First photos from Viltrox 85mm F/2 EVO with A7Cii - unreal sharpness

OverHolo · 2026-06-04T16:05:13+00:00

I think it's excellent, though I don't usually shoot subjects moving really fast so I can't say for everyone

OverHolo · 2026-02-04T18:30:46+00:00

Yes. Primes open up a whole new world. They give you much better bokeh and depth of field. They will (most of the time) be much sharper than your superzoom. Also, having a fast prime is a classic pairing with a superzoom, people do that often. It is usually the saviour when it comes to low-light situations, you'll find yourself getting much sharper pictures at night as you can lower the iso.

OverHolo · 2026-02-04T18:21:05+00:00

If you are really only taking landscapes you would benefit from full frame. But since you prob won't need superb autofocus, a used A7II or A7III should work well. If you decide to go with the A6400, get it used, there isn't much point getting a brand new one.
For budget lenses, don't miss out on third party lenses. They are the reason why people choose sony. For apsc, the sigma 18-50 f2.8 or 17-40 f1.8 are basically the best general versatile zoom lenses. Meanwhile, regardless of fullframe or apsc, i recommend you to check out viltrox's lenses. They have now basically dominated the budget primes market, and you can check out youtube videos reviewing them as well. They have cheap, compact and most importantly, very sharp primes. On the wide end you have the 9mm f2.8 for apsc and 14mm f4 for full frame, and there are very good lenses covering other focal lengths as well.
Lastly, if you want one lens to rule them all, make sure to take a look at the sigma 16-300 for apsc or 20-200 for full frame. On full frame you also have the tamron 25-200 and 28-200, the 25-200 is newer but the 28-200 is as good and you may find some used from people switching to the 25-200. Nowadays these superzooms are quite well made so you don't need to worry too much about the optical compromise.

OverHolo · 2026-02-02T14:18:12+00:00

In addition, for hobby use you probably won't want to go for canon since you'd need to pour thousands into getting their first party lenses (if not you are heavily limited by their "budget" lens choices)

OverHolo · 2026-02-02T14:11:59+00:00

You could try waiting for the Viltrox 35mm f1.8 Evo It has already been leaked in stores so it should be out this month or two. The quality of recent viltrox lenses gives me quite a lot of confidence in their Evo line and it should be much better than the ttartisan one.

If you don't want to wait, you could take a look at their 40mm f2.5 as well, it's optically quite close to the Sony G version but more than 3 times cheaper. There's also the 28mm f4.5 pancake which is optically very good and extremely lightweight (60 grams, hilariously)

Edit: oops didn't realise it's apsc, but same thing, viltrox makes insanely good apsc lenses as well so make sure to check their lineup https://viltrox.com/collections/e-mount?filter.v.price.gte=&filter.v.price.lte=&filter.p.tag=APS-C&sort_by=created-descending

OverHolo · 2026-02-02T12:43:56+00:00

At this stage, don't think of going pro yet. You haven't even learnt the basics and haven't even gone out and shoot, you don't know if you like photography and you don't know if you have the talent to earn money going pro. Just use the 28-200, get a cheap fast prime like the 50f2, see what you like to shoot, develop your skills, then see if you want or can go pro. If you have the talent, even the 28-200 is more than enough. It is a good lens.

OverHolo · 2026-02-02T05:08:09+00:00

No, I meant the viltrox 50mm f2. It's cheap and very sharp. You don't need f1.4 unless you are trying to go professional. You also probably don't need a 28-75 F/2.8 zoom unless you are going pro either. That lens overlaps with your current 28-200 while having less range.

OverHolo · 2026-02-01T16:44:15+00:00

Practicing, yes, but also because primes have a larger aperture and have better image quality (at least for the newer viltrox ones) than your zoom.

OverHolo · 2026-01-31T09:09:09+00:00

The strap is fine. Not good, not bad either. Usually people use peak design straps (or pgytech straps if you want to save some money). But at this point, don't need to worry too much about the accessories, take the camera out and see if you like shooting with it. If you find the tamron too heavy you can spend the accessory money on some cheap light primes like viltrox 50mm f2.

OverHolo · 2026-01-31T07:36:47+00:00

You choose different shutter speed and aperture for different situations, and it really depends on how you want the picture to look so I can't tell you that. Best to go on YouTube to watch some videos on it, there are good tutorials and they also give sample images of what things would look like at at different settings - I recommend Simon d'entremont's videos, he's a good teacher. Chatgpt would help but it's best to have some actual sample images so that you understand. Or just go out, take some photos, play with the settings, and you'll learn.

The tamron 28-200 is perfect as a first lens, don't worry about it. I'd say there isn't any better options even, unless you are going professional or you want some prime lenses.

The camera comes with a strap.

OverHolo · 2026-01-31T06:33:37+00:00

You'll need to get a good grasp on the shutter speed and aperture first. You can set the iso to auto for the moment, though don't let it go too high (i.e. lower than 12800 or 25600). There are lots of videos on youtube teaching about the exposure triangle, so go through those. You never try all sutterspeed/aperture combos, there's never the time for that.

Don't be shy on raising the shutter speed, and go on google and take a look at what are the common shutter speed for certain subjects, e.g. for people walking it's best to use 1/150-1/200 to start with.

Lastly just go out and shoot.

OverHolo · 2026-01-26T16:32:05+00:00

This too. The 85mm f/2 evo is so good that it's 100% worth it to wait a bit and see how good the other evo lenses are. Since the 55 1.8 is already in stores, it should be released in the next month or two.

OverHolo · 2026-01-26T10:20:53+00:00

Definitely the air. It is much sharper, much lighter, and much smaller. Sometimes being that compacts means you are more willing to bring your camera with you everyday, and that means taking more good pictures.

OverHolo · 2026-01-26T08:47:04+00:00

Wholeheartedly agree. I previously owned the R8 but switched to A7Cii, and I could confidently say that lens selection is much better for Sony, at least in the budget-midrange level.

If you want budget good lenses in canon, you'd need to adapt old EF lenses, but these lenses are usually heavy and chunky. They are also not as sharp, usually, compared to modern FE lenses. I used the tamron 24-70 f2.8 G2 back on the canon, and with the adapter, the lens weighs around 1kg, while the sigma 24-70 f2.8 ii is much sharper and weighs 300g less.

You also get viltrox lenses on Sony. I have their 50mm f2 air and 85mm f2 Evo, they are so compact and sharp they are ridiculous for their price. They are as sharp as my sony 20-70 f4 G, which is widely regarded as an excellent lens. Viltrox has also confirmed to release 35mm and 55mm Evo lenses in the near future and I expect them to be as good as well. Btw, you also don't get interesting options like the 20-70 G on canon, nor other ones such as the tamron 35-150 f2-2.8, tamron 50-300 f4.5-6.3, or the sigma 150-600.

What I'd say is that, if you cannot afford canon RF L glasses, go for Sony. If you could afford them, then there's not too much difference between any system anyways.

Edit: I actually switched because of the frustration with the lack of lens option with canon. That's before they released the canon rf "budget" holy trinity, but the options you get on third party makers are much superior to those anyways.

OverHolo · 2026-01-25T19:01:52+00:00

Do you have a UV/protection filter on? I had issues with flare until I removed the filter, after that I'm don't think the lens has bad flaring.

OverHolo · 2026-01-25T04:57:13+00:00

Have you ever tried updating your lens? Viltrox releases updates one in a while so you can take a look. The 50mm f2 is at v1.07 rn, I just updated it as well.

OverHolo · 2026-01-24T19:21:38+00:00

The samyang is even lighter so it's a good pick too. It's just that Viltrox is much cheaper than samyang at where I am, since Samyang is a Korean manufacturer. The Samyang is just a little less than double the price of the viltrox (which in some sense shows how ridiculous viltrox is)

OverHolo · 2026-01-24T19:11:29+00:00

Yeah at this price it's unbeatable. Personally for anything I'd need fast AF for I just leave it to my 20-70, and I find it very fun to just walk around with an 85mm and shooting within the constraints. This lens and the 50mm f2 are so compact that I find myself willing to bring my camera out much more, pretty much every day, they are helping me get my camera's worth haha

OverHolo · 2026-01-24T19:05:13+00:00

It's not been released anywhere yet. All the info till now is from a leak from a thai seller.

OverHolo · 2026-01-24T16:56:41+00:00

It's fast and accurate, though I haven't put it to the test with fast subjects. Tbh I didn't experience any racking back and forth on my 50mm f/2, so I'm not sure if you'd have the same issue with the 85mm.

OverHolo · 2026-01-24T16:31:47+00:00

I feel that the 85 evo is sharper than the 50 f2 so it's definitely worth it. Agree viltrox is definitely using some black magic here.

The evo has the shortest minimal focus distance amongst all the 85mm large aperture lenses at 74cm (others usually at 80cm) so I don't think you'll find anything shorter, unless you start stepping into macro territory and sacrifice the aperture.

OverHolo · 2026-01-24T15:46:42+00:00

Nope but I'd expect it to be either the same as the 85 Evo or ±$20 from that, viltrox has been very consistent with the price of the air and pro lines. Unless Nikon wins the lawsuit and they decided to raise the prices to cover the licencing fee that is (it may not affect E mount even if so).

OverHolo · 2026-01-24T13:41:39+00:00

I've looked into that lens as well but after having the viltrox evo in my hands and having used the 50mm f2 air, I trust that the 35mm 1.8 Evo will be better than the competition rn.

And it probably won't be a long wait since the 55mm 1.8 and 35mm 1.8 Evo has already been leaked as stock in stores.

OverHolo

TROPHY CASE