The Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF Z manages to be good, cost-effective, and fun to shoot with, which is a great combination. I’ve been out putting it to the test on my Nikon Z8, and here are some sample images to give a sense of how it performs in real-world shooting conditions.
This might be my favorite Viltrox lens yet. I’ve used more than I’ve posted about here so far (I’m getting to them!). I’ve found some to be good and some that I just can’t recommend.
This lens manages to be both good, cost-effective, and fun to shoot with, which is a great combination.
I’ve posted a more detailed hands-on review separately; this collection of sample images is designed to go along with that review, but separating them allows me to post more images. I’ve been using the Nikon Z mount version on a Nikon Z8.
What is this lens?
But first, here’s the short rundown of this lens . . .
Viltrox is one of several newer Chinese lens manufacturers. They’re aiming for the budget-conscious end of the market while also putting out some interesting and different offerings. So far, Viltrox seems to be focusing their efforts on autofocus lenses, which is one of the things that helps them stand out from their competitors who are mainly putting out manual-focus lenses.
Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will Travel
The Viltrox AF 16mm F1.8 Z is an ultra‑wide-angle, fast-aperture prime lens designed for Nikon Z (and Sony E) mirrorless cameras. In addition to being wide and fast, it also has autofocus, which is far less common around this price point (there are quite a few more wide and fast manual-focus lenses out there). It also has full-frame coverage (but will also work on APS-C / DX bodies).
It features a robust all-metal, weather‑sealed build with 15 optical elements (including four ED and three aspherical lenses), plus silent STM autofocus, a de-clickable aperture ring, and two customizable utility buttons. Priced around $580 — roughly half the cost of comparable Nikon‑branded wide primes (well, the closest, anyway) — this lens creates a viable budget-conscious option for landscape, architecture, astrophotography, and video creators looking for something ultra-wide and fast with autofocus.
Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will Travel
Sample images
Here are some sample images I’ve shot with the Viltrox 16mm f/2.8 AF. I’m using the Z-mount version, and all of these were taken on a Nikon Z8.
Lots of lines going in all directions here, but it’s a good combination of ultra-wide coverage, straight lines (at least, the ones that should be straight), large aperture in low light, and detail across the frame. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 450. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelI also took this shot with the Laowa 10mm; you can find that shot in my Laowa 10mm f2.8 AF sample images page. The Viltrox doesn’t cover as much territory, of course (it’s 16mm vs 10mm), but I actually like the more natural look of this one without the exaggerated stretching at the corners and edges of the frame. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 2800. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe f.18 maximum comes in handy for both low-light shooting and in creating depth through bokeh in separating foreground and background. This shot has both. While the bokeh doesn’t have the kind of creamy quality of some swoon-worthy lenses, it is smooth and non-offensive and good at separating the subject from the background. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 900. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelAnother shot I also took at the same time with the Laowa 10mm. This one looks less dramatic but also more natural. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 500. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 280. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelA few things are going on here, but the primary objective was to make the foreground stand out from the background while still being able to include the background for broader context. If you zoom in close, you can also get very fine detail in the figure at center left. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 320. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelAs you can probably tell, I like to shoot wide open most of the time or near it. I included this one as an example of using a smaller aperture and focus from front to back. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₈₀ sec at f/8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelAnother example where the large aperture came in handy in low light. You can also see that the vertical lines are staying nice and straight, which are the aspherical elements going to work. Finally, there’s some nice detail in the lunar suit and also in the smaller text just to the left of Neil Armstrong’s famous quote; zoom in to the full-size version to see it. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.5, ISO 560. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe f/1.8 is coming in handy here for creating separation between the subject and the background. By the way, the portrait is a placeholder for now until the official portrait is commissioned. It was captured by Washington Post photographer Matt McClain. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 100. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThis would also be a good test for chromatic aberration, but these days, the automatic lens profiles that are enabled by default in apps like Lightroom make it almost a non-issue anyway. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₈₀₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThis is looking straight up at the ornate ceiling of the Library of Congress’s Jefferson Building. Detail much? Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₂₅₀ sec at f/3.2, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/14, ISO 5000. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelAgain, I wanted to separate the foreground from the background while still retaining background context. The f/1.8 worked well for that here. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₆₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe lighting in this section of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum with the Apollo 11 command module is pretty low, so a large aperture comes in handy. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.5, ISO 3200. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 2000. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelWhile I haven’t used this lens for client works on architectural shoots, this is a good equivalent for it. Lots of nice straight lines that stay vertical. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 125. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelAgain, some architectural drama mixed with separation between foreground and background. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelWhile it looks a bit like the famous Queen Elizabeth II Great Court at the British Museum in London, it’s actually the combined Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art complex in Washington DC. The wavy lines in the ceiling structuer are real, not an optical effect of the lens. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₁₂₅₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₅₀₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelLow light and cramming a lot of scene into the frame. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 900. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2, ISO 140. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₁₂₅₀ sec at f/3.2, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 100. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 220. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThis one isn’t like the others — it’s actually a stitched vertical panorama using several frames. But I wanted to include it as an example showing that this lens is a good choice for stitched panoramas. Some ultra-wides become so distorted and stretched at the edges and corners that they can be problematic for stitching. I ran into no such issues with this lens. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₂₀₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 250. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 360. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelBuildings like this are good for showing off any bowing and distortion on the lines running along the edges (such as the roofline here). There’s a little, but I don’t find it distracting, and it should be pretty easily fixable in post processing (I haven’t tried fixing it here). Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₁₂₅₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₂₀₀₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 1000. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 280. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelNot only is the circular shape of the dome at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian commendably circular in this shot, but there’s no flaring from the spotlights pointed right at the lens. There’s a little flaring seeping around the center skylight, but that’s not unusual. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₅₀ sec at f/2, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 125. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 220. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₅₀₀ sec at f/5.6, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelAgain, lots of lines, some straight and some no, as well as lots of detail across the whole frame. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₂₀₀ sec at f/3.5, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 400. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThis is another good test of the aspherical elements. When I shoot this scene with a fisheye, you get some serious bulging in the vertical columns (the camera is titled up, which is why the lines aren’t actually vertical here). But here they’re nice and straight. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 1400. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.8, ISO 1000. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelLots of scene coverage here (also in low light) to cram in most of the original Wright Flyer. Camera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/1.8, ISO 800. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2.5, ISO 4000. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2, ISO 1000. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₃₀ sec at f/2, ISO 500. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCamera & Lens: Nikon Z8 + Viltrox 16mm f1.8 AF FF Z; Exposure: ¹⁄₅₀₀ sec at f/2, ISO 64. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will Travel
Price & availability
With an MSRP of $580, the price is certainly attractive. But prices on imported goods from China are in flux at the moment, so it’s worth double-checking the current price.
There are versions for Nikon Z mount and Sony E mount. I’ve been using the Z version on a Nikon Z8.
I take photos for a living. Now based in Washington, D.C., I have spent the last 30+ years shooting across seven continents — from underwater environments to mountain peaks. My images and time-lapses have appeared in major newspapers, magazines, museums, professional sports stadiums, and even on massive architectural scrims covering world-famous buildings.
I started this site in 2009 to field-test gear, share problem-solving solutions, and share what I've learned in shooting around the world. I only review gear and services I have personally used. No armchair opinions — just real-world experience. Because, for me, the fun is in the making of the photo.
