Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro review: a go-faster portrait prime for APS-C format cameras

Viltrox has become a very prolific manufacturer of prime lenses over the last few years. Even at the specific focal length of 56mm for APS-C format cameras, there’s been the metal-bodied Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4, complete with aperture control ring, which I bought for my Nikon Z fc three years ago back in the summer of 2022. Then there was the ultra-lightweight Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 Air, which came along a little over a year ago. Now there’s this more pro-grade AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro with its super-fast aperture, more akin to the Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 Pro which was launched in 2023. The new AF 56mm aims to be one of the best portrait lenses for APS-C format Fujifilm X, Nikon Z and Sony E mount cameras.

Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro: Specifications

Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro: Price

What price a fast portrait prime with an f/1.2 aperture rating? Own-brand items from camera manufacturers certainly don’t come cheap. For example, the Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR weighs in at $1,099 / 999, and the full-frame Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S costs an eye-watering $2,997 / £2,999. Naturally, the Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro is pricier than the Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 Air at $179 / £139 and the Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 at $239 / £185. Even so, I think that for what it is, the lens is terrific value at $580 / £530. That’s barely more than half the price of the Fujifilm f/1.2 APS-C format lens, and only a small fraction of the cost of Nikon’s full-frame lens.

Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro: Design & Handling

For an APS-C format Viltrox 56mm lens, the f/1.2 Pro looks and feels relatively imposing. The f/1.7 lens measures just 68x56mm / 2.7x2.2" and is a real featherweight at 187g / 6.6oz. The f/1.4 lens comes in at 65x72mm / 2.6x2.8" and 320g / 11.3oz. This f/1.2 lens is very noticeably bigger and heavier, at 78x92mm / 3.1x3.6" and 570g / 20.1oz. Another telltale sign is that the filter attachment thread is 67mm, compared with 52mm for the other two lenses.

The larger size is mostly down to the front optical element needing to have a substantially larger diameter, in order to pull in more light, thus enabling the brighter f/1.2 aperture. Let’s stick with those optical elements for a moment. Aiming for pro-grade image quality, the lens features a UA (Ultra-large, high-precision Aspherical element), an ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element and three HR (High Refractive index) elements. The intention is to maximize sharpness, clarity and color performance, while minimizing unwanted aberrations including color fringing, coma and the dreaded ‘onion ring’ effect in bokeh – more on that later, when I come to Performance.

Further good news on the optical front is that the lens features advanced HD Nano coatings to suppress ghosting and flare. The front element also has a fluorine coating to repel moisture and grease, and to aid easy cleaning.

When I said that the lens looked imposing, I didn’t just mean its relatively large build. It’s also packed with handling exotica. There’s a large and nicely knurled manual focus ring. This is actually linked to high-performance HyperVCM (Voice Coil Motor) autofocus system, rather than the more usual and more basic stepping motor arrangement. Speed and accuracy are the objectives here, enabling quick and reliable autofocus, complete with high-speed tracking for moving subjects, and compatibility with face/eye-detection AF modes.

For quickly and easily swapping between autofocus and manual focus modes, the lens features an AF/MF switch. There’s also an AF-hold function button, the action of which can be customized depending on camera body options. The function button is a good thing to have but some might prefer a secondary button to be featured as well, so that it neatly falls under the thumb in portrait as well as landscape orientation shooting.

Next up is the aperture control ring. I find this of most use when shooting video rather than stills, although some like to use it for both. With that in mind, I’m glad that the aperture ring comes complete with a click/de-click switch. As such, you can either use it in one-third f/stop click steps, or for smooth, free-flowing adjustments.

I need to clarify something at this point and say that while the above holds true for the Nikon Z and Sony E mount versions of the lens, the design of the Fujifilm X mount edition is somewhat simplified. This one lacks an AF/MF switch, there’s no AF-hold button, and no click/de-click switch. Meanwhile, the Nikon Z mount version is a little larger and heavier than the others, at 78x94mm and 595g.

One thing that all three versions of the f/1.2 lens definitely have in common is pro-grade build quality. The barrel casing as well as the mounting plate is made from durable metal rather than plastic, and finished to a very high standard. As I’d expect in a ‘pro’ lens, there are extensive weather-seals, including a rubber gasket on the mounting plate. The mounting plate itself features gold-plated electronic contacts as well as a USB-C port for applying firmware updates if and when necessary.

Unlike my Viltrox 56mm f/1.4 lens, the f/1.2 has a petal-shaped rather than circular profile hood. As usual, it’s reversible for storage and fits via the time-honored bayonet style of fitting. The hood is supplied with the lens, along with a pinch-type front cap that you can easily fit and remove with the hood in its forward-facing orientation.

Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro: Performance

I’m impressed that this lens has plenty of bite, even when shooting wide-open at the extravagant aperture of f/1.2. I’ve used various ‘ultra-fast’ lenses in the past that have been disappointingly soft and lacking in clarity when using the widest available aperture. The Viltrox maintains excellent sharpness, contrast and color rendition wide-open, along with negligible color fringing. Fast lenses are particularly susceptible to LoCA (Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration), also known as axial chromatic aberration or bokeh fringing. This is a phenomenon where high-contrast transitions just in front of or behind the plane of focus appear to have colored fringes, occurring right across the whole image frame. The Viltrox does very well to keep them at bay, as well as minimizing ghosting and flare.

The following gallery of images was taken at full f/stop increments throughout the entire aperture range, from f/1.2 to f/16. For the purposes of testing, I placed a life-sized phrenology head at a distance of about 2m / 6ft in front of a very fussy background, comprising garden flowers, plants and hedging. The series demonstrates sharpness along with the quality of bokeh, and resistance to both axial and lateral chromatic aberrations. Bokeh itself (a vital factor for this type of lens) is soft and dreamy when shooting wide-open at f/1.2. It remains of very good quality when stopping down, with nicely rounded bokeh disks, helped by the particularly well-rounded 11-blade aperture diaphragm. There’s also no ‘onion ring’ effect of concentric lines in bokeh disks. As expected, sharpness drops off at the narrowest aperture of f/16, due to diffraction.

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Given that the lens is ideally suited to portraiture, my next test was to substitute the phrenology head in favor of a real-life subject, who I photographed in the same setup. The aperture of f/1.2 delivers a really tight depth of field – so tight, in fact, that where the eyebrows are sharp, the eyes are slightly defocused. Vignetting can be noticeable when shooting wide-open but I rather like that, and there’s generally the option of auto correction in-camera if you wish. The pair of shots below were taken at f/1.2 and f/3.5, for comparison.

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Throughout testing, I found that the HyperVCM autofocus system lived up to its billing, delivering fast and consistently accurate focusing, as well as being well able to track subjects in motion.

Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro: Sample Images

The following sample images were taken on a sunny morning in Collet Park, a recreational area in the small town of Shepton Mallet, in the county of Somerset, South West England.

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Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro: 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:

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Fringing:

Color fringing text...

Distortion:

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Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro: Verdict

I always think you get a lot of bang per buck with Viltrox lenses. This 56mm f/1.2 is definitely one of the company’s more up-market lenses. It’s beautifully built and immaculately finished, has handling exotica aplenty and delivers fabulous image quality. Sharpness is excellent, bokeh is beautiful and unwanted aberrations are absolutely minimal. All in all, it fully lives up to its ‘Pro’ badge in every respect, except for its budget-friendly price tag.

Alternatives

The metal-bodied Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 is one of the earlier series of APS-C format prime lenses. It’s practically identical in size and weight to its sibling 23mm and 33mm lenses. The three offer classic ‘effective’ focal lengths of 35mm, 50mm and 85mm in full-frame terms.

The more recent Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 Air naturally isn’t quite as ‘fast’ as the previous f/1.4 lens but has a plastic casing, along with a metal mounting plate, and omits the aperture control ring. It’s therefore designed with simplicity and a compact, lightweight build in mind.