Venus Optics 'Laowa' 12mm f/2.8 'Zero-D' lens review with samples (Full-frame and APS-C)

[@MicaelWidell]

Christopher, your reviews are the best! They are so informative and well made that I find myself watching reviews of lenses I couldn't even fit on my own camera. To top it off you have such a calm, soothing voice. Keep it up!

[@LarsGoldbachDP]

I couldn't describe it better :)

[@Oktopus450]

It seems to be a perfect lens to shoot events inside on a glidecam (as it doesn't have image stabilization). But the lack of the distortion and f2.8 with such a wide angle... oh really amazed! I guess I'll decide on this over Sigma 20mm f/1.4

[@knowthis87]

Tell me about your experience with the sigma 20mm 1.4

[@mandyyy97]

I am now trying to decide between this one and the sigma one.. What would be better for landscape and astro?

[@Stefan1968ful]

This lens is really exceptional. I used it before on Nikon d850 and now, after I migrated, on a Sony A7r4y. And this with wonderful results, landscape anyway usually I do at f/5.8 and beyond. Super!

[@mehrdadmoradi2141]

does it crop on sony a camera?

[@JoeJacksonJr]

$50 for an adapter to use filters on this wide of a lens is actually very cheap. Quality filter adapters for the Rokinon 14mm and Canon 11-22mm start around $200 USD.. Excellent review. Cheers..

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

I just bought the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 - I'd rather have the Laowa, but considering that I picked up the Rokinon for a quarter of the price that the Laowa goes for I think I got a decent bargain. However, knowing that this lens is out there, but way beyond my price range, took some of the joy out of the purchase.

[@karthikeyanalagappan1135]

How is the distortion in Rokinon 14mm

[@Wabajak13]

was literally reading up on this lens when I got the notification for this video.

[@jacobocastano]

Wabajak13 lucky man

[@howardcihak9369]

MY Venus 12/2.8 Zero-D has been used with my Canon 5DsR (50MP) camera and the results have been spectacular. Outstanding performer!

[@monkehp]

I'd like to thank you again for your consistency. At the end of your videos, you always say whether you recommend, highly recommend, or very highly recommend lenses. Or just omit recommendations at all, jeje. Those very highly recommended lenses are rare and I take your opinion seriously. That this lens is in the rare company of the Samyang 135, Sigma 35, Sigma 20 and the likes really whets the appetite.

[@christopherfrost]

Hmm I don't have a list, maybe I'll put one together one day :-)

[@taitai300]

Wow this has really low distortion.

[@AgnostosGnostos]

This is actually a normal lens. The humans see with two eyes and the image they see is a combination that is processed by brain. That is called binocular vision and its visual horizontal field of view is around 110°. (Just check for binocular human field of view or Peripheral human vision on google or Wikipedia.) That corresponds to an ultra wide 12mm lens on a full frame camera. The single eye has a horizontal field of view around 46° (Due to the nose which obstructs) which coresponds to a normal 50mm on a full frame camera. However the humans see very sharply at a field of view around 10°. That coresponds to a 200mm lens on a full frame camera.

[@maclee5381]

This is not exactly apple for apple. For one thing, the retina isn't flat like a camera sensor, making the projection very different from the get go.

[@WMedl]

Did for example Klee, Picasso, van Gogh, Cezanne paint worse on small formats?

[@monsour1900]

That's great performance across the frame! I was expecting it to fail but color me impressed at the corner performance. My Tokina 12mm-24mm f4 pales in comparison and this is usable up to f16 on FF and F11 on APSC. I wasn't expecting the filter adapter --- that just elevated this lens to lovable. Landscape and architecture shooters will love this lens.

[@simon3461]

Wow, what a field of view - great lens - and great review !! Go on to 250.000 KZbin followers Chris !

[@christopherfrost]

Thanks!

[@Zaydiamine]

Thank you Christopher, for this video ... but what about the Samyang or Rokinon 12mm f2.8. It's really the direct competitor and for the half the price ... You have reviewed it too. What do you think about its performance against this new lens ? besides the distortion, which one is better and worth the money ?

[@christopherfrost]

Zaydi amine The Samyang is a fisheye lens which is very different, so, it depends what effect you want :-)

[@arthurgphotography]

The Sony version can focus even closer, practically touching the front element. You can legitimately do wide angle macro with this lens.

[@zone6789]

This lens is great on a Nikon D850 and the image quality will rival a Zeiss. On Nikons you shoot in aperture priority and the camera captures all the metadata. However, that damn front lens cap kept falling off so I added the 100mm filter mount and clear filter with the plastic Laowa lens cover. A flare test I did indicated that flare was not an issue with this setup if you are careful. The corners vignette a trifle with a 100mm filter on it but I don’t care. It’s great for urban shooting in tight quarters, such as East Coast diners or architecture. It does yield straight verticals as advertised.

[@wannamlwithu]

That is a marvelous wide angle lens. The price is still over my budget tho haha well maybe someday. Great review as usual, Chris!

[@kaimelis]

Hey chris, theres the new 12 24 f4 sigma ART... Which is 1500 euro...

[@christopherfrost]

That's right. Hopefully I'll be testing it out soon

[@Oktopus450]

kaimelis yea, can't wait for the review of the new 12-24mm f4 sigma

[@theredpillnews20]

I really enjoy your reviews. You need to hook up with a camera store and review more cameras and lenses. Keep up the great work! Peace brother!

[@walterscott6435]

God bless you Christopher. Thanks so much for your brilliantly succinct yet in depth lens reviews. I heard you say that putting a lens through its paces is quite time consuming. I wondered if you had any plans in the future to try out the Fuji 18-135mm xf lens. I hope you can find the time and that there's a kind person out there who can give you one to test. Thanks again.

[@christopherfrost]

Maybe some time! I wouldn't mind testing it out at all :-)

[@hotchi1566]

Very informative and professional review. Thanks a lot.

[@OM3N1R]

I'm going to sell my Sony 12-24 F4 G to get this lens. Just as useful for my interior real estate and WAY better for astro!

[@samuelp6686]

was waiting for ur review ....gonna order it now

[@nbultman_art]

How would I know if this would fit the lens mount (type f) on my nikon d3300??

[@christopherfrost]

You should get the Nikon version - my guess is that it will work right out the box (although I don't use Nikon so I wouldn't know)

[@nbultman_art]

Christopher Frost Photography thanks for the response man. I found out that my lens has a 52mm mount, so I bought a cheap metal ring for 13 dollars from Amazon. The Nikon one was 30$

[@123166856]

if only they can "laowa" their price this is a fantastic lens

[@christopherfrost]

It's not a bad price - you should 'Laowa' your demands

[@123166856]

Christopher Frost Photography "if only"

[@DmitryMeshcheryakov]

What about coma and astrophotography?

[@firpofutbol]

Would love a comparison of this lens with the Laowa 9mm f 5.6 for Sony.

[@ArekWolf]

Christopher, you made another great review! Thank you so much :)

[@thewalrus1968]

i recently purchased the new Irix 15mm f2.4 .. i love it .. would enjoy seeing a review from your perspective Chris

[@christopherfrost]

A review is coming very soon!

[@thewalrus1968]

im watching it now thanks chris

[@dexterhurrenmusic]

Thank you so much for making these vids! Massive help.

[@komedybitspresents...600]

Seems the Venus Optics folks forgot about the competition: Samyang 12mm f2.0 which can be bought for around £300. A very special lens.

[@TheMetalButcher]

APS-c only. So really not a competitor.

[@paulinefollett3099]

great review. Enjoyed it very much.

[@angriestphotographer3590]

I have the Sigma 12-24 f4-f5.6 ii and Its no competition for this Laowa. The Frog Lens Laowa so much better & usable images.

[@hoorayforpentax3801]

What's the aperture control like? The brief glimpse of the rear element you showed us suggests a completely "blind" mount, so stop-down metering only and aperture priority mode essential. Not a deal breaker for me because I'm so used to using Takumars on DSLRs, but worth a mention IMO.

[@christopherfrost]

Hooray for Pentax! It's manual aperture control, as I showed in the review - you might have missed that bit

[@tcurdt]

If only it would transmit Exif data :-(

[@charlesmcanany6806]

Thanks, Mr. Frost, for another useful review! I'm not sure if it's just my monitor, but it looks like, at 4:32, the lens has terrible contrast in the upper-left corner of the image. Any idea what may be causing that? I'm looking forward to your review of Venus' 24mm f/14 macro lens!

[@charlesmcanany6806]

I see how the falloff would make dark corners, but it looks like the upper-right corner of the image is sort of smoky to me. (Again, maybe it's just a monitor issue.) Like, the blacks aren't very deep. In particular, the roller coaster picture appears very flat, while it's punchy in other reviews.

[@ilesuleima]

How about coma? Would like to see how Laowa performs in star photography.

[@ilesuleima]

Daniel Han So it seems. I'll leave Laowa in the shelf, and continue with my Samyang 14mm f/2.8.

[@fbimagesphoto]

Absolutely horrendous, guess I will stick to my star tracker and photoshop trickery. Thanks for answering the question I have been asking myself since this lens was announced.

[@Matadurr]

Hey Chris, first time seeing your channel. I really like your review style. All of my reviews so far have been written posts only, but with some recent gear acquired, I hope to try to make some more hands-on videos. After you have all your videos/photos from testing ready, how long does a video like this take to put together? What program do you use?

[@christopherfrost]

I use Sony Vegas. It probably takes about 12-15 hours work to get the videos together, all things included, although over time I've become more efficient

[@Matadurr]

Christopher Frost Photography whew, wow okay I figured something like that. Thanks for the info, it all looks great.

[@monkehp]

Fascinating lens. Between this, the Sigma 20mm f1.4, and the Voigtlander 20mm f3.5, I have a tough choice to make. Any chance of reviewing the 20mm Voigtlander...?

[@christopherfrost]

No plans to I'm afraid!

[@kieransaucedo4924]

+Christopher Frost Photography Hi, I love your videos and was thinking of getting a macro lens, which do you prefer... The Laowa 60mm F 2.8 Macro or the Canon 60mm F 2.8 USM Macro? Thanks for making awesome videos.

[@christopherfrost]

I'd probably go for the Laowa lens, out of those two

[@k0chum]

AH YES I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG

[@gloggerpux]

Hey i wish i could of catched that kickstarter, please shere with us when u find really nice proyects like this!.

[@christopherfrost]

I wish I had done as well!

[@alinab7]

how does this compare to the 15mm f/2 ?

[@MooCreation]

I've ordered this lens and trying to order a filter in advance. So does this lens take normal 100mm filters ??

[@christopherfrost]

Watch the review, and you'll find out!

[@MooCreation]

Haha thanks I just watched it. They now selling it for $75 though...

[@joaofigueiredo8864]

Nice review! the lens seems to have good quality even wide open. I have a Samyang 10mm f2.8, it's an Aps-c lens, it cost me around 400€. I would love to see a review on this one!

[@HappyGrower]

Great review. Great lens.

[@dieutan1]

Nice review but wished you had tested it on a bigger sensor. 6D 20MP is just pointless for real quality testing.

[@Germandinista]

Thanks u!!

[@ManolisLevedelis]

Hi Chris! I was thinking to buy this lens and i was wondering, the flare is it to bad?

[@christopherfrost]

Watch the review, and you'll see! :-)

[@justusgovaert]

There is also the canon 10-18 and 10-22mm lens for cano apsc lenses. So y hat is not really true that there is only 1 alternative

[@jan.tichavsky]

Justus Govaert They are zooms which compromises the quality like distortion and they are slower than f/2.8. This lens is for full frame though, better to have compact APS-C prime, but sadly there is no alternative for DSLRs.

[@christopherfrost]

Justus Govaert Those are not full-frame lenses.

[@wandererstraining]

Yeah, it's all about all wide it really can go. The Laowa goes 122°.

[@aghahanta108]

Hi Chris, love your reviews! Q: Can the vignetting with shots at 2.8 be completely removed in lightroom?

[@christopherfrost]

Should be. I've never tried

[@lewrocks94]

Awesome review! Was that lands end in the video? ☺️

[@christopherfrost]

No - it's Aberaeron :-)

[@lewrocks94]

+Christopher Frost Photography ahh awesome! it looks lovely! 😊

[@smaakjeks]

Only one Canon lens can go wider than 12mm? What about the Canon 8-15mm f4?

[@aponinenaugcasio8456]

Smaakjeks K i think he means aside from the fisheye lenses the 11mm is the widest from canon

[@smaakjeks]

Tom Wom Yes, I was wondering if that's what he meant. You're probably right. :-)

[@christopherfrost]

Smaakjeks K As you've guessed, and just to clarify, yes, I was referring to rectilinear lenses. :-)

[@zikuanchen5767]

thank you Chris I like this lens

[@davidfrost9415]

Hi Chris Could you please test out the Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 VC for Canon if you have time? I am really looking forward to see that!

[@christopherfrost]

I have done already :-)

[@jasontaylor3017]

Love your reviews! How can performance be worse in the corners on APSC though?

[@christopherfrost]

The lens is sharp enough right in the middle to be excellent on FF and APS-C. But moving away from the middle, it's only sharp enough to be excellent on FF and not APS-C, which is a much more demanding sensor

[@MatBaconMC]

Wait... the 10mm f/2.8 from Samyang/Rokinon is wider...?

[@brandmeegmbh9883]

Which objective would you choose for architecture, landscape, interior spaces? Laowa 12mm or sony 12-24mm? For A7III

[@christopherfrost]

I haven't tried the Sony lens. I really like the Laowa lens though

[@thomasschwinn1512]

thank you very much for the test, I'm very interested in that lens as an alternative for my 10mm Samyang which has a very nice picture quality but it is quite expensive with any filter solution and sunstars/aperturestars are not that beautiful with that lens, did you test how aperturestars look with the laoea lens?

[@christopherfrost]

I didn't end up testing that, sorry!

[@sambiswas1265]

Praise Lord the God Brother, well based on your suggestion I already got Sigma 17-50mm and it is going fine and now looking for more wide lens like Tamron 10-24; but my confusion is, what good will Tamron 10-24 sustain against sigma 17-50. should I go for the ultra wide lens or upgrade my body to Nikon 7200 against Nikon D3300 (a entry level camera). Wish your reply. wish All goodness of Today (Sunday) church service

[@MatBaconMC]

Uh... what about the 10-18mm and the 10-22mm? Those are from Canon too... Unless you're taking into consideration the 1.6x crop factor, since those two are only made for APS-C cameras.

[@christopherfrost]

Yes, I'm taking into consideration crop factor. When using a full-frame camera, a 12mm lens will give a far wider image than 10mm on APS-C

[@MatBaconMC]

Christopher Frost Photography Ah, I see. Thanks a lot Chris!

[@RagingBubuli]

Try making panorama photos using this lens.

[@gerarddonovan8678]

I find the samyang 12mm f2.8 to be a great lens

[@angelisone]

Why are F16 and F22 missing on the DOF's scales?

[@lovercontax4979]

how does it compare to counterpart like samyang 14mm? thanks, would u make a review on this matter?

[@christopherfrost]

Take a look at my review of the Samyang lens and you'll find out all about it :-)

[@slammermx]

Do you have the file of the target to test my own 10mm Rokinon at different apertures on my APSC camera?

[@wolterwilliamwolthers9398]

i have a cannon eos r i just bought a laowa lens like the one in your video, but with i put the lens in the camera i can't take a picture, the camera just doesn't shoot. do you have any idea what it could be? Do I need any adapter? if you can help me i will be very grateful thank you

[@EdgarOliveiraTB]

My canon does take photo when I mount this lens. Why

[@JeroenSchrage]

im happy with my samyang 11-16mm :)

[@Ultima2876]

Anybody know how well this works with a speed booster on an APS-C sensor?

[@algersonvincent]

Can i use this on my r5 with ef to r adaptor? Beside being manual focus would there be any other issues?

[@d1ehl.]

Christopher Frost is it possible to use a reverse ring/adaptor w/ this lens & what would happen if so?

[@christopherfrost]

Don't know I'm afraid

[@rachelz8354]

Hi, Chris, are there any test samples of laowa 12mm?

[@fernandobonenfantphotography]

is this lens work on a A7iii?!?! i just bought a Laowa Venus 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D Lens for Sony E and now im thinking i made a mistake , many thanks

[@christopherfrost]

You'll need an adaptor to get it to work on your Sony camera. It'll be worth it though

[@fernandobonenfantphotography]

so if i buy the canon version and an adapter to make it work on my sony, ill have a 12mm 2.8 isnt?!!? i got a bit lost with the part of the video where you talk about the converter 17mm f4! thanks again :D

[@christopherfrost]

Actually, if you got an E-mount version of the lens it will fit right onto your camera. If you got the Canon version then you'll need a Canon to Sony E adaptor. It'll still be a 12mm f/2.8 lens

[@MatthieuPesesse]

Any idea how to know when the manual focus is setup properly with a canon 6DmII? I have no indications on the LCD, nor a beep sound to let me know when I'm in focus..

[@christopherfrost]

I use magnification to zoom in to the image and check

[@TheMetalButcher]

You'll have to add a focus confirm chip if you want that, and I can't guarantee it working well due to the nature of the lens. If you use magic lantern (which I'm guessing you don't since it's not released for that camera) you can set it to auto zoom in on half shutter, and you can also enable focus peaking.

[@pixert]

If I’m using this lens on aps-c, do I still get 12mm? Sorry, I’m confused. Thank you

[@zone6789]

It would appear as 18mm on an aps-c.

[@georger.rmartinhat9366]

is there a better option for primarily video user?

[@christopherfrost]

Hmm, can't think of anything

[@fphedman]

Could you test the fe version of this on the sony a7r? I've run into som focusing issues on my copy of that lens, and it gets incredibly soft at f2.8 when i shoot astro

[@christopherfrost]

I tried this lens on my a7R ii with a simple Canon to Sony adaptor and it was amazingly sharp

[@fphedman]

Christopher Frost Photography from what i read on forums it might be the factory inbuilt adapter that makes it an FE that makes things a bit weird, but thank you for your answer, much appreciated! And a PS, this channel is just superb, keep it up👍

[@izcinema831]

Does the lens allow ND filters for video use? Or does the glass element stick out too much?

[@izcinema831]

Nevermind... 2:59 it's clear there's no way an ND filter will fit on that

[@JasonLam3]

@@izcinema831 You can install 100mm ND filter with the Nisi filter holder or the one designed by Laowa

[@izcinema831]

@@JasonLam3 very cool. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@nealzhao1063]

Carlos Izquierdo Acutally, Laowa provides a lens hood which has a 95mm circular filter slot.

[@shailendraraut29]

price

[@AgnostosGnostos]

Is it the same lens with Samyang 12mm f/2.8 lens?

[@christopherfrost]

Achilleas Labrou That's a fisheye lens so it gives a different image

[@AgnostosGnostos]

Christopher Frost Photography Thank you for the reply

[@jimmylee2660]

how does it compare to the rokinon 12mm

[@christopherfrost]

The Samyang (Rokinon) 12mm f/2.8 is a fisheye lens. The 12mm f/2.0 is a lens for mirrorless full frame cameras. So neither of them would directly compare

[@gengskycryptokmol4350]

does laowa 12mm f2.8 is compatible with crop sensor camera?

[@christopherfrost]

Yes

[@gengskycryptokmol4350]

tnx

[@jeffmandu]

can i use this lens for the canon 5dmark ii??

[@christopherfrost]

As I said in the review, it's for full-frame digital SLR cameras, so, yes

[@kingkotang2406]

Can it be used for apsc? WR? IS?

[@christopherfrost]

I talk about all that in the review.

[@EnnTomi1]

does it have coating?

[@wandererstraining]

It has what they call "Frog Eye Coating" on the front element, for water drops to slide down easier and dust not to stick.

[@ariqkamil571]

canon 6d is full frame or apsc?

[@christopherfrost]

4:33

[@ariqkamil571]

@@christopherfrost thx😊

[@Bigbigjimbo]

I was trying this lens with my Canon M6, i can only take a jpeg image It wont do RAW bit of a pity

[@YYCKeeper]

I bought this lens and love it...use it on my Sony A7R and it delivers some great shots.... Look at my Instagram to see more....... imaginefotobyebel

[@robertlawson1184]

Wow you take great photos!

[@shailendraraut29]

India price

[@KianaKaslana638]

IN₹ 61000, or roughly US$ 949

[@kalef1234]

meh I'm happy with my Samyang 12mm F2 on my a6300 :)

[@StephanWahlen]

But this is a fullframe lens! It is a loot wider than 12mm on apsc

[@kalef1234]

Stephan Wahlen I think it's the same focal length. Just less distortion and probably better vignetting

[@StephanWahlen]

Its the same focal length nominally, but the samyang can ONLY be used on APS-C on which it is 18mm - equivalent. The Laowa is a full-frame lens and gives you a looot wider view on a FF camera.

[@christopherfrost]

I would be happy too. But remember, that's 12mm on an APS-C camera, which is the full-frame equivalent of 18mm. So when used on a full-frame camera, this Venus Optics lens is much, much wider

[@kalef1234]

Christopher Frost Photography I am aware of that, but hey for $320 It's a good gig

[@Federico84]

the video is terrible

[@christopherfrost]

Care to explain?

[@Federico84]

i was referring to the part where you show a clip of the video recorded with that lens. when you walk in that rural path, the video shakes, especially at the border. I'm sorry if you thought that i was talking about the entire video. Is that a problem of the lens?

[@christopherfrost]

Oh right. Yes, you were being pretty vague there. The borders are a touch shaky because I added a little stabilization in post. It looks marginally better than it did without

[@shailendraraut29]

India price

[@juliaanderson74]

This video looks like a Venus optics marketing. 🤬