Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Lens for Sony

Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Lens for Sony FE Full-Frame Cameras Summary

With an elaborate optical design and fast focusing, the Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Lens for Sony full-frame (FE) mirrorless cameras is a versatile ultra wide angle prime lens for a variety of subjects. You can capture grand landscapes, architecture and interiors, while the f/1.8 maximum aperture also lends itself to wide-scene astro photography, vlogging and moviemaking.

The fast and silent STM focusing mechanism is a great feature for videographers and vloggers, who will be able to fit more of the scene into the frame when talking to camera. Viltrox has also included a dust and moisture resistant design for outdoor content creators, together with an HD Nano multilayer coating and water resistant front element coat.

For handheld shooting in darker environments, the fast aperture also promises great low-light performance for stills and video creators. In a bid to distinguish this from other Sony mirrorless lenses, Viltrox has included a large colour LCD, which provides an instant view of current settings, such as focus distance, aperture and function buttons.

Key Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Lens Features

• Ultra wide angle prime lens for full-frame Sony mirrorless cameras
• Electronic aperture and internal focus maintains lens length
• Silent STM focus motor
• Lens data display shows current settings
• Dust-proof and moisture-proof design
• Precision-made metal structure
• Barrel controls for Focus mode (MF/AF) and custom button (Fn1/Fn2)
• De-clickable aperture ring
• 9 bladed aperture
• 0.27m minimum focus distance with 0.1x maximum magnification
• 77mm filter thread
• Weighs 550g

Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Lens for Sony FE in More Detail

Advanced optical design

The Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 lens’ optical design is constructed of 15 elements in 12 groups, which includes four extra-low dispersion elements and three aspherical elements. These combine to provide high resolution results in keeping with Sony sensors, with well-controlled results.

HD Nano coatings reduce the effects of flare and ghosting when shooting backlit subjects, while a front element coating reduces the impact of dirt and dust, as well as moisture.

Noiseless STM focus motor

A silent Stepping Motor delivers quick and quiet AF, while being fully compatible with Sony’s advanced Eye/Face AF subject detection and tracking. This makes the ultra wide field of view ideal for vlogging and video work, where you want the subject sharp, yet still show plenty of background to tell the story. Fast focusing with a noiseless motor is also great for weddings and other events where you want to be as discreet as possible.

Lens info screen

A practical 160 x 80 pixel top panel colour LCD screen provides instant access to your current shooting settings, such as focus distance, Fn buttons and aperture setting. With colour to differentiate everything it’s easier to see precisely what you need to change, which helps to speed up your workflow.

De-clickable aperture ring

When making exposure changes while shooting video or capturing photos in silent environments, you can switch the aperture clicks ON/OFF via a dedicated switch. Other barrel controls include a Focus mode (MF/AF) and custom button (Fn1/Fn2).

9 bladed aperture

Despite being an ultra wide angle lens you can achieve nice bokeh and smooth out of focus areas in your images, thanks to a combination of bright aperture and a 9-bladed aperture design. This is ideal when you want to show a shallow depth of field to separate your subject (including yourself when vlogging) from any background distractions.

Robust design

A precision made metal barrel and smooth focus ring are combined with weather seals and lens coatings for a durable construction, allowing you to continue shooting throughout light rain and in dusty situations. The front thread measures 77mm so you can add readily available lens filters, such as circular polarisers, ND filters and others as required.

What’s in the box

• Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Lens for Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras
• Lens hood
• Lens caps