Viltrox AF 26 mm f/2.8 EVO review

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Viltrox AF 26 mm f/2.8 EVO

27 October 2026

Maciej Latałło

4. Image resolution

We test the resolution (in terms of MTF50) of lenses designed for the Sony FE mount using RAW files from the 42.4-megapixel sensor in the Sony A7R II, Sony A7R III, or Sony A7R IIIa. For this sensor, we consider results in the range of 39–41 lpmm to be acceptable, while the best prime lenses achieve results exceeding 80 lpmm. The top performers can surpass 85 lpmm or even reach 90 lpmm. So far, the best results have been recorded by the following lenses: Sigma A 17-40 mm f/1.8 DC (89.9 lpmm), Meike 85 mm f/1.4 FF STM (90.2 lpmm), and Sony FE 50 mm f/1.4 GM (90.9 lpmm).

Let's see how the Viltrox AF 26 mm f/2.8 EVO performs in this context at the center of the frame, at the edge of the APS-C/DX sensor, and at the edge of the full-frame sensor.

Viltrox AF 26 mm f/2.8 EVO - Image resolution

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The center of the frame performs really well here. Even at the maximum aperture, the lens achieves a high resolution of 70 lpmm, and stopping down allows it to reach an excellent result of over 77 lpmm. It must be admitted, however, that the competition is very strong in this regard, and the Nikkor Z 26 mm f/2.8 managed to perform even better, although its advantage was only apparent at f/2.8. From f/4.0 onward, the two lenses were evenly matched.

At the edges of the frame, the results are noticeably worse. This is understandable, as the compact dimensions of the tested lens impose significant limitations. Nevertheless, performance at the edge of the APS-C/DX sensor gives us no cause for concern, while the most challenging combination of the full-frame sensor's edge and an aperture of f/2.8 produces a result that is borderline acceptable. The minimum target has therefore been met, especially since the Viltrox actually performed slightly better in this respect than its Nikkor competitor.

One more issue remains to be discussed. The sample images suggested that, in some shots, the right side of the frame appeared less sharp than the left. Measurements using our test charts confirmed this effect, but only at f/2.8 and f/4.0. The differences were not substantial, never exceeding 20%. At the same time, as we will see in the following sections, the lens showed no differences between the left and right sides of the frame in terms of chromatic aberration or coma. It also exhibited low astigmatism, and its vignetting profile was perfectly symmetrical. This strongly suggests that the lens itself was not defective. The impression of uneven sharpness may also have resulted from a complex field curvature profile, which can be highly unusual in a pancake lens and produce substantial gradients in sharpness across different areas of the frame.

As usual, at the end of this section, we present crops from images of our resolution test chart, taken from JPEG files recorded simultaneously with the RAW files used in the analysis above.

A7R IIIa, JPEG, 26 mm, f/2.8