The following chart presents a comparison between basic parameters of lenses with a field of view of 60 deg and apertures ranging from f/1.4 to f/2.0 that are designed to cooperate with mirrorless cameras with APS-C/DX sensors.
It seems the Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24 mm f/1.8 ZA is the closest to the tested Viltrox when it comes to parameters. The Viltrox is noticeably smaller and lighter than the Zeiss despite a much more complex optical system; still the Sonnar can boast of the shortest minimum focusing distance and in this category the Viltrox and the Leica are weak.
In the photo below the tested lens is positioned between the faster Sigma C 23 mm f/1.4 DC DN and a faster X system standard lens, the Fujinon XF 35 mm f/1.4 R.
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The Viltrox AF 25 mm f/1.7 Air starts with a metal mount which rim features an USB-C port that allows you to join the lens to a computer and install the right software. Inside the mount you can find a black ring with embedded contacts that surround a rear element of the lens, 19 mm in diameter. This element doesn't move and is positioned practically on the same level as the contacts. From this side everything looks very well.
The proper body of the lens is covered by black plastics. It starts with an immobile ring with a white dot that makes an alignment with a camera easier, the logo of the company, a model number, a serial number, and information about the place of production, China. Then the ring increases its diameter and on the already enlargened part you find another producer's logo, and an inscription 'AF 25/1.7 XF'.
A manual focus ring, as wide as 24 mm and completely covered by rubber ribbing, is the next part of the lens. It is a focus-by-wire construction without any distance and/or DOF scale, that turns with a slight but still tolerable resistance. The range depends slightly on the speed of your turning – when you move the ring slower you can reach a value of about 300-320 degrees, if you turn it quicker it drops to near 260-280 degrees. Both values are so significant that allow you very precise manual settings.
Further on, you see another immobile ring that ends with a hood mount. It can be properly aligned with the help of a white mark on the edge of the lens.
The front element of the tested Viltrox is convex, immobile, just 23 mm in diameter. It is surrounded by a part with fine ribbing that turns into a ring with the name and basic parameters of the lens. Here you also find information about the detector's size (APS-C Frame), the minimum focusing distance value (0.3m/1ft), filter diameter that amounts to 52 mm and also a series of abbreviations that indicate different technologies applied: STM, meaning a silent Stepping Motor, ASPH - aspherical elements inside the construction, ED - low dispersion glass elements, and IF meaning internal focusing (the lens doesn't rotate or change the focal length while focusing). All of this is surrounded by a non-rotating filter thread with a diameter of 52 mm.
When it comes to optical construction, you deal here with 12 elements positioned in 10 groups. Among them you can find one ED element that is also aspherical in shape, one more aspherical element, this time made of ordinary glass, and two elements made of high refractive index glass (HR). As you see the producers weren't skimpy when it comes to special elements, a fact worth emphasizing especially that the price of this model is very reasonable. Inside you can also find a round aperture with nine blades that can be closed down to a value of f/16 at the maximum.
Buyers get in the box with the lens: both caps, a petal-type hood and a soft case. The case is perhaps not very solid but the fact that that it is added to the bundle at all should be praised. After all we're speaking about an instrument that can be bought for around $176. Nowadays even much more expensive lenses don't have an accessory kit as rich as this one. Like in case of other Viltrox devices, you also get up to 5-year warranty period.
