I wish all lens reviews were as clean, concise, well-presented and useful as yours, Christopher. Bravo and thanks for the great information on this neat little lens.
I just bought this lens and its a gem!!! It takes filters has wonderful sunstars is razor sharp from edge to edge even at 2.8!!!! I use a step up ring 49mm to 82mm and 49mm to 77mm an amazing performer no matter what the price is! Used on a fuji xt1
I'm absolutely astounded by your results with this lens. As in, I can barely believe it. For $500, that it actually works for astro, is this small, and so wide and with such a wide aperture, it's a crazy value proposition! I was terminally disappointed by the Rokinon 12mm F2 when I had it, this definitely looks more attractive, although the price is a bit steep for a third-party APS-C lens. On the other hand, it does fulfill multiple purposes. Laowa is really pushing out some crazy products.
The Rokinon performance wasn't all that I hoped to get from a wide angle lens, and 12 mm wasn't as wide as I'd have liked for a dedicated prime lens. It's not as sharp as people say it is, is one thing, especially wide open, and the corners aren't what I'd have liked. I got a Canon 10-18mm and despite the more closed aperture on the 10-18 I just did not like the Rokinon as much. The 10-18 was about the same sharpness wide open, the Rokinon was quite a bit better at the same aperture, but the functionality of 10, zooming ability, and autofocus (nice to have, not critical) were a bigger deal to me and the Rokinon's benefits didn't outweigh them. Further, the 10-18 wasn't much noticeably heavier even with the metabones, so I didn't mind the size difference. It doesn't matter much now: I have a full frame camera, but I found that canon lenses + metabones always made me MUCH happier than the native E-mount lenses on my APS-C camera, and were cheaper to boot altogether. Laowa may just make a dent in that price and performance issue, though.
Saleucami: "Tack sharp" is a wildly-variable metric: Ken Rockwell has used it for the 18-200 VR I Nikkor that wide open is literally softer than my 70s Minolta lenses. To me the Rokinon 12 is absolutely not "tack sharp" but it is pretty good. It's not that the Rokinon 12 is a bad lens, but that it seems mirrorless lenses are graded on a curve. I have literally never used a Sony APS-C or FE lens that was better than its comparable Canon EF-S or EF counterpart. Consequently, the Rokinon 12 being notably sharper than the Sony 10-18, that's great, it's a good UWA option for mirrorless -- but that does not mean it competes with DSLR offerings. It is about as good as the 10-18 and that's pretty damn good, because I've had Canon zooms that compared favorably to APS-C E-mount primes, and the vaunted 28mm F2 FE barely competes with Canon primes a fifth of the cost.
Gibert: Full frame doesn't have to be super heavy! Sure, I have a 17-40 L on my Sony camera most of the time as my working wide zoom, but my go-to lens is a 40 pancake, and my newest purchase is the 21mm f4 Voigtlander for some wide angle tiny action. There's nothing quite like 42 megapixels in your pocket. I literally own zero native E-mount glass. I don't regret it at all these days.
Saleucami: for me the price was right with adapted Canon lenses. The Canon 10-18 is cheaper than the Rokinon 12 a fair bit of the time. The Metabones was 400 bucks, but it "paid for itself" within two or three lenses, and they were all better to boot! I had a Sigma 30 1.4 for a bit and I was so mad at how little extra I got from a $400 prime compared to my 40 mm Canon pancake I got on eBay for $90. The best mirrorless system for the dollar right now it probably the A6300 with adapted Canon lenses. That's what I was chasing down; I thought the Rokinon fulfilled it but no luck then. Wasn't really happy with wide angle till full frame, though.
Sergio G Sergio G How can you be so picky with the Rokinon 12mm f/2 (which is universally considered a great lens), then call *all* e-mount primes inferior to “Canon zooms,” and then reference Canon’s absolute worst FF zoom, the 17-40mm f/4, as your go-to lens? I’d hardly called the FE 28mm f/2 “vaunted,” but at $450 it’s a good overall lens. But still, what are these Canon primes that easily beat the FE 28mm for 1/5 the price (i.e., $90)? Canon has a 28mm f/2.8 that’s more expensive, slower and not as sharp. Canon is no better than Sony for crop cameras. And lots of Sony FF primes and zooms beat out the Canon equivalents. The 16-35mm f/2.8, the 70-200mm f/2.8, the 12-24mm f/4, and anything at 50mm, Also, Canon has nothing like the Zeiss Batis or Zeiss Loxia lens ranges- just outdated, heavy primes that are slow or large (the EF 35mm f/1.4 being the very pricy exception).
I just bought this lens for my Sony a6500 and I love it! It's insanely sharp. Picture quality is up there with lenses that cost more than double the price. I wish I knew about Laowa when I first bought my camera I would of saved a lot of money. I'm surprised that the Laowa lenses aren't very popular with the Sony mirrorless community, maybe it's because they are not well know. This lens with a Sigma 16mm 1.4 would be the perfect travel combo I think.
I think mainly that people shy away from the Laowa lenses is because they are manual, but with focus peaking and in-camera exposure determination this isn't really an issue.
Yeah I like how Chris is logical and scientific in his reviews. Gets into performance like no one else. Also Kai does not use a cam strap. Drives me nuts.
You are the guy to go to for all the technical lens reviews and due to your standard testing methodology it makes it easy for us to compare different lenses even when you don't compare them directly I just put in my order for this lens and we'll be using it on my Sony A6600 and possibly my A7Riii in Aps-c mode for video work as this lens will be great for vlogging 1 addition I wish This lends had is Optical stabilisation but it's not a deal-breaker especially for the price I'll take F2.8 without stabilisation over F4 with stabilization any day
Awesome pictures! Laowa has announced a new 10mm F4 pancake lens at a very reasonable price. Would like to wait for your test. Actually in Chinese Laowa means old frog.😁
GG Imagery wait,its for Micro Four-Thirds right,the 7.5mm? I dont remember Chris reviewing it though because he doesnt have a M43 body. I think you meant the Laowa 15mm f2 heh
I just bought this lens for the Canon RF mount, and the same day that it arrives Canon announces third party support for APS-C RF mount bodies. Luckily for Laowa, the close focus ability of the 9mm Zero-D blows the competition out of the water ( 5:21 ), otherwise I would have immediately returned it and bought the Simga 10-18mm F2.8 instead.
The widest e-mount lens for APS-C cameras is the Yasuhara Madoka 180 Fisheye Lens 7.3mm f/4. It is a Circular Fisheye Lens with a 180° angle of view. Ideal for spherical panoramas. It costs around 300$ and it is made in Japan. I wish for a review of this lens in the future.
Awesome review. Since I purchased an a6600, I've been looking around for an e-mount lens which gets around the same wide angle as my Sigma 8-16mm a-mount lens, this is as close as I've found so far. Pretty amazing that it has an F2.8 aperture as well. The only thing I'm wondering is how well (or badly) it'll work with a polarising filter...? I wouldn't mind adding this lens to my purchase list for sure.
No more 6300? Nice lens I have been disappointing with how soft some of Venus Optics lenses are but this one is Nice. At infinity focused on the stars is the field curvature Still and issue. I know on some lenses they get better the farther out you focus. I may need to pick up this lens at some point.
I have just purchased this lens in Fuji XF Mount. It can be a bit of a challenge to focus, but practice makes perfect. This particular copy however must be returned for an exchange. It is somewhat difficult to mount on the camera and I am concerned about possibly damaging the camera's lens mount. It's just excessively tight. Hopefully the replacement will not have this flaw.
Nice review, thanks ! I have the Samyang 12mm f2.0 and Canon 11-22 ef-m f4.0-5.6, and was looking to get something even wider. But I guess already owning these two, this 9mm f2.8 wouldn’t really add a whole lot. These 2mm wider sounds nice, but than I could probably get a used Samyang 8mm f2.8 fisheye for way less money.
should be good len for 360 degree panorama service, the only problem is how cilent accept a hired photographer guy with len too small that not look professional :)
Howdy Chris. Stumbling on this video a bit late... I would like if you review this lens counter part for Full Frame at F5.6 as far as I know, it would be the widest and wildest dream lens for FF 9mm with 135 wide angle. Always like and rely on your opinions.. yours are the best on the Internet..
Hi Christopher, question: If the lens only suffers from field curving sharpness, that means that corners are sharp when you focus on these. Wrigh? Does this also mean that when shoot infinite focus mode, everything behind is not suffering from this effect, hence is therefore sharp? Thanks for your feedback.
Which 9mm f/2.8 for Canon RF would you recommend, the Laowa or Nisi? This will be going on a Canon R50. Also, is there another lens that is better for shooting real estate photos and videos?
Chris, recently I wanted to change my wide angle lens, the 10-22mm from Canon, as it's not seeming as sharp as other lens. How does the new Tamron 10-24 VC compare against the 10-22? The image quality is looking good at wide open for the 10-24, but considering I always use small apertures starting from F6.3 on my 10-22, is it worth the extra cash? The VC is tempting, and the better quality wide open lets me to shoot with this indoors with a larger aperture. Yet the lens barrel moves as I see, so will it let in dust? Distortion seems similar, so it's hard to choose. Does it have any focusing issues like art lens? Should I get the newer one?
amazing! would you guys reckon this would be good for astro/night with "only" f/2.8? or is the rokinon 12mm f/2 better? how important is a wide aperture for star photography?
Xxan A wide aperture is crucial, but the Rokinon doesn’t perform that well wide open. I typically stop it down to f/2.8 anyway. If the Laowa is good at that F-stop, I would prefer its wider FOV.
I have this lens, and like all wide angle lenses it does have perspective distortion. the distortion can only be corrected in the original photo using shift. Post processing degrades to correct for perspective distortion the image. Try their 15mm shift lens! BIG difference.
Thanks for your review! I'm wondering what this lens is like compared to the Panasonic Lumix 9mm F/1.7 LEICA? What is the difference between F2.8 and F/1.7 ? Is one better than the other is shooting in low light? I ordered the panasonic one 2 months ago and all the webshites say its out of stock and waiting for it to be sent to them from panasonic, really sloppy!! Anyway ye just wonted to know cos I'll maybe need a refund and get the Laowa asap if this continues
It seems to be a nice piece of kit and I really like it's build; it's a shame that it only works on mirrorless. By the way, Christopher, is there any chance you will be reviewing the Samyang 10mm f/2.8?
Thank you so much Christopher for this great video ! I'm about to buy a extra-wide angle lens for my Fuji X-E3 and would love to know your advice between this Laowa 9mm and the Samyang 8mm ? Thanks a lot for your time. Take good care.
Tamron in China has announced the price of the new Tamrom 28-75mm F2.8 lens for Sony FULLFRAME. After conversion from their currency it's around 840 USD if I am not mistaken. (When it will be released to Uk/European market, the price will be a bit higher by my expectations). It would be incredibly useful and more than amazing if Chris would review the lens! Pleasee! :-D The world of mirrorless cameras needs You! :-)
Thank You for your answer Chris! If we consider, how far was Tamron able to push their G2 series for DSLRs, we may have here the most exciting release of the year considering its price point and its competitors, which is for now only the 24-70 G MASTER which costs 1200 euro more. However maybe new competitors will enter the same price/zoom range soon, as Sigma has announced few new releases and their reveals on the 30th of march....
Chris have you thought about reviewing the Rokinon 20mm 1.8?? I've been looking into one as an alternative to a 24mm but can't findamy good reviews. Seems a shame an apparently good lens doesn't have the recognition of other Roki/Samy lenses.
To be or not to be, Now I want this instead the samyang 12mm, but I 'm struggling with the desition about Laiwa's 9mm 0 distortion f 2.8 or Samyang's 12mm half price and f 2.0 with sony's lens compensation app
You probably were very close to your test card with this lens, so maybe you were 40 cm away from the middle but 60 cm away from the edges. That is a big difference in term of depth of field. But if you take a picture of a house from 3 m away, the edges are gonna be maybe 5 m away which will make no difference for your depth of field. So field curvature will only be a problem at close ranges, just wanted to point that out.
@@christopherfrost But isn't it a focus issue? I think after a max of 2 meters the focus will be infinity anyway so the whole flat object should be in focus?! I am absolutely not an expert though and definitely don't have the money to try it out so this is just a good guess...
@@christopherfrost really? is it like background for like "The Case for Christ" or from a social and scientific perspective, or historical? Title? Author?
I have revisited this lens review with the idea of a Christmas present (for me) and this time I remembered to ask this question, where might one find that small camera clock you use as a test on sharpness? The little Quartz one?
hey christopher i have got a beginner question about ef and efs lenses.. a have got an 200d cropped sensor so if i would by 40mm f2,8 pancake lens witch is ef it would be 64mm f4,48 effectif but if i by the 24mm f2,8 efs or the 35mm f1,8 from sigma then i dont have to multiply anything right? the values of efs lenses are the ones il get with the cropped sensor body..? thanks a lot christopher
For some reason, no one ever talks about the 10mm Samyang. The 12mm gets all the attention. I'd like to hear more about the 10mm samyang too, but compared to this lens, it's huge! (btw, I know someone with your exact same name and also looks like you... are you from Colorado by chance?)
A bit late maybe, but I'm in the same pickle as you (were, I suppose), so I sort of compiled a thorough pros and cons list: Zero D: Cons: Lens hood that slips and ruins shots | Bad flaring | Backwards aperture ring | Short focus throw | Constant vignetting Pros: Superior image quality with almost no chromatic aberration and soft edges beyond f4 | Wider focal length | No barrel distortion | Filter thread | Really close focusing distance at 12cm
Samyang 10mm: Cons: Worse image quality with noticable chromatic aberration throughout the range | Green tint | No filter thread | Some barrel distortion | Closest focusing distance 25 cm Pros: Very little flaring | Long focus throw | Better lens hood | Cheaper
hi. thnx for great review. i have 1 question. what's your recommendation between this lense & samyang 12mm f2 ( for canon eos m5)?? my favourite kind of photography is landscape ph. & sometime is astro. which one is sharper at f2/8 & f4 & etc?? thnx.
@@christopherfrost thanks for answering. I,ve watched it several times, but I still can't choose. First, is there any superiority (in case of brightness, coma,etc) of widest aperture ( for astro) in one of them? and second, all in all which one do you suggest for landscape photography?
@@NaturDeutschland123 It's quite a long time since I tested them so I can't really remember the differences in coma but the f/2 lens will certainly be better for astrophotography. When it comes to landscape photography I prefer the 12mm focal length, 9mm really is extremely wide
Whether you're using a gimbal or not, you might notice it if you're shooting in 4k at f/2.8. It won't be a serious problem for videomakers at all, I think
Claire Marsh Hi Claire. Thanks for your prompt reply. I was at the show yesterday and tested out the Samyang 12mm f2.0 for Sony E mount. Although a great lenses, it just wasn't wide enough that's why your review of the Venus 9mm f2.8 took my interest. Just need to find one soon! Thanks.
khiem bang luu Sorry that I have to say, that this will never happen, this lens is designed for mirrorless, the optics are designed for being around 20mm away from the sensor, if you want it to work on a SLR you would have to design the whole optical construction new.
I feel like this is breaking the laws of physics somehow.
I wish all lens reviews were as clean, concise, well-presented and useful as yours, Christopher. Bravo and thanks for the great information on this neat little lens.
Great review as always! I'd love to see a video on your test charts and how you made them!
Bought this lens a couple of months ago and I love it. Tiny byt solid, fast and no distortion.
9mm and that tiny size? This lens just broke the laws of physics!
most likely no f2.8 but f4.
@@drs-Rigo-Reus it can be f2.8 but it can have t4
I just bought this lens and its a gem!!! It takes filters has wonderful sunstars is razor sharp from edge to edge even at 2.8!!!! I use a step up ring 49mm to 82mm and 49mm to 77mm an amazing performer no matter what the price is! Used on a fuji xt1
I'm absolutely astounded by your results with this lens. As in, I can barely believe it. For $500, that it actually works for astro, is this small, and so wide and with such a wide aperture, it's a crazy value proposition! I was terminally disappointed by the Rokinon 12mm F2 when I had it, this definitely looks more attractive, although the price is a bit steep for a third-party APS-C lens. On the other hand, it does fulfill multiple purposes. Laowa is really pushing out some crazy products.
The Rokinon performance wasn't all that I hoped to get from a wide angle lens, and 12 mm wasn't as wide as I'd have liked for a dedicated prime lens. It's not as sharp as people say it is, is one thing, especially wide open, and the corners aren't what I'd have liked. I got a Canon 10-18mm and despite the more closed aperture on the 10-18 I just did not like the Rokinon as much. The 10-18 was about the same sharpness wide open, the Rokinon was quite a bit better at the same aperture, but the functionality of 10, zooming ability, and autofocus (nice to have, not critical) were a bigger deal to me and the Rokinon's benefits didn't outweigh them. Further, the 10-18 wasn't much noticeably heavier even with the metabones, so I didn't mind the size difference.
It doesn't matter much now: I have a full frame camera, but I found that canon lenses + metabones always made me MUCH happier than the native E-mount lenses on my APS-C camera, and were cheaper to boot altogether. Laowa may just make a dent in that price and performance issue, though.
Saleucami: "Tack sharp" is a wildly-variable metric: Ken Rockwell has used it for the 18-200 VR I Nikkor that wide open is literally softer than my 70s Minolta lenses. To me the Rokinon 12 is absolutely not "tack sharp" but it is pretty good. It's not that the Rokinon 12 is a bad lens, but that it seems mirrorless lenses are graded on a curve. I have literally never used a Sony APS-C or FE lens that was better than its comparable Canon EF-S or EF counterpart. Consequently, the Rokinon 12 being notably sharper than the Sony 10-18, that's great, it's a good UWA option for mirrorless -- but that does not mean it competes with DSLR offerings. It is about as good as the 10-18 and that's pretty damn good, because I've had Canon zooms that compared favorably to APS-C E-mount primes, and the vaunted 28mm F2 FE barely competes with Canon primes a fifth of the cost.
Gibert: Full frame doesn't have to be super heavy! Sure, I have a 17-40 L on my Sony camera most of the time as my working wide zoom, but my go-to lens is a 40 pancake, and my newest purchase is the 21mm f4 Voigtlander for some wide angle tiny action. There's nothing quite like 42 megapixels in your pocket. I literally own zero native E-mount glass. I don't regret it at all these days.
Saleucami: for me the price was right with adapted Canon lenses. The Canon 10-18 is cheaper than the Rokinon 12 a fair bit of the time. The Metabones was 400 bucks, but it "paid for itself" within two or three lenses, and they were all better to boot! I had a Sigma 30 1.4 for a bit and I was so mad at how little extra I got from a $400 prime compared to my 40 mm Canon pancake I got on eBay for $90. The best mirrorless system for the dollar right now it probably the A6300 with adapted Canon lenses. That's what I was chasing down; I thought the Rokinon fulfilled it but no luck then. Wasn't really happy with wide angle till full frame, though.
Sergio G Sergio G How can you be so picky with the Rokinon 12mm f/2 (which is universally considered a great lens), then call *all* e-mount primes inferior to “Canon zooms,” and then reference Canon’s absolute worst FF zoom, the 17-40mm f/4, as your go-to lens?
I’d hardly called the FE 28mm f/2 “vaunted,” but at $450 it’s a good overall lens. But still, what are these Canon primes that easily beat the FE 28mm for 1/5 the price (i.e., $90)? Canon has a 28mm f/2.8 that’s more expensive, slower and not as sharp.
Canon is no better than Sony for crop cameras. And lots of Sony FF primes and zooms beat out the Canon equivalents. The 16-35mm f/2.8, the 70-200mm f/2.8, the 12-24mm f/4, and anything at 50mm, Also, Canon has nothing like the Zeiss Batis or Zeiss Loxia lens ranges- just outdated, heavy primes that are slow or large (the EF 35mm f/1.4 being the very pricy exception).
I just bought this lens for my Sony a6500 and I love it! It's insanely sharp. Picture quality is up there with lenses that cost more than double the price. I wish I knew about Laowa when I first bought my camera I would of saved a lot of money. I'm surprised that the Laowa lenses aren't very popular with the Sony mirrorless community, maybe it's because they are not well know. This lens with a Sigma 16mm 1.4 would be the perfect travel combo I think.
I think mainly that people shy away from the Laowa lenses is because they are manual, but with focus peaking and in-camera exposure determination this isn't really an issue.
This is one of the best mirrorless lenses out there. I suddenly want a mirrorless 😂
If you like wide angle photography then mirrorless cameras are amazing!
You are my favorite reviewer! Thank you for not annoying me like the guy on digital rev... oops I said too much
Paul Tweten old or new digitalrev?
I liked the old one.. Not sure what it is but he lost something in his presentation.
It’s Kai. He’s arrogant. I just get a little annoyed is all. I guess he knows his stuff ua-cam.com/video/0OI9ryx-yhM/v-deo.html
I agree.. Kai is arrogant but at the same time entertaining at time. Chis is the best !!!!
Yeah I like how Chris is logical and scientific in his reviews. Gets into performance like no one else. Also Kai does not use a cam strap. Drives me nuts.
You are the guy to go to for all the technical lens reviews and due to your standard testing methodology it makes it easy for us to compare different lenses even when you don't compare them directly I just put in my order for this lens and we'll be using it on my Sony A6600 and possibly my A7Riii in Aps-c mode for video work as this lens will be great for vlogging 1 addition I wish This lends had is Optical stabilisation but it's not a deal-breaker especially for the price I'll take F2.8 without stabilisation over F4 with stabilization any day
Awesome pictures! Laowa has announced a new 10mm F4 pancake lens at a very reasonable price. Would like to wait for your test. Actually in Chinese Laowa means old frog.😁
and I just bought the Rokinon 12mm for my a6500.. might pick up this one instead! Great review!
Germany to Japan to China... the good optic companies are out there and todays consumers do have choices!
*Money
Really good lens. Hope they make one for Micro4/3 mount. 18mm isnt exaggeratingly wide,but ITS TINY I LOVE IT
GG Imagery wait,its for Micro Four-Thirds right,the 7.5mm? I dont remember Chris reviewing it though because he doesnt have a M43 body. I think you meant the Laowa 15mm f2 heh
more Sony FE reviews please!!! there are so many people switching to A7III in 2018
Just about anything is a Sony E mount lens if you have the right adapter.
perfect for fujifilm system :)
now only have to find 49mm filter rings for my 100mm square filter set from formatt hightech
Hehe
I just bought this lens for the Canon RF mount, and the same day that it arrives Canon announces third party support for APS-C RF mount bodies.
Luckily for Laowa, the close focus ability of the 9mm Zero-D blows the competition out of the water ( 5:21 ), otherwise I would have immediately returned it and bought the Simga 10-18mm F2.8 instead.
Came here for the lens review, but so much enjoyed your photos! Amazing work, thank you for sharing! :)
WOW, you got that lens quick Chris :-) Excellent review...
I like this reviews.
The widest e-mount lens for APS-C cameras is the Yasuhara Madoka 180 Fisheye Lens 7.3mm f/4. It is a Circular Fisheye Lens with a 180° angle of view.
Ideal for spherical panoramas. It costs around 300$ and it is made in Japan.
I wish for a review of this lens in the future.
Well, actually, the Meike 6.5mm f/2 lens is a circular fisheye with 190 degrees - that's even wider!
Christopher Frost Photography Didn't know that. Thanks
Looks good. Thanx.
This may be my next lens to buy for video and photo, but mostly for video works.
Great review, concise and to the point. I’m ver much tempted to buy one, but the price is on the high side (€ 600).
im not sure if your hands are big, or if the camera + lens itself is just tiiiiny. good review
Thanks for your videos. Great and honest content. Really hapy with your videos.
Electronic contact is a must have for exif info communication with camera body
No distortion makes this lense dope
This lens + Sigma 16mm 1.4 = RIP Sony 10-18
No af
No oss
I think it survive
@@lifestyle2260 you really don't need af on such wide angles though
Great review, thank you for showing us, now I wish to have it!
Thank you.
Excellent review as always....Greetings!
Hey Chris! As usually, very good review!
Is this lens any good for Real Estate photography. Thanks.
Thanks I get it for my m50 🤙🏽😁
Awesome review. Since I purchased an a6600, I've been looking around for an e-mount lens which gets around the same wide angle as my Sigma 8-16mm a-mount lens, this is as close as I've found so far. Pretty amazing that it has an F2.8 aperture as well. The only thing I'm wondering is how well (or badly) it'll work with a polarising filter...? I wouldn't mind adding this lens to my purchase list for sure.
No more 6300? Nice lens I have been disappointing with how soft some of Venus Optics lenses are but this one is Nice. At infinity focused on the stars is the field curvature Still and issue. I know on some lenses they get better the farther out you focus.
I may need to pick up this lens at some point.
I have just purchased this lens in Fuji XF Mount. It can be a bit of a challenge to focus, but practice makes perfect. This particular copy however must be returned for an exchange. It is somewhat difficult to mount on the camera and I am concerned about possibly damaging the camera's lens mount. It's just excessively tight. Hopefully the replacement will not have this flaw.
Nice review, thanks !
I have the Samyang 12mm f2.0 and Canon 11-22 ef-m f4.0-5.6, and was looking to get something even wider. But I guess already owning these two, this 9mm f2.8 wouldn’t really add a whole lot. These 2mm wider sounds nice, but than I could probably get a used Samyang 8mm f2.8 fisheye for way less money.
Can you compare this lens to the nisi
Can you use this lens for real-estate photography too?
I didn't mind if this lens was a bit larger and was 9-18mm f2.8. Then it would be a perfect lens for a lot of tasks.
should be good len for 360 degree panorama service, the only problem is how cilent accept a hired photographer guy with len too small that not look professional :)
Just buy a battery grip:) clients look at size of whole package if anything is my guess.
@@lukazupie7220 don't forget the flash on top!
Can it fit the entire universe in it??
Hahaha, i think with fisheye you can
😮😮 This lens is amazingggg
What happened to your a6300?
I had to downgrade, to save money
Howdy Chris.
Stumbling on this video a bit late... I would like if you review this lens counter part for Full Frame at F5.6
as far as I know, it would be the widest and wildest dream lens for FF 9mm with 135 wide angle.
Always like and rely on your opinions.. yours are the best on the Internet..
Hi Christopher, question: If the lens only suffers from field curving sharpness, that means that corners are sharp when you focus on these. Wrigh? Does this also mean that when shoot infinite focus mode, everything behind is not suffering from this effect, hence is therefore sharp? Thanks for your feedback.
I wonder if it vignettes when using step-up rings to mount square filters ?
Which 9mm f/2.8 for Canon RF would you recommend, the Laowa or Nisi? This will be going on a Canon R50.
Also, is there another lens that is better for shooting real estate photos and videos?
What do you suggest which ultra wide angle lens is best choice for indoor Real Estate videography, Samyang 12mm, laowa 9mm, Tamron 11-20mm ?
Hi Christopher can make a video how to manual focus where to focus using Laowa lens video ?
Thank you
Take a look at your camera's instruction manual for information on what features it has to help you to focus manually
Chris, recently I wanted to change my wide angle lens, the 10-22mm from Canon, as it's not seeming as sharp as other lens. How does the new Tamron 10-24 VC compare against the 10-22? The image quality is looking good at wide open for the 10-24, but considering I always use small apertures starting from F6.3 on my 10-22, is it worth the extra cash?
The VC is tempting, and the better quality wide open lets me to shoot with this indoors with a larger aperture. Yet the lens barrel moves as I see, so will it let in dust?
Distortion seems similar, so it's hard to choose. Does it have any focusing issues like art lens? Should I get the newer one?
amazing! would you guys reckon this would be good for astro/night with "only" f/2.8? or is the rokinon 12mm f/2 better? how important is a wide aperture for star photography?
Xxan A wide aperture is crucial, but the Rokinon doesn’t perform that well wide open. I typically stop it down to f/2.8 anyway. If the Laowa is good at that F-stop, I would prefer its wider FOV.
f/2.8 is okay if your lens is wide enough - the wide angle means that you can keep the lens's shutter open for longer
I have this lens, and like all wide angle lenses it does have perspective distortion. the distortion can only be corrected in the original photo using shift. Post processing degrades to correct for perspective distortion the image. Try their 15mm shift lens! BIG difference.
Thanks for your review!
I'm wondering what this lens is like compared to the Panasonic Lumix 9mm F/1.7 LEICA?
What is the difference between F2.8 and F/1.7 ?
Is one better than the other is shooting in low light?
I ordered the panasonic one 2 months ago and all the webshites say its out of stock and waiting for it to be sent to them from panasonic, really sloppy!!
Anyway ye just wonted to know cos I'll maybe need a refund and get the Laowa asap if this continues
Nice pictures man.
It seems to be a nice piece of kit and I really like it's build; it's a shame that it only works on mirrorless. By the way, Christopher, is there any chance you will be reviewing the Samyang 10mm f/2.8?
One day, yes :-)
Thank you so much Christopher for this great video !
I'm about to buy a extra-wide angle lens for my Fuji X-E3 and would love to know your advice between this Laowa 9mm and the Samyang 8mm ?
Thanks a lot for your time.
Take good care.
The Samyang is a fisheye lens, the Laowa is not
Hey Chris, is there a review of the Laowa 4mm f2.8 on track? I would really love to see that lens in your hands :-) Cheers!
1:37 that's what she said
Bonjour vous ne faite pas référence a la courbure de champs qui pose problème en photo d architecture d intérieur
Seems this lens will be vastly chosen by drone photographer with infinity focus.
Thx
Photozone.de found problems with flare in their 12mm full frame lens too, sadly.
Tamron in China has announced the price of the new Tamrom 28-75mm F2.8 lens for Sony FULLFRAME. After conversion from their currency it's around 840 USD if I am not mistaken. (When it will be released to Uk/European market, the price will be a bit higher by my expectations). It would be incredibly useful and more than amazing if Chris would review the lens! Pleasee! :-D The world of mirrorless cameras needs You! :-)
I would love to review that lens...I'm tempted to buy it!
Thank You for your answer Chris! If we consider, how far was Tamron able to push their G2 series for DSLRs, we may have here the most exciting release of the year considering its price point and its competitors, which is for now only the 24-70 G MASTER which costs 1200 euro more. However maybe new competitors will enter the same price/zoom range soon, as Sigma has announced few new releases and their reveals on the 30th of march....
Hi... does this lens work on the blackmagic pocket 6k? Which is super 35 ef mount
Chris have you thought about reviewing the Rokinon 20mm 1.8?? I've been looking into one as an alternative to a 24mm but can't findamy good reviews. Seems a shame an apparently good lens doesn't have the recognition of other Roki/Samy lenses.
One day I hope to :-)
To be or not to be, Now I want this instead the samyang 12mm, but I 'm struggling with the desition about Laiwa's 9mm 0 distortion f 2.8 or Samyang's 12mm half price and f 2.0 with sony's lens compensation app
You probably were very close to your test card with this lens, so maybe you were 40 cm away from the middle but 60 cm away from the edges. That is a big difference in term of depth of field. But if you take a picture of a house from 3 m away, the edges are gonna be maybe 5 m away which will make no difference for your depth of field. So field curvature will only be a problem at close ranges, just wanted to point that out.
It doesn't quite work like that, I'm afraid - field curvature works on a ratio
@@christopherfrost But isn't it a focus issue? I think after a max of 2 meters the focus will be infinity anyway so the whole flat object should be in focus?! I am absolutely not an expert though and definitely don't have the money to try it out so this is just a good guess...
@@dabj9546 Yes, with careful focusing you can minimise the effect
Would be a beauty to use for wide astrophotography, you'd get like....what 45 seconds exposure?
Awesome Review !! I'll have to put one of these in my kit. BTW, what's the Vintage Jesus book about?
It's a really excellent book, written in an engaging way, about the identity of Jesus :-)
@@christopherfrost really? is it like background for like "The Case for Christ" or from a social and scientific perspective, or historical? Title? Author?
I have revisited this lens review with the idea of a Christmas present (for me) and this time I remembered to ask this question, where might one find that small camera clock you use as a test on sharpness? The little Quartz one?
mad they dont sell this on amazon
Dear Christopher, is it possible for you to test the new Samyang 35mm f1.2 for EF-M mount? I'm really inerested in it. Love your revievs! Thanks!
Hopefully one day!
hey christopher i have got a beginner question about ef and efs lenses.. a have got an 200d cropped sensor so if i would by 40mm f2,8 pancake lens witch is ef it would be 64mm f4,48 effectif but if i by the 24mm f2,8 efs or the 35mm f1,8 from sigma then i dont have to multiply anything right? the values of efs lenses are the ones il get with the cropped sensor body..? thanks a lot christopher
No - when you're using an APS-C camera, like your 200D, you always, always, always multiply by 1.6x, no matter what lens it is
thanks a lot Christopher, thats a revelation now i understand :-)
Is it possible to make a review from laowa 9 mm f/5.6 for sony? Thank you very much.
Can you show us about ZEISS Milvus collection ? Please.
How does the samyang 10mm stack up against this lens?
For some reason, no one ever talks about the 10mm Samyang. The 12mm gets all the attention. I'd like to hear more about the 10mm samyang too, but compared to this lens, it's huge! (btw, I know someone with your exact same name and also looks like you... are you from Colorado by chance?)
A bit late maybe, but I'm in the same pickle as you (were, I suppose), so I sort of compiled a thorough pros and cons list:
Zero D:
Cons: Lens hood that slips and ruins shots | Bad flaring | Backwards aperture ring | Short focus throw | Constant vignetting
Pros: Superior image quality with almost no chromatic aberration and soft edges beyond f4 | Wider focal length | No barrel distortion | Filter thread | Really close focusing distance at 12cm
Samyang 10mm:
Cons: Worse image quality with noticable chromatic aberration throughout the range | Green tint | No filter thread | Some barrel distortion | Closest focusing distance 25 cm
Pros: Very little flaring | Long focus throw | Better lens hood | Cheaper
Hi! What about filters? Do you use "slim" one? Thank for your review!
I would use a Marumi Fit & Slim filter with this particular lens
I'm using older Canon rebel t2i and need suggestions for telephoto lens. (Should i go for tamron 70-300/ 18-200 or sigma 70-300 or Canon 55-250 ?)
Take a look at my "Best telephoto zoom lens for APS-C" video
Do you know if it works on inspire 2 ?
I m thinking to buy this lense for real estate video works. Hw do u think this fair against sigma 8-16mm f.45? Thanks in advance!
The Sigma will be much more flexible but you'll need an adaptor, and it has a much darker maximum aperture
Wish it was with autofocus and for my Canon EOS 80D...Then I would pay anything for it xD
any chance to review laowa 24mm f14 probe.
hi. thnx for great review.
i have 1 question.
what's your recommendation between this lense & samyang 12mm f2 ( for canon eos m5)??
my favourite kind of photography is landscape ph. & sometime is astro.
which one is sharper at f2/8 & f4 & etc??
thnx.
Take a look at my review of the Samyang lens, and that should give you the information you need
@@christopherfrost thanks for answering. I,ve watched it several times,
but I still can't choose. First, is there any superiority (in case of brightness, coma,etc) of widest aperture ( for astro) in one of them? and second, all in all which one do you suggest for landscape photography?
@@NaturDeutschland123 It's quite a long time since I tested them so I can't really remember the differences in coma but the f/2 lens will certainly be better for astrophotography. When it comes to landscape photography I prefer the 12mm focal length, 9mm really is extremely wide
@@christopherfrost thanks a lot
Does field curvature matter if you're doing video work on a gimbal?
Whether you're using a gimbal or not, you might notice it if you're shooting in 4k at f/2.8. It won't be a serious problem for videomakers at all, I think
It is little expensive for APSC prime lens, but they don't have any competition yet so...
Is there any chance that Laowa will introduce their "Magic Shift Adapter" for this lens?
No, it only works for digital SLR lenses, not mirrorless ones
Is there a none mirrorless version of this lens?
airjaff No, this lens is completely designed for mirrorless, maybe you google "flange focal distance" may it can help you.
how about shooting a sunset with it? flare issues? how is it for starlpases?
Didn't test starlapses, and as for flaring, watch the video
It would be nice tog see some more ef lenses
Mirrorless cameras are the future I'm afraid, so it's more likely you'll be seeing more mirrorless lens in future
Christopher Frost Photography true! Byt i am not there yet!
What is this thing with the cross-hair?vi mean the background
It's called a test chart
Review some tlit shift lens
Send me one, and I will :-)
Focus breathing?
Can you spare a moment ... I’m about to try some real estate projects ... do you the think the vignetting would be a problem?
Yes, but you can correct that in editing software (RawTherapee is free)
Christopher Frost Photography Thank you for responding Christopher
Good review. Do you know where it can be bought in UK?
Patrick Mills I just bought one at the Photography Show, but UK Digital sell other Laowa lenses so they might be worth keeping an eye on.
Claire Marsh Hi Claire. Thanks for your prompt reply. I was at the show yesterday and tested out the Samyang 12mm f2.0 for Sony E mount. Although a great lenses, it just wasn't wide enough that's why your review of the Venus 9mm f2.8 took my interest. Just need to find one soon! Thanks.
Where can i buy this lens and Id it for aps-c camera like canon t7i?
You can't. It's only for mirrorless camera systems
hope this lens will be available on nikon dx soon !
khiem bang luu Sorry that I have to say, that this will never happen, this lens is designed for mirrorless, the optics are designed for being around 20mm away from the sensor, if you want it to work on a SLR you would have to design the whole optical construction new.
ahh. tks for the info. so its just like canon lens cant use on nikon dslr.
It costs a lot