Conclusion

The Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 PRO is a compellingly affordable fast 50mm prime lens for Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras that delivers excellent results with the minimum of fuss.

This lens sports a top-quality all-metal weather-sealed build and design that belies its incredibly low price-tag, and it has all the bells and whistles that you need in modern hybrid lens. There's even a dedicated USB-C port to help make firmware upgrades easier to perform.

Perhaps the one thing that will put some people off this lens, but conversely will attract others, is the sheer size and weight, a necessary outcome of opting for an all-metal construction. It's still not as big and heavy as the Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG HSM Art, but compared to the Sony 50mm F1.4 GM, it's noticeably more cumbersome.

Optically it delivers excellent sharpness in the centre of the frame almost throughout its entire aperture range, even performing well wide-open, although you'll need to stop down to get similar quality at the edges of the frame. 

Bokeh is very attractive thanks to the 11-blade aperture and there is little evidence of either distortion or chromatic aberrations. The only real optical issue of note is some obvious vignetting when shooting wide-open.

It provides fast, reliable and almost-silent auto-focusing on the A7CR that we tested it with, although it's not quite as quick as the Sony GM alternative, and manual focusing is also a pleasurable experience thanks to the nicely damped ring.

You might presume that this lens is trying to offer too much for its exceedingly modest £525 / $550 price-tag, but you'd be wrong. Other than the vignetting and the bigger size and weight than some of its main rivals, most notably the Sony 50mm F1.4 GM, there is a lot to like and very little to complain about.

If you don't own a 50mm prime for your Sony full-frame camera, the Viltrox AF 50mm F1.4 PRO joins the very long list of contenders, offering tremendous value for money at a price-point that can't be beaten.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	5