Testing the Viltrox 85mm f 1.4 Pro

Earlier this month Viltrox lent me their 85 mm f 1.4 Pro lens to test out. So I took it down to the coast . An overcast evening, tide running low and pools left scattered between the rocks. I wanted to see how the lens performed without a studio . Just me, the sea, and the subject.

From the first frame I knew what it could do. At f 1.4 the eyes landed sharp and the background melted away. Stop down to f 2 and everything tightens. Skin and hair pick up detail, the textures in the seaweed show through, but the subject still stands clear of the background.

Close focus was useful for smaller details like hands and fabric, and at portrait distance the compression was just right—flattering but not exaggerated. The lens felt solid on the camera and balanced well for a longer session.

Autofocus proved steady. It locked onto the eye and held, even when hair blew across the face or she turned slightly. Continuous AF tracked without fuss, and focus breathing stayed minimal as I leaned in or stepped back. The focusing motor is quiet enough that I could capture short video clips between stills without distraction.

Colours came through clean and balanced. Skin tones felt natural, with just a touch of warmth. The greens in the seaweed and the blues of the water stayed separate and easy to work with when it came to editing.

There were a few moments that stood out. At one point I slipped slightly on the rocks, fired off a frame by instinct, and it still landed sharp. Later when a wave caught her ankle and she laughed, I caught that half-second turn of the head, perfectly in focus.

Those little moments say more about a lens than any spec sheet. In the end, what I appreciated most was that the lens didn’t get in the way. It gave me beautifully clean photographs, reliable focus, and enough character wide open to keep portraits interesting. Stop down and it delivers precision. For real-world portrait work, that balance matters more than perfection on paper.