Five compact 35-40mm autofocus primes for full frame, 2026

Quick answer: If you shoot Sony E or Nikon Z and want the widest aperture under US$400, the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.8 II EVO is the lens to look at. On L-mount, the TTArtisan AF 40mm f/2 is the value pick, and the Lumix S 40mm f/2 is the one to pay for if weather sealing matters. All prices below are launch prices as of 5 November 2026; check current prices before you buy.

Why 35 to 40mm primes are worth a look right now

Small, cheap autofocus primes for full frame have become a real category rather than a novelty. Fstoppers notes that Viltrox and TTArtisan have brought their inexpensive autofocus designs to L-mount, giving Lumix and Sigma owners the low-cost prime selection Sony E-mount users have had for a while. Sirui joined in this autumn with its Swift series.

The five lenses here cover two focal lengths. 35mm is the classic walk-around wide-normal; 40mm sits between 35mm and 50mm and suits people who find 35mm slightly too wide for portraits and 50mm too tight for streets. Four of the five are 40mm, because that’s where the new activity is.

One scope note: this guide covers autofocus primes that fit full-frame bodies and weigh under about 400 g. Everything faster, wider or heavier (Sirui’s upcoming Aurora 24mm f/1.4, for instance) gets a brief mention near the end.

The specs that decide this purchase

Maximum aperture. f/1.8 to f/2.5 is a modest spread on paper. Fstoppers puts the gap between f/2 and f/2.5 at two-thirds of a stop, which is the difference between ISO 1600 and ISO 2500 in dim light, and a slightly thinner slice of focus at portrait distances.

Weight. This is the number that decides whether the lens stays on the camera. The 40mm lenses here run 144 g to 210 g, while the 35mm f/1.8 is nearly twice the heaviest of them because it carries a larger optical design.

Filter thread. This is the filter-beat number people skip. Screw-in polarisers and ND filters cost more as the thread grows, and a mixed kit means step-up rings or several sets. Here the threads are 52 mm, 58 mm and 62 mm. Panasonic’s choice of 62 mm matters in particular: The Phoblographer points out that you can’t mount the 67mm filters you’d use on other Lumix lenses on it.

Weather sealing. Only one lens in this group has confirmed sealing. If you shoot outdoors in drizzle, that single line of the spec sheet may outweigh everything else.

Controls and close focus. A clicked aperture ring, an AF/MF switch and a function button are common at the cheap end now. Minimum focus distance is 0.34 m on the 35mm and 0.4 m on the three 40mm primes that list it.

Comparison table

Lens	Mounts	Weight (g)	Filter thread (mm)	Weather sealing	Launch price (US$)
Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.8 II EVO	Sony E, Nikon Z	355	58	Unclear	395
Lumix S 40mm f/2	L	144	62	Dust, splash, freeze	398 to 399
TTArtisan AF 40mm f/2	L, Sony E, Nikon Z	167	52	None	168
Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 Air	L (Z also reviewed)	169	52	None	168 (L)
Sirui Swift 40mm f/2.2	Sony E, L, Fujifilm X	210	58	Unclear	149

Weights come from the makers or Macfilos‘ comparison table, and some retailers list slightly different figures (details below). Macfilos prints the Lumix launch price as both US$398 and US$399 in different tables, so the table shows the range. “Unclear” means sources disagree or don’t say.

Lens weight. Weight (g): Lumix S 40mm f/2 144, TTArtisan AF 40mm f/2 167, Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 Air 169, Sirui Swift 40mm f/2.2 210, Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.8 II EVO 355 (g) — Lens weight
Source: Macfilos comparison table, Sirui and DPReview listings, DPReview Viltrox spec page

The Lumix is the lightest at 144 g, followed by the TTArtisan at 167 g and the Viltrox Air at 169 g. The Sirui weighs 210 g and the Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 weighs 355 g.

On launch price, the Sirui Swift is US$149 and the TTArtisan and Viltrox Air are US$168 each. The Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 II EVO is US$395, and the Lumix is US$398 (US$399 in some listings).

Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.8 II EVO

This is the only lens here with an apochromatic (APO) design, meaning it’s built to control colour fringing on high-contrast edges. DPReview’s spec page lists it as announced on 20 April 2026, with 13 elements in 10 groups, nine blades and a stepper motor for Nikon Z and Sony E. It focuses to 0.34 m and takes 58 mm filters.

Weight is where sources disagree. DPReview and the Amazon listing say 355 g; B&H lists 330 g for the E-mount version, so check the figure for your mount.

Reviewers are warm. Dustin Abbott wrote that he doubts you’ll get better optical performance in a 35mm lens at this price. Space gives it 4 stars and calls image quality great, yet not perfect. Scott Tucker reports almost no visible chromatic aberration at any aperture, though he found the bokeh unpredictable and the hood and bayonet design underwhelming.

Lumix S 40mm f/2

Panasonic launched it in April 2026 for L-mount, per Macfilos. The Phoblographer rated it 4 out of 5, calling it small, light and weather resistant, and described it as a utility lens that you buy for the handling rather than for character.

Fstoppers’ Pav SZ shot all three L-mount 40mm lenses and found the Lumix uneven in tough light, while the cheaper TTArtisan and Viltrox held up well for stills. He still calls the Lumix the most complete package: tiny, light, weather-sealed and able to focus very close.

Our calculation: the Lumix costs US$398 at launch against US$168 for the TTArtisan, a difference of US$230. It weighs 144 g against 167 g, so you save 23 g. US$230 ÷ 23 g = US$10 per gram saved, before counting the weather sealing, which is the real thing you’re buying.

TTArtisan AF 40mm f/2

TTArtisan launched it in August 2025 in Sony E and Nikon Z mounts, with the L-mount version following in September 2025. It’s all metal, with a clicked aperture ring that runs in third-stop detents and an “A” setting, plus seven aperture blades.

Weight is another small disagreement: DPReview and Macfilos say 167 g, while B&H lists 176 g. It has no weather sealing and no stabilisation.

Macfilos’ reviewer found it sharp enough for his needs but notes that other testers consider the Viltrox and Lumix sharper. Scott Tucker, reviewing the Nikon Z version, warns of copy-to-copy variation, so buy from a seller with a decent return policy.

Viltrox AF 40mm f/2.5 Air

Viltrox’s L-mount version has been on sale since 22 September 2026, according to Macfilos’ Viltrox review. It’s plastic, has no aperture ring and no weather sealing, per Fstoppers, and it’s the slowest lens here at f/2.5.

The price is its argument. Optical Limits reviewed the Z-mount version at a US$150 retail price and called its resolution solid, albeit uninspiring, with moderate pincushion distortion of just over 2%. Macfilos’ comparison suggests it is one of the sharper options at this price, though the sources conflict on exactly how much.

Sirui Swift 40mm f/2.2

The newest of the five. DPReview says that unlike Viltrox’s similarly priced Air lenses, both Swift primes include a clicked aperture ring, a manual focus ring, a customisable Fn button and an AF/MF switch. The optical design is 11 elements in 8 groups with one aspherical and two ED elements, and it focuses to 0.4 m.

Mounts are worth checking. Sirui’s own store page lists E, L and X variants, while The Phoblographer’s spec table also lists Nikon Z. When the page was indexed, the store showed the variants as unavailable, so confirm stock. The Phoblographer’s first review is positive, but it dates from today and comes from a press-release spec table, so wait for more measured results.

One to wait for: Sirui Aurora 24mm f/1.4

Treat this section as rumour. Sony Alpha Rumors published leaked specs for the Aurora 24mm f/1.4 (14 elements in 11 groups, 550 g, 62 mm filter thread, 0.26 m close focus) at roughly US$535 to US$538, and says Sirui will launch it on 9 November. CineD reported the pre-production sample at IBC 2026 and a Sirui estimate of US$500 to US$600. Sirui hasn’t published final figures, so none of this is confirmed.

Best for… picks by use and budget

Best for Sony E or Nikon Z on a sub-US$400 budget: Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.8 II EVO, for the f/1.8 aperture and the APO design.
Best for L-mount on the lowest budget: TTArtisan AF 40mm f/2 at US$168 at launch, for the metal build and aperture ring. Pick the Viltrox Air if you value the reported sharpness over handling.
Best for wet-weather shooting on L-mount: Lumix S 40mm f/2, the only lens here with confirmed dust, splash and freeze resistance.
Best for a first prime under US$150 on Sony E, L or Fujifilm X: Sirui Swift 40mm f/2.2, based on spec-sheet controls and early reviews only.
Best for the lightest kit: Lumix S 40mm f/2 at 144 g.

What this means for you

Start with your mount, because it removes half the field: the Viltrox 35mm covers Sony E and Nikon Z only, the Lumix only L-mount, and the Sirui’s Nikon Z support is disputed between sources. Then check the filter thread against what you already own. A 52 mm polariser fits both the TTArtisan and the Viltrox Air, and a 58 mm one fits the Viltrox 35mm and the Sirui.

If you shoot mostly in daylight on a light travel kit, the cheaper 40mm lenses make sense and the extra US$230 for the Lumix is hard to justify on image quality alone. If you shoot events or street work in dim rooms and want the widest aperture, the f/1.8 Viltrox is the better use of roughly US$400.

Launch prices are a guide only. Check current prices at your usual shop, and look for firmware updates, since several of these lenses rely on USB-C updates for body compatibility.

Sources

Header image: illustration, AI-generated.