I've been waiting for such a wide "dreamer", and I think this one is perfectly suited for me. I like square wide photos and, yes, I will buy one for my Pana GM1/GM5, and of course my Pen-F. Perfect together with the Pana/Leica 15/1.7, and 45 and 75 mm. I don't need any more lenses, maybe ...
Other reviewers and major retail site reviews(B&H) talk about firmware problems with this lens (pincushion distortion). Seems like it could be a good lens, once it works properly. I have other manual focus lenses that I am real happy with.
firmware has nothing to do with optical performance (pincushion distortion) as both Panasonic and Olympus do not have any profile corrections for other third party lenses.
@@Red35Photography Optical performance issues, required lot of returns to finally get a good copy … this review and the B&H site in US. th-cam.com/video/E6Ss2wpq5pw/w-d-xo.html
I have this problem. Apparently because no distortion correction information is given by the lens it uses the value of the last lens you’ve used. It causes major distortion for me. Hopefully I can get the firmware updated.
I've got it and love it! Would have been perfect if it had AF, but certainly not essential at this focal length for my purposes, and I'm very pleased with it. 👍
Really interesting lens Jimmy. I may consider getting this to replace my Olympus 9-18. The Olympus 12mm f/2 is just too expensive to justify for me. I really respect how these third party manufacturers produce such high quality lenses. I have the Laowa 4mm circular fisheye and it's pretty amazing.
Nice review; just like for the Laowa 7,5mm f2 you did months ago. I aknowledge that the 10mm is not quite as wide, has the benefit of electrical contacts and is smaller and lighter; but I miss your comparison of both for image quality. Are they equal in that respect? I find both very appealing; I can get the 7,5mm used for a better price.
The 18 and 20mm prime equivalent focal lengths is the biggest gap in the MFT lineup. We need an AF prime as currently there are only manual primes and AF zooms in this range. However, with a 96° field of view I will be getting this new Laowa lens. I already have the 7.5mm f2 and look forward to bringing home a new brother for that excellent lens for my G9. The only thing that I don’t like about the new lens is the removal of the aperture ring.
It's hard for Olympus to do everything, same goes to Canon/Nikon, that's why Sigma and Tamaron who makes some odd focal lengths and aperture sizes. Laowa is making ultra wide prime lenses that Olympus don't make, at this moment in time, 7-14 f2.8 pro and their 9-18 f4-5.6 are the only wide options. To most, 7-14 already enough, but nowadays a lot of astro photographers who wants wide lens but with bigger apertures, while Olympus still assessing the needs for it. I am sure they will when they see the needs and demands. However, big companies always less agile when it comes to this kind of product developments.
@@Red35Photography well ok but, I think Oly is pretty agile. They have most focal lengths covered. Maybe Laowa will push Oly and Pany into giving us what we want :-) By the way, isn't there an F4 ultra wide on the roadmap? Or was I dreaming that?
Of course, but at this focal length, you don't really need to, even at f2.8, everything from 3m to infinity will be in focus. This is a snap shot lens.
Hey thanks for the information!! I’m new to photography and vlogging I currently have OM-D E-M10 MIIIs is this a good versatile lens for a an entry to intermediate level photographer. I’m mainly looking to use it for travel. I have a Mavic 2 pro for aerial shots. Please continue to keep up the good work your channel has helped me out lots!!
Firstly, thanks for yet another excellent review! I purchased this lens but experienced what I thought was excessive flare. I’m wondering whether a longer aftermarket lens hood could help doing a better job in mitigating flare.
Thanks for watching Joe. Flare is expected with ultra wide, even with original Olympus or Panasonic lenses. It's hard to avoid, though coat will help in some instances. I do notice some flare with this 10mm but longer lens hood may cast 'shadows' in the image resulting some vignetting. I personally haven't tried, and kind of accepted the flare as part of the character when I shoot. I generally don't mind flare too much, it's in my photography, at times, I even force the lens to flare...
I'm excited by this lens. I'll have to wait some time before I can afford one espcially after the expenses of our move and Christmas etc.. but it's on my bucket list :)
I’ve long loved my heavy metal SLR Magic 10mm 2.1, with its rectilinear performance and fantastic purpose built variable ND. It’s awesome for landscapes and video, but it is a total beast to hike around with. This may replace it, if I can find the right ND filter.
Cheers Rob! I do love this little guy, so versatile for this focal length. Definitely not an everyday lens but great for those who needs a fast, well built and sharp ultra wide
Now, to find out how much!!!! This lens would be ideal for ultra-widefield astro pics. Even on a normal tripod setup, you should be able to get close to 50sec long exposures without trailing. Unless you want to shoot star trails, of course.
Laowa’s biggest seller’s are its MFT lenses. Just because some TH-cam reviewers profit from clickbait videos about the death of MFT doesn’t make it reality. My local camera store told me recently that their 2nd biggest manufacturer after Canon in terms of sales numbers is now Blackmagic, with the cheaper 4K model (with MFT mount) being most popular. MFT has a huge user base and the G9 and GH5 series are still huge sellers. Olympus is suffering because they were late to the video party, but video oriented MFT is doing well.
@@artistjoh Its why I bought the em5 m3. it was aimed at video but the photo die hard wouldn't entertain it. I even said no one is interested in photos so we need to get youtuber creators and bloggers to proper cameras else no more cameras. I was dismissed. PS I didn't have a camera before I bought the em5 I had a camcorder but I wanted to take much better quality video and proper photos. Got the prime pro 25 f1.2 to go with it. nice.
Had a look on UK website and the link and can't find anything saying its official MFT. Does the CPU chip give it that seal just curious. Jimmy, there website shows some cat photos, when we going to see more CATS? And what options do we have closest to this lens from Olympus or others?
Hey man, they wouldn't list it as official, but you can google Laowa and Micro Four Thirds and you will see. Only official members would be allowed (officially) to make electronic contacts that communicates to any MFT cameras. That's why there aren't many that have them. I just posted one on my Facebook taken from this lens, more will come when I can get out, London is still under lockdown :(
Great video Jimmy. How does this lens compare in terms of IQ, CA Flare & Distortion versus my current Oly 9-18? I am tempted to replace 9-18 with this 10mm as its better built, has a faster aperture and also faster to operate (as much as I love the 9-18 it has to be unlocked ea time which slows the operation down). On he downside I'm losing autofocus & versatility (But I have Leica 12-60 f2.8-4 & Oly 17 1.8), Happy New Year, Rich.
It's great, very sharp, it will be better than Olympus 9-18, very much on par with 7-14 pro lens. Like you said, it's a prime so you will lose flexibility but manual focus is very easy with this lens as the depth of field in this is pretty deep. f4, from 2m to infinity is in focus. So not bad. Oh, distortion is non-existent.
Olympus should have made a 9, 9,5 or 10mm 1,8 prime lens a long time ago. Even a pro version with f 1,4 would have been very interesting. A chance not taken.
I would love to see Sigma make an f/1.4 lens of that focal length for astrophotographers using Canon, Sony, or MFT mirrorless cameras! I'm sure their version would be comparable to or better than anything Olympus would make (except without weather sealing) and cost a lot less. And that's something a lot of crop sensor astrophotographers would love!
Thanks for watching mate. This lens is made specific for M43 so it won't work otherwise. If you want to adapt to APS-C or Super35, you need their 9mm f2.8 version.
Sorry to be off topic but does anyone know of a way to get back into an instagram account..? I somehow lost my password. I would appreciate any help you can give me.
If it had autofocus, I would buy it! Unfortunately, manual focus just is going to be really frustrating for photographing dogs. Have you tried doing any astrophotography with it yet?
@@Centauri27 Absolutely! Kaylee Greer from Dog Breath Photography has made a career of that! I think she has a show on Nat Geo Wild called Pupparazzi and she was featured on the cover of the first issue of the Nat Geo Wild magazine. She actually uses much wider lenses though. She started out with a Canon 16-35 and I think she's using a Canon 11-24 or something now. I like 10mm sometimes though. It's not so wide as to make it impossible to soften the background with a bright enough lens and things in the background don't look quite as distant.
I just made a video on this subject :) But both are great lens and I personally have the 7.5mm and love it. The 10mm is great since it talks to the camera and you get a lot of perks on doing so, such as IBIS settings, METADATA.. etc. all very handy.
@@Red35Photography to compliance things, now that 7.5 is chipped too. I guess you are leaning back towards 7.5mm. However, I like the distortion-free option. Tricky call, I am now in the same boat as Kelvin was.
It depends on your photographic needs. 10mm is quite wide and 20mm is a lot narrower. If you shoot a lot of landscape, then 10mm may be more useful but 20mm is pretty standard and a good general purpose focal length.
Can You do a comparison between Olympus 12mm and Laowa 10mm? I'm curious if it is a big difference in field of view between such focal lenghts, or not.
The 12mm f2 has an 84° field of view, and the Laowa 10mm f2 has a 96° angle which is quite a significant difference. It fits about halfway between the 7.5mm and the 12mm in terms of how wide is “sees” and is a useful difference. In 35mm equivalence it is the same as a 24mm, 20mm, and 15mm. Some people don’t like ultrawides, but I love going beyond the 24mm equivalent :)
@@artistjoh Yep, i have read specs, but comparison in real life is better ;) I don't have any wider lens than my Lumix 12-60, so it's hard for me to compare fov without images.
I love the videos on your channel and all the information you give us is very valuable, but the constant tone of your script reading seems more and more exhausting ...Maybe I'm wrong and you're not reading, but that is what it seems to me..... Please no offense, I'm just trying to be constructive, maybe one more tone dialogue natural, more like an everyday conversation could be more pleasant ...
I've been waiting for such a wide "dreamer", and I think this one is perfectly suited for me. I like square wide photos and, yes, I will buy one for my Pana GM1/GM5, and of course my Pen-F. Perfect together with the Pana/Leica 15/1.7, and 45 and 75 mm. I don't need any more lenses, maybe ...
Other reviewers and major retail site reviews(B&H) talk about firmware problems with this lens (pincushion distortion). Seems like it could be a good lens, once it works properly. I have other manual focus lenses that I am real happy with.
firmware has nothing to do with optical performance (pincushion distortion) as both Panasonic and Olympus do not have any profile corrections for other third party lenses.
@@Red35Photography Optical performance issues, required lot of returns to finally get a good copy … this review and the B&H site in US. th-cam.com/video/E6Ss2wpq5pw/w-d-xo.html
I have this problem. Apparently because no distortion correction information is given by the lens it uses the value of the last lens you’ve used. It causes major distortion for me. Hopefully I can get the firmware updated.
I've got it and love it! Would have been perfect if it had AF, but certainly not essential at this focal length for my purposes, and I'm very pleased with it. 👍
Really interesting lens Jimmy. I may consider getting this to replace my Olympus 9-18. The Olympus 12mm f/2 is just too expensive to justify for me. I really respect how these third party manufacturers produce such high quality lenses. I have the Laowa 4mm circular fisheye and it's pretty amazing.
Same here Carl :-)
Nice review; just like for the Laowa 7,5mm f2 you did months ago. I aknowledge that the 10mm is not quite as wide, has the benefit of electrical contacts and is smaller and lighter; but I miss your comparison of both for image quality. Are they equal in that respect? I find both very appealing; I can get the 7,5mm used for a better price.
The 18 and 20mm prime equivalent focal lengths is the biggest gap in the MFT lineup. We need an AF prime as currently there are only manual primes and AF zooms in this range. However, with a 96° field of view I will be getting this new Laowa lens. I already have the 7.5mm f2 and look forward to bringing home a new brother for that excellent lens for my G9. The only thing that I don’t like about the new lens is the removal of the aperture ring.
Looks like an excellent lens. How come Oly didn't make one like (with AF) this?
It's hard for Olympus to do everything, same goes to Canon/Nikon, that's why Sigma and Tamaron who makes some odd focal lengths and aperture sizes. Laowa is making ultra wide prime lenses that Olympus don't make, at this moment in time, 7-14 f2.8 pro and their 9-18 f4-5.6 are the only wide options. To most, 7-14 already enough, but nowadays a lot of astro photographers who wants wide lens but with bigger apertures, while Olympus still assessing the needs for it. I am sure they will when they see the needs and demands. However, big companies always less agile when it comes to this kind of product developments.
@@Red35Photography well ok but, I think Oly is pretty agile. They have most focal lengths covered.
Maybe Laowa will push Oly and Pany into giving us what we want :-)
By the way, isn't there an F4 ultra wide on the roadmap? Or was I dreaming that?
If it only had auto focus I would be interested.
Of course, but at this focal length, you don't really need to, even at f2.8, everything from 3m to infinity will be in focus. This is a snap shot lens.
Hey thanks for the information!! I’m new to photography and vlogging I currently have OM-D E-M10 MIIIs is this a good versatile lens for a an entry to intermediate level photographer. I’m mainly looking to use it for travel. I have a Mavic 2 pro for aerial shots. Please continue to keep up the good work your channel has helped me out lots!!
Firstly, thanks for yet another excellent review! I purchased this lens but experienced what I thought was excessive flare. I’m wondering whether a longer aftermarket lens hood could help doing a better job in mitigating flare.
Thanks for watching Joe. Flare is expected with ultra wide, even with original Olympus or Panasonic lenses. It's hard to avoid, though coat will help in some instances. I do notice some flare with this 10mm but longer lens hood may cast 'shadows' in the image resulting some vignetting. I personally haven't tried, and kind of accepted the flare as part of the character when I shoot. I generally don't mind flare too much, it's in my photography, at times, I even force the lens to flare...
I'm excited by this lens. I'll have to wait some time before I can afford one espcially after the expenses of our move and Christmas etc.. but it's on my bucket list :)
I’ve long loved my heavy metal SLR Magic 10mm 2.1, with its rectilinear performance and fantastic purpose built variable ND. It’s awesome for landscapes and video, but it is a total beast to hike around with. This may replace it, if I can find the right ND filter.
Not sure about the new Olympus 8-25 f4 for me, but this lens is something I'm really interested in.
This is a great lens :)
Great review, Jimmy! Thanks.
Cheers Rob! I do love this little guy, so versatile for this focal length. Definitely not an everyday lens but great for those who needs a fast, well built and sharp ultra wide
Wow, I think I just found a replacement for my Olympus 9 mm f8 lens... Just got to save up a little...
Don't get rid of the f8 body cap though. It's awesome for quick, good light street snaps with the silent shutter turned on. 🙂
can compare the 6mm, 7,5mm, 10mm. want to see the viewing angle difference.
Been waiting for this one! Curious how it performs.
Now, to find out how much!!!! This lens would be ideal for ultra-widefield astro pics. Even on a normal tripod setup, you should be able to get close to 50sec long exposures without trailing. Unless you want to shoot star trails, of course.
And no I didn't know Laowa had joined MFT as I thought people were leaving. Bostin to know. Now I am watching the rest of the vid.
Laowa’s biggest seller’s are its MFT lenses. Just because some TH-cam reviewers profit from clickbait videos about the death of MFT doesn’t make it reality. My local camera store told me recently that their 2nd biggest manufacturer after Canon in terms of sales numbers is now Blackmagic, with the cheaper 4K model (with MFT mount) being most popular. MFT has a huge user base and the G9 and GH5 series are still huge sellers. Olympus is suffering because they were late to the video party, but video oriented MFT is doing well.
@@artistjoh Its why I bought the em5 m3. it was aimed at video but the photo die hard wouldn't entertain it. I even said no one is interested in photos so we need to get youtuber creators and bloggers to proper cameras else no more cameras. I was dismissed. PS I didn't have a camera before I bought the em5 I had a camcorder but I wanted to take much better quality video and proper photos.
Got the prime pro 25 f1.2 to go with it. nice.
Looks like a fair replacement for my Samyang 12mmf2 smaller,sharper and light weight!!!
Had a look on UK website and the link and can't find anything saying its official MFT.
Does the CPU chip give it that seal just curious.
Jimmy, there website shows some cat photos, when we going to see more CATS?
And what options do we have closest to this lens from Olympus or others?
Hey man, they wouldn't list it as official, but you can google Laowa and Micro Four Thirds and you will see. Only official members would be allowed (officially) to make electronic contacts that communicates to any MFT cameras. That's why there aren't many that have them. I just posted one on my Facebook taken from this lens, more will come when I can get out, London is still under lockdown :(
@@Red35Photography Thanks. All adds up to the knowledge.
Thank You for this commercial. Now I only need a objective view to see I this lens is for me.
How is it via the 7.5mm should I get one ?
Is the lens hood removable?
Yes it's removable
how to compare to laowa 9mm ?
Great video Jimmy. How does this lens compare in terms of IQ, CA Flare & Distortion versus my current Oly 9-18? I am tempted to replace 9-18 with this 10mm as its better built, has a faster aperture and also faster to operate (as much as I love the 9-18 it has to be unlocked ea time which slows the operation down). On he downside I'm losing autofocus & versatility (But I have Leica 12-60 f2.8-4 & Oly 17 1.8), Happy New Year, Rich.
It's great, very sharp, it will be better than Olympus 9-18, very much on par with 7-14 pro lens. Like you said, it's a prime so you will lose flexibility but manual focus is very easy with this lens as the depth of field in this is pretty deep. f4, from 2m to infinity is in focus. So not bad. Oh, distortion is non-existent.
@@Red35Photography thank you so much Jimmy for the super fast and comprehensive response, Rich
@@JeevesTCW You are welcome Richard!
Now I know what to put on my list to Santa for Crimbo :)
Where do we stand with the Meike 8mm 2.8 and Laowa 9mm Zero D in comparison? I feel like there's some overlap with the 9MM
Olympus should have made a 9, 9,5 or 10mm 1,8 prime lens a long time ago. Even a pro version with f 1,4 would have been very interesting. A chance not taken.
They've patented a 10mm f/1.4. I imagine we'll see it sooner or later.
I would love to see Sigma make an f/1.4 lens of that focal length for astrophotographers using Canon, Sony, or MFT mirrorless cameras! I'm sure their version would be comparable to or better than anything Olympus would make (except without weather sealing) and cost a lot less. And that's something a lot of crop sensor astrophotographers would love!
Is this the first Laowa lens with MFT electrical contact? Do we expect more to Come?
Thanks for review--do you know if it will cover APSC or Super 35? Some m43 do, some don't....
Thanks for watching mate. This lens is made specific for M43 so it won't work otherwise. If you want to adapt to APS-C or Super35, you need their 9mm f2.8 version.
@@Red35Photography Thanks so much, I use a lot of m43 lenses on Super 35, some cover the whole sensor, some vignette, some I have to crop.
@@Red35Photography Turns out it covers Super35 at 6K but not open gate.
Sorry to be off topic but does anyone know of a way to get back into an instagram account..?
I somehow lost my password. I would appreciate any help you can give me.
@Saul Sincere Instablaster ;)
If it had autofocus, I would buy it! Unfortunately, manual focus just is going to be really frustrating for photographing dogs. Have you tried doing any astrophotography with it yet?
I agree, but will you really want to use an ultra-wide lens to photograph dogs? (Unless you like closeup distorted views of their snouts!)
@@Centauri27 Absolutely! Kaylee Greer from Dog Breath Photography has made a career of that! I think she has a show on Nat Geo Wild called Pupparazzi and she was featured on the cover of the first issue of the Nat Geo Wild magazine. She actually uses much wider lenses though. She started out with a Canon 16-35 and I think she's using a Canon 11-24 or something now. I like 10mm sometimes though. It's not so wide as to make it impossible to soften the background with a bright enough lens and things in the background don't look quite as distant.
Does this fit a Sony E-mount?
Unfortunately no, this is MFT only.
Is there a guide to the best non Oly and Panasonic lenses?
Jimmy, would you recommend the 7.5 or this new 10mm... I was about to place my order for 7.5, till I watch your video....
I just made a video on this subject :) But both are great lens and I personally have the 7.5mm and love it. The 10mm is great since it talks to the camera and you get a lot of perks on doing so, such as IBIS settings, METADATA.. etc. all very handy.
@@Red35Photography to compliance things, now that 7.5 is chipped too. I guess you are leaning back towards 7.5mm. However, I like the distortion-free option. Tricky call, I am now in the same boat as Kelvin was.
Thanks a lot !!!
I wonder what the cost is going to be like...
400$?
Nice! What about coma?
Not that I could see, very good performer. There's a slight softness at the corners at f2 but nothing I would say it's bad
@@Red35Photography Thank you! I ordered mine =)
@@maidn1887 Wow nice!
In case you don't know, Laowa is pronounced as "lau 'wa" in Chinese which literally means “old frog".
I do know :) just easier to pronounce it in the ‘Western’ way, like ‘Godox’ so many pronounce it as Go Dox but it’s actually God Ox hahah
What is the right focal lenght for my G90? 10mm or 20mm ?
It depends on your photographic needs. 10mm is quite wide and 20mm is a lot narrower. If you shoot a lot of landscape, then 10mm may be more useful but 20mm is pretty standard and a good general purpose focal length.
@@Red35Photography Thank you.
Can You do a comparison between Olympus 12mm and Laowa 10mm? I'm curious if it is a big difference in field of view between such focal lenghts, or not.
The 12mm f2 has an 84° field of view, and the Laowa 10mm f2 has a 96° angle which is quite a significant difference. It fits about halfway between the 7.5mm and the 12mm in terms of how wide is “sees” and is a useful difference. In 35mm equivalence it is the same as a 24mm, 20mm, and 15mm. Some people don’t like ultrawides, but I love going beyond the 24mm equivalent :)
@@artistjoh Yep, i have read specs, but comparison in real life is better ;) I don't have any wider lens than my Lumix 12-60, so it's hard for me to compare fov without images.
do a vs 9mm f2.8 and 7.5?
No mention of cost...
I'm getting this. Bless the GAS
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I think laowa will be expecting gh5/s users sales XD
😱 I cant look at you handling your cam w/o straps at a water side... Don't you are afraid to accidentally drop your cam? 😀
First, yey!
Neah, I'll stick to my oly 8 mm. Olympus is offering something with the 8mm , something that none other makers can beat it.
Would you care to say what that something is - or ?
Apples and Oranges. The 8mm is a fisheye, the Laowa isn't.
@@jammin023 maybe you forgot you got an in camera option that takes cares that .... and wont be a fish eye anymore .... ;)
I love the videos on your channel and all the information you give us is very valuable, but the constant tone of your script reading seems more and more exhausting ...Maybe I'm wrong and you're not reading, but that is what it seems to me..... Please no offense, I'm just trying to be constructive, maybe one more tone dialogue natural, more like an everyday conversation could be more pleasant ...
99% of this review is a guy talking....
yawn