Viltrox AF 33mm f/1.4

This 2020 prime gives APS-C photographers a standard-angle view for street scenes, portraits and everyday subjects. It comes in Canon EF-M, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z and Sony E versions, and every version shares the same optical design. Pick the version made for your camera system.

The f/1.4 aperture is the main draw, keeping shooting practical after sunset and inside dim rooms. The trade-off is straightforward: you frame with your feet because there is no zoom, and there is no stabilisation. That suits people who photograph other people in real places rather than distant wildlife.

The Canon EF-M version weighs 9.5 oz (270 g), measures 2.56 in (65 mm) across and runs 2.83 in (72 mm) long. It adds little bulk to a small mirrorless body, though other mount versions differ slightly.

A 52mm filter screws straight into the front thread, and that common size keeps filter shopping simple.

On an APS-C body, 33mm works much like a standard lens on full frame. That view suits walk-around street work, environmental portraits and reportage of people in context. You stand close enough to talk with a subject, yet keep room around them. It also keeps faces natural when you step in for a tighter frame.

The f/1.4 aperture also shapes how your pictures look. Wide open, depth of field is shallow enough to lift a portrait subject away from a busy background. Stopping down a little brings a second person onto the sharp plane. In dim light, the same aperture keeps handheld shutter speeds workable without pushing ISO far.

Nine blades shape the aperture, which helps out-of-focus highlights stay round when you stop down. That smooths the blurred lights behind a night portrait or a street scene. The lens focuses as close as 1.3 ft (40 cm), enough for half-body portraits.

Our optics score for this lens is 86.

There is no stabilisation built into this lens. At 33mm, handheld speeds are easier to hold than with a long telephoto. In a dim bar or at blue hour you may need to raise ISO or brace against something solid.

That is workable for street and portrait work, where shutter speeds often run fast enough to steady handheld frames. Subjects also tend to hold still for a portrait, which helps. The f/1.4 aperture also buys back some low-light margin that stabilisation would otherwise provide.

The body also carries no weather sealing, so keep it tucked away when rain or dust arrives. On the Canon EF-M version there is no fluorine coating on the front element either, so expect to clean fingerprints and smudges more often.

Inside, ten elements sit in nine groups, and one of them is a low-dispersion element. Low-dispersion glass helps reduce chromatic aberration, the coloured fringes that appear along high-contrast edges such as a window frame behind a portrait.

Only the inner groups move when you focus, which is what internal focusing means. The construction score for this lens is 38.