Viltrox EF-FX2 review?

[Spazmaster]

Read the one thread from 5 months ago, but does anyone have any more experience with this? Maybe after firmware updates?

Considering buying it and a canon 50 1.8 / 1.4 and 85 1.8.

I dont need super fast AF, just AF that works. Seems like a very cost effective way if the adapter is half decent af wise and transparent optically.

Thanks!

 

[Advent1sam]

Read the one thread from 5 months ago, but does anyone have any more experience with this? Maybe after firmware updates?

Considering buying it and a canon 50 1.8 / 1.4 and 85 1.8.

I dont need super fast AF, just AF that works. Seems like a very cost effective way if the adapter is half decent af wise and transparent optically.

Thanks!

Reviews are mixed, wait for the next f/w before going for it, no f/w update for over 6 months doesn’t look good!

 

[Martin Meier]

With my X-T30 I am using Viltrox EF-FX2 and a manual EOS-FX since some weeks

for my automatic & manual Canon lenses. No problems except long zoom lenses.

Canon 50mm/1.8 is okay, Viltrox makes 35mm/1.3

 

[Spazmaster]

Thanks for the replies guys, might just pull the trigger on it on Amazon and then return it if it's bad

 

[Martin Meier]

Some pictures from yesterday, made with Viltrox + Tamron(Canon mount) 60mm/2.0 - gives 1.4

 

[Spazmaster]

Nice photos! how do you find the auto focus? Have you noticed any problems so far?

 

[Martin Meier]

Some lenses are focus pumping - especially zooms up to 200mm - of course getting focus then needs more time.

 

[Spazmaster]

Have you used the 50 1.4 or the 85 1.8 on it? Those are the two I'm interested in.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Marius Tomuta]

Have you used the 50 1.4 or the 85 1.8 on it? Those are the two I'm interested in.

Thanks for the replies!

Hi,

I know this is an old thread but I recently got the adapter and I really enjoy it on my X-T3.

The adapter is using the latest firmware which was released in December 2019.

So far I only tested the Canon 85mm 1.8 and I am really pleased with how it works. I’ve used it in AF-S and AF-C and it worked in both scenarios.



I was always a big fan of the Fuji 56mm 1.2 but that lens is not the fastest focusing in the Fuji lineup and on many occasions confirmed focus when it wasn’t the case. I am not saying the Canon is as good optically but I like the results, am very satisfied with the level of sharpness for portraits and the autofocus is not just as fast as the Fuji, from my point of view.



I also own the Fringer Pro ii adapter which give me approx. 130mm and the two adapters plus the Canon 85mm cost me less than the Fuji 56mm or 90mm.



Happy to answer any questions you might have.

Marius

 

[Ben Herrmann]

...Fringer variety of adapters. Yes, they're a bit more expensive, but among all of the adapters out there (pairing Canon lenses to Fuji X cameras), the Fringers have been the most accurate, reliable and successful. I've tried many (i.e. Viltrox, SteelsRing, CommLite, etc) and the Fringer won me over big time. In addition, the developer/maker of the Fringer brand of adapters issues timely updates to handle new lenses, any issues with other lenses already covered, etc.

Hey, just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Spazmaster]

How are you finding the optical quality? I've read that it can degrade it fairly bad

 

[Fred_Last]

How are you finding the optical quality? I've read that it can degrade it fairly bad

These "smart" adapters (Viltrox, Fringer etc.) have no optical element inside and therefore should not degrade the optical quality of the adapted lenses.However, the image quality may be affected in the following ways:

1) The adapter has poor engineering tolerance (ie. looseness, misaligment etc.) - this is probably unlikely because there are tons of similar but "dumb" adapters of various brands that successfully adapt lenses to different brands of camera mounts. I am sure any manufacturers of smart adapters would make sure they conform to their specific dimensions for perfect adaptation otherwise their product won't sell!

2) The adapted lenses have inherent "irregularities" (eg. distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberration) which are normally corrected digitally by the brand of camera they are designed for.

An example is the Canon EF-S 15-85 which shows some vignetting in the widest focal lengths: this is noticeable in the Canon bodies (from lens review because I don't have Canon bodies) but it is very pronounced on my Fuji X-T20 (using Fringer adapter). I guess worse vignetting on Fuji bodies is the result of the inability to make in-camera digital correction because the camera body does not have it in its database.

3) Autofocus problem - IMO this is the most likely cause of image quality degradation. I have seen enough user reviews of these smart adapters, and everyone agree autofocus performance is never as good as native Fuji lenses. Any slight mis-focus will give rise to unsharp images.

 

[Marius Tomuta]

The Viltrox EF-FX2 is a speedbooster, therefore it contains optical elements that turn the Canon 85mm 1.8 into a 90mm f1.3 lens.

 

[Marius Tomuta]

How are you finding the optical quality? I've read that it can degrade it fairly bad

I will try to upload a couple of high res images on Flickr this evening and you can judge yourself.

I usually use VSCO presets in Lightroom but I will make minimal adjustments to the raw images, so you get a better idea.

 

[Marius Tomuta]

...Fringer variety of adapters. Yes, they're a bit more expensive, but among all of the adapters out there (pairing Canon lenses to Fuji X cameras), the Fringers have been the most accurate, reliable and successful. I've tried many (i.e. Viltrox, SteelsRing, CommLite, etc) and the Fringer won me over big time. In addition, the developer/maker of the Fringer brand of adapters issues timely updates to handle new lenses, any issues with other lenses already covered, etc.

Hey, just my 2 cents worth.

Hi Ben,

Totally agree. Your opinion on the Fringer is one of the things that pushed me towards getting one and I thank you for that.

It’s a great adapter, from all points of view and I’m extremely pleased with how it performs with the lenses I’ve tried so far:

- Tamron 90mm 2.8 VC

-Sigma 100-400mm C

-Canon 10-18mm

- Canon 85mm 1/8

Being a speedbooster, the Viltrox EF-FX2 is a different tool and it does well for fast lenses, when shooting portraits.

 

[boogisha]

The Viltrox EF-FX2 is a speedbooster, therefore it contains optical elements that turn the Canon 85mm 1.8 into a 90mm f1.3 lens.

Just a small correction - it turns Canon 85mm f/1.8 into a 60mm f/1.3 lens (or crop sensor 90mm f/1.9 full-frame focal length / depth of field equivalent).

 

[Apa Macam]

How are you finding the optical quality? I've read that it can degrade it fairly bad

I had the same combo before. Sold it after owing it for a week. The sharpness is very bad anything outside of the center. I really wish it works because I managed to get a used canon 85mm for a very decent price. With the adapter, it is just about half the price of a brand new XF56mm f1.2 in my country.

Ended up, I went to the 56mm instead.

 

[Apa Macam]

The Viltrox EF-FX2 is a speedbooster, therefore it contains optical elements that turn the Canon 85mm 1.8 into a 90mm f1.3 lens.

Just a small correction - it turns Canon 85mm f/1.8 into a 60mm f/1.3 lens (or crop sensor 90mm f/1.9 full-frame focal length / depth of field equivalent).

Just a small correction to your small correction, it doesn't turn the 85mm into 60mm in turn of field of view but to a 90mm (85mm X 1.5 X 0.71) just as Marius said. In case you wondered, I've actually put side by side with my cousin's Sony a6500 + Sigma 56mm, and my Viltrox speedbooster + canon 85mm being narrower in field of view.

The depth of field (for viltrox + canon 85mm combo on Fuji camera) of fullframe equivalent is indeed f1.9 like you said, but the light gathering capability did go up to f1.3 as Marius said. Why F1.3? Because the Speedbooster bend the light coming thro the lens to focus on a smaller area of the apsc sensor which resulted in higher concentration of light. In effect, you gained approximately 1 stop of light.

Dont forget the fact that F stop affect both the depth of field as well as the light gathering capability.

 

[boogisha]

The Viltrox EF-FX2 is a speedbooster, therefore it contains optical elements that turn the Canon 85mm 1.8 into a 90mm f1.3 lens.

Just a small correction - it turns Canon 85mm f/1.8 into a 60mm f/1.3 lens (or crop sensor 90mm f/1.9 full-frame focal length / depth of field equivalent).

Just a small correction to your small correction, it doesn't turn the 85mm into 60mm in turn of field of view but to a 90mm (85mm X 1.5 X 0.71) just as Marius said. In case you wondered, I've actually put side by side with my cousin's Sony a6500 + Sigma 56mm, and my Viltrox speedbooster + canon 85mm being narrower in field of view.

It does turn (physical) 85mm lens into (physical) 60mm lens (in regards to field of view). Only then, on a crop sensor, that translates to 90mm full-frame equivalent lens field of view - but there (physical) 85mm translates to 128mm equivalent to begin with (so it`s not that 85mm became 90mm).

And my sentence you quoted says as much (note "crop sensor 90mm f/1.9 full-frame focal length / depth of field equivalent"), so not sure what you are correcting here...? (unless "focal length equivalent " part wasn`t clear enough, meaning "field of view equivalent ", too, indeed)

The depth of field (for viltrox + canon 85mm combo on Fuji camera) of fullframe equivalent is indeed f1.9 like you said, but the light gathering capability did go up to f1.3 as Marius said. Why F1.3? Because the Speedbooster bend the light coming thro the lens to focus on a smaller area of the apsc sensor which resulted in higher concentration of light. In effect, you gained approximately 1 stop of light.

And I never said anything different - being _exactly_ why I made it clear what f/1.9 is equivalent of Lens` light gathering ability is... well... "speed boosted", that`s where the name comes from (also known as "focal reducer", due to what it does to focal length = field of view).

Dont forget the fact that F stop affect both the depth of field as well as the light gathering capability.

I think you missed the point of my reply, merely being that it doesn`t make 85mm f/1.8 lens (which are lens` physical attributes) into a 90mm (which is boosted equivalent focal length) and f/1.3 (which is boosted physical light gathering ability) at the same time.

Physically, boosted 85/1.8 becomes 60/1.3, period. Field of view equivalency involved, boosted 128/1.8 becomes 90/1.3 (where light gathering gain is visible). Depth of field equivalency involved, too, boosted 128/2.7 becomes 90/1.9.

 

[Apa Macam]

boogisha wrote

Physically, boosted 85/1.8 becomes 60/1.3, period. Field of view equivalency involved, boosted 128/1.8 becomes 90/1.3 (where light gathering gain is visible). Depth of field equivalency involved, too, boosted 128/2.7 becomes 90/1.9.

You're right, I did miss your point. Sorry about that. I was confused at first.