Last Updated on 02/11/2026 by Chris Gampat
A while ago, Phoblographer decided to not review cheaper lenses. Generally speaking, they’re not pushing the boundary of photography, and that’s a bad thing these days when big companies want generative AI to replace all of us. On top of that, camera companies are making these lenses for “Creators” and not for photographers. And to that end, I often find most of these lenses to be very boring — the Viltrox 14mm f4 is one of those boring-ass lenses that I’m speaking of. If you’re a person saying, “this lens isn’t for you,” then you’re also taking the side of a big problem: these lenes are making images that generative AI can do. And they’re not encouraging photographers to get creative.
To give this lens some spice, I needed to think outside of the box. I shot with the Sony a7r III, put glimmerglass on the lens, and then set it to Program mode to just let it do whatever it wanted. Glimmerglass honestly saved it. This lens lacks weather resistance and the autofocus is mediocre to good at best.
I have to say this truly from the bottom of my heart: I’m sick of boring lenses that manufacturers make simply for the point of selling something and saying, “Me too, I’ve got one.”
Everyone and their mother has made one. So what are you doing that’s unique?
To really make the output of the Viltrox 14mm f4 stand out, I set the edited output to look like that of the Leica M9 using our own Retro Digital presets, and luckily that helped a bit.
Typically, wide-angle lenses are supposed to be fun things for every single reviewer to use. But the truth is that manufacturers are instead smitten with the idea of removing all character and imagination from the lens to deliver what they think is a crystal clear reality. And honestly, if I want reality, then I’ll watch the news.
I’m so sick of reality. I do this hobby because I want to make something unique that allows me to have a signature look and that lets me say something about the world. And more importantly, clients hire me because I’ve got a unique perspective that’s partially brought on by the gear that I’m using.
But who cares about the clients: why would I buy this lens when my iPhone has a wide-angle lens can deliver something really similar very easily? All I have to do is set the lens to the wide setting and I’ll be all set.
Update February 2026
Admittedly, we’re behind on updating our reviews because of the holiday season.
In my tests with the Sony a7V, the Viltrox 14mm f4 focused really quickly and without any faults. It did so with the setting effect set to on and off both – which has always been a bane for many camera manufacturers. This is truly impressive for many users who use the Live View setting effect. I tend to turn it off because I don’t want my camera doing the thinking for me.
After I did my initial test, I realized that I was in both AF-A and AF-S modes – something that many Sony users seem to be allergic to. So I switched to AF-C but only after mounting the Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8 and the Tamron 35-150mm f2-2.8 on the camera and trying it out. In the AF-C mode, Viltrox’s lenses felt like older Sigma lenses in that the autofocus seemed to hunt and struggle though not as badly as it was before.
Yes, even the 14mm had problems.