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Lenses

Viltrox Did the Weirdest Thing. You’ll Want to See This.

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 05/04/2026
05/06/2026
3 Mins read
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So if you’ve been following this website for a while, you’ll know that we’ve been reporting on Viltrox’s firmware updates and all their other lenses. You’ll also know that we’ve found issues with Nikon bodies and Sony bodies. It’s all quite weird and odd. And most recently, Viltrox updated their 35mm f1.2 FE lens — sort of. Instead of a full update, it’s just now offered in a variant without a screen. So we’ve updated our review accordingly.

The following text was added to the Phoblographer’s full Viltrox 35mm f1.2 lens review. Additionally, we added the text from our Nikon Z variant review too. If you want to see the full review, please click this link.

May 2026: The N Variant

A camera with a large lens rests on a closed laptop on a wooden desk near a window with books.
Viltrox 35mm f1.2 FE N product image

Viltrox is kind of known for doing some weird things that sometimes end up being cool. I mean, there’s their 28mm f4.5 lens for example. That, to this day, is still one of my absolute favorite lenses for the Sony E mount. But then there are variant lenses: like the new Viltrox 35mm f1.2 FE N.

Why is it called this? Well, they removed the top LCD screen from the lens.

Again, why?

I’m still not sure. Maybe they can’t get access to enough supply of small LCD screens? Maybe folks haven’t discovered gaffers tape. Either way, it’s a variant of the lens available for Sony E mount. And when the unit was revealed to us, we didn’t ask about a Nikon variant.

What I’m about to say, I say with absolute sincerity. It’s really hard to not make good images with the Viltrox 35mm f1.2 lens. I say that as only one of the journalists on this site who has contributed to the review of this lens and its variants. The following images are all straight out of camera JPEGs from the Sony a7r III. The camera has a film profile loaded onto it and I resized the photographs in Capture One. Additionally, Content Credentials are present in the images and you can see them with the right browser settings.

A man holding a drink stands in a dimly lit bar with colorful lights and wall stickers.
Two men indoors; one examines a camera while the other stands nearby, walls decorated with framed photos.
A slice of cheesy pizza with herbs on a white paper plate, set on a wooden table.
Four people stand and chat inside a cozy cafe with art on the walls and sunlight streaming through the door.
A man crosses a city street at a crosswalk near buildings and scaffolding on a sunny day.
A person with long dark hair smiles slightly in a colorful, dimly lit indoor setting with blurred people behind.
Three plates with pizza slices and napkins on a wooden table, with a drink can and a pizza box in view.
A smiling person wearing glasses and a jean jacket stands indoors near leafy plants and sunlit windows.
Two square slices of pizza with toppings on a white paper plate, on a wooden table.
A man in a cap and Nike sweatshirt sits in a colorful, dimly lit bar or club with people in the background.
People holding slices of pizza on blue checkered paper plates outside on a city street.
People gather inside a warmly lit room, some chatting and others holding cameras, with art on the walls.
Two men stand on a city sidewalk, one in a black jacket and the other in a denim jacket, with buildings behind them.
A cocktail glass with a pink drink sits on a tiled bar, with warm, blurry lights in the background.
Three people stand near a window in a cozy room with a pool table and hanging lights, daylight streaming in.
Two men talking at a dimly lit bar with colorful lights and stickers on a nearby surface.
A plastic cup of iced coffee with a lid on a reflective table, labeled Social House.
A smiling man in glasses and a white t-shirt stands by a pool table, holding a phone in a dimly lit room.

Does the lens still autofocus well? Yes, it will with older camera bodies. And we only found major faults with some of the newer bodies like the Sony a7 V. To clarify that statement, I didn’t test this lens on that body. But instead, it’s more of a general statement.

With that said, no one really has a major reason to upgrade to the latest and greatest Sony cameras. As it is, I think that the Sony a1 II and the Sony a9 III are peak cameras that really can’t be beat. But even then, the Sony a7r III still comes oddly close to them.

One reason why I might seek to get this variant is because of potential battery drain as Sony’s newer cameras have terrible battery life. But otherwise, I didn’t have much of a problem with this lens at all. I set the camera to AF-S for most of the time until I decided to set it to AF-C and human/face and eye detection. It worked fine both ways. But Sony fans will probably engage brainless mode. What’s brainless mode:

  • AI human detection
  • Aperture priority
  • Auto ISO
  • Face and eye detection on
  • AF-C

Essentially, they make the camera do all the work for them — fundamentally replacing them as photographers for anyone else who can put the camera in their hands.

Let that sink in: I hope that Sony users who pick this lens up use it for its potential.

35mm f1.2 a1 ii a9 iii autofocus face detection lens Viltrox Viltrox 35mm Viltrox35mm f1.2 n
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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