A Look At The Laowa 7.5mm f/2 Ultra Wide Lens
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- It's wide, it's fast and it's tiny! Laowa's 7.5mm f/2 is a very credible addition to the ever expanding armoury of Micro Four Thirds lenses.
Is it a credible buy instead of a native Micro Four Thirds wide-zoom? It's cheaper, that's for sure. But does the IQ match up?
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4 years later and David's videos are still providing exelent reviews that help me making choices on purchases. Your legacy lives on Sir. RIP.
Every time I was looking for a definitive, trusted review, this was the place. Being entertained and brought into his life was a great bonus. You will be missed David.
David tells us all we really need know like no other. I do miss him.
Glad to see my M43 guru has had a look at the lens, I have been eying one for some time.
Even though I really love the high-energy reviews from the younger vloggers, you, Sir David are the epitome of class and elegant, sweet commentary. Very thoughtful, Cool and always on point. Thank you for taking the time to do these wonderful reviews!
I want this thing for video. I keep hoping a good full frame video camera with a flip out screen will be announced, but if not by Photokina, I'll get this thing ;)
Yes, an exceptional lens for video with that f/2 aperture.
Haha Camera Conspiracies!! I've just ordered this lens for my GH5, can't wait to test!!
Great review again. Costs €620 in Holland, not very cheap.
Yes strange! I bought an occasion mind condition for 440€ I guess thats a good deal? So far super happy with it!
This is a gorgeous little lens - 15mm equivalent is one of my favourite focal lengths for incredibly dramatic shots, and to get that in something I can slip in my jacket pocket? Awesome.
Definitely a lens for dramatic, contrasty black-and-white prints.
Alfie, have you determined through your usage, what aperture is perceived as the sharpest? Thank you. I'm trying to appreciate this lens, but i am getting mixed results out of the various apertures.
@@loft4me I just got mine and taking some indoor shots at 200 iso in the kitchen, I found that at 15' I could read 1cm high text on packaging clearly, at f4. At f2.8 it was readable but not sharp and at f2 it was visible bit I could only read it because I knew what it was. At f4, some small text on the labels of some bottles at the same distance were visible. From f2 to f2.8 is a step up in improvement and again f2.8 to f4 is another step up.
This is of course reading text on a box which happens to be in a scene. The scene itself definitely looks better at f2.8 than f2 but, if I wasn't looking at what is written on a box, I wouldn't notice the difference between f2.8 and f4. Same results at 400 and 800 iso. The text is slightly off centre. Same situation looking at the RAW images as with the in camera jpg images.
@@authunhx3129 A definitive word based on experience, is much appreciated, authunhx. I will experiment with the sweet spots for both still and video, thank you.
@@loft4me Out in daylight and sunshine, I found 5.6 was marginally better than 4. This was based on a car number plate at 40'-50'. In both the number was clearly readable but the edge of the letters were slightly better defined. I did some others at f4/f5.6 and did notice that a lot of detail stands out in brighter light. I was quite impressed.
@@authunhx3129 Outstanding. If David Thorpe would be so kind as to let me add this, which is a few stills that I recorded while still dark this morning, trying to get the best out of our Laowa. Thanks authunhx for the reply, and thanks David for the excellent review. th-cam.com/video/4EgWrdNCqCw/w-d-xo.html
Just came across this video looking up this lens. Definitely miss David.
Mine is on the slow boat from you know where right now :-) Looking forward to it!
A bit more affordable, similar tiny and optically very good at its wide end, is the M.Zuiko 9-18.
Yes, that seems to be one of Olympus's forgotten lenses.
Going to get this one very soon.
It’s worth noting it comes in 3 types.
Lite, black, silver.
I’m getting the lite one so we can use it on our inspire (drone) and gh5
I don't know anything about Laowa but they seem a very interesting and original lens maker.
I made a trip to NYC and shoot the public Library and the AMNH with this beauty. I am extremely pleased with this little thing that accept filters (something the 2 stop slower, 2x heavier and 2x expensive Panasonic does not have, neither odes the 1 stop slower, 3x heavier and 3x expensive Olympus). After distortion and flat field corrections I do in Rawtherapee, I get excellent image quality, so this UWA is all I need. This chinese company really won the race against the other big two.
It's very impressive, I agree and the size is a big bonus. I expected performance to suffer as a result but it just doesn't.
Certainly not a bokeh maker on it's own, but the ability to isolate a subject, even with a ultra wide angle lens, is a useful trick. Laowa does have another lens in their line-up which they call an ultra wide (for full frame) lens with macro capability. The combination of the two elements had me asking if the same thing could be had in M43. Having an older Vivitar 17mm and a macro adapter gave me a taste for the effect, but it requires the subject be in sharp focus to emphasize the background being out, and it didn't have that. Also, 17mm is wide angle, but just - I wanted ultra wide. Using the Laowa 7.5mm with a 46 - 72mm step up ring and a set of close-up filters gave me what I wanted. It's wrecking the image quality towards the edges to be sure, but playing with which close-up lens you use (my set has a #1, #2, #4 and #10) allows you to adjust how out of focus the background is. If you're looking to gain the kind of subject isolation you have with fast, mild telephoto gives you, pick up a set of close-up lenses and an adapter, along with this lens and give it a try.
Great review David! I've been waiting for someone to review the Laowa ultrawide. My MFT gear stops at 12 mm widest (12-40 2.8) and the size, weight and price of this lens appeal to me versus an ultrawide zoom. Should be really cool for astrophotography.
Thanks Lyndon - yes, as I said in the video, most 7-14s are used at 7mm most of the time so this makes a great addition to something like the 12-40mm but small enough to hardly know it is there. It' what Micro Four Thirds is all about. I was surprised how sharp it is and especially that it was usable right across the frame wide open. I'd normally leave some leeway and be quite happy to stop down to f/4 to bring the edges in. I have no idea of the provenance of this lens's design but a 25mm or 45 f/0.95 to similar specs and price would be very welcome.
This is why I love M43, a lens this good and yet so small and light, there's no reason not to bring it along. And it looks stunning on my red GM5, less on my GX8 though.
Yes, a handy sized lens, amazingly small for its type. More suited to smaller cameras but performance wise worth using even on the bigger Micro Four Thirds.
Hey David, I picked up this lens hoping it will serve the needs of my shooting style! I’ve only played around with it on my GX8 but so far I am loving the image this lens is giving me! Hopefully I’ll have a new video done soon to display this lens!
Brilliant - it should suit you really well. And for video in your style, the manual focus really doesn't matter.
Thank You! I pulled the trigger on this lens for my G85!
You'll love it!
CarterPurdyH.264 I have a g85 also and I’m considering this lens. How do you like it so far?
@@rjkral LOL Funny you ask. I ordered the lens last night should be here tomorrow. I have a Real Estate shoot with it this weekend. Ill post the video Sunday!!!
Great review, but i already own it for 4 months now ;-) I have some sample Videos on my channel.
Loving this lens, especially with the small but powerful GX80 / GX 85! Often no one around you notices that they are all in the frame :-)
Thanks! Yes, I thought it was really comfortable to use on the GX80/85. No one cottons on to how wide angle lenses can be these days. It can be quite astonishing sometimes to note the edges of the frame and then take in the scene with the eye. It hardly seems possible!
I purchased this lens 18 months ago and love it on my GH5s
A unique lens - how they kept it so small and so sharp I don't know.
@@DavidThorpeMFT I know. Definitely unique and high quality too.
After seeing full res images from this lens and paying the asking price, it's hard to really grasp just how tiny this thing is. Adorama offers an accessory kit with the lens for the same price as the lens itself, and they had it in stock, so... The accessory kit includes their smallest lens pouch, which is pointless for this lens because it's way too large. I lined it with 1cm thick foam pipe insulation, now it fits perfectly. As I pack my camera bag for another trip I realize why I fell in love with the Micro Four Thirds format. My kit contains a circular fisheye (Meike 6.5mm), a whole frame fish eye (Rokinon 7.5mm) an ultra-wide (Laowa 7.5mm) a wide (Rokinon 12mm), a macro/normal (Lumix 30mm) and a portrait (Lumix 42.5mm), and it doesn't fill my smallest DSLR bag.
Amazing - a bag including your highly specialist lenses with any other system (if it even had the lenses available) would be a backbreaker. That's a very interesting lens line-up you have. You obviously know what you like!
David Thorpe like you, I do a bit of cycling with the idea of getting somewhere with my camera equipment. Micro Four Thirds really opens up the possibilities. As much as I would love shooting with a G9 and the Leica 8-18, my GX8 and the tiny 7.5 does the same job in half the size. Going up against other photographers in Boston (nightmare traffic and all the streets are one way in the wrong direction) I have a clear advantage. Wildlife photographers hate me when I show up and pull the equivalent of an 800mm lens out of a pannier, then pull out a tripod from the other side. They all lugged their giant lenses from the parking lot.
David Thorpe like you, I spend some time cycling with my camera gear, so size and weight play a large role in the equipment I use. I can see myself shooting with a G9 and the Leica 8-18, but my GX8 with the tiny 7.5 gets me the same results at half the weight and size (shooting HDR makes up the difference in dynamic range). Since I switched to Micro Four Thirds there have been a number of times that I've thought "couldn't have done that with my Nikon" The best was when I rolled up to the overlook where there were a few other photographers with their giant lenses, and I pulled out an 800mm equivalent lens out of a pannier and my tripod out of the other. They all lugged their massive lenses and stout tripods up from the parking lot.
The point that is often missed is that while you do inevitably lose IQ with the smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor compared to FF, it makes no real world difference unless you view at huge scale or make huge prints. Since I enjoy cycling and dislike driving under today's conditions, the benefits of Micro Four Thirds are many faceted and the downsides mostly trivial.
I'm on the market for a fisheye/ultra wide. This looks really promising but maybe a little bit too expensive for me, as it would just be an additional creative lens. Wonderful review!
If you want an ulltra-wide lens that's not fisheye this is about the cheapest, I think. The Olympus body cap fisheye is cheap(ish) and a lot of fun and can actually be de-fished quite easily in PP.
David Thorpe ooooo thanks David I'll look into it! Love your videos :)
Have fun!
Getting mine soon for the E-M5 and Inspire 1 drone. Can't wait to try some high res mode and aerials with it!
I hadn't thought of it but yes, it's spec makes it ideal for drone use. That's a lot of money up there in the sky, though!
David Thorpe I ordered this lens after seeing this aerial video:
th-cam.com/video/1cC-j4_NtvE/w-d-xo.html
The lens that came with DJI Inspire series is a rebranded Panasonic Leica 15mm f1.7. A very good lens, but simply not wide enough for lots of the top down shots I do.
I also bought the legendary 45mm 1.8 for tracking/point of interest shots. The parallax effect is insane!
Stunning!
Great review as always David. Out of interest how do you find the vignetting? I have to correct by 90 in Lightroom as it's awful on my copy. I'm hoping this is normal as I have read that it does need correctly but would be interested to hear what your version is like. I do love this lens though. Use it on the video side for vlogging almost exclusively and also love how wide it is for dynamic building shots and for filming Parkour / Free Running.
Can you explain why this lens is "Not" good for architechtural photography? I was under the impression this was the perfect lens for that, i was planning on purchasing one specifically for interior real estate shots. Thanks, great video by the way. Also, can you recommend which mft lens would be ideal for architechtural photography? thx again
Ultra-wides are good for architectural photography in that they get a lot in from a close distance. The very wideness of the angle leads to distortion at the edges of the frame and at wide apertures edge sharpness is usually a bit iffy. It doesn't matter for everyday shots but when you have straight lines and detail right across the frame, as you do when shooting buildings, any faults are shown up. Having said that, it will be fine at low magnification, on a phone or small print, for example.
The Olympus and Panasonic 7-14mm lenses control distortion well as do macro lenses. The Laowa would be OK but preferably stopped down. It depends how detailed and accurate you want your shots. There isn't really a lens in Micro Four Thirds totally suitable for real technical architectural work. For that you need rising front lenses and they come for larger formats only. But for more casual work, the lenses I mention would work well.
I just shot my 7.5mm 7 Artisans fisheye lens for the first time today. What a fun focal length and only $139 :)
As always love the review! Waiting for reviews of sigma 16mm f1.4, Oly 45 and 17mm f.12 and when they release the pana 200mm, lumix G9...oho! There will be so much for you to review! Can't wait!
Thanks! I'd love to get hold of any of those lenses.
“Electronic wizardry”
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I'm sorry David, but at a price of 500$ I'm struggling to call it cheap (given the fact it's a manual focus).
I'd agree that for what it does - it does look great, but from all the times I've shot the 20mm 1.7 I didn't ever feel I need to go wider so I pass on everything else.
I got curious about the sigma 16mm that came out recently~ but passed on it from the same reason.
For fun, two years ago I've bought a very cheap (70$) chainese 8mm F3.8 fisheye Lens that covers my 'Fun and Games' shots up to this day.
Thank you for your excellent reviews nontheless!
You may struggle to call it cheap for a manual lens but what's expensive for you is cheap for many others. The Zeiss Otus is manual focus lenses cost many times more so by comparison this is cheap.
Cheaper than kowa's lenses
mavfan1 That's a different issue, Zeiss lenses shouldn't cost as much as they do, you are basically paying for the reputation of the company.. While you can achive simmilar results with much cheaper alternatives.
Hi Serj. I have the 20mm 1.7 pancake, the 16mm Sigma, as well as the Laowa, for my GX85. The pancake is an incredible lens in terms of price per sharpness; the Sigma is incredible for its light gathering ability first, followed closely by its sharpness and then its price (buying a refurbished version directly from Sigma, is like buying a new one, all new packaging and instructions, and a blemish-free product for $329 delivered). Lastly is the Laowa. I'm still working on that one. After experiencing the qualities of the pancake and Sigma, the Laowa was a little let down. Sometimes the results are sharp across the field, other times, I'm getting distortion. But I will try as authunhx suggested, shoot in the range of f4-8, and try and reap the benefits of such a wide lens. Stay safe in the field.
how to set 7.5mm focal length in lumix dx85?
Absolutely delightful, bringing a smile to my face. Now that you have had a chance to use the 7.5mm, how does it compare to the 12mm of your kit lens (I may be assuming too much, but maybe you have the 12 -32mm kit lens that came with your GX85)? I was considering the 7.5mm today, and all the pros and cons of having this lens along with the kit. One thing I do know, is that if you ever put the 7.5 up for sale on eBay, let me have the first crack at buying it.
Thanks - I'm delighted to hear that!
This lens is TINY! Very tempted but i'm not sure my skills are up to manual settings for my videos
If you set Constant Preview on, Manual becomes easier since what you see is what you get. So long as the shutter is at 1/50th or 1/60th, just adjust the ISO ir aperture until it looks OK.
@@DavidThorpeMFT thanks for the reply. I'm still on the fence about moving from Lumix G7 M43 to maybe a sony a series but i need my flippy out screen!
Might be a good reason to keep my GX85 (have a GX8 on the way). It's TINY!
Thanks, Thorpie*!
(* movie reference... do you recogniz(s)e it? )
Tiny it is! No, I don't recognise the movie reference - please enlighten me!
Looking forward to your G9 review, quiet a few out already but not in your style and cover things the way you do.
Like how it performs with OLY 40-150 pro etc.
Really interested in the stabilization and Electronic shutter compared to the EM1.2
The ergonomics sound very good so far with the exception of the joystick, where some people say you have to re-centre to change direction. Lack of diagonal is ok but if one cannot go say across then up without re-centering would be less than optimal.
All the best for the new year
Hope you get yours soon :)
Just got it, Mark! It'll take me a while to learn about it and get some pictures taken, though. I don't know where the story about the joystick comes from. It works the same as on the GH5. If you press it, it centres the box. If you move it to the left of the screen,say, it stays there (even if you turn the camera off). From there it will move anywhere on the screen. No need to sentre it at all. A press on it centres it from anywhere, another press puts it back where you centred it from. In other words, it retains two positions in memory, centre and the last off centre one you set. You can also set it to exit the left of the screen and reappear on the right. The only thing it won't do is move diagonally. It doesn't make much difference for me but I suppose it would be better if it did.
Thanks,
The info I got was from the DPR review, or at least the way I interpreted it.
Looking forward to your review in a few weeks.
Nice review and convincing. Thanks for putting it together.
Thanks for telling me - much appreciated.
I am thinking about getting this. Nearly all my photography is travel and I always end up in a church or cathedral. As wide as you can get and as fast as you can get seems to be the order of the day. Even the 12mm zoom kit lens doesn't seem wide enough.
This would be ideal for that kind of interior work and being so small it would be no encumbrance on your travels at all.
Well it arrived in the post and it will get a serious workout in the norwegian fjords, at least if it's not raining. Hoping to create some of those 'immersive views' that you mention.
@@authunhx3129 Hard to think of a better subject for such a lens. I hope the weather is kind!
thanks for an interesting video
Thanks for telling me, Anton, glad you liked it.
Great review as always David.
Thanks, Paul, glad you like them.
Absolutely nothing to do with this video but, hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)
Thanks John - and a Merry christmas and Happy New Yera To You and Yours too!
Nice video David, I plan on buying this lens but it's hard to find online apart from Laowa's website (and I'm scared taxes or fees will add around 150€ to the $499 retail price). Could you please tell me where did you get yours?
ePHOTOzine lent me this one. A UK search on Google gives a company called UK Digital who have them on back order. I've left a request for information on the company's Facebook page.
Lovely!
UKDigital are an independent camera shop working out of a small industrial unit on the outskirts of Clitheroe, Lancashire. They're consistently one of the cheaper options for niche or small manufacturers/products and a pleasant, reliable outfit to deal with [I occasionally drive over there to pick up rather than have stuff delivered].
Thank you!
Interesting lens. I would like to hear more about price comparison when you compare lenses. Very enjoyable video, cheers
Thanks, Rodrigo. I used to put in actual prices but with the British pound up and down due to Brexit, they are never relevant for long. This one's currently just under £500 UK.
How would you say this compares to the other UWA lenses offered for the M4/3 environment? It is much cheaper relative to the zooms, but would it be worth it to save up for zooms like the PL 8-18?
The beauty of the 8-18 is that it doubles as an ultra wide and an everyday lens too, so if you have that and a 35-100, for example, they may be the only two lenses you need to carry. If you have something like a 12-35/40/45mm standard zoom and a 35/40-100/150 lele zoom, the Laowa gives you a superwide at minimum penalty in weight and size, whereas the 8-18mm is much bigger. I personally carry an 8-18, 24mm f/1.4 and 40-150mm and that covers all my needs. If I were to use the Olympus 12-40 and 40-150, I'd use the Laowa as my ultra-wide angle and save weight and size over a 7-14mm zoom, since I know that when I use a wide zoom, I invariably set it to its widest and work with that anyway. The beauty of the Laowa is that it has good IQ across the frame even at f/2. That makes it perfect for interiors of cathedrals, ancient buildings, caves etc. I'm actually ignoring the fact that it is cheaper too when I say this!
Just a head's up, the title says Laola instead of Laowa :)
Great to see this. David, do you have a strong feeling about which to choose between the wides? How do you weigh size vs zoom flexibility vs quality? Very hard to gauge this compact manual prime vs the 7-14mm Lumix, the 8-18mm Leica (probably more than I need) and the also compact 8-18mm Olympus. That Olympus seems to have the most barrel distortion, and seems lowest in quality, but has the zoom range. The Panasonic coverage is best, but seems a bit unwieldy (I haven't tried it). Which would you recommend as a second lens choice for a travel/street/landscape photog? Think I'll miss the coverage between 8-14mm and prefer the added bulk of the Lumix?
Oh, "you don't use a lens like this for architectural photography"... why not? Shooting perfectly straight building facades is indeed something I'm aiming for with a wide angle. Which is the best for that? (I want to minimize my Lightroom corrections)
This may just be me, Keith but if you give me a 7 or 8mm zoom lens, I tend to just stick it on its widest and use it there. With the speed and compactness of this lens, it has very definite advantages over the zooms. I actually go for the zoom because I like to have the versatility but it's a close ruin thing. As an all rounder, the Panasonic 8-18mm has an awful lot going for it because at 17 or 18mm it has stepped out of proper wide-angle and becomes almost a general purpose lens. That's why it's my choice but it's the only reason.
I was a little sticker shocked when I looked this up on B&H. I'd never heard Laowa, so I presumed it would be cheap; boy was I wrong. Enjoyed the review nonetheless!
It's a quality lens so decent value overall. I don't know about the USA but with the inflation and lack of wage rises in England, cheap is being redefined as meaning 'the price won't make you actually fall over'. Glad you liked the review anyway. Unfortunately, I will be doubling the price shortly :-)
Hello David, I always like your review. In fact, I bought M43 because of one of your reviews a few years ago.
I’m curious of your thought on SLR Magic 8mm f4. I’m no professional but look to add ultra wide for occasional use (outdoor and sometimes interiors of buildings). I was considering Laowa until I found out the SLR Magic price is only USD 150 which is really attractive. Would appreciate your thought, and look for next lens review!
I haven't tried the 8mm f/4 but it's certainly a lot cheaper than the Laowa. You usually get what you pay for with equipment and the Laowa looks to be sharper and is faster than this lens. For me, given how little use I would have for such a wide-angle on video, I'd likely buy the SLR Magic. That's it, really. If I were using such a lens regularly or for critical shoots I'd pay the extra money because it would be long term worth it for best results. The criterion is not really how good it is, but is it good enough? From what I read about the SLR Magix it is and I'd take a chance on that.
Thx for your reply!
I got a chance to play around with this little lens at my local shop. At first, I was excited about the size and angle of view, but everything else was noticeably lacking. It's okay on the sharpness department, but can't hold a candle to my Lumix 20mm f1.7 ($300 cheaper than LAOWA) and NOCTICRON 42.5 f1.2 (understandable) primes. The other annoying thing was the high propensity for weird red flaring. Basically, this lens is ideal for specific video uses, but a far better investment would be something like the Lumix 7-14 f4.
The Laowa and the 20mm have nothing in common, ditto the Noctilux. It's like comparing apples and strawberries. A 7.5mm lens is a lot harder to design and make. The 7-14mm Panasonic is bigger and more expensive. This Laowa can be tucked into a pocket of a camera bag and you'd hardly know it is there. Plus it is 2 stops faster. I didn't come across any flare problem (as you can see in the video). I found this lens highly suitable for stills use (as it is intended) but super wodes for video leave me cold, other than as a special effect. I am really very glad this lens exists and adds to the versatility of the Micro Four Thirds system.
I did think it's a great addition in terms of portability; I had seen reviews online for a while and the bodies attached to the LAOWA on those videos made it seem "normal" sized, but when I put it on my GH5 for testing, the thing was... TINY! :-)
BTW David, your videos are extremely helpful and great to listen to. It was through them that I made some great decisions in terms of gear purchases (primarily the LOWEPRO sling bag and the Peak Design straps; I did get the NOCTICRON so in that, we disagreed :P). Keep up the great work and I hope to see more stuff in 2018!
Glad you find the videos helpful! The Nocticron is about as good as a Micro Four Thirds lens can get, I loved the thing, everything from its performance to the lightning AF and - unusually for such a fast lens - the complete practicality of using it wide open. It doesn't fit my needs or do enough over the Olympus 45mm for me to justify the cost and size. But, if it does - as it obviously does to you - you are buying the best and that alone justifies the price. If I knew anyone who bought me presents for that kind of money, it'd be the first Micro Four Thirds item I'd ask for.
I bought the Rokinon 12mm. Very bummed with it. Great build and sharp and all that but I should have bought a wider lens.
Shame, that, Terry. Sometimes you only know what you want after a few weeks or months use.
It's tiny and I want one. What a lens.
It's a shame they don't sell them by size, Jenny, the smaller the cheaper :-)
By the way is that Bath in the shots?
No, it's Kingston in SW London and Richmond Park. I've known Bath all my life, I had elatives in Corsham and we used to go shopping in the covered market every week.
@@DavidThorpeMFT thanks for the reply. I'm not far from bath just over in Bristol so that is why I was asking 😀
I got this lens for my landscape and architecture photography, but now I'm a bit disappointed. It seems like everyone has a perfectly good lens, but for a few unlucky (like me) that have focusing issues. The first few meters are sharp and then falls a bit out of focus. Seems to be the problem described on a couple of forums like dpreview
Sorry to hear that, Claudiu. Maybe to do with a lens component misaligned. Will Laowa look at it for you?
David Thorpe, I’m starting to think it’s user error, although I thought that at this focal length and f5.6 I would have everything in focus. But with Laowa just setting the focusing at infinity won’t do it, need to use hyperfocal distance markings, which are not at all aligned/accurate. Noticed that the focusing issue is accentuated in Hi Res mode. Need to experiment a bit more, I have switched from focus peaking to magnification, but would be interesting if you’d do a video on manual focusing, maybe with this lens.
@@claudius8002 @Claudiu Stancu Remember that depth of filed is not an objective measurement, it depends on what degree of sharpness you consider 'in focus' and what degree constitutes 'out of focus'. Hi Res mode gives more detail which will accentuate in and out of focus differences. If you are viewing on screen, Hi Res makes no difference until you have a screen with a pixel count bigger than normal res. It is usually used (pointlessly) to pixel peep to look at the detail. The bigger you reproduce something the smaller the depth of field. For best sharpness with the Laowa, I wouldn't stop down further than f/4 and set to around 1.5m I'd expect stuff to be sharp to infinity from about 1m. But, obviously, if you re making 3ft prints and viewing from 2 feet away, you'll have much less in focus. But who looks at 3ft prints from 2ft away? If you are photographing buildings with nothing in the foreground, focus on infinity, DoF doesn't matter. Don't forget you have a depth of filed preview on most Micro Four Thirds cameras which will give you a (rough) guide to what is going on.
Another interesting review, many thanks. Might I ask how you find the lvf on the GX80? I'm used to the OMD EM5.
Thanks Nick! The GX80's finder is quite small compared to the E-M5. it's perfectly usable but I struggle to express the difference in use. Where the E-M5's finder is large enough really see what your picture will look like, the GX's is more for getting accurate framing. The detail is there but you need to study the screen to see it. I use my GX80 as a take everywhere camera so the neat form and size of the camera is more important than anything else. Put it this way, if I were going out to take landscape pix, the GX80 would be OK but it would not be my first choice.
Many thanks David - I have found some evfs 'difficult' but the OM D is just fine so I suspect I will stick with Olympus. As an aside, I have to ask this sort of question due to the demise of camera shops on the high street, at least down here in the West Country. Again many thanks for taking the time to reply.
Glad I can help, Nick. The EVF on the GX80 is due to its native size being 16:9. At 16:9 or 3:2 the EVF is much bigger but 4:3 is a crop of the 16:9. There are obviously some concessions to the size. Similarly, for all its cost, the Pen F's EVF is the same as the E-M10's rather than your E-M5. The rangefinder styling obviously imposes a limitation.
Shame about the camera shops, isn't it? There were 3 in Kingston when I moved here, now just one, Jessops. With cameras, it's especially sad because a question like yours is answered in moments with the camera in your hands. I try to give as accurate a description as I can but my impression can never match first hand.
Just love your review David. Another excellent one with this one too. Lol IT'S TINY.
Thanks!
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the SLR Magic 8mm f/4 David, more for a drone lens, but it'll work just as good on camera, AND it's "TINY!" too lol
I'll see if I can get hold of one. Anything to be able to use again that crowd yelling 'tiny' that Karol Walkowski created for me !
SLR 10mm t2.1 might be more apples to apples comparison tho. That 8mm is really cheap tho but i heard iffy things about it
I had the same query in mind. 👍🏼
th-cam.com/video/1NBAZvWVj1w/w-d-xo.html
Hi. It seems interesting. Thanks for review. Is it good lens for landscape and astrophotography? What do you think?
Hi Martin - yes, it has good corner to corner performance for such a lens. It's best used at f/4 or f/5.6 for edge to edge sharpness. The Panasonic 7-14mm is overall a bit better at 7mm butslower and the much more expensive Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 even more so.
@@DavidThorpeMFT Thanks for reply. I have 12-100 f4 and think about something wider for landscape. I really like how small and compact this Laowa lens is. I also have 45mm 1.8 which is pleasure to use on EM5 mark II. So my next lens probaly will be this one.
panasonic lumix is going to be the next camera i get, probably the gx85 or the g7, for now im making do with my oly epl-5 with its busted ibis system
Excellent review! It’s T I N Y indeed. Drool-worthy, even. Is it about the size of the 42.5mm f1.7?
Thanks, Ben. yes, tiny is the word.
Awesome video! Does the lens require an adapter?
Thanks! No, no adapter is needed.
Nice video. Looks like a great lens.
Thanks! Yes, a good lens and more interesting than most.
Do also tweet your youtube videos. I went there first, couldn't see it in your tweets, so came here instead...
I'll keep that in mind - goof idea!
Hello I want to use this lens with canon camera do you know mtf to ef mount?
No, such an adapter can't be done, unfortunately. You can adapt lenses made for bigger format to smaller but not smaller format to bigger. They won't cover the sensor area so you'd get heavy vignetting all around the image making it useless.
Laola? It's called Laowa right? Little typo in the title. Good video once again though!
Duly corrected! Thanks for the heads up.
I have this lens and while the build is very nice, I do not like that it can focus beyond infinity.
It's true of most lenses. It's to accommodate changes to the lens in extreme conditions. Glass, metal and plastic all expand and contract, so some leeway is necessary. It's there in the close focusing too but not seen since closest distance is rarely measured exactly. With a 7.5mm focal length , anything set just before the infinity mark will be in focus anyway. More accurately, if you set the lens to 1m, at f/4 infinity will be in focus.
Nice lens
I see zero reason not to use this for architectural photography... From reviews seems quite sharp enough to edges esp stopped down and remove the vig and distortion in post. Saves carrying a bigger heavier lens that as you rightly say will mostly be used at the widest end anyway. My 9-18 saw 95%+ of it's use at 9mm, and I often wished it was just slightly wider.
Where possible I prefer to use a lens that us inherently suited to the task, rather than one which I know from the outset will require post processing. The better the original the better the final result. That's my take on photography in general.
ITS TINY!
:-)
I feel the love :-)
Easier to add a lens filter to this Laowa than the bulbous alternatives from PanOlympus or the Nikkor 14-24.
yes, good point. The only other lens that takes a filter is the Panasonic 8-18mm zoom.
Some solutions seem more trouble than they are worth! The main reason for the expensive makers lenses is that they are the best performers but they are overkill for many photographers. There are a fair few ultra-wides available for Micro Four Thirds including the Olympus lens cap. If you are not planning any big prints but will view on screen, any of them will do a reasonable job. Biting sharpness is not always necessary - or even desirable - in pictures and on a 1920px wide monitor it's hard to tell the difference between any two lenses, especially if they are stopped down to f/5.6.
David Thorpe,
I forgot to consider ultra-wides for video applications.
As I recall, some drone enthusiasts like the 8mm f/4 from SLR Magic as it weighs only 100g.
For video I’d probably want the fastest lens I can get and throw an ND on it during the day for bokeh and compressed dynamic range (if that’s the right term for reigning in the highlights like sky and reflective surfaces).
I don’t recall desiring an ultra-wide for video as - at least in my limited experience - it’s too easy to warp facial features into witch’s chins and noses and enlarging one eye in relation to the other - like a Coney Island mirror! 🤪
My distortion issues are possibly due to the candid nature of my image capture and zero staging - I think people usually appear intact at the center of the focal plane (if that’s the correct term).
Maybe 12mm is as wide as we’d need for a cinematic look.
Luckily a friend of mine got it, and will probably sell it at some point .. ;)
It's worth waiting for! Of course, if your friend walks down any dark alleys on his way back from a photo-shoot, you could get it a bit quicker :-)
@@DavidThorpeMFT Hmm .. sounds like something blue avatar David might suggest.. ;)
@@jwickerszh :-)
@@DavidThorpeMFT well it did not take too long, it's mine now 😄
@@jwickerszh And how is your friend? :-)
pity the distancescale is 'reversed'
Yes, be nice of these things were standardized. Some hopes1
Laola.
Seen and corrected!
Literally bottle cap
This lens is like 500$, and a used 7-14 is only 800. I don't know why should anyone buy this lens.
I'd say because it is a stop faster, new and much smaller and cheaper. But I don't think anyone 'should' buy this lens. I'm just glad to have alternatives.
not cheap, $500， i rather get panasonic 7-14mm for about $700。
Good to have the choice, though.
Why?
@@thewhitepanda60 Because for some photographers the f/2 aperture will be more important than the 2x zoom range. The argument that choice is a bad thing for photographers is a hard one to justify.
expensive lens
It's £500 in the UK which doesn't strike me as unduly expensive given today's lens prices.