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Archive 2019 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

rvh23
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

GMPhotography wrote:
Okay the Laowa 15mm vs the Loxia 21 back in 2017. I think mine was better

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1511916/0?keyword=Laowa,15mm#14208656

Another thought, probably the overcast conditions for my shots here lowered the contrast compared to your shots. It's always hard to compare lenses shot in different conditions. Examples from my Laowa in higher contrast light are is shown here.

Jan 17, 2019 at 07:30 PM

GMPhotography
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

That’s very true. Overcast kill resolution

Jan 17, 2019 at 07:36 PM

rvh23
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

Here is a field curvature check at F5.6 with the Sigma, minimal default CR sharpening, and 100% crops from 42MP at the center and near the corner. The Sigma seems extremely well behaved for most of the frame.

This too is noticeably better than what I am used to seeing with the Laowas I have tried, even when they are stopped down further than this. See here for an example with the Laowa at F8 in a previous discussion.

Again, I want to emphasize that this is to demonstrate how remarkable the Sigma seems to be, not that the Laowa is a poor lens.


	http://richardvanhoesel.com/test/Sigma field curvature @5.6.jpg

Jan 18, 2019 at 01:46 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

Some clear skies tonight, so as promised here is a coma comparison between the Laowa and the Sigma.

I placed the brightest star I could find in the top left corner of the frame and focused there. I am showing the entire region up to the very edges of the frame at 100% on A7rii (42MP), minimal default CR sharpening.

They are all 1.6 sec exposures @ISO 640, pushed 1.5 stops. For the Sigma, built- in CA correction cannot be turned off in CR, so I manually turned on "remove CA" for the Laowa. Nevertheless some remaining CA is evident for that lens, which is something I see in my field shots too.

Shown first is the Sigma at F1.8, followed by Laowa/Sigma at F2, and then F2.8. Stopping down further of course would help improve things further, but defeats the point of having a fast lens for night skies.


	http://richardvanhoesel.com/temp/Sigma 1.8 TopL.jpg

Edited on Jan 19, 2019 at 07:37 AM · View previous versions

Jan 19, 2019 at 07:16 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons


	http://richardvanhoesel.com/temp/Laowa 2.jpg

Jan 19, 2019 at 07:19 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons


	http://richardvanhoesel.com/temp/Sigma 2.jpg

Jan 19, 2019 at 07:21 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons


	http://richardvanhoesel.com/temp/Laowa 2.8.jpg

Jan 19, 2019 at 07:22 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

http://richardvanhoesel.com/temp/Sigma 2.8.jpg

Jan 19, 2019 at 07:22 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

At f2.8 the Sigma is superb, with only a small amount of coma on the brightest stars, and then only if they are in the extreme corners.

Jan 19, 2019 at 07:28 AM

nobody23
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

My personal aperture I'm using is f2.2 where in my experience the coma starts to improve, but still retain 'speed' (Canon version adapted to Sony FE)
Are you using Canon on Canon, Sony FE on Sony FE or do you adapt aswell?

Jan 19, 2019 at 12:35 PM

rvh23
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

I opted for the Sony version. Trying to avoid adapters whenever I can these days. I haven't done enough testing to be sure what I will settle on in the field, but f2.2 sounds about right for a good compromise between speed and coma quality on mine too.

** update ** after some more testing, I think my default aperture for the milky way will be 2.8 with the Sigma unless I really need more light. I might also try stacking a 1.8 and a 2.8 (for optimal corners).

At 2.8 the Sigma seems pretty similar to the Batis 18 I tested at 2.8 some time ago, so I'm very happy with this result.

Not sure why some of online reviews complain about the Sigma's coma. Perhaps they are comparing wide open Sigma performance(f1.8) with wide open performance of slower lenses (typically ~f2.8).

Edited on Jan 23, 2019 at 07:08 AM · View previous versions

Jan 19, 2019 at 05:20 PM

pdmphoto
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

My Laowa 15 seems to perform better. From f/2.8 it matches my Loxia 21 sharpness to the corners. Of course, there is no auto-correction for the Laowa, so some manual lens corrections are needed. It is raining here and the light is terrible, but here is one at f/2 focused in the corner, I just shot in the backyard. Upper Left corner:

Jan 20, 2019 at 04:21 PM

GMPhotography
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

Jan 20, 2019 at 04:54 PM

rvh23
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

pdmphoto wrote:
My Laowa 15 seems to perform better. From f/2.8 it matches my Loxia 21 sharpness to the corners. Of course, there is no auto-correction for the Laowa, so some manual lens corrections are needed. It is raining here and the light is terrible, but here is one at f/2 focused in the corner, I just shot in the backyard. Upper Left corner:

Thanks for that. Can you provide some more details? Is this 100% on 42MP? Is it sharpened?. The differences in subject and lighting also make it a bit hard to say whether the sharpness differs much. In my shot, focus was on the arial and nearby pipe on top of the right-most roof top. I'm not sure I see fine details that are better than that in your shot.

None of the 4 Laowas I have tried get anywhere near my Loxia 21 IQ in the corners at F2.8, and that seems in good agreement with the MTF results we are seeing for the Laowa on a few sites now. Can you post a comparison of fine distant corner details, without sharpening, comparing the Loxia and your Laowa under the same conditions at F2.8, and maybe also F4 where the Loxia should be very sharp but my Laowas have all been soft in comparison.

The reason for asking is that my Loawas have not improved very much at 2.8 compared to 2.0 (also confirmed by reported MTF curves), so your Laowa at 2.8 would presumably produce a similar result to your post here. In contrast, I think your Loxia 21 should look better than this.

Even if it is the case that there are some exceptional copies of the Laowa out there, they seem to be very rare. And until I see evidence to the contrary, I would not expect even those copies to match the Sigma's IQ.

Edited on Jan 21, 2019 at 07:59 AM · View previous versions

Jan 20, 2019 at 09:01 PM

rvh23
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

Here is a comparison of my Loxia 21 and Sigma 14 at f2.8, corner focused for distant details (best of three repeats), top left corner of the frame at 100% @42MP, minimal (default camera raw) sharpening. The only corrections made are the inbuilt CA profile adjustments that can not be turned off for either lens in camera raw.

The Sigma to me looks at least as good as the Loxia, which is amazing for a 14mm lens. More vignetting on the Loxia too.


	http://richardvanhoesel.com/temp/Sigma vs Loxia 2.8 corner.jpg

Edited on Jan 21, 2019 at 08:00 AM · View previous versions

Jan 21, 2019 at 03:02 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

And the same two shots again, with some USM sharpening (radius 0.3px, 200%)


	http://richardvanhoesel.com/temp/Sigma vs Loxia 2.8 corner USM.jpg

Jan 21, 2019 at 03:23 AM

fplstudio
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

to me the sigma seems quite a lot better...

Jan 21, 2019 at 05:05 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

I agree the Sigma does seem to be better. To my surprise, even at f4 the Sigma seems to retain a slight advantage:

Loxia vs Sigma at F4, Top left corner of the frame @ 100% on 42MP, minimal (default) camera raw sharpening


	http://richardvanhoesel.com/temp/Sigma vs Loxia f4 corner.jpg

Jan 21, 2019 at 06:03 AM

rvh23
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

p.s. my Laowa is now gone again from my kit. This time I think for good.

... and I am thinking the Loxia may no longer be the E-mount gold standard

Jan 21, 2019 at 06:56 AM

Gunzorro
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · Sigma 14mm 1.8 vs Laowa 15mm F2 corner sharpness comparisons

Very impressive -- thanks!

It seems Sigma has been making some very strong moves in build and IQ, basically rivaling all others except for size and weight.

I agree, as someone who came from much larger gear, this is not extreme if you pack a kit to suit the intended shot. Maybe not a walk-around lens like my Sony 12-24/4G (absolutely great for my needs), but as a f/1.8 prime, where else are you going to go?

Jan 21, 2019 at 10:38 AM

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