Laowa AF 10mm F2.8 Review: Laowa's First AUTOFOCUS Lens!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

This video is sponsored by Fantom Wallet. Visit store.fantomwallet.com and use code DUSTIN15 to get 15% off

[@thedarkslide]

Amazing engineering feat. Laowa continues to impress.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It is very impressive from an engineering standpoint.

[@mastpg]

Between the detailed image reviews from Christopher Frost and the comprehensive design-use and image reviews from you, there's just an insane level of comfort with my lens purchases, most recently with the 35-150f2-2.8 and likely this one. Thanks again for the comprehensive quality of hour reviews. B&H should give you a cut.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I do think our videos are complimentary.

[@echoauxgen]

Most Excellent review!!! I placed my order earlier this morning before seeing this. Think you are the first in a review of a lens to use stars and if on the A7RV you have 10.03s for accurate and default 20.05s on the A7SM3 16.39s accurate and 32.77s for default for pin point stars in either mode. The big surprise was you were pointing straight up with trees all the way around the frame and not one was bent. I have had the Voigtlander 10mm f/5.6 for some years and also used it for astro Milky Way before getting a low cost Pano rig. Like starting Astro back in '14 it was go wide and wider as time went by. I used the Voigtlander 10mm f/5.6, small and handy for many things over time but may have saved my life at Horseshoe Canyon I got several captures handheld in one shot each looking like a pano where other photographers were standing at the edge with a tripod doing multiple rows of panos for sky and the Colorado river below the images I captured were very sharp to the horizon and very detailed at rocks right in front of me to the river below and the canyon walls in one single capture and very little play in post Oh! also a few people left and right standing were unbent and up and down. I recommend instead of using a filter up front to use the Haida Rear Lens ND Filter Kit for sometimes on ultra wide lenses and a ND filter up front you will get the the center blue hump and you will not get it in the rear of the lens using one there and also no need to follow the finger and thumb rule. If you use the Clear Night filter during the day color of sky will be baby blue and sand perfect tan water bright blue, on a test of my 12-24mm f/4 I forgot to remove one during a Milky Way scouting trip to see a perfect distance from a fort. Remember this lens is not for getting it all in like a tourist but the story close and the wider story behind and keeping level always for all things vertical to the sides. You can now sell the old FishEye lenses. Also at night sharpness is sharp and in focus to the horizon

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Sounds like a lens you will enjoy!

[@larswara2124]

Wow, a full format dream lens!! At that price point!! 😃

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It's pretty sweet.

[@highwayman1224]

I've got the Laowa 7.5mm 2.0 for my micro four thirds cameras and it's my favorite wide angle lens! I'm really thinking about picking up this one for my A7RV. I've also got 2 of their macro lenses and they're fantastic! Laowa is a great company!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

If you like the 7.5mm, then you'll probably like this one.

[@PH61a]

Great review as usual! I'm going to buy this lens. Saw some great shots here!

[@leomachine23]

I NEED THIS LENS!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I hope you can get one, then.

[@cgtung]

Thanks for another well detailed review Dustin! I'm interested in it for my nikon Z mount. Also wish I new you were in Ottawa, would have enjoyed meeting you and shooting our beloved city 😊 Rock on Dustin! 🤘

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Ottawa definitely has some interesting things to shoot.

[@hwirtwirt4500]

Great review Dustin Abbott, thank you for uploading this video. Not being familiar with this lens I was mistakenly under the impression this was an APS-C format lens, 10 MM on a full frame is an incredibly wide angle of view. The design looks modern and precise, very impressive for a first attempt at auto focus lens. Performance seems quite good but not stellar on the edges, certainly good enough to produce great images with shooting technique practice and some post processing.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Exactly. It is incredibly wide

[@kylinblue]

Thanks for the quality review as always Mr Abbott❤

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Thanks.

[@Uisci81]

I think this will be the first lens I buy for the R5ii I’m looking at! I think it’s fantastic

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Enjoy!

[@Shuttermemory]

MF only?

[@6gwilliams]

Thanks Dustin Abbott, I have already ordered one early this morning as the official USA launch with Laowa folks was at my fav mom and pop dealer, Allen's Camera, outside Philadelphia. And as you know, I also have the excellent Viltrox 16mm f1.8 lens for my A1, A9III, A7RV. Cheers

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's great. Enjoy.

[@6gwilliams]

@@DustinAbbottTWI thanks. I also got the Viltrox 16mm f1.8 on your and Wes Perry's two recommendations and love the Viltrox. You Canadians rock. Cheers

[@DarkoNomad]

This would be a perfect lens for filming action sorts like skateboarding and snowboarding because it's quite wide, handles the lens flare well and produces nice sunstars. Being so lightweight and compact, with options to add filters seems to make it perfect for this application. Vignetting in that regard won't take much away from it. As usual, thanks for very detailed and unbiased review.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That would be a nice application for it.

[@AlSo-Fotografie]

Thanks Dustin for this review!! Just a perfect lens for my real estate jobs. Even though I don't have autofocus with my R5. I always in manually mode.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Enjoy.

[@Francisfphoto_]

How are you liking it for real estate?

[@fromia1]

This lens makes me happy that I can get something with the quality close to the Canon 10-20mm f4. The lack of VR is compensated by the extra stop of light when shot handheld. Would be interested to learn whether your filters introduce more vignetting. As for in-camera corrections, I hear that Laowa is working on that.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's a fair perspective.

[@sirrichard77]

Great review.👌 Would you say this lens is similar optically to the Laowa 12mm 2.8 or do you feel it is slightly Superior?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I liked it a bit better.

[@HHHSykes]

Not super excited about this, but I am super excited they have started doing AF. We might soon get a macro AF lens from Laowa. The macro AF landscape isn't very competitive on e-mount. Perhaps a 2:1 AF macro!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I would absolutely love to see some AF macro lenses from them.

[@dannyli9424]

Thanks for including few night sky image and also a test shot shows the beautiful sun star, planning to get one for Milky Way since F2.8 is still pretty useable even without the tracker, but the Coma performance is probably just : so -so" not exceptionally great.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Glad to help out.

[@mortezabeiglou5260]

For Architecture photography, do you recommend, which I choose: Laowa 20mm F4 Shift Lens or Laowa AF 10mm F2.8 ???

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I personally would lean towards the shift lens.

[@mortezabeiglou5260]

@@DustinAbbottTWI thanks for the reply, which shift lens is good for Sony FE?

[@mralexlex]

Excellent review, thank you!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

My pleasure!

[@DA-lp4rh]

might be pretty nice for crops on electronic stabilization and 4k 60 fps - I'd like to give it a try for some handheld real estate video on the S5II - maybe it would get to about 18 to 20mm with all cropping in camera - perfect FOV for real estate walk throughs.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's definitely a good application.

[@martnigu5060]

Very good, but the corners at f2.8 in night photography?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

They are not perfect, but not bad for such an extremely wide angle of view. Few lenses this wide are going to give you perfect corners.

[@koinegreekbible]

Very helpful. Thank you!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

My pleasure.

[@NataliiaBlessingheart]

Very-very good review, as always, thank you! Such an interesting lens! I wondering if Laowa will do 12 or 14mm f1.8 AF version lens, also zero-d? 10mm is cool, but it's very specific, too wide for me). It would be so great to have AF macro-lenses 90-100mm, too!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I agree on all points.

[@jerseyreddevil3139]

I am curious about the differences with the manual focus lens with more aperture blades

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I'm personally not sure what value there is in a higher blade count. All that means is that sunstars are harder to make, as you won't be getting nicer bokeh (there isn't much to be had!)

[@nordic5490]

The AF version only has 5 apeture blades = dodgy oof night shots 5 sided specular highligh bokeh = bad, whilst the Canon RF mount manual focus version has 14 apeture blades = nice round oof specular highlightbokeh = good.

[@Bayonet1809]

I imagine the distortion varies depending on the focal distance, so it might be lower when focussed at infinity?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's very possible.

[@0ooTheMAXXoo0]

Well there is no change in distortion in the video when focus distance is changed, so probably not?

[@stevendeary502]

What a cool lens, I have no need for it, but I want it

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's fair.

[@AR-vf7vg]

Did you ever focus anywhere else than in the middle wile on the test chart ?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Yes I did. I focused in the corner as well to see if that changed the corner findings. It didn't.

[@AR-vf7vg]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank You !!!

[@snak4716]

hello, thanks for review! does the focus ring turn in the canon or nikon way in manual focus?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I don't have the lens on hand anymore, so don't quote me, but I feel like it was the typical Sony direction...which is Nikon (I think)

[@thedarkslide]

12:17 I wonder if Laowa should offer a center grad ND filter to darken the center of the frame - similar to what Hasselblad offered on their XPan wide angle lenses to counter severe vignetting.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Hmmm, interesting thought.

[@xile_hc]

What new Sony cameras can you use this on?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Any E-mount camera.

[@Ryan_Secord]

Do you think the 14-blade aperture version (which is manual), at the same price, could possibly be worth the lack of autofocus? Essentially, would 14 manual blades at 10mm even result in much bokeh quality or whatever for the exact same price point?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I would prefer the straight blades, myself. You are never going to get much bokeh out of this lens, and the sunstars from the 5 blades are beautiful.

[@carlosandreviana9448]

What about a comparison with the 7artisans 9mm?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I don't actually have the 7artisans lens on hand, so I'm afraid not

[@dougsmit1]

I realize you were only reviewing the Sony lens but there are some obvious differences that would be of most interest to Canon/Leica folks. With no contacts, these won't ne focus by wire and aperture will have to be set on the lens. I wonder if these differences account for the manual lenses having the same price as the AF pair. Laowa's site mentions (also at the same price) a 14 blade aperture option. At 10mm, I'm not sure I see autofocus as all that important and some might prefer manual with direct focus and aperture controls. At close distances, is the edge unsharpness due to flat field corrections and the fact that the edges of a flat scene are actually twice as far from the center of the lens? How does the sharpness compare to the much cheaper 7Artisans 9mm (at f/5.6 and smaller, obviously? Is there good reason for shooters of the manual only brands to even consider this lens for the price?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

If you looked at my image quality breakdown, you would see that my corner results were consistent with infinity (real world results). The corners just aren't as sharp.

[@mikefoo6842]

Probably the vignette can be solved by using some radial gradient masking ???

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Definitely.

[@Lance_Magillicuddy]

I'm not sure I would want to pay extra for autofocus for such a short focal length lens. Wouldn't everything past a foot or two be in focus anyway? Also, something that would be interesting is to compare a "super" wide-angle lens like this to multi-frame stitched panos created on a tilt-shift lens.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's the thing, though. This lens is priced no higher than their manual focus options.

[@Lance_Magillicuddy]

@@DustinAbbottTWI after I wrote this comment, I saw that the Canon manual focus version is the same price as the autofocus versions. So then that raises the question of why the Canon version is not *less* expensive.

[@JohnStekl-kj1tf]

Thanks!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

You're welcome! Thanks for the tip!

[@timelapsebylkunl72]

Thank for a great review.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

My pleasure.

[@rfwhyte]

This is a very interesting lens for real estate photography and videography. Especially for video given most real estate video is shot at 60p and most cameras have somewhere around a 1.5x crop shooting at 4k60p, so with this lens you'd still get a 15mm equivalent shooting 4K60p, which would be about as wide as you'd want to shoot RE video anyway.

[@echoauxgen]

stick with the 16-35mm anything wider things are too far to the far wall, yes it will work but not look right.

[@nightdonutstudio]

If the purpose is for crop sensor, then sigma 10-18 is cheaper, smaller and lighter.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I would say only if your goal is to make spaces look really large. This perspective is so wide that it doesn't really feel natural.

[@IrvinJeBitoon]

Looks like a cross between the old Hasselblad and Sony/Minolta lenses. But, nevertheless, great review always Dustin.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback.

[@stkuj]

While not really apples to apples, I'd love a comparison vs Viltrox 16...

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It's really not apples to apples at all. The Laowa wins for distortion (and having a much wider angle of view), but the Viltrox wins pretty much everything else. It is sharper, faster, has more features, and is cheaper. You are paying for that incredibly wide angle of view with the Laowa. 16mm is infinitely easier to engineer than 10mm.

[@wilhelmusjanus6424]

'(RAW) Vignetting is a typical Laowa weakness.' Someone might want to look up 'cos4 fall-off'....;))

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Are you suggesting that this affects Laowa lenses disproportionately? I am comparing the performance to other lenses with other factors being equal.

[@GilbertTV]

great news Laowa making AF lenses

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Absolutely.

[@jankucera8505]

thanks

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

You're welcome!

[@firpofutbol]

I have the Laowa 9mm f5.6. I now want to replace that with this!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I can see why.

[@ArminHirmer]

nice one

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Thanks

[@thomasanderson5929]

Banger of a lens and pretty much a MUST HAVE much like a 24-105mm f/4 or 50mm f/1.8. Amazing price to performance ratio.... unfortunately for Canon, I won't be buying any of their cameras since I can't use lenses like this because they're too stubborn to open up their mount to 3rd party manufacturers... LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!! So.... Nikon will be the choice of camera for this :)

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

That's a pretty typical response these days. Very unfortunate for Canon.

[@thomasanderson5929]

It's too bad because Canon bodies are AMAZING and well priced, but holy moly do they make it nearly impossible to jump on the RF bandwagon when the prices and options are so insane. Anyway, great review as always! THANK YOU!@@DustinAbbottTWI

[@nordic5490]

The AF version only has 5 apeture blades = dodgy oof night shots 5 sided specular highligh bokeh = bad, whilst the Canon RF mount manual focus version has 14 apeture blades = nice round oof specular highlightbokeh = good.

[@nordic5490]

​@@thomasanderson5929my Canon RF 10-20mm f/4 L IS STM Lens has a 9 apeture blades and hence has much nicer oof bokeh on specular highlights, and it is sharp as a tack, and has is, so makes a great walk and vlog lens. What dont you like about this superb RF lens ? That Laowa 10mm looks way too soft to use f2.8 for astro.

[@賴建作]

50元! 有亮點~

[@johnrpittenger]

Nice i guess... I want autofocus anamorphic lenses.......

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Interesting thought.

[@caleb9819]

Lens is great! Dustin's constant, unchanging snowy landscapes are getting tiresome.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Try living in winter for 5 months out of the year.

[@caleb9819]

@@DustinAbbottTWI I have more then 5, actually. That's why I hate to see winter so much.

[@kbruff2010]

Excellence

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Pretty cool

[@denizahmet2299]

Trying to compose this wide and make anything look interesting is hard work. Doesn't have the sharpness needed for quality landscape work either, and once you correct that shading and distortion you just make things worse on image quality. Sounds like it's best used in crop mode.

[@LtDeadeye]

I recently rented the 14mm f/1.8 GM and found that, while composing a more difficult task than with normal focal lengths, once nailed everything I shot was made more interesting. That said, there was a lot of angular architecture. During a few occasions, I wanted to go even wider but I don't like using my iPhone which has a 13mm equivalent focal length.

[@acouragefann]

The MTFs and every raw image I've seen from fx. philippreeve suggest otherwise to me

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I wouldn't agree that it is best used in crop mode. It's as sharp anything out there that is this wide. But yes, good compositions with a lens this wide are difficult. It takes skill and practice.

[@alwinbenjamin]

💯

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

:)

[@ChaitanyaShukla2503]

Its a shame Laowa have abandoned electromagnetic aperture on their manual focus lenses(other than micro 4/3 lenses and for FF cameras 100mm f2.8 EF mount Ultra macro lens). On other hand I really like the close focus capabilities of the lens and should be a fun lens for close up work.

[@0ooTheMAXXoo0]

I think they always put an electric aperture in lenses made for a certain lens mount. The old Canon mount I think it is... Same now as before...

[@ChaitanyaShukla2503]

@@0ooTheMAXXoo0 Only 100mm f2.8 had electronic aperture and majority of micro 4/3 lenses have it else they never put electronic aperture in their lenses.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I found that very strange, too. On EF there was the one lens, and then they abandoned it again. That never made sense to me.

[@johnbrunedigital1]

28 minutes of a dude sitting at a desk reading from his tablet. No thanks

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Caught! Fortunately for me 99.3% of viewers liked it.

[@charted8015]

ordered

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Enjoy!