10/25/2026
One night this season, on the sideline, a kid asked a cheerleader to prom. I was right there. Small second camera, a Viltrox 28mm f/4.5 pancake, a little TTL flash. Nobody stiffened up. They just kept having their moment.
Walk up to people with a big camera and a 70-200 and they straighten up and start performing for it. Walk up with a lens that looks like a body cap? They don't think the photo counts.
That's been the fun part of this lens at high school football.
It's fixed at f/4.5. One less thing to think about. And I've grown to like how it flares under the stadium lights, especially in black and white.
I wrote up what I've learned, and why connection beats expensive gear.
englephoto.com/blog/viltrox-28mm-f4-5-photography
Sacramento photographer Tim Engle on how the Viltrox 28mm f/4.5 pancake lens changed his portraits, football photography, and how people react to the camera.
