Anyone who’s followed my stream of consciousness here over the years knows I won’t pay Japan and German manufacturers’ prices for their gear that’s made in China. But what about gear made by China companies?

Well, until recently most of the stuff I sampled was surprisingly well-made and surprisingly cheap with unsurprisingly unremarkable performance, a few niche items aside. But as the industry there has matured, there’s been an uptick in performance while maintaining the former two criteria.

Last time I was shooting Canon, I scored a copy of an unauthorized RF-mount Viltrox 85mm f1.8, which was fairly quickly removed from the market at Canon’s insistence. It wasn’t hard to figure out why: for about a third of the price of the RF 85mm f/2 lens, Viltrox had outdone Canon.

With 26mp in crop mode in the arsenal now, APS-C lenses can be considered. The Viltrox 75mm f/1.2 lens looked like a fun option for using on holiday lights, so I grabbed one. Just for fun? Well, it didn’t take long to find out that it’s neither unremarkable nor niche.

Sharp and contrasty wide open, but without looking brittle-sharp, it goes beyond the flat colors recorded by so many E-mount lenses. Tonal gradience actually tends a bit in the direction of some better R-mount lenses. Contre-jour shots don’t wash out. Harsh light on subjects is handled well.

Still, I’ve only had it for three days so far. So maybe it has some nasty secrets yet to be revealed. Whatever the case, it’s made a fantastic start and has me eyeing a few more options from that part of the world. As long as the quality continues to rise and not the price, more power to ’em!

a7rV/Viltros 75mm f/1.2 . . .