The Panasonic Leica 9mm f/1.7 deserves a mention. I foolishly sold my 7.5mm Laowa to fund an Olympus 8-25 because I wanted autofocus. Bad move. The 8-25 made no sense to me for m43 because it’s quite big and heavy. It also struggled with Astro because it’s max aperture is only f/4 The 9mm PanaLeica has solved this problem. It’s small, sharp, fast, and also has excellent macro capabilities.
I bought this lens one month ago and I'm happy with that lens. - it is usefull in some situations in landscape because you can put on a filter. - it is usefull in astrophotografy, but not the best opcions. - it's a good lens in arquitecture photografy. Nice review.
This lense is great for close-up photography of full length plants etc. in the wild! I get away from most disturbing items in front of plants because close focus distance. And the focus peaking in my camera makes it easy to use manual focusing.
The field recoding of the stereo birdsong is enchanting. It sounds fabulous with a pair of headphones. Lovely video Matti. Laowa 6mm to infinity and beyond?
there are people using these wide lenses to make VR video. you can get 2, put them on 2 cameras and get a nice compact vr video (or photo) setup. I think the 4.5mm would be 180° fov, however i saw one video using a narrower fov and it looked pretty nice too.
I bought it last month form the US, as it is not yet avaiable in Australia where I live. I use ultrawide lenses a lot, and this is a unique piece of equipment, there are M43 ultrawide zooms but they are not as wide, fast or small as this one. Laowa has been producing many quality lenses for M43 in the last few years
Thank you for the video, photos and calm entertainment. I guess at some point I am going to have to accept the idea of adjusting the aperture on the body dials instead of on the lens.
I wish this lens was a bit cheaper. My story with m43 wide lenses. The first was laowa 7.5 f2. I bought it for astrophotography (which i don't do anymore). I sold it because of issues with the vignette, coma and lack of weathersealing. I bought oly 8mm 1.8. The best lens for astro. Then i started with realestate photography and still the 8mm 1.8 was ok for this purpose. I started shooting video and bought a 7.5mm f2 used.. again. Then came the panasonic 9mm 1.7 which i love but wish it was wider. I still have the 8mm 1.8 (i use it mainly for action and realestate photography) and the 9mm 1.7 for video and everyday use (also for action photography). And now i'm considering buying a laowa 6mm f2. Can't we get a 6-7mm f1.7-f2 weather sealed AF lens with filter thread that will be compatible with the om system and panasonic? Such a lens would sell better than all wide zooms and wide primes combined.
Thank you for your your review, I have the Laowa 6mm T 2.1 which as you possiby already know is the Video oriented verson of the lens that you reviewed. The 6mm T 2.1 does take very good Still Images also and if you have the opportunity to do a review of this lens I would be interetred in your comments and comparion between the Still & Video version on the Laowa 6mm lenses. Roy, from Australia and it is avaliable in Australia
Bummer for astrophotographers that infiniti is not set right, but you can mark the lens and set it before you go out. Way better than the focus by wire that don't have a set infinity point at all!
Nice with electronic contacts in that Laowa Lens, I hope all Laowa Lenses will get that. A pity that neither Panasonic nor Olympus/OM do not make real compact cameras any more.
@@mattisulanto it’s a super popular camera that is generally considered a compact camera. So I was using it as a example that Olympus still makes compact cameras.
Hi Matti. There are 2 things that I have used my Laowa 6mm lens for which you may not have considered [a] it works well as a 'fake' Anamorphic lens and I have had some great results using it as such. Just shoot as you would a 'normal' video and in your editing program drop 'black out lines' top as bottom as you see in a 'real' Anamorphic video. In short the very wide angle of the 6mm Lens is a whole lot wider than say a Video shot with a 50mm Anamorphic Lens. You can add 'fake' Anamorphic Lens Flares as found from a real Anamorphic lens in night shots. I have done this using DaVinci Resolve and the results are as good as any that I have seen from a 'real' Anamorphic Lens. Also because of the very wide angle I have used the Laowa 6mm lens for walking shots, without a Gimbal, and only using the inbuilt stabalisation on my Panasonic GH5. Use the 'heal & toe' walk and at worst you may need a small amount of stabalisation from your editing program. Beats the hell out of carrying a Gimbal to get the same results that you would get from using a Gimbal around all day. I shall take some 'fake' Anamorphic shots walking while hand holding the GH5 and send them to you as a sample. That may be a subject for another Video for you to make. Regards Roy, from Brisbane - Australia.
Careful, you might get "lost" in the forest and never go back to street photography. It happened to me. That is an interesting lens and one I've considered but there might be a lens and a body I'm considering first. If I do get the OM-1, I will likely upgrade my lens I use for birding.
Hey Matti beeindruckenden back from vacancies in Italy... let me say it is a nice lens and good video. I am a little bit out of photography since time. In Italy I only took photos with Smartphone. The heat was over 40 and if you Arena xarrying less weicht, its better. So at the time Ihave Not so much fun in normal cameras. Do you know this too as a phase?
Speaking of wide angle lenses, what are lens are your shooting your video on? Are you still using a GH5, with a gimble I’m imagining, or another camera?
The PanaLeica 9mm is a little beauty, no doubt. It’s become an almost permanent fixture on one of my cameras. It really depends how wide you need/ want to go. As Matti said, with a lens that wide manual focus isn’t really an issue. I’ve been using manual focus since the 1970s so I don’t see it as an issue, especially with mirrorless cameras and focus peaking. DSLRs are another matter. I’d definitely be up for having a play with one. Whether I’d splash out the cash for it is hard to say.
Hello, Matti! Congretulations to NATO-membership and congratulation to your new nuclear power! Anyway, this LAOWA lens is a problem case because of the IS-issie.
I don't think Laowa 6mm F/2.0 is a deal worth considering. Panasonic Leica 9mm F/1.7 is a better option in many ways. First PL 9mm is faster, more light better pictures. It has AF, which is important in many situation. 3mm less in angle of view doesn't really matter and the most important PL 9mm F/1.7 is cheaper than Laowa 6mm F/2.0.
The 3mm difference is about the same as for example 35mm vs 53mm FF. So it’s significant, but of course, if the angle of view doesn’t matter you are free to use any criteria when you choose your lens. However, 9mm will not cut it if you need 6mm.
@@mattisulanto I agree that the benefits of PL 9mm 1.7 outweigh Laowa 6mm 2.0 by far. Yes, from the mathematical point of view there is a difference between 6 and 9mm, but from the photographic point of view not that much and it would have to be extreme situation, where PL 9mm couldn't do the job.
Wasn’t a better option for me. I preferred the photo quality on the laowa and I wanted a super wide angle. I wanted that x pan look. 9 mm would not come close to it.
Get 5% off on Laowa store with this code T9SAG7A3 (not affiliate link): www.venuslens.net/shop/?product_cat=camera-lenses
The Panasonic Leica 9mm f/1.7 deserves a mention. I foolishly sold my 7.5mm Laowa to fund an Olympus 8-25 because I wanted autofocus. Bad move. The 8-25 made no sense to me for m43 because it’s quite big and heavy. It also struggled with Astro because it’s max aperture is only f/4
The 9mm PanaLeica has solved this problem. It’s small, sharp, fast, and also has excellent macro capabilities.
I bought this lens one month ago and I'm happy with that lens.
- it is usefull in some situations in landscape because you can put on a filter.
- it is usefull in astrophotografy, but not the best opcions.
- it's a good lens in arquitecture photografy.
Nice review.
Thank you so much.
Great to see the GX9 in action 😉
Another excellent m43 lens from Laowa. I like very much how their lenses stick to the m43 philosophy.
Thanks. Yes, Laowa are doing a good job.
This lense is great for close-up photography of full length plants etc. in the wild! I get away from most disturbing items in front of plants because close focus distance. And the focus peaking in my camera makes it easy to use manual focusing.
Thanks for sharing!
The field recoding of the stereo birdsong is enchanting. It sounds fabulous with a pair of headphones. Lovely video Matti. Laowa 6mm to infinity and beyond?
Thanks.
there are people using these wide lenses to make VR video. you can get 2, put them on 2 cameras and get a nice compact vr video (or photo) setup. I think the 4.5mm would be 180° fov, however i saw one video using a narrower fov and it looked pretty nice too.
I bought it last month form the US, as it is not yet avaiable in Australia where I live. I use ultrawide lenses a lot, and this is a unique piece of equipment, there are M43 ultrawide zooms but they are not as wide, fast or small as this one. Laowa has been producing many quality lenses for M43 in the last few years
Thanks for sharing. Just out of curiosity, can't you order from Laowa on line store or why would you not?
@@mattisulanto I ordered from B&H. A Google search in Australia returned nothing, but that was last month
Weird, it’s in stock in NZ.
Oz Digital Online have it. They are in Sydney. Other companies, such as Leederville, have it on back order.
@@trishf29 Yes, but I could not find it when I was looking for it
Great review Matti. I'll consider this for my GX85.
Thanks!
Hi Matti, the problem with the stabilizer is a faulty firmware. When you set burst mode to L (with Live View) the stabilizer is working
Thanks. I can't test that, because the IBIS on my GX9 is not working.
Thank you for the video, photos and calm entertainment. I guess at some point I am going to have to accept the idea of adjusting the aperture on the body dials instead of on the lens.
Thanks for sharing.
Had for almost a month, it’s been fun training my eye to look at things differently
You really need some training to get used to as wide as this😀
Very interesting video and look at the Laowa.
Many thanks!
I wish this lens was a bit cheaper.
My story with m43 wide lenses.
The first was laowa 7.5 f2. I bought it for astrophotography (which i don't do anymore). I sold it because of issues with the vignette, coma and lack of weathersealing.
I bought oly 8mm 1.8. The best lens for astro.
Then i started with realestate photography and still the 8mm 1.8 was ok for this purpose.
I started shooting video and bought a 7.5mm f2 used.. again.
Then came the panasonic 9mm 1.7 which i love but wish it was wider.
I still have the 8mm 1.8 (i use it mainly for action and realestate photography) and the 9mm 1.7 for video and everyday use (also for action photography). And now i'm considering buying a laowa 6mm f2.
Can't we get a 6-7mm f1.7-f2 weather sealed AF lens with filter thread that will be compatible with the om system and panasonic? Such a lens would sell better than all wide zooms and wide primes combined.
Thanks for sharing. Maybe some day someone will make your dream wide angle😀
Thank you for your your review, I have the Laowa 6mm T 2.1 which as you possiby already know is the Video oriented verson of the lens that you reviewed. The 6mm T 2.1 does take very good Still Images also and if you have the opportunity to do a review of this lens I would be interetred in your comments and comparion between the Still & Video version on the Laowa 6mm lenses.
Roy, from Australia and it is avaliable in Australia
Thanks. I believe both lenses have the same optical design and perform the same.
Bummer for astrophotographers that infiniti is not set right, but you can mark the lens and set it before you go out. Way better than the focus by wire that don't have a set infinity point at all!
Exactly, you just have test your copy and mark the infinity.
Nice with electronic contacts in that Laowa Lens, I hope all Laowa Lenses will get that. A pity that neither Panasonic nor Olympus/OM do not make real compact cameras any more.
That is a problem, at least for now.
What about the Olympus E-P7? That's pretty compact, especially if say, fitted with a Lumix 14mm?
The om5 body is smaller than a 100v. Put a Panasonic 20mm on it and the entire package is smaller than a 100v
@@WhoIsSerafin Where did the X100V come from?😀 There are many cameras that are smaller than the X100V and many cameras that are smaller that the OM-5.
@@mattisulanto it’s a super popular camera that is generally considered a compact camera. So I was using it as a example that Olympus still makes compact cameras.
Hi Matti. There are 2 things that I have used my Laowa 6mm lens for which you may not have considered [a] it works well as a 'fake' Anamorphic lens and I have had some great results using it as such. Just shoot as you would a 'normal' video and in your editing program drop 'black out lines' top as bottom as you see in a 'real' Anamorphic video. In short the very wide angle of the 6mm Lens is a whole lot wider than say a Video shot with a 50mm Anamorphic Lens. You can add 'fake' Anamorphic Lens Flares as found from a real Anamorphic lens in night shots. I have done this using DaVinci Resolve and the results are as good as any that I have seen from a 'real' Anamorphic Lens.
Also because of the very wide angle I have used the Laowa 6mm lens for walking shots, without a Gimbal, and only using the inbuilt stabalisation on my Panasonic GH5. Use the 'heal & toe' walk and at worst you may need a small amount of stabalisation from your editing program. Beats the hell out of carrying a Gimbal to get the same results that you would get from using a Gimbal around all day. I shall take some 'fake' Anamorphic shots walking while hand holding the GH5 and send them to you as a sample. That may be a subject for another Video for you to make.
Regards Roy, from Brisbane - Australia.
Thanks for sharing your tips. I'll try those next time I need a really wide video.
Great video. I don't trust my manual focusing skills for most situations, but what are your thoughts about using this lense for astrophotography?
Thanks. I have not used this lens for astro so I can't really comment.
Very pleasant and informative post!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Careful, you might get "lost" in the forest and never go back to street photography. It happened to me. That is an interesting lens and one I've considered but there might be a lens and a body I'm considering first. If I do get the OM-1, I will likely upgrade my lens I use for birding.
Thanks for warning me, I have to be careful😀
Hello Matti
Did you not upgrade to Full-Frame (Sony)?
Thx 🙏
I do have a Sony, but I also have a Fuji, Ricoh and Panasonic. So MFT, APS-C and FF all are represented.
@@mattisulanto thx 🙏 Matti .. gradually building various systems.. mostly Canon.. mostly FF .. M4/3 only recently
people used to say m4/3 lacks wide lens. Turns out it's not true. I think samyong has 4.5mm
The have a 7.5mm fisheye.
Hey Matti beeindruckenden back from vacancies in Italy... let me say it is a nice lens and good video.
I am a little bit out of photography since time. In Italy I only took photos with Smartphone. The heat was over 40 and if you Arena xarrying less weicht, its better.
So at the time Ihave Not so much fun in normal cameras. Do you know this too as a phase?
Thanks for sharing! I have read about the extreme temperatures in many Southern Europe countries.
Speaking of wide angle lenses, what are lens are your shooting your video on? Are you still using a GH5, with a gimble I’m imagining, or another camera?
This video was shot on the Gopro Hero 8. I have the Sony A7IV and the Sony ZV-1 for other type of video.
At £539 without weather-sealing or autofocus, I won't be considering this lens. I think the 9mm PanaLeica is better value for money.
Absolutely, if you don't need 6mm the Pana Leica 9mm is a great choice.
Maybe, but you're comparing apples with oranges. That 3mm is a massive difference.
The PanaLeica 9mm is a little beauty, no doubt. It’s become an almost permanent fixture on one of my cameras. It really depends how wide you need/ want to go. As Matti said, with a lens that wide manual focus isn’t really an issue. I’ve been using manual focus since the 1970s so I don’t see it as an issue, especially with mirrorless cameras and focus peaking. DSLRs are another matter. I’d definitely be up for having a play with one. Whether I’d splash out the cash for it is hard to say.
Laowa never got the infinity correctly
True, the same problem is in every Laowa to some extent.
Hello, Matti! Congretulations to NATO-membership and congratulation to your new nuclear power! Anyway, this LAOWA lens is a problem case because of the IS-issie.
Thank you. That power plant has been under construction forever and it was about time they got it running😀 What IS issue are you talking about.
I don't think Laowa 6mm F/2.0 is a deal worth considering. Panasonic Leica 9mm F/1.7 is a better option in many ways. First PL 9mm is faster, more light better pictures. It has AF, which is important in many situation. 3mm less in angle of view doesn't really matter and the most important PL 9mm F/1.7 is cheaper than Laowa 6mm F/2.0.
You might be right, unless you want a really wide angle. Whether 9mm vs 6mm matters is subjective.
The 3mm difference is about the same as for example 35mm vs 53mm FF. So it’s significant, but of course, if the angle of view doesn’t matter you are free to use any criteria when you choose your lens. However, 9mm will not cut it if you need 6mm.
@@mattisulanto I agree that the benefits of PL 9mm 1.7 outweigh Laowa 6mm 2.0 by far. Yes, from the mathematical point of view there is a difference between 6 and 9mm, but from the photographic point of view not that much and it would have to be extreme situation, where PL 9mm couldn't do the job.
@@sandywilliams3571 If you don't need as wide as 6mm the PL 9mm is a great choice.
Wasn’t a better option for me. I preferred the photo quality on the laowa and I wanted a super wide angle. I wanted that x pan look. 9 mm would not come close to it.