on a lens in this price bracket.

Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air: Performance

Even with pro-grade lenses, I’ve often found that sharpness is sadly lacking towards the edges and corners of the image frame. And from lenses that I’ve bought and subsequently sold, that includes the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. From my real-world tests with the Viltrox, I was immediately impressed that sharpness is retained well, right out to the extreme edges and corners of the frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/4. That said, the widest aperture of f/4 isn’t fast, and makes the lens less than ideal for astrophotography, where you want to pull in more light.

Autofocus lives up to its claims of being quick for stills as well as giving smooth and virtually silent performance when shooting video. I’d have liked to see an AF/MF focus mode switch included in the design but everything is pared down to make the lens as simple, lightweight and compact as possible. Fair enough.

Not just for seeing the bigger picture, ultra-wide-angle lenses are also great for shooting sizeable subjects in extreme close-up, so that you can exaggerate perspective and set them apart from an expansive background. The 0.13m / 5.1” minimum focus distance (as measured from the image sensor in the camera body) really does enable extreme close-ups, where the f/4 aperture is sufficiently wide to enable a fairly tight depth of field.

Sure enough, something has to give when cramming such an ultra-wide viewing angle into such a tiny, lightweight lens. As I’d expect, there’s some noticeable vignetting when shooting at the widest aperture of f/4, and barrel distortion is apparent. That said, the Viltrox relies much less on automatic in-camera corrections for vignetting and distortion than the majority of wide-angle lenses for mirrorless cameras, that I’ve used over the last few years. Indeed, the lens is perfectly usable with automatic corrections switched off and, unlike with many recent lenses, you can disable the corrections if you wish, rather than them being ‘forced on’.

Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air: Sample Images

The sample images in this gallery were taken at Wells Cathedral in England’s smallest city, and in the nearby town of Shepton Mallet, on a sunny morning in Collet Park. The interior shots of the cathedral were all taken at the lens’s widest available aperture of f/4, giving it the toughest test for edge-to-edge sharpness.

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Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air: Lab Results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

Unusually, sharpness across most of the image frame proved best at the lens’s widest available aperture of f/4. More typically, it drops off a bit at the narrowest apertures of f/11 and f/16, due to diffraction. Sharpness out at the edges and corners of the frame proved much better in real-world shooting than our lab tests would imply. Again, that’s typical when testing ultra-wide-angle lenses, because the test charts have to be shot at pretty much point blank range.

Fringing:

There’s only very negligible color fringing across most of the frame, although it can be slightly noticeable out at the edges and corners. However, automatic in-camera correction is generally available for all mount options of the lens, which eliminates the problem completely.

Distortion: -1.74

Barrel distortion can be a little noticeable but the lens is still perfectly usable with automatic in-camera correction disabled. It’s worth noting that very many recent lenses designed for mirrorless cameras rely completely on automatic in-camera correction for distortion, which can’t be disabled in the menu system. The Viltrox performs a whole lot better than these lenses in this respect.

Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air: Verdict

I like supersized and super-skinny in equal measure. For shooting sweeping landscapes and cityscapes, and for architectural interiors when my back is literally up against the wall, I love the really huge and expansive view of an ultra-wide-angle lens. But I also love compactness and lightweight design, especially if I’m going to be carrying a spare lens around all day long or going off on my travels. This Viltrox AF 14mm f/4 Air succeeds on both counts. It gives a mighty viewing angle from a relatively tiny, featherweight build. Even so, the little lens punches well above its weight in terms of image quality and all-round performance, while being extraordinarily excellent value for money. It’s a winner on all fronts, as far as I’m concerned.

Alternatives

The Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 for Nikon Z and Sony E mount full-frame cameras isn’t quite as wide-angle as the 14mm, but has a faster aperture and a wealth of handling extras including a click/de-click aperture ring, two function buttons and a color info screen. It’s naturally more expensive at $580 / £449 but still a bargain at the price.

The Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Air is the next most wide-angle lens for full-frame Nikon Z and Sony E mount cameras, in the Air series of lenses. You don’t get such an expansive viewing perspective but it’s an f/stop faster and costs $179 / £139 to buy.