Venus Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Lorenzo C.

sent on 03 Luglio 2020

Pros: It induces you to have a necessary creativity, otherwise it is better to let go.

Cons: Price on the new decidedly hesyy... otherwise no one, if you know what he does and how he does it.

Opinion: Taken yesterday used at a price of "favor" by my photographer friend Gabriele of FotoModerna in Siena. Special goal, almost exclusively born for highly creative and particular photos. All manual. It needs a certain patience of composition both for the frame and the tuning to come out interesting and "curious" shots. Good sharpness in the center that gradually loses at extremes. In short, a particular goal, to be used, above all, in good light conditions for the macro (with the help of an even better flash). Do I recommend buying it? For the price on the new, I'd say no... on the used, perhaps, just to have something different in the bag.

Don Ajmar

sent on 25 Aprile 2020

Pros: very particular field of view, detail, decentralizable

Cons: all manual, lampshade

Opinion: It's a particular goal, you can't think of attaching it to the reflex and taking photos without preparing them, since it is completely "independent" from the reflex: focus and diaphragms are regulated only by dials. That said, in my opinion it is a lens that stimulates the creativity of the photographer, given the possibility of making macros set with excellent detail. It induces you to study a photo, understand the best framing and its values of diaphragms and exposure to be adopted. Those who do macro will use it with easel, plamp, outdoor lights etc.... otherwise better to leave it at home, unless you want to use it for landscape, where it still behaves well, both day and night Good yield even in the backlight. Promoted, but postponed for the lampshade, which could have been better

Giuseppe Crescitelli

sent on 09 Gennaio 2020

Pros: Tough, acceptable weight, versatility.

Cons: Flare, distortion and aberration at the edges.

Opinion: I bought it with attack for the K1 Pentax, new and cheap. What to say, I use it for landscapes given the focal length, in the color there is saturation, but almost always I veer the shot in black and white. With ring adapter I'm also using it on Fujifilm XT 2, and not yet on GFX S. As a photo-amateur my needs are not excessive, I am also considering making macro shots, from the published images it seems that this lens is really special for this type of photography. Greetings

Ferorake

sent on 05 Ottobre 2018

Pros: Excellent construction

Cons: Little sense in general in my opinion

Opinion: Crappy lens, especially if it attack e-mount. The tilt shift mechanism I then aggregate myself to call it "grotesque", there is no more suitable term. The hood is then a piece of microscopic plastic of a really poor invoice. However the lens has a valuable construction, all of metal including the ring Nuts. The colors are better than the samyang, but unfortunately it has a very bad uniformity of sharpness. At the center is very sharp, at the edges it falls conviously at every opening. It has declickated diaphragm therefore comfortable for videomakers. I bought it by believing in the miracle, but frankly doing exceptional shots with live subjects is virtually impossible, and with a 70mm macro Art sigma (same Cost) you get an enormously better result at image quality level, simply Moving away a Little. If instead you want something like this, you can take a Samyang 14mm and put a macro ring of small thickness at half the price. In conclusion lens that I recommend to buy used, and in case Resell. Interesting tilt shift and the ability to mount filters from 77mm. In essence It is a perspective that alone can make us both from macro and lens for landscapes very economical both diurnal and nocturnal (we do not have to buy absurd filter kits that sometimes cost more than the lens itself being able to mount those from 77 that we all have). You draw your own conclusions.

Alepucciprato

sent on 09 Settembre 2016

Pros: Lightweight, robust, unique in its kind, continuous diaphragm

Cons: Bad, distortion and aberration to the edges, saturated colors

Opinion: I had never purchased optics that were not Canon, Zeiss, Angenuex. Given this incredible innovation in the optics industry I thought about taking it and trying to exploit it to make very large frameworks with relatively low distortion. I have to say that compared to the samyang 14mm works much better either as colors, albeit somewhat saturated, as dynamic range. Incredible as on the Sony A7II, A7S and A7RII, the Carnate and the Skin. Impossible for an optic with features like this. The macro factor on a 15mm with aperture 4.0 causes giants to make cats or ants but with aberration and distortion to sometimes sultry sides. In the center it looks like a 35mm. But if you go beyond these trivial shots this Laowa gives you really great pictures considering the very low price. Continuous diaphragm dial for video-maker and manual focus make it fast and accurate, if you have a good eye and a mirrorless. Ugly aesthetically and with a grotesque tilt focus in the set a unique and valid opt for those who like to be "wide"

Ragnopinolo

sent on 12 Marzo 2016

Pros: Possibility of perspective distortion correction, macro, sharpness at the center, gradually closing diaphragm and smoothly, the quality of materials.

Cons: complex distortion, confusion at the edges, vignetting, lens hood.

Opinion: Intrigued by this object (and do not allow potendomi Zeiss optics ...) I bought this supergrandangolo loving this type of photography. I immediately like getting the build quality, is made of metal and glass as always should be. On the barrel is a release lever that allows you to vertically decentralize the optical group of 6 mm downwards or upwards to correct perspective distortion, but given the large field of view and its inherent distortion better place all on tripod leveled. Unfortunately, in general, the distortion is accentuated as is normal, but in the filming of the complexity of geometric elements fabricated curves is pretty obvious note, barrel but not regular, which make the correction even in post production difficult. I have yet to explore macro photography with this objective, which promises new possibilities thanks to the characteristic of being able to shoot even the background, as well as close to the subject, what prevented other targets, I just noticed that the rapportho 1: 1 is obtained with the subject practically in contact with the lens, with the loss of sharpness, which, moreover, is excellent in the center of the frame in the landscapes, and dematerialized at the edges in a manner also quite important. Infinite possibilities of iris, which closes gradually and smoothly. The lens hood does not have the same quality of the lens and tends to invade the frame accenting vignetting. Ultimately an interesting lens and fun at a fair price.

Ragnopinolo

Wazer

sent on 14 Ottobre 2015

Pros: 77mm filters, compactness, cost-to-features ratio, 3-year warranty.

Cons: Construction only discreet, difficult to use for those who start and/or do not know exactly what they are buying; flare and ghost in certain shooting situations, vignette on fullframe when using the shift "6mm", soft at the edges.

Opinion: The optics is unique in its features, it is fun to use it because it allows really unusual compositions. It is made of metal and the diaphragm diaphragms are easy to reach, while the diaphragm does not have the typical bursts of progress, the construction is only discreet and despite being made of metal you can not compare to a zeiss: you have to settle for what it costs. The photos you find in my gallery are just one example of what you get by paying attention only to the ghost and flare when you frame with the sun at the corners of the frame. The use of the classic 77mm filters is priceless so the 14mm samyang has often remained in the backpack. The overall yield is decent/good in the middle of the frame while on the sides the performances drop a lot. The full review can be found here: http://www.wazer.eu/venus-laowa-15mm-f4-macro-tilt/