I have never really dabbled with 40mm photography as I always saw it as a bit of an awkward step between 50mm and a wider 35mm. Traditionally I have always gravitated to 35mm for capturing scenes and 50mm for capturing subjects. So when Viltrox sent me out the 27mm f1.2, I decided to finally give this focal length a go. To be clear 27mm f1.2 is in Fuji APSC language. Full frame you’re looking at a 40mm f1.8.

First I want to start by saying that Viltrox gave me this lens in exchange for writing this blog and sending them back some sample photos. Although I get to keep the lens no money was changed hands, they have no input regarding the talking points and they will not see this blog until after it has gone live. All opinions are my own with no influence by anyone else.

Using 27mm (40mm) Focal Length

Let’s first start with my experience using this focal length. Although I briefly tried this before, this is the first time I actually used it in anger so to speak. Overall I really liked it. It felt like my 50mm with some breathing room that allowed for cropping and geometry adjustment later. I didn’t experience a sharp difference in focal length and it felt very familiar coming from the 50mm. Having shot around London, I found this focal length to be almost perfect for that environment. I found it to be just right in most scenarios and whenever it was too wide or tight, the 50mm would have felt the same.

Build Quality

Initial impressions are very good. This lens feels like a high quality product and is built like a tank. The entire lens is metal with what feels like a durable finish. The aperture dial has a smooth damped feel with nice audible clicks. The focus dial is smooth too. The lens appears to have solid weather sealing around the mount that is no different to native Fuji glass.

The only part of this lens that feels cheap is the lens cap. It feels like it’s made from the cheapest available plastic and wouldn’t be out of place on a product that is worth 10 times less. It’s a shame because it really lets the whole package down. Personally I would get rid of this lens cap and replace it with a metal magnetic solution from Urth.

For now I can’t comment on what this lens is like over the long term as typically I would need a minimum of 6 months. However while in London over the winter, I plan to use it a fair bit and report back later.

Ergonomics

This is a heavy lens. In part due to the metal build but also because it’s f1.2 thus will naturally have more glass. Although this lens is rather large, I would say it’s just about acceptable for an APSC lens. In my opinion this lens is best suited for larger XH style bodies and even though it would still be fine on an XT, it will certainly feel front heavy. For anything smaller than an XT, I would not really recommend this. One thing to keep in mind is that to update this lens, you will need to connect it to your laptop using a USB C cable. This is not a problem, just an observation.

Image Quality

Image quality is great. I been shooting it on the XH2 and even when pixel peeping, the image stands up. Sure, if you really start analysing, you will find this lens a fair bit softer than the f1.4 Fuji primes, however this is not a deal breaker. I would say this lens sits about the same as the 23mm f2 Fuji prime in terms of overall sharpness. As for colour rendering, it’s also good with accurate colours and no weirdness to report.

Autofocus

The autofocus is good and accurate for still subjects. However I found that for moving subjects, it was noticeably slower than my 33mm f1.4 Fuji. For most people this lens is more than good enough. However if you’re shooting any fast paced subject with a lot of movement, you might find that this lens is a little slower especially when shooting wide open. In low light I found the lens was a bit slower compared to the 33 f1.4 however there was no hunting and no issues acquiring focus at any point. Overall the AF is good.

Value For Money

In short, yes. Currently on Viltrox UK website it is listed for £410. For reference the Fuji 33mm f1.4 is £700. Is the 33 f1.4 worth £290 more than the Viltrox? Honestly… for most people… probably not. Sure it’s smaller, sharper and has better AF. However £290 is also a lot of money. Personally I would still go for the 33mm due to the size and better AF performance especially for video. However if I was starting from scratch, wasn’t making videos for a living and it wasn’t a business expense, then I would find it harder to justify the extra spend. With all that in mind, if you can get this lens for a good price, in my opinion it’s worth it if you’re happy to sacrifice size and the best AF performance.

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