Venus Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

EnricoGiuliani

sent on 02 Febbraio 2025

Pros: Ultra-wide angle of view of 135°, focusing just 12 cm from the sensor almost as much as a macro lens, weight and size, well-built optical cap that can be removed and put on with excellent grip, fluid rings: that of the apertures has a shutter at every notch, great sharpness in the center of the frame already at f 5.6, Contained chromatic aberration, 10-point star effect on point lights, build quality, creativity

Cons: Barrel distortion differs depending on the focusing distance and at the minimum it is very conspicuous, light sources can create flashes and pentagon-shaped ghost effects, sharpness at the edges within the limits of sufficiency, light fall at the corners.

Opinion: I bought this new lens with native Z mount attracted by the curiosity to shoot with such an extreme wide-angle lens, suitable for some landscape photos and for building interiors where even the normal wide focal lengths (starting from 12 mm) are often small. I must say that the very first shots had left me a little perplexed but then I changed my mind quite a bit also thanks to the advice, comparison and exchange of opinions I had with my friend Alessio Riboni whom I thank once again. So: it is certainly a unique lens to achieve which Laowa engineers, wanting to obtain a 'glass' capable of embracing such an extreme field, had to compromise in terms of sharpness and brightness at the edges as well as distortion. In order to get the most out of it, for photos where there are geometric lines (churches, building interiors, etc.), I recommend the use of a tripod and that the camera is in perfect level. Anyway, it is a lens that gives great satisfaction for those who 'love' ultra wide lenses! As soon as I have some shots I will post them in order to give a concrete idea of what this lens can do.

Garciamarquez

sent on 30 Agosto 2024

Pros: Extreme angle of view

Cons: Colors, contrast, sharpness, distortion

Opinion: I had previously had the 10mm Voigtlander which I was happy with. I thought, given the reviews, that the 9mm Laowa was optically better. The overall performance, given the colors, the contrast, the vignetting, the distortion, did not convince me and I resold it. I specify that I had the same negative feeling with the 20mm Laowa Shift for GfX Fuji: it was better than the 9mm, but colors and contrast, used to the original Fuji lenses, did not satisfy me and I sold it. I won't take any more Laowa without first trying them for myself

Alessio Riboni

sent on 10 Febbraio 2024

Pros: Very creative angle of view, unique solid construction, small and light

Cons: No one, don't have it

Opinion: Fantastic extreme wide-angle lens, allows you to photograph in unique conditions from 12 cm to infinity so very creative. Excellent sharpness in the center on the sides poor but usable as you can see in the photos, you can't expect more from such an extreme lens. Very good distortion equal to ZERO as long as you use it in bubble where there are straight lines ess. buildings, squares, etc., so easel or virtual horizon, in nature there are no particular problems. Apertures scale aperture stand out being a Manual focus with good hardness. Focus, don't worry being a wide angle is always in focus, however equipped with an excellent metric scale. Backlight behaves well forming a 10-pointed star, however having such a high field of view you have to find the right angle to avoid flare and ghosting. Chromatic trees are there and on certain occasions they are important CONCLUSION Those who love wide angles or love creative photos will love it with the right compromises, it is a lens that to date no one has replicated in FF except 7artisan at a 9mm but not at the same angle of view, go and see the same photos taken with the two lenses, the Venus Laowa at a longer frame, the price is high I was lucky enough to find it used but it is worth all the money spent, if instead you just need a 14 mm in ff do not consider it the Laova loses from all points of view for the image quality.....

Nani1987

sent on 13 Agosto 2022

Pros: stimulates creativity, angle of view, star points of light, compactness and weight

Cons: basically none given the unique features of the lens, perhaps the price

Opinion: It is a unique goal, the huge angle of view allows you to make very special compositions but should be used sparingly. It is very compact and relatively light, so you always carry it with you as a shot always escapes. It has a fairly marked vignetting but easily correctable, the star of the light points is very beautiful, in some angles it suffers from flare but nothing dramatic. The sharpness is very good in the center, on the sides it drops enough but it is the last of the thoughts as the perspective distortion is so high that it greatly stretches the image by splitting it, especially when the subjects are close to the corners. The drop in sharpness then takes a back seat as a problem, but it is more the fault of the physics than of the lens. The construction instead is excellent, all in metal, fluid rings, really well done. I recommend it

Nicoladiiorio

sent on 06 Gennaio 2022

Pros: Construction, weight, dimensions, 10-pointed star

Cons: See opinion

Opinion: Objective from the extreme angle of view, VERY EXTREME. Composing with a 9mm is not so simple... The lens has a tab on the focus ring, and interestingly, you can record the limit switch for infinity. 5-blade diaphragm = 10-pointed star. But watch out for strong light sources in certain positions, flares and ghosting (red pentagons) come out. The distortion at the minimum focusing distance is a lot.

Carma

sent on 15 Agosto 2020

Pros: Lightness, build quality

Cons: For now, nothing

Opinion: Received a couple of days. "elegant" packaging, a lens that looks very well finished, sliding but not ladle, diaphragms with "click" well perceptible. Optical cap with an excellent internal grip without lock clicks (I appreciate it for losing the Sigma cap 12/24 that was peeled for gravity alone). I'll update with more ingrained impressions...