p.1 #1 · Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D AF Lens
I've been waiting to see if anyone started a thread on this lens since it was announced, I dunno why, but I find it interesting and might want one myself if the optics are as good/improved as the sales hype says.
Anyone else here have some thoughts on this one? Or have the old manual version? Like it? Hate it? Want the new one too?
I have the Viltrox 16mm 1.8 and think its dandy. Wish it was physically smaller and lighter, but otherwise it's a great lens.
A 12mm Zero-D opens up a lot of ideas to play around with in theory, but in execution, it remains to be seen (by me) how much I enjoy that extra 4mm and if it's really that flat of a field and sharp to the corners.
The lightness and size seem a plus. I checked the usual sites, and no reviews just yet, but am assuming they have their hands on one by now? Or does Venus not send out lenses early like other brands I haven't paid much attention to Venus timing in the past. Probably because I wasn't as interested until this lens...
Well would ya look at that... missed Phillips site, didn't come up in my search. I should have just checked my bookmarked sites individually. Thanks.
Seems Phil likes it ok... it seems on par with the recent 10mm, just narrower FOV, but I think the Zero-D looks closer to Zero on the 12mm than the 10mm from looking at Phils photos.
The one thing I notice from sample shots on sharpness is that it seems to lack a little contrast, which might be affecting my perception of sharpness. And all bets are off until you actually have a RAW file to process yourself because we all process differently. I find a don't like an overly-contrasty lens for some uses, they make it harder to lift shadows, heh.
Being able to use front filters (even if large ones) is a nice option to have with this lens also.
p.1 #4 · Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D AF Lens
Phillip Reeve's site always got great reviews. My only criticism is, that the samples rarely are full resolution and of high quality of that.
Christopher Frost is very satisfied with this lens: ?feature=shared
Seems like he got a better copy. While Bastian found the 10mm and 12mm to be almost similiar optically, Christopher found the 12mm better.
Personally, I would go for the 10mm any day if pairing it with a 14/15/16mm, like the Viltrox 16mm you got. If I paird it with a 20/21mm, I would probably go for the 12mm. The only reason why I don't have the 10mm, is that I already have the 9mm f/5.6, also from Laowa. I do miss the faster aperture for some indoor architecture in museums and such where tripods often aren't allowed, but I'm not sure if I want to give up that whole 1mm, and the 10mm probably needs to get stopped down a bit anyway to match the 9mm's sharpness in the corners. At least that's what both Bastian and Christopher claim. I hope they release an even wider lens, say a 8mm AF f/4.
p.1 #5 · Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D AF Lens
Laowa 10mm 2.8 AF is the best lens Laowa has made so far imo. The 12mm looks amazing and it's full circle to their first Zero D. I'd only get the 12mm though if you specifically need that fl. I like the 10mm a lot more for the extra keystone headroom. Also fantastic for video.
p.1 #6 · Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D AF Lens
Frederik0711 wrote:
Phillip Reeve's site always got great reviews. My only criticism is, that the samples rarely are full resolution and of high quality of that.
Christopher Frost is very satisfied with this lens: ?feature=shared
Seems like he got a better copy. While Bastian found the 10mm and 12mm to be almost similiar optically, Christopher found the 12mm better.
Personally, I would go for the 10mm any day if pairing it with a 14/15/16mm, like the Viltrox 16mm you got. If I paird it with a 20/21mm, I would probably go for the 12mm. The only reason why I don't have the 10mm, is that I already have the 9mm f/5.6, also from Laowa. I do miss the faster aperture for some indoor architecture in museums and such where tripods often aren't allowed, but I'm not sure if I want to give up that whole 1mm, and the 10mm probably needs to get stopped down a bit anyway to match the 9mm's sharpness in the corners. At least that's what both Bastian and Christopher claim. I hope they release an even wider lens, say a 8mm AF f/4....Show more →
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ftllens wrote:
Laowa 10mm 2.8 AF is the best lens Laowa has made so far imo. The 12mm looks amazing and it's full circle to their first Zero D. I'd only get the 12mm though if you specifically need that fl. I like the 10mm a lot more for the extra keystone headroom. Also fantastic for video.
Seems there is some consensus on the 10mm... I'll have to read up on the 10mm more... my memory might be playing tricks, but it seems the review of the 12mm mentioned the 10 wasn't as sharp and distortion was more present on the 10m than the 12mm, and it was wavy like moustache distortion, not linear? That would kinda kill it for me. Hopefully I'm remembering wrong or thinking of another review.
Seems there is some consensus on the 10mm... I'll have to read up on the 10mm more... my memory might be playing tricks, but it seems the review of the 12mm mentioned the 10 wasn't as sharp and distortion was more present on the 10m than the 12mm, and it was wavy like moustache distortion, not linear? That would kinda kill it for me. Hopefully I'm remembering wrong or thinking of another review.
Eric
Bastian stated that they both have close to zero distortion, and that barely any correction is needed. It's nothing to worry about with most modern wide lenses. Laowa lenses are well corrected already, while many other lenses rely on built-in corrections. That's fine for the most part, but may cause softer in return. Some reviewers mistake lens distortion from perspective distortion. Of course perspective distortion is noticeably more visible when being close to a subject, which one usually is with large architectural subjects or in tight spaces, but perspective distortion is not dependent on focal length.
I don't see much reason to choose the 12mm over the 10mm, other than wanting slightly sharper corners, or if one's second widest lens is tighter than 16mm. Extra width can often come in handy, especially for architecture. You can crop a bit in when needed. I would at least give it a try. These "hyper-wide" lenses are fun to play with, and can be very useful when used properly.
I try to keep most of my images levelled when possible, that goes for any focal length. Often it's worth to point in any other angle than a right one (90 degrees) to the subject, as one can fit more of the subject in the frame (if its height is longer than its width), after which one can fix the perspective and crop. It's of course a bit unpredictable compared to using a tilt lens, but one can make a quite good guess after experience. The final image will also be of lower resolution. The a7R V has a lot of cropability, and sometimes I might upscale the images when desired, which works fine for me.
p.1 #8 · Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D AF Lens
Erictator wrote:
Seems there is some consensus on the 10mm... I'll have to read up on the 10mm more... my memory might be playing tricks, but it seems the review of the 12mm mentioned the 10 wasn't as sharp and distortion was more present on the 10m than the 12mm, and it was wavy like moustache distortion, not linear? That would kinda kill it for me. Hopefully I'm remembering wrong or thinking of another review.
Eric
Both of them have minor waveform curves to their distortion from the reviews I've seen. It's just a tad more obvious on the 10.
p.1 #9 · Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D AF Lens
I have the Laowa 9, 10, 12 and 12-24. The 9mm probably has the best IQ of the bunch at F8, but the 10 is pretty great wide open, especially for astro. The 12-24 has excellent IQ and is very versatile. Back in the dark ages of DSLR days, the 12 was the only option at 12mm that could use regular filters (95mm filters were usable via the dedicated adapter) and it had best of class IQ in those days. I did a ton of filming with it and was pretty impressed with the build quality after so many years of hard use. It is inferior to the newer versions in both IQ and size, but I still have my old copies in both EF and Nikon mounts and they still see some occasional use on my RED body.
It is really amazing how far things have come, both in terms of IQ and size of these modern ultra wide lenses. Laowa seems to have cornered the market and no one else appears willing to even try and compete with them. No loss though, their offerings are a great value and have proven to be great performers. I will probably buy the new 12mm, but I'm waiting to see if they will release it in M mount.
Edit - I'll add that distortion has not been an issue on any of the Laowa ultra wides, and I have used them for both architecture and landscape with excellent results. There are Lr profiles for a few of them and I usually dial back the distortion correction a bit if I use the profile. In my experience, the profile for the older 12 actually works well for most of them.
p.1 #10 · Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D AF Lens
I recently sold the 10. Found that - like the well reviewed Laowa 9 before it - it was not sharp throughout (and particularly in the corners). Perhaps user error, perhaps bad luck, I simply have not had luck with the two Laowa UWA lenses I have purchased. Had seen the suggestions amongst a handful of reviewers that this 12 is the one to beat, but have learned my lesson (finally) and will not be a first adopter. Will wait to see what others get from this.
I haven't paid much attention to Venus timing in the past. Probably because I wasn't as interested until this lens...