Viltrox has announced a new AF 20mm f/2.8 Z lens (buy here). It’s essentially the same as the Viltrox AF 28mm f/2.8 E lens for Sony (buy here), announced last November, but this one’s for the Nikon Z mount. It’s still full-frame, and it’s still cheap.
The Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Z lens, as the name suggests, provides autofocus capabilities. It should be compatible with every Nikon Z mirrorless camera on the market.
Viltrox AF 20mm F2.8 X – And more mounts to come
The above video is from the launch of the Sony E mount version of this lens last November. The company hasn’t released a new video for this one, but why would they? It’s essentially the same lens, it’s just available in Nikon Z flavour now.
The thumbnail for the video above does say “More Other Mount Lenses Are Coming Soon”. Ignoring the obvious grammatical issues, this is one of them. There’s no news on which other mounts will become available yet, and it’s difficult to speculate.
Viltrox makes quite a few (10) AF lenses for Fuji X. But this is a full-frame lens. Viltrox might not want to lose the full capabilities of the lens by making an APS-C version. But we’ve seen full-frame lenses with X mounts before, plenty of times. I think we can expect that this one’s probably on the way.
We’re definitely not getting a Canon RF version. Not surprisingly, Viltrox currently advertises zero Canon RF lenses, and they’re unlikely to do so for quite some time. When Canon sends you legal demands to stop selling products, though, you kinda have to listen.
Small, Lightweight, Eye AF
Like its E mount sibling, the new Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Z lens is very small and lightweight. The Z mount version, at 173g, is a little heavier than the 157g E mount version. But not by much.
It provides a wide 91.6º field of view with full autofocus. Now, with a 20mm lens on a full-frame camera, you’re not going to have far to go before the whole world’s in view. But, with a minimum focus distance of 19cm, there are plenty of situations where that AF will come in extremely handy.
It uses STM motors for speedy and quiet autofocus, and a USB port allows you to update the firmware. Electronic aperture control ensures consistency in diameter from shot to shot, and the optics feature HD nano coatings to control contrast, ghosting, etc.
Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Z Specs
| Focal Length | 20mm |
| Max aperture | f/2.8 |
| Format | Full-Frame |
| Mount | Sony E / Nikon Z |
| Min aperture | f/16 |
| Angle of view | 91.6º |
| Aperture blades | 7 |
| Aperture control | In body |
| Minimum focus distance | 19cm |
| Filter diameter | 52mm |
| Dimensions | 65 x 59.5mm |
| Weight | 157g (E) / 173g (Z) |
Price and Availability
The Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Z is available to buy now for $159. Shipping is expected to begin in March 2024. The Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 E is also available to buy now for $158 and is already shipping. We’ll let you know about other mounts as they come.
