Viltrox at NAB 2026: Full EVO APO Lineup + APS-C Primes + Full-Frame Pancakes Confirmed

Key Takeaways

• Viltrox unveiled the full NAB 2026 lineup on April 19–20: AF 35mm f/1.8 EVO APO and AF 55mm f/1.8 EVO APO full-frame primes in Sony E and Nikon Z, plus four APS-C and full-frame pancake / EVO lenses.
• Confirmed pricing: the two APO primes list at €349 each (about $380 — above the $275 teased, but still well under Sigma’s APO Art line at $600+).
• The Shenzhen optics maker also previewed unreleased L-mount lenses, expanded EPIC cinema primes, new DL-mount Raze optics for DJI Ronin 4D, and the NexusFocus autofocus adapter.
• The launch landed with Viltrox still in a Nikon Z-mount patent lawsuit — the decision to ship Z-mount variants of the EVO APO primes anyway signals confidence (or defiance) on licensing outcomes.
• Booth C5735 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 18–22. Pre-orders at Foto Erhardt (Germany) for the EVO APO primes; wider availability “shortly after” NAB.

Viltrox is about to drop the biggest third-party lens news of the NAB cycle. The Shenzhen brand has teased its first large-aperture APO autofocus lens for an April 20 reveal at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas, expanding an EVO series that currently consists of just one focal length — the popular AF 85mm f/2 EVO.

The company isn’t stopping at one lens. The booth will also show new L-mount glass, an expanded EPIC cinema prime lineup, new Raze optics built for the DJI Ronin 4D, and the NexusFocus autofocus adapter for PL lenses. Taken together, it’s the most ambitious show floor Viltrox has put up — and a direct signal of where the company is heading while its Nikon Z-mount legal fight plays out in the background.

What Launched at NAB 2026

The Viltrox booth reveal on April 19–20 ended months of teaser guesswork. The two full-frame EVO APO primes are the headline — and they came with two focal lengths that Digital Camera World’s 50mm guess missed on both counts: 35mm f/1.8 and 55mm f/1.8. Both ship in Sony E and Nikon Z initially; L-mount versions are on the roadmap but not confirmed for launch.

Pricing came in higher than the teased $275 anchor: €349 each (roughly $380 at current rates), already listed for pre-order at German retailer Foto Erhardt. That’s still comfortably below every comparable full-frame APO prime. Sigma’s 35mm f/1.4 II Art sits at $899. Viltrox’s own Lab-series 35mm f/1.2 is $999. The new EVO APO primes undercut both by more than half, in focal lengths that are arguably more useful for the hybrid stills-and-video shooters Viltrox is targeting.

Full-frame EVO APO specs (confirmed)

Who these lenses target

Viltrox positions the EVO APO series at “modern creators working across both photography and video.” The spec sheets back that up: STM focus motors (quiet for video recording), weather sealing, and a compact barrel under 80mm both stand on a gimbal without drama. The 35mm is the documentary and environmental-portrait focal length; the 55mm is the portrait and short-telephoto workhorse. Shot at f/2 or tighter, APO correction should cut the purple fringing that shows up in the backgrounds of f/1.8 bokeh — the one optical compromise most budget fast primes ship with.

The Rest of the NAB Lineup

The EVO APO primes stole the headline, but the booth covered four more focal lengths split across APS-C hybrid lenses and full-frame pancake designs. Confirmed models:

• AF 75mm f/1.8 EVO (APS-C) — a short-telephoto portrait lens for Fujifilm X, Sony E (crop), and Canon RF-S shooters. 115mm full-frame equivalent. Competes with the Viltrox 75mm f/1.2 Pro on the high end and Sigma 56mm f/1.4 on the low end.
• AF 90mm f/2.2 EVO (APS-C) — a 135mm equivalent short telephoto. The f/2.2 aperture is unusual and suggests an optically ambitious design kept compact; it’s aimed at the portrait and product photography crowd on APS-C bodies.
• AF 28mm f/4.5 pancake (L-mount, full-frame) — an ultra-compact wide for Panasonic S5 II / S1R II and Sigma fp shooters. At f/4.5 it’s not a low-light lens; the pitch is everyday carry, the kind of thing that stays on the body in a bag.
• AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO pancake (full-frame) — a slightly faster, fractionally wider pancake companion. Likely Sony E and Nikon Z first, possibly L-mount later.

The pancakes are the most surprising entries. Viltrox hasn’t shipped a true full-frame pancake in any mount previously — the company’s been focused on fast primes and zooms. Pairing a 26mm f/2.8 and 28mm f/4.5 suggests they’re testing whether the segment Fujifilm has owned for a decade (the XF 27mm f/2.8 line) can work on full-frame mirrorless at the same price floor.

Cinema-side, the booth also expanded the EPIC 1.33x anamorphic prime lineup with new focal lengths (still unnamed in pre-NAB materials), previewed Raze DL-mount optics built specifically for the DJI Ronin 4D, and showed the NexusFocus autofocus adapter for turning manual PL cinema glass into AF-capable lenses — plus a new PL-to-L autofocus adapter for Panasonic / Sigma fp shooters running cine glass.

Why APO Matters

APO — short for apochromatic — refers to optical designs that correct chromatic aberration across three wavelengths of light instead of the two handled by standard achromats. The practical upshot: fewer purple fringes on high-contrast edges, cleaner color separation, and noticeably sharper rendering at wide apertures. APO glass used to be a Leica-and-Sigma-flagship flex with premium pricing to match; the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 II Art, for example, is explicitly marketed on its APO correction.

Pushing APO correction into a $275 autofocus lens is unusual. If Viltrox delivers something close to the edge-to-edge sharpness its Pro-series lenses manage — on a compact barrel and at that price — it fundamentally changes the math for hybrid shooters balancing a stills and video kit. The teaser copy’s “Wide Open. Pure Sight.” is likely a direct reference to APO performance at maximum aperture.

The L-Mount Roadmap Expands

Viltrox joined the L-Mount Alliance in September 2025 alongside Panasonic, Leica, Sigma, and Samyang. The first native L-mount AF lens from Viltrox — the AF 16mm f/1.8 L — shipped shortly after. At NAB 2026, the booth will preview “several new and unreleased L-mount lenses,” per Newsshooter. No model numbers yet, but the pattern in Viltrox’s other mounts suggests fast primes and a hybrid-focused zoom or two.

For Panasonic S5 II / S1R II shooters and Sigma fp owners, this matters. Native L-mount autofocus glass at Viltrox pricing has been the missing piece in the Alliance’s affordability story — every other mount has had Samyang and Viltrox driving price floors for years.

Cinema Lineup — EPIC, Raze, NexusFocus

On the cinema side, three distinct product families share the booth:

• EPIC Cinema Primes — Viltrox’s 1.33x full-frame anamorphic lineup in PL mount. The existing set covers 25mm through 135mm at T2.0, with unified 0.8 MOD gears and matched barrels. NAB 2026 adds new focal-length options to that set, though Viltrox hasn’t named them yet.
• Raze Cinema Lenses — a new DL-mount line designed specifically for the DJI Ronin 4D integrated camera system. No published focal lengths or pricing, but the partnership angle is unusual: most third-party cinema glass chases PL and E-mount first, not DL.
• NexusFocus F1 — an autofocus adapter that adds AF to manual PL lenses. Previously reviewed by CineD in March 2026, the adapter is aimed at camera ops who want to keep vintage and specialty glass in rotation without giving up autofocus on modern cinema bodies.

The Nikon Z-Mount Lawsuit in the Background

The NAB launch comes at a messy moment for Viltrox. Nikon filed a patent infringement suit over Z-mount electronics earlier in 2026, and the fallout has already pushed Sirui and Meike to pull Z-mount lenses from retailers. Tamron and Sigma remain unaffected under existing licensing agreements; Viltrox’s status is still being litigated.

Against that backdrop, spreading the EVO APO launch across Sony FE, L-mount, and still-selling Z-mount stock reads as deliberate hedging. If the Nikon case ends badly, Viltrox has momentum in three other mount ecosystems to fall back on. If Viltrox wins or settles, it’ll have a head start on APO glass across every major mirrorless mount simultaneously — exactly the “multi-mount simultaneous launch” pattern Tamron committed to at CP+.

FAQ

When did Viltrox launch the EVO APO lenses?

Viltrox revealed the full EVO APO lineup on April 19–20, 2026 at NAB Show in Las Vegas (booth C5735 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 18–22). Pre-orders opened the same week; first shipments are expected shortly after NAB wraps.

How much do the EVO APO lenses cost?

Both the AF 35mm f/1.8 EVO APO and AF 55mm f/1.8 EVO APO list at €349 each at launch — roughly $380 at current exchange rates. That’s higher than the $275 teased pre-NAB but still well below every comparable full-frame APO prime (Sigma’s 35mm f/1.4 II Art sits at $899). Pre-orders are available at Foto Erhardt in Germany; wider retail availability follows shortly after NAB.

What focal lengths did Viltrox launch?

Two full-frame EVO APO primes: AF 35mm f/1.8 EVO APO and AF 55mm f/1.8 EVO APO. Both in Sony E and Nikon Z. Viltrox also announced four additional lenses at the show: the AF 75mm f/1.8 EVO and AF 90mm f/2.2 EVO (both APS-C), the AF 28mm f/4.5 pancake for L-mount, and the AF 26mm f/2.8 EVO pancake for full-frame.

Which mounts do the EVO APO lenses support?

The AF 35mm and AF 55mm EVO APO primes ship in Sony E (FE) and Nikon Z at launch. L-mount versions are expected to follow — Viltrox’s NAB booth previewed the next wave of L-mount glass but didn’t commit to dates. Canon RF and Fujifilm X availability is unconfirmed and would likely come later in the year if at all.

Is Viltrox still selling Nikon Z-mount lenses despite the lawsuit?

Yes — unlike Sirui and Meike, Viltrox has not pulled its Nikon Z-mount lineup from stores. The lawsuit is still ongoing. The existing AF 85mm f/2 EVO Z remains available at $275, and Nikon Z is expected to be among the supported mounts for the new EVO APO lenses.

Where This Fits

The EVO APO reveal is the latest move in a year that’s already seen Viltrox go head-to-head with Sigma’s Art line (the 35mm f/1.2 Lab), get sued by Nikon, and quietly ship pro-grade glass at under-$300 street prices while the incumbents raised theirs. The company’s trajectory remains “make Leica-adjacent optics at Samyang money.” NAB 2026 is the biggest stage yet for that pitch.

Whether the reveal lives up to the teaser depends on actual optical performance — APO designs are genuinely difficult to hit, and cut-price versions can show their compromises at edge field, in focus shift, or in stopped-down vignetting. Full hands-on analysis will land once Viltrox publishes MTF charts and independent labs get samples, which typically runs two to four weeks post-NAB.

Featured image: Viltrox AF 85mm f/2 EVO FE design details. Image credit: Viltrox.