Viltrox's First Micro Four Thirds Lenses Promise Great Value

As expected, Viltrox has announced its first lenses for Micro Four Thirds.

Rumors have swirled for months about Viltrox bringing its first Micro Four Thirds lenses to market, primarily focused on the AF 25mm f/1.7 Air and AF 35mm f/1.7 Air APS-C primes making their way to MFT.

As spotted by 43 Rumors, the rumors were true, and Viltrox announced that it was bringing these two lightweight prime lenses to Micro Four Thirds in China. A global announcement is expected to arrive at any time.

Interestingly, there is no word of these lenses or Viltrox officially joining the Micro Four Thirds system. Viltrox could join at a later date, of course, but the company has not yet done so despite announcing Micro Four Thirds lenses.

As for the lenses, they are natively designed for APS-C cameras but feature a small and lightweight form factor that should feel at home on Micro Four Thirds. The AF 25mm f/1.7 and AF 35mm f/1.7 lenses both weigh just 170 grams (just under six ounces) and are just under 55 millimeters (2.2 inches) long. They’re compact enough to feel right at home on a Micro Four Thirds body, even if lenses designed explicitly for Micro Four Thirds image sensors could be even smaller.

In the case of the 50mm-equivalent Viltrox AF 25mm f/1.7 Air for Micro Four Thirds, it will be an alternative to something like the OM System M.Zuiko Digital 25mm f/1.8 II ($450) or the Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH ($250).

Third-party competitors include the Yongnuo YN 25mm f/1.7 ($115) and the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary ($344).

For the AF 35mm f/1.7, which acts like a 70mm lens on Micro Four Thirds, there are no direct competitors with autofocus, although plenty of third-party manual focus options. Yongnuo has a 42.5mm f/1.7 lens for $138, which isn’t all that different. OM System has an M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 lens for $480, although that is a fair bit longer.

All this is to say that there is plenty of room in the market for Viltrox’s new 25mm and 35mm f/1.7 primes for Micro Four Thirds. There is also room for more Viltrox Air APS-C lenses to make the jump at some point, like the 9mm f/2.8, 15mm f/1.7, and 56mm f/1.7 primes.

As Digital Camera World notes, Viltrox’s new lenses are priced at ¥899 each in China, which converts to just under $133 at current exchange rates. It is a safe bet that Viltrox’s new AF Air lenses for Micro Four Thirds will be affordable options once they are officially launched globally.

Image creditsViltrox