Viltrox 13mm basic astro tests

grey pilgrim · Feb 21, 2023

So, I purchased a Viltrox 13mm f1.4 and have had a total of 1 clear day to run one set of tests, comparing it to some of my other lenses.

To sum it up, it is a mixed bag. at f1.4 and f2, there is significant corner that extends a fair way into the image. By the time you get to f2.8, that is cleared up, and the image is nice and crisp.

There is, however, star stretching in the corners due to curvature of field.

Compared to my copies of the Samyang/Rokinon 12, the performance at f2.8 is better except the curvature of field is more pronounced. My two copies of the Sam/Rok 12 still display some coma in the corners at f2.8, and the are less crisp than the Viltrox.

Surprisingly, my Laowa 9mm held up reasonably well in my tests.

I did not have a chance to compare it to my Fuji 14.

I have a FF Samyang 14f2.8 coming that I hope to test later this week.

Here are corner grabs at 200%. Check out the Pleides to see how far in the coma extends.

Doug

f1.4

f2

f2.8

--
X-T5, X-T3, IR converted X-T20
Lenses: Too many
You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it
means -- Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

Jerry-astro · Feb 21, 2023

grey pilgrim said:
So, I purchased a Viltrox 13mm f1.4 and have had a total of 1 clear day to run one set of tests, comparing it to some of my other lenses.

To sum it up, it is a mixed bag. at f1.4 and f2, there is significant corner that extends a fair way into the image. By the time you get to f2.8, that is cleared up, and the image is nice and crisp.

There is, however, star stretching in the corners due to curvature of field.

Compared to my copies of the Samyang/Rokinon 12, the performance at f2.8 is better except the curvature of field is more pronounced. My two copies of the Sam/Rok 12 still display some coma in the corners at f2.8, and the are less crisp than the Viltrox.

Surprisingly, my Laowa 9mm held up reasonably well in my tests.

I did not have a chance to compare it to my Fuji 14.

I have a FF Samyang 14f2.8 coming that I hope to test later this week.

Here are corner grabs at 200%. Check out the Pleides to see how far in the coma extends.

Doug

f1.4

f2

f2.8

Well, that level of distortion would be a non starter for me, anyway, if I’m shooting starfields. That said, this sort of photography is about as rigorous a test as you can do for a lens like this.

--
Jerry-Astro
Fuji Forum co-Mod

grey pilgrim · Feb 21, 2023

Jerry-astro said:
grey pilgrim said:

So, I purchased a Viltrox 13mm f1.4 and have had a total of 1 clear day to run one set of tests, comparing it to some of my other lenses.

To sum it up, it is a mixed bag. at f1.4 and f2, there is significant corner that extends a fair way into the image. By the time you get to f2.8, that is cleared up, and the image is nice and crisp.

There is, however, star stretching in the corners due to curvature of field.

Compared to my copies of the Samyang/Rokinon 12, the performance at f2.8 is better except the curvature of field is more pronounced. My two copies of the Sam/Rok 12 still display some coma in the corners at f2.8, and the are less crisp than the Viltrox.

Surprisingly, my Laowa 9mm held up reasonably well in my tests.

I did not have a chance to compare it to my Fuji 14.

I have a FF Samyang 14f2.8 coming that I hope to test later this week.

Here are corner grabs at 200%. Check out the Pleides to see how far in the coma extends.

Doug

f1.4

f2

f2.8

Click to expand...

Well, that level of distortion would be a non starter for me, anyway, if I’m shooting starfields. That said, this sort of photography is about as rigorous a test as you can do for a lens like this.

Hi Jerry,

Which distortion? The field curvature? That's what I am struggling with at 2.8. It's interesting to me that my Rokinon 12 and Samyang 12 both fare worse with respects to coma, and only a bit better on the field curvature.

Here I was happily shooting with them, and then I do these simple tests and ick.

I'm hoping if I get a good copy of the Samyang 14 that it will do well on APS-C

You use the 8-16, right?

I'm going to be out shooting at night at Death Valley this spring which is what started me on all this...

Doug

--
X-T5, X-T3, IR converted X-T20
Lenses: Too many
You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it
means -- Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

Jerry-astro · Feb 21, 2023

grey pilgrim said:
Jerry-astro said:

grey pilgrim said:

So, I purchased a Viltrox 13mm f1.4 and have had a total of 1 clear day to run one set of tests, comparing it to some of my other lenses.

To sum it up, it is a mixed bag. at f1.4 and f2, there is significant corner that extends a fair way into the image. By the time you get to f2.8, that is cleared up, and the image is nice and crisp.

There is, however, star stretching in the corners due to curvature of field.

Compared to my copies of the Samyang/Rokinon 12, the performance at f2.8 is better except the curvature of field is more pronounced. My two copies of the Sam/Rok 12 still display some coma in the corners at f2.8, and the are less crisp than the Viltrox.

Surprisingly, my Laowa 9mm held up reasonably well in my tests.

I did not have a chance to compare it to my Fuji 14.

I have a FF Samyang 14f2.8 coming that I hope to test later this week.

Here are corner grabs at 200%. Check out the Pleides to see how far in the coma extends.

Doug

f1.4

f2

f2.8

Click to expand...

Well, that level of distortion would be a non starter for me, anyway, if I’m shooting starfields. That said, this sort of photography is about as rigorous a test as you can do for a lens like this.

Click to expand...

Hi Jerry,

Which distortion? The field curvature? That's what I am struggling with at 2.8. It's interesting to me that my Rokinon 12 and Samyang 12 both fare worse with respects to coma, and only a bit better on the field curvature.

Here I was happily shooting with them, and then I do these simple tests and ick.

I'm hoping if I get a good copy of the Samyang 14 that it will do well on APS-C

You use the 8-16, right?

I'm going to be out shooting at night at Death Valley this spring which is what started me on all this...

Doug

I think I was referring more to the coma. Definitely not a good thing if you’re shooting starfields. I do use the 8-16 f/2.8 these days for my widefield astro work and I’ve quite happy with the overall IQ I get — certainly not anywhere near the level of distortion I’m seeing here. Previously, I used the Zeiss 12, again with what I regarded as very good results for those sorts of astro shots. I’ve seen plenty of examples of starfields shot with the Rok 12, and they also most certainly haven’t exhibited anything quite like the coma I’m seeing in your example. It’s a bit of a mystery to me TBH.

--
Jerry-Astro
Fuji Forum co-Mod

grey pilgrim · Feb 21, 2023

Jerry-astro said:
I think I was referring more to the coma. Definitely not a good thing if you’re shooting starfields. I do use the 8-16 f/2.8 these days for my widefield astro work and I’ve quite happy with the overall IQ I get — certainly not anywhere near the level of distortion I’m seeing here. Previously, I used the Zeiss 12, again with what I regarded as very good results for those sorts of astro shots. I’ve seen plenty of examples of starfields shot with the Rok 12, and they also most certainly haven’t exhibited anything quite like the coma I’m seeing in your example. It’s a bit of a mystery to me TBH.

Well, the coma is gone by f2.8, but the stretching in the corners bugs me. I think I just got bad samples of the Rok/Samyang. That's actually why I purchased a second one on the cheap, just to see if I could improve on it.

Hopefully the Samyang 14 f2.8 works out, plus I am hoping the new Tampon 10-20 does well. Supposedly it is very good on Sony APS-C with respect to Coma and sharpness, CA, etc out to the edges. Fingers crossed.

Doug

GMacF · Feb 22, 2023

Interesting findings - thanks for sharing.

Astro was actually one of the main reasons I bought this lens. However, owing to young kids in the house and the ever (un)reliable UK weather I have been unable to get out and do some real astro shooting.

Your findings don't fill me an awful lot of confidence in this lens however I will still look forward to my own tests.
I actually found the Samyang 12mm to have pretty bad coma as well - so much so that I ended up selling it. I found I was able to produce better images by stitching together several shots from my then Viltrox 23mm f1.4 than I could from the Samyang.

Jerry-astro · Feb 22, 2023

grey pilgrim said:
grey pilgrim said:

I think I was referring more to the coma. Definitely not a good thing if you’re shooting starfields. I do use the 8-16 f/2.8 these days for my widefield astro work and I’ve quite happy with the overall IQ I get — certainly not anywhere near the level of distortion I’m seeing here. Previously, I used the Zeiss 12, again with what I regarded as very good results for those sorts of astro shots. I’ve seen plenty of examples of starfields shot with the Rok 12, and they also most certainly haven’t exhibited anything quite like the coma I’m seeing in your example. It’s a bit of a mystery to me TBH.

Click to expand...

Well, the coma is gone by f2.8, but the stretching in the corners bugs me. I think I just got bad samples of the Rok/Samyang. That's actually why I purchased a second one on the cheap, just to see if I could improve on it.

Hopefully the Samyang 14 f2.8 works out, plus I am hoping the new ~~Tampon~~ Tamron 10-20 does well. Supposedly it is very good on Sony APS-C with respect to Coma and sharpness, CA, etc out to the edges. Fingers crossed.

Doug

Thought I might take the liberty of making a subtle -- but possibly sort of important -- edit/correction to your post. LOL.

(fighting the urge to add any further snarky comments)

grey pilgrim · Feb 22, 2023

Jerry-astro said:
grey pilgrim said:

Jerry-astro said:

I think I was referring more to the coma. Definitely not a good thing if you’re shooting starfields. I do use the 8-16 f/2.8 these days for my widefield astro work and I’ve quite happy with the overall IQ I get — certainly not anywhere near the level of distortion I’m seeing here. Previously, I used the Zeiss 12, again with what I regarded as very good results for those sorts of astro shots. I’ve seen plenty of examples of starfields shot with the Rok 12, and they also most certainly haven’t exhibited anything quite like the coma I’m seeing in your example. It’s a bit of a mystery to me TBH.

Click to expand...

Well, the coma is gone by f2.8, but the stretching in the corners bugs me. I think I just got bad samples of the Rok/Samyang. That's actually why I purchased a second one on the cheap, just to see if I could improve on it.

Hopefully the Samyang 14 f2.8 works out, plus I am hoping the new ~~Tampon~~ Tamron 10-20 does well. Supposedly it is very good on Sony APS-C with respect to Coma and sharpness, CA, etc out to the edges. Fingers crossed.

Doug

Click to expand...

Thought I might take the liberty of making a subtle -- but possibly sort of important -- edit/correction to your post. LOL.

(fighting the urge to add any further snarky comments)

OMG, total fail on my part. Thanks for catching that.

Doug

Jerry-astro · Feb 22, 2023

grey pilgrim said:
Jerry-astro said:

grey pilgrim said:

grey pilgrim said:

I think I was referring more to the coma. Definitely not a good thing if you’re shooting starfields. I do use the 8-16 f/2.8 these days for my widefield astro work and I’ve quite happy with the overall IQ I get — certainly not anywhere near the level of distortion I’m seeing here. Previously, I used the Zeiss 12, again with what I regarded as very good results for those sorts of astro shots. I’ve seen plenty of examples of starfields shot with the Rok 12, and they also most certainly haven’t exhibited anything quite like the coma I’m seeing in your example. It’s a bit of a mystery to me TBH.

Click to expand...

Well, the coma is gone by f2.8, but the stretching in the corners bugs me. I think I just got bad samples of the Rok/Samyang. That's actually why I purchased a second one on the cheap, just to see if I could improve on it.

Hopefully the Samyang 14 f2.8 works out, plus I am hoping the new ~~Tampon~~ Tamron 10-20 does well. Supposedly it is very good on Sony APS-C with respect to Coma and sharpness, CA, etc out to the edges. Fingers crossed.

Doug

Click to expand...

Thought I might take the liberty of making a subtle -- but possibly sort of important -- edit/correction to your post. LOL.

(fighting the urge to add any further snarky comments)

Click to expand...

OMG, total fail on my part. Thanks for catching that.

Doug

No worries. You have no idea how much self control that required, being a dyed-in-the-wool punster myself. I probably would have ended up with a one week visit to the DPR hoosegow (might have been worth it though). ;-)

[sigh] Better left unsaid.

Tim van der Leeuw · Feb 22, 2023

Two of my night-time images shot with this lens -- and yes, if you zoom in, the coma is quite visible indeed.

The 2nd image seems to have fewer issues with it, perhaps because it is made by overlaying a number of images in Starry Landscape Stacker?

grey pilgrim · Feb 22, 2023

Nice images.

Those results pretty much mirror what I am seeing until I get to f2.8, at which point the coma is gone, but the stretching in the corners due to field curvature is still present.

At least it helps verify that it probably isn't a bad sample on my part.

I've wondered if stacking covers up some of these errors.

Doug

pifilos · Feb 22, 2023

In all fairness how many lenses offer good corner perofrmance regarding stars wide open at such apertures ? Apart from the Sigma 20mm 1.4 which was released last summer and was designed with wide-field astrophotography in mind I cannot think of any. Most need to be stopped down a bit especially wider ones. Indeed the Samyang 12mm might be better just on that aspect but not by much (at least the 3 copies I tried), plus it is too strechy for my taste.

For occasional use every wide lens is fine to be honest since the user won't be very demanding I guess. For more demanding users a star tracker and stopping down will work better or using less wide lenses and making small panos should work too.

--
https://www.instagram.com/filippos.drylerakis/
flickr.com/photos/194737069@N06

nuramori · Feb 22, 2023

Do you have any images with the 9mm? I'd love to hear more detail on what you think of the Laowa.

grey pilgrim · Feb 25, 2023

pifilos said:
In all fairness how many lenses offer good corner perofrmance regarding stars wide open at such apertures ? Apart from the Sigma 20mm 1.4 which was released last summer and was designed with wide-field astrophotography in mind I cannot think of any. Most need to be stopped down a bit especially wider ones. Indeed the Samyang 12mm might be better just on that aspect but not by much (at least the 3 copies I tried), plus it is too strechy for my taste.

For occasional use every wide lens is fine to be honest since the user won't be very demanding I guess. For more demanding users a star tracker and stopping down will work better or using less wide lenses and making small panos should work too.

I fairness, true, but since I am doing astro:

For astro, you want the combination of the best performance across the frame at the widest aperture. If there is coma in the corners, a tracker will not help. You will still get coma, just with less noise as you can reduce ISO. Or, you can improve your coma experience with the tracker by closing down your aperture while keeping the noise the same. Not all lenses clear up their coma in the corners even stopped down.

The corners matter for many reasons, and inconsistency across the frame becomes noticeable.

That said, see my edit to this post as I have done more tests and come to some different conclusions

.

Doug

grey pilgrim · Feb 25, 2023

nuramori said:
Do you have any images with the 9mm? I'd love to hear more detail on what you think of the Laowa.

I have a couple from last night from some new tests I did between clouds. I am going to change this thread to reflect my new (better understanding, mistakes made) tests from last night.

Doug

Gringostarr · Feb 25, 2023

pifilos said:
In all fairness how many lenses offer good corner perofrmance regarding stars wide open at such apertures ? Apart from the Sigma 20mm 1.4 which was released last summer and was designed with wide-field astrophotography in mind I cannot think of any. Most need to be stopped down a bit especially wider ones. Indeed the Samyang 12mm might be better just on that aspect but not by much (at least the 3 copies I tried), plus it is too strechy for my taste.

For occasional use every wide lens is fine to be honest since the user won't be very demanding I guess. For more demanding users a star tracker and stopping down will work better or using less wide lenses and making small panos should work too.

Both the 9mm Laowa and Fujis 14mm have very well controlled coma at maximum aperture along with the Samyang that you mentioned. Sad to see that the Viltrox reminds me of the coma that the 16/1.4 produces but then again no lens is perfect.

grey pilgrim · Feb 25, 2023

Gringostarr said:
pifilos said:

In all fairness how many lenses offer good corner perofrmance regarding stars wide open at such apertures ? Apart from the Sigma 20mm 1.4 which was released last summer and was designed with wide-field astrophotography in mind I cannot think of any. Most need to be stopped down a bit especially wider ones. Indeed the Samyang 12mm might be better just on that aspect but not by much (at least the 3 copies I tried), plus it is too strechy for my taste.

For occasional use every wide lens is fine to be honest since the user won't be very demanding I guess. For more demanding users a star tracker and stopping down will work better or using less wide lenses and making small panos should work too.

Click to expand...

Both the 9mm Laowa and Fujis 14mm have very well controlled coma at maximum aperture along with the Samyang that you mentioned. Sad to see that the Viltrox reminds me of the coma that the 16/1.4 produces but then again no lens is perfect.

See my new post. Of the lenses I have, the Viltrox seems to win out at f2.8.

pifilos · Feb 25, 2023

Gringostarr said:
pifilos said:

In all fairness how many lenses offer good corner perofrmance regarding stars wide open at such apertures ? Apart from the Sigma 20mm 1.4 which was released last summer and was designed with wide-field astrophotography in mind I cannot think of any. Most need to be stopped down a bit especially wider ones. Indeed the Samyang 12mm might be better just on that aspect but not by much (at least the 3 copies I tried), plus it is too strechy for my taste.

For occasional use every wide lens is fine to be honest since the user won't be very demanding I guess. For more demanding users a star tracker and stopping down will work better or using less wide lenses and making small panos should work too.

Click to expand...

Both the 9mm Laowa and Fujis 14mm have very well controlled coma at maximum aperture along with the Samyang that you mentioned. Sad to see that the Viltrox reminds me of the coma that the 16/1.4 produces but then again no lens is perfect.

I haven't used either lens so I cannot have a saying but here is the lenstip section for 14mm coma. I wouldn't say it is good considering the aperture but it is somewhat ok I guess.

Fujifilm Fujinon XF 14 mm f/2.8 R review - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh - LensTip.com

Best digital cameras and lens reviews. If you are looking for the information about digital cameras and lenses you are in a right place. We have many professional tests of digital photography equipment.

www.lenstip.com

pifilos · Feb 25, 2023

grey pilgrim said:
pifilos said:

In all fairness how many lenses offer good corner perofrmance regarding stars wide open at such apertures ? Apart from the Sigma 20mm 1.4 which was released last summer and was designed with wide-field astrophotography in mind I cannot think of any. Most need to be stopped down a bit especially wider ones. Indeed the Samyang 12mm might be better just on that aspect but not by much (at least the 3 copies I tried), plus it is too strechy for my taste.

For occasional use every wide lens is fine to be honest since the user won't be very demanding I guess. For more demanding users a star tracker and stopping down will work better or using less wide lenses and making small panos should work too.

Click to expand...

I fairness, true, but since I am doing astro:

For astro, you want the combination of the best performance across the frame at the widest aperture. If there is coma in the corners, a tracker will not help. You will still get coma, just with less noise as you can reduce ISO. Or, you can improve your coma experience with the tracker by closing down your aperture while keeping the noise the same. Not all lenses clear up their coma in the corners even stopped down.

The corners matter for many reasons, and inconsistency across the frame becomes noticeable.

That said, see my edit to this post as I have done more tests and come to some different conclusions .

Doug

Gringostarr · Feb 25, 2023

pifilos said:
Gringostarr said:

pifilos said:

In all fairness how many lenses offer good corner perofrmance regarding stars wide open at such apertures ? Apart from the Sigma 20mm 1.4 which was released last summer and was designed with wide-field astrophotography in mind I cannot think of any. Most need to be stopped down a bit especially wider ones. Indeed the Samyang 12mm might be better just on that aspect but not by much (at least the 3 copies I tried), plus it is too strechy for my taste.

For occasional use every wide lens is fine to be honest since the user won't be very demanding I guess. For more demanding users a star tracker and stopping down will work better or using less wide lenses and making small panos should work too.

Click to expand...

Both the 9mm Laowa and Fujis 14mm have very well controlled coma at maximum aperture along with the Samyang that you mentioned. Sad to see that the Viltrox reminds me of the coma that the 16/1.4 produces but then again no lens is perfect.

Click to expand...

I haven't used either lens so I cannot have a saying but here is the lenstip section for 14mm coma. I wouldn't say it is good considering the aperture but it is somewhat ok I guess.

https://www.lenstip.com/387.7-Lens_...4_mm_f_2.8_R_Coma__astigmatism_and_bokeh.html

I'd say the [email protected] is only slightly worse than the 12@f2 which is constantly praised here.

Samyang 12 mm f/2.0 NCS CS review - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh - LensTip.com

Best digital cameras and lens reviews. If you are looking for the information about digital cameras and lenses you are in a right place. We have many professional tests of digital photography equipment.

www.lenstip.com

And the [email protected] is on par or even slightly better than the 12@f2.

Venus Optics LAOWA 9 mm f/2.8 ZERO-D review - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh - LensTip.com

Best digital cameras and lens reviews. If you are looking for the information about digital cameras and lenses you are in a right place. We have many professional tests of digital photography equipment.

www.lenstip.com

Viltrox 13mm basic astro tests

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