I shot the same scenes with a pro Viltrox prime lens and a DSLR icon can you spot the difference?

Date:
Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Description:
The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.4 Pro lens for Sony and Nikon mirrorless cameras is a superb moderate wide-angle prime, but how does it compare to Sigma's
legendary 35mm f/1.4 Art lens for DSLRs?

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter If I was to pinpoint one
special lens in my photography career, it would have to be the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art for Nikon F-mount.

I picked mine up just before I moved to East Africa where I would work in photo journalism. Sigma had just burst onto the scene with its new Art lens
in 2012, for a much lower price than Nikons proprietary 35mm f/1.4 for its DSLRs, and so I bought one to pair with my Nikon D800 camera. Over four memorable years living in Kenya and travelling the region and neighbouring countries, I estimate that I took more than 75% of my photos with this one lens, many my all-time favorites of people in their environment. Latest
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More recently, I switched to a mirrorless camera made by the same company
the Z-mount Nikon Z6 II , which has been updated with the Z6 III but remains my primary camera.

Viltrox then offered a review sample of its shiny new AF 35mm F1.4 Pro lens, which was unveiled this week in Nikon Z-mount and Sony E-mount versions, but with no word on an L-mount version yet. Ive already tested Viltroxs pricier 35mm F1.2 from its flagship Lab series, but the latest f/1.4 pro is a specs match to my old lens, so I was keen to see how the two compared. You may like Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO lens review: a new standard for pancake lenses The best lenses for Nikon Z-series mirrorless cameras, tested Sony FE 400mm F4.5 GM OSS and Sony FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS lens review

I tried both lenses in various scenarios, shooting like-for-like photos with them using the Z6 II camera (the Sigma lens attached via the Nikon F-mount to Z-mount adapter).

Along the way I was asking myself is mirrorless all that its cracked up to be, or could I happily continue with my decade-old-and-more DSLR optic? Heres what I learned. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign
up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Image 1 of 4 The adapter (left), Sigma lens (middle) and Viltrox lens (right) (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Here the Sigma lens is now attached to the F-mount to Z-mount adapter (Image credit: Tim Coleman) And here I've attached the
Viltrox lens to the camera (Image credit: Tim Coleman) (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Image 1 of 4 View Original Image 2 of 4 View Original Image 3 of 4 View Original Image 4 of 4 View Original Handling of each lens I'll start
with handling, and Sigmas lens by itself is physically smaller than Viltroxs. However, the necessary F-mount to Z-mount adapter to use it with my Z6 II
adds bulk and evens matters out.

And if I were to use the Sigma lens with my D800 DSLR , well, that's a much bigger camera than the Z6 II. The adapter essentially addresses flange depth (the distance between the camera sensor and the rear of the lens which is deeper in Nikon's F-mount), while maintaining full autofocus performance.

As such, there was no real size or weight advantage to either lens, whatever camera system was used. Nikon also has an affordable 35mm f/1.4 Z-mount lens
, mind you, which is smaller than both of these lenses, but in my experience it doesn't match the quality of either lens here. What to read next The best camera for photography The best mirrorless cameras, based on in-depth testing Best full-frame camera 2026: the top big sensor DSLRs and mirrorless cameras

My Sigma lens has taken a beating over its almost 15 years of use in harsh conditions, and it's still going strong. Sure, it looks well-used, but it performs like it did on day one. I wouldn't hold the same hope for the
Viltrox lens, aesthetically speaking, at least. It's one of the many Viltrox lenses that I've tested with an exterior that scratches easily. That doesn't affect optical quality, but it did make me mindful of taking care of the
lens.

Autofocus is a fraction snappier and smoother with the Viltrox lens, but not enough of a reason alone to opt for it. I don't believe that using an F-mount lens through the adapter with a Z-mount mirrorless camera has any adverse affect on autofocus performance. Image 1 of 8 The focus distance in this scene, shot at f/1.4, is fairly close (Image credit: Tim Coleman) The Viltrox 35mm lens photo: detail is slightly sharper, with more contrast (Image
credit: Tim Coleman) The Sigma shot: detail is slightly softer, and there are signs of LoCA in the text falling into out-of-focus on the wine bottle (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Another scene shot at f/1.4, helping the tram to stand out from its surroundings, though a closed aperture would work well too
(Image credit: Tim Coleman) The Viltrox image - see the sharper text (Image credit: Tim Coleman) The Sigma image - again a little softer (Image credit: Tim Coleman) In that same tram scene, note the chromatic aberration in the
out of focus power lines. There's better contrast in the Viltrox shot (Image credit: Tim Coleman) And the same scene but with the Sigma lens (Image
credit: Tim Coleman) Image 1 of 8 View Original Image 2 of 8 View Original Image 3 of 8 View Original Image 4 of 8 View Original Image 5 of 8 View Original Image 6 of 8 View Original Image 7 of 8 View Original Image 8 of 8 View Original Optical quality: any obvious progress? I regularly want to make use of the bright maximum f/1.4 aperture with a lens such as these, in order to decrease depth of field and blur surroundings so that my subjects
standout, and for working in dim light with no supplementary lighting. Its at this setting in particular that the differences in optical quality between
the two lenses are acute.

The Viltrox lens is optically sharper at f/1.4. Not by much, I must say, and you won't necessarily see the difference even when viewed on a laptop I'd still class the Sigma lens as very sharp. However, when pixel peeping, the difference is there.

And it's when pixel peeping that chromatic aberration (CA) in the Sigma is
way more pronounced. The Viltrox lens isn't immune to it, but it handles the distortion much better. The Sigma lens shows longitudinal chromatic
aberration (LoCA) at times, too a lens distortion that is harder to correct. I expected vignetting (where corners are darker) to be worse in the Sigma lens, but in reality performance was roughly on par. Image 1 of 5 Another f/1.4 photo in a good test for bokeh (Image credit: Tim Coleman) The Viltrox image detail in the beanie is slightly sharper, bokeh smooth (Image credit: Tim Coleman) And the Sigma shot only when you look really close do you see a difference in sharpness, while bokeh is equally creamy (Image credit: Tim Coleman) An environmental portrait, at f/1.4, with the Viltrox lens (Image credit: Tim Coleman) I wanted to include the whole scene with the Sigma lens too, so you get an idea of how alike the photos are when viewed normally (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Image 1 of 5 View Original Image 2 of 5 View Original Image 3 of 5 View Original Image 4 of 5 View Original Image 5 of 5 View Original Check out my round-up of the best Nikon Z-mount lenses And what about bokeh (the out-of-focus quality, typically observed in dappled light)? From my sample images, I'd have to say it's a tie. Both lenses can render buttery smooth bokeh, with similar characteristics; roundish in the center of the frame, becoming slightly more cats-eye in shape towards the corners.

The optical quality observations above are made with the lens aperture wide open at f/1.4. In all the situations above, I took sequences at f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2, f/2.8, f/4 and f/5.6 and compared the differences.

Stop aperture down to, say, f/4 and f/5.6, and most of the above differences are negligible; sharpness evens out, and lens distortions reduce only does chromatic aberration remain more pronounced in the Sigma. I've included closeups of images shot at f/5.6 which prove how the quality evens out,
below. Image 1 of 4 Viltrox at f/5.6 (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Sigma at f/5.6 (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Viltrox at f/5.6 (Image credit: Tim
Coleman) Sigma at f/5.6 (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Image 1 of 4 View
Original Image 2 of 4 View Original Image 3 of 4 View Original Image 4 of 4 View Original (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Viltrox AF 35mm F1.4 Pro vs Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art: the bottom line For photographers, there is surprisingly little to choose between what is an excellent Viltrox AF 35mm F1.4 Pro lens and the 15-year-old Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art.

Optical quality differences are more acute at f/1.4; with aperture at its maximum setting, the Viltrox lens is slightly sharper and handles chromatic aberration better. However, you'll only really spot those differences when pixel peeping, and closing down each lens to f/4 and lower, the end results level out.

Bokeh is essentially the same in both lenses, although there's a touch of
LoCA in the Sigma lens in certain backlit scenarios.

The Viltrox AF 35mm F1.4 Pro joins a growing list of lenses from the Chinese company that I can highly recommend. However, comparing it to a 15-year-old Sigma legend, that's designed for a mostly discontinued camera system, has only shown me that DSLRs and their best optics are still a decent option today. I for one will happily continue using my Sigma lens for photography. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Today's best Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.4 Pro deals No price information Check Amazon We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Today's best Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art for Nikon deals 777 Amazon customer reviews 699 659 View No price information Check Amazon We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices



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