Laowa 45mm 0.95 - Who Needs a Super Fast Lens?!

[@adg8269]

What makes these guys so fun to watch/listen? I come here for the tech but stay for… I don’t know, there’s something relaxed and entertaining about their delivery that I can’t figure out!

[@joepverhaeg]

Because they don't talk MTF chars but test in real world and make fun! Thats whats photography is about. :)

[@FAHHTER]

because the English accent is funny, and even more so when the Chinese speak, + has a sense of humor 😄👌

[@adg8269]

@@joepverhaeg right! they make me want to go out with my camera with no plan other than having fun.

[@TheRflynn]

There are nuggets of detail and good comment strewn in all the messing.

[@adammadeloso572]

Its basically top gear for cameras

[@kritpitako]

Glad to see both of you, guys. Thank you for creating quality contents.

[@Fisch-sticks]

I recently got back into photography and went back to my old favorite channel only to discover that it wasn't what it used to be. I'm so frickin happy you guys are still out here doing what yall do best. Also shout out to the collection of us Asians who went with clear frame glasses

[@Whatsup_Abroad]

I've never watched digitalrev since Lok and Kai left. Was always there for the bros

[@MichaelOrtega]

I think anything below F/1.2 is just too difficult to focus anything useful.

[@nicedward7544]

@Graxxor Anandro Vidhelssen think he's saying the dof is so shallow only a hair will be in focus

[@cyciumx]

If shot closer to its minimum focus distance.... there are easy use cases for taking a step back and shooting a scene without a foreground subject. Many elements will be in focus and you won't need much light.

[@PhouFoo]

The point in those superfast lenses is to be able to isolate your subject even from further away (full body portrait), not blowing nose+ears out of focus closeup. There are good examples of what I mean in the video. A 4/3 stop slower f1.4 lens would not yield enough blur. That's why these lenses offer great creative potential.

[@spellxthief]

that's exactly why i like and want them

[@calvinatdrifterstudio8438]

Yeah, they got too distracted by the bokeh to see the advantages 😂 You can use this lens at smaller aperatures when shooting close up

[@SebaKPaul]

also the point of such lenses is to shoot in low light conditions, like Stanly Kubric shot scenes in candlelight with the rare "Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7".

[@Whatsup_Abroad]

Creative potential? If your definition of creativity is slightly more background blur in a full body portrait (something easily replicated by taking the photo at f1.4 and further softening the background a bit more in post) then I feel bad for you.

[@FidelisG]

That's a fast lens alright. So fast Lok's camera AF couldn't keep up!

[@AANasseh]

Actually, that’s because Lock is using a Panasonic, with its AF Pony if Hope! 😂

[@Channy132]

@@AANasseh Every video seems to have AF problems with that thing - I thought it was just my eyes at first!

[@AANasseh]

@@Channy132 Panasonic AF sucks. I know...I've had the GH3, GH4, and GH5. It's the same song and dance every time... they say there's improvement in the AF and it's never improved. I jumped ship to Sony A7siii and I have not looked back. It's an awesome camera. I doI miss the Penny as it's such a good camera... but as long as the executives in Japan have their heads up their asses with sticking to the DFD focus system that's great for stills but terrible for video I would not buy another Panasonic. I'm just hoping for the GH6. If still DFD I will not bother for a second.

[@TrooperFX]

3:06 That cinematic pigeon landing shot. Damn!

[@alidollar1994]

@11:16 Tony Northrup's reference was hilarious & Lok's impression when he said "Depth of field is fake!" depicted Tony's controversial/click-baity topics perfectly :D

[@ChristianThueringer]

It's called Toneh

[@justinbuice]

12:36 every good youtube filmmaker knows that shooting everything at f/1.4 = cinematic 😂

[@MichaelOrtega]

I think it demands on your crop factor too but I think f/1.4 is nice but it also depends on your lighting. Before I had a full frame sensor, I used to use F/1.8 a lot and now I find it that with Full frame I’m more stuck at F2.4 or even F3. It’s amazing how much more “bokeh” you get with a larger sensor and thus not required to use such a fast lens

[@joetrent4753]

@@MichaelOrtega Alfred Hitchcock was a great cinematic filmmaker and was obsessed with getting everything in focus, including often shooting scenes twice focusing near and then far to extend the depth of field beyond the lens' capabilities. Anyone saying shallow depth of field is the way to create cinematic video is just talking nonsense. Shallow depth of field is just an annoying fad that's been around for far too long.

[@ThisIsWideAngle]

@@joetrent4753 Yes! Finally someone else saying that! And with todays cinema it's not that different. Beside close up shots there is not much shallow depth of field and if so, it sometimes seems irritating. Chivu won three cinematography academy awards in a row with using almost only ultra wide angle lenses with rarely any bokeh visible.

[@roottubed]

😂

[@ciocicalinmihai]

I like to see you guys, every time, IN FOCUS.

[@majorbelov]

I always trust the Bokeh Bros to find some obscure brand! They even do Canon mounts. I had a Nifty 50 for my 80d, but the crop sensor made it more like 80mm. I only just saw his video on the 35mm F2 Yonguno lens.

[@kishascape]

Meh you get used to it and stepping back more makes it look better, I used to use a 50mm film lens on my micro four thirds, so like 100mm. You learn how to make it work, get more creative from the challenge, and things start looking more cinematic as cinematographers did the same thing with super 16 cameras and long lenses. The Barry Lyndon movie by Kubrick is a good example of this.

[@majorbelov]

@@kishascape Sweet! I'm going to check out that Kubrick movie now!

[@Pozi_Drive]

How many stops is this faster than an F 1.0 lens? It's so damn simple: F = (Sqrt (2))^stop And as you can easily deduce: stop = ln (F) / ln (sqrt (2)) So solving for F = 0.95 we get -1/7 so F/0.95 is 1/7 stop faster than F/1.0

[@jerryseinfeld4211]

If I punch those numbers into my calculator it makes a happy face

[@YakAlmighty]

11:00 I think you meant Toneh Northup

[@viewoftoledo]

Those low flying birds were coming in hot!

[@elram2649]

That was a nice shot! 👌 Looks like it belongs in an anime.

[@hajime5486]

I love my 1.8s but if I had the trinity of G Master lenses 12-24, 24-70 and 70-200 v2 for Sony I would have zero complaints. 2.8 is perfect

[@theothertonydutch]

Just Bokeh isn't enough anymore. I'm really happy with my swirly bokeh Helios for example and that's got f.2.0.

[@DaveDeBaeremaeker]

Thanks for explaining why its called a "Fast lens"... makes sense in historical context. Super-fast lenses are a non-starter for the stuff I do (toy photography) where sometimes even f/22 isn't a wide enough DoF to get everything I need in focus, but it was fun to learn about it all the same.

[@stefanbalmus1659]

Nice video as always, but I kind of miss the more people-centered street photography you used to do back in Hong Kong. Maybe you could ask Lok to pull a trolley or something in memory of those days lol

[@petersmith1732]

Up until the mid-noughties, broken hadn't been invented. There wasn't even a word for it. If you had to worry about what your out of focus bits looked like, the rest of the picture was probably crap. Then the marketing people got involved and suddenly it was a thing we had to have. "Smooth", "swirly", "cat eyes", "rugby balls". A load of Bokeh balls.

[@LE672AJ]

That drive-by moment on the bridge is classic.

[@glennstephenson184]

Cant wait 'til you get to IM subs Kai. Been following you for years- great to have Lok back on board. Keep on keeping on man!

[@dw.imaging]

Oh man. Glad to see you still making videos. You just popped back up in time before emptying my bank account.

[@sebastianadam294]

I love my TTArtisan 50mm f0.95, dreamy bokeh, well built! Wondering if there will be other mounts.

[@TerabitTech]

If I had bought a lens with a small depth of field like this one, I would probably shoot a lot at large aperture, but just because I'd like to experiment with the new tool and understand the capabilities and the limitations that come with shooting at those apertures. When the new toy doesn't feel that new anymore, and when I feel like I've explored the different uses of shallow depth of field, I would naturally start shooting at different apertures again: obviously, in many situation having a very small depth of field is more of a detriment than anything else, and by stopping down a fast lens like this you usually get better sharpness, contrast and less vignetting. Buying a new small depth of field is like buying a new bright-coloured pastel for a drawing artist... maybe at the beginning you want to understand how to use it in your work, but you get easily tired and then you use it only when you truly need it. But when you need a specific expressive possibility like that, and you have the tool, it feels so nice. I act like this with every new lens, anyway... I work only with that specific lens for a couple of shooting days just to get my head around the new tool and then I just rotate it with any other tool in my bag.

[@TerabitTech]

Anyway, I'd find 50mm F/0.95 of 56mm F/0.95 more useful (especially being on APS-C myself)

[@tysonbirmann]

I'd be interested to know if this lens is "cleaner" at 1.2 than some of the 1.2 (max) lenses.

[@KlausSN]

Don't understand why you didn't show how it did in low light conditions which it's literally is meant for.

[@Nickkettt]

80% of this video is out of focus.., great job Lok, that be a new record!

[@JamesSalvation]

3:00 the Tracking to hand with the awesome SFX C:

[@matthewneiman]

The older I get the more I find myself shooting at f/8. Just find shots so much more interesting with a deeper depth of field.

[@keagandevilliers2832]

… said no one ever

[@chrisogrady28]

Unrelatable

[@DNdavidsonsnation]

i mostly never go below 2.8 and most of time i stay around f4, my sweet spot.

[@lord6162]

@@keagandevilliers2832 so I see you like taking landscape shots at f1.4 right? You're a clown or a noob if you think there isn't a place for every aperture and focal length.

[@martinrosen9742]

I do focus stacking of landscapes @ f8 :'D

[@Utkarsh_A]

3:54 My theory is that the reason all these companies are now making F1.2 lenses again are because they CAN now with mirrorless cameras, I think by shortening the distance between the lenses and film plane, maybe it's easier to make faster lenses now ? Idk tho, I don't know if that makes it easier just my own thoughts. source : trust me bro, or probably don't

[@Linde576]

When these two left DigitalRev TV, it died. lol

[@baardenkale1]

have been looking at those two for years, always educational and fun keep on guys 👊🏻

[@Pixelpeeps-69]

Best photography Chanel on KZbin 👌 bokeh is only needed if you haven’t any composition skills and at 0.95 low light performance is going to be bad because only the centre of the frame will be a bit sharp!! Your best bet for low light is buy a camera with a bigger sensor

[@ThastsiT]

3.07 to 3.12 fabulous shot.

[@arkansasoutpost]

I like Kai and Lok. Watching their videos is like hanging out with a couple of friends. I like some of the more "serious" reviews too, but Kai and Lok make things fun. Viva Kai! Viva Lok!

[@RomiBarcena]

Happy to see you back

[@willavison8842]

Can’t believe it, I’ve been watching Kai for 10 years or so, mostly in HK. Then he’s in Kingston, by nearest shopping centre!

[@Neopulse00]

6:43 - "It's not how you see things in real life, not everything is blurred." Me with myopia of -4.00 in both eyes would gladly disagree with you 😛

[@itzajdmting]

Sounds like you're actually walked onto the set of the exorcist or something

[@turbotu5346]

HEY GUYS HELP! I want to ask. What is better to take for reportage videos (weddings and various events): Sony a6400, a7 Mark 2 or Canon 90D? Budget up to $1700. Thanks in advance for the answer!

[@BugalooB]

Your humour is on point

[@slavomirvenglarcik2276]

i like your reviews, but somehow i miss those crazy reviews you did back in hongkong 😁

[@michaelbruchas6663]

What’s the deal with focus issues, Lok?

[@creepyloner1979]

if all you're after is bokeh, shoot large format film. you can get a decent basic camera for $100-200 and i have a 152mm f/2.5 (43mm f/0.71 equivalent) lens for 4x5 that only cost me around $20.

[@Chevy-jordan]

Yeah but then you have to add the constant cost of; buying film, processing, scanning time, and storing physical negatives.

[@creepyloner1979]

@@Chevy-jordan i pay 14 cents canadian per shot for film.

[@psysword]

Yawn

[@jpdj2715]

The first reason for wanting a fast lens used to be slow film, yes. The second was the viewfinder of the SLR. When you needed fast film, the light would be dim and your viewfinder would be even worse than dim. The electronically amplified eVF removes this.

[@SebaKPaul]

that is why at some point there were lenses that allowed preset aperture, like the famed Pentacon 135mm, you could use the viewfinder with max aperture to compose, then close to the preset when shooting.

[@jpdj2715]

@@SebaKPaul - The automatic aperture between camera and lenses in SLR cameras was standard already before 1970. You would set your aperture and at the moment you fired the shot, the camera mechanically ("automatically") closed the aperture to the set value. This was taken to the next level with through the lens (TTL) metering where the meter was "informed" about the chosen aperture value. For example Nikon had a Photomic prism finder with TTL metering that worked that way (but needed its lenses to relay the information). Of course there were laggards in the industry.

[@zigpix8612]

Never has Kingston looked so superfast.

[@onthemoverealestatephotogr9655]

I love the jabs at Tony. Can’t stand that clown.

[@DrummerGAS]

Man I love these 2 guys

[@Freddy-Da-Freeloadah]

hey there Kai. Please do a video on using a zoom lens for shallow depth of field/BOKEH type shots. I think they are smoother, and also allow you to do a different type shot as well. Or maybe zooms are all crap? I don't even know what to look for... IMHO

[@miam1074]

MItakon 35mm F0.95 is my favourite fast lens. It is small and awesome.

[@AngeloBocchino]

12:18 - could be anywhere in the world, that's what it looks like 😂😂😂

[@jimou9657]

8:43 Did you mean "Alambyl"?

[@jankucera8505]

idk ive been shooting night shots on other lenses at f2.8-f4 and it's always the minimum of 1600 ISO and the noise is considerable

[@vincentnavea6999]

sorry i got distracted by the flock of birds. hahaha. Glad both of you are together again

[@devilangel4655]

1.4 is mine favorite aperture. 50mm 85mm

[@hajime5486]

Happy Year of the Tiger Lok and Kai!

[@kchingk]

your word has power, you made bokeh famous years ago... so everyone has to make a super fast lens now. lol

[@barrycohen311]

Excellent "Toneh"

[@BBEEKKAY]

Happy lunar new year!

[@Hashbrown37]

Phone boxes were put by the old C&A because there was a bit of spare pavement there. Kingston Uni Art department put them there, well before Kingston got pedestrianised.

[@kaposvaribando1277]

14:50 What a nice 993

[@taoyizhi]

Lok looks good 👍

[@rikomendes3694]

Hi dear Kai, make a video Comparison about olympus d5 mark 3 please. The camera is good and not too expensive, we need your opinion

[@MarekApeman]

love Your videos, great fun :) I just want to ask - what the hell do you use to shoot these videos? does it even have AF?! I mean there is nothing ever in focus :-D

[@tommcdaniel7775]

Love the videos - especially on the mean streets of Kingston. Please review the old Nikon Noct 58mm F1.2 is it worth the vintage cash?!

[@krix0043]

if you manage to get it, pls, compare vs Rokkor 58/1.2

[@TSGEnt]

1:19 Give it to a fellow KZbinr! 😇 3:14 I have a cabinet full of Pentax film cameras and lenses. I was hoping they would come out with a digital back. Well, we know what happened there right? 4:50 I like the look you get our that lens but not every day every occasion. Actually, it's a nice "effect" lens to put in your stable of lenses, but... $$$$! I can get that effect with cheaper options, like my Nikon with a adapter for a Pentax lens. Ask me how I know. Nice video. Thank you.

[@GH-zs8eq]

how about comparing it with the voigtlander 50mm F1.0? :)

[@chrisw5742]

How about for low light night shots?

[@badbunnyTUBE]

This episode was a perfect brainclenser in between two heavy teams meetings. Thank you! on a side note (not that anybody actually cares about mft except mft fanboys/gals) i love my voigtländer 0.95 17.5mm on my lumix g9. Such an extreme lense for the system, really much fun to go out with only that lense. With the smallish sensor effecting every focal length and iso it gives a lot of room for creativity. The manual operation and super shallow depth of field really forces you to think outside the box. That being said i rarely go to 0.95 but when i do i love that it's there :)

[@Wyllies11]

Lok saying "I want a new Iphone" is very memeable.

[@damiansa2574]

Kai how does it compare to the M-mount 50mm from Leica and SLR Magic?

[@Lastman10101]

Kai is hustling get it my brother!

[@Chrsly]

"Before we get too bokeh-balls-deep in bokeh..." LOL

[@williamschaffel3760]

The HandeVision / Kipon iBelux 40mm f0.85 is still the fast lens champ, if you can focus it.

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

Why are Laowa releasing so many super-fast lenses? Because so many poseurs who don't know better will buy them.

[@Fozz84]

I'd love to watch a video of you trying to take apart a fungus filled lens, cleaning it and then putting it back together. ..I think I might be a bit of a sadist. 😂

[@thecaveofthedead]

Lots of reasons for super fast lenses. But it's all a compromise. Whether the large size, difficulty, and image quality issues are worth it very much depends on what you're trying to do as a photographer. Totally agree that it's not worth buying a lens like this on a whim. It will then likely sit in the cupboard. But one of the great things about these super-fast lenses becoming affordable is that you begin to get to the point of something that comes close to a medium format look (I have a Pentax 67 and the cheap 'standard lens' for it is a 105 f2.4 which gives a DOF roughly like 50 f1.1 in FF) with a more convenient camera. On APSC this is requires even faster lenses. A 56 f0.95 is only about the equivalent of an 85 f1.4 on FF. So I think there's a real place for these lenses for those of us who really want this look.

[@krone5]

I have not been to Kingston NY in awhile I better get there fast.

[@wrkshpstudio3597]

The thing I like most about Kai, is his collection of Stone Island jackets. His camera reviews are also okay…

[@theorncampbell4432]

Wirestock a stock library aggregator? I'll have to check that out.

[@just_eirik]

Speaking of bokeh and Laowa, if you haven’t already, can you review the Laowa 105mm with the APD filter?

[@sticboy]

We just need that Picture in Picture Lok cam!

[@Falorepus]

Perhaps the Lok Focus (in this video) is not much better then the Autofocus of the S5, the Laowa is only for Bokeh Bros thx

[@AdamSpurgin]

I have the 35 and I've been loving it. If they made like a... dunno, 100/1.2, I'd go for that, but 45 is just way too similar.

[@SebaKPaul]

I dont have the 35, yet i may get the 45, exactly because well ... 45.

what i still do not understand is why manufacturers of manual lenses never include gears. It is like they never got the memo that people film nowadays ... and years later they release the same lens with focus gears ... from a design standpoint it would be so easy to have both on the same lens a section that is compatible with follow focus gears and a normal one ... idk what do i know right ?

[@radiozelaza]

Wirestock will reject photos of bokeh balls

[@jakieboiZ94]

What were you doing in Kingston?!

[@thispersonjay]

love this - Kai downplays big aperture lenses interspersed with great shots at .95 (he’s trolling us, right?)

[@nremac]

So charming. Love you guys

[@BrendanEvan]

Who DOESNT need a super fast lens Usain Bolt Lens Bokehtastic

[@vermis8344]

"There's a lot of geeks who buy superfast lenses, and when they have it, it's like _ohh zero nine five! I've got the power! I've got the infinity stone_ or something like that..." Kai, were you spying on me?

[@johnhillman2619]

Is the "sweet spot" of this lens at a wider aperture than, say, on a comparable f/1.4 lens?

[@lord6162]

It depends what lens you're comparing it too. It'll be better then a cheap Chinese f1.4 however a more expensive lens from a better brand canon, sigma, nikon, sony etc will likely be better at f1.4 even if that's the lens widest aperture. Anyway why lug around so much extra glass and metal if you're looking for f1.4 and not f0. 95. If you want a cheap f1.4 lens there are some good ones back from the film days that can be adapted for a fraction of the price if this 0.95 lens.

[@johnhillman2619]

@@lord6162 Thanks - but that's not quite what I was asking.

[@Denkaa1987]

Is wirestock working for you guys? I tried to use it, but for me it was constantly crashing allover the place ...

[@enri_1986]

Two videos in one day? Nice.

[@huwkelvinmorgan3575]

THANK YOU FOR SORTING THAT OUT FOR ME i think i am going to stick with my Sigma 16mm f1.4 lens and it's a brilliant match with my Sony A6300

[@sollypike5453]

Dude the Panasonic S5 you use struggles to keep focus

[@AznGlenny07]

thanks for the great review!🙂

[@manchesterstreetphotos5126]

Kai, you make me nervous never using a strap !

[@cosmogang]

Who makes that glorious, orange jacket?

[@adelier11]

8:44, did Kai said Alamby? Oh, mishear

[@Cali62825]

So are you saying you like the 45 f0.95?