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Personally, I consider mirrorless cameras with APS-C/DX sensors an excellent compromise between good performance, dimensions, and weight. At the same time their producers are well aware of their assets and can equip them with appropriate optics, a fact I really appreciate. Of course some do it better than others and the first group of producers features Fujifilm, a company that considers the segment of APS-C/DX mirrorless cameras as crucial.

Combining a small, very unobtrusive body with an equally small, but still sensibly fast fixed-focal lens is a feature that many photographers like very much. Fujifilm has been aware of it up from the very beginning and that's why their line-up features such interesting instruments as the Fujinon XF 18 mm f/2 R, the Fujinon XF 35 mm f/2 R WR, the Fujinon XF 23 mm f/2 R WR, or the Fujinon XF 50 mm f/2 R WR, not to mention the classic pancakes with f/2.8 aperture and 23, or 27 mm focal length. Other systems lag significantly behind but you have to admit that lately also the Sony company has managed to launch very well-put-together 11 and 15 mm models.

Fortunately independent producers have been spoiling Sony and Fujifilm cameras owners with their offers. They even managed to patch holes in most neglected APS-C/DX systems of Canon and Nikon.

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Viltrox is an excellent example of such an approach, with their Air lenses line – these are small, lightweight (almost all of them weigh less than 200 grams), equipped with autofocus primes that, currently, are offered as Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, and Sony E variants. What's more, this time Viltrox decided to stand out with aperture fastness and, despite moderate weight and physical dimensions, they managed to offer you an impressive f/1.7 aperture.

The portrait Viltrox AF 56 mm f/1.7 Air was the first such model, presented in April 2024. In December the same year they launched a standard lens, namely the Viltrox AF 35 mm f/1.7 Air and in 2025 we've seen launches of wide angle models so the Viltrox AF 25 mm f/1.7 Air and the AF 15 mm f/1.7 Air. The comparison between their basic parameters you can find in the following chart.

It's worth mentioning that the Air series is simultaneously developed in the full frame segment, and up to now there are three models available with focal lengths of 20, 45, and 50 mm.

We would like to start testing these instruments from the newest model, the Viltrox AF 15 mm f/1.7 Air. It was possible courtesy of Fototechnika, a company that sent us one specimen of this lens lightning fast – thank you very much! In the following chapters you can find the results of our test, enjoy your reading.