Venus Optics Laowa 12MM Review

For Example Images: f64academy.com/venus-optics-la...
A Zero Distortion Wide Angle Lens... Is it too good to be true?
When I first heard about the Laowa 12mm Wide Angle lens on Kickstarter last year, I had to check it out for myself. The company, Venus Optics, claimed a near zero distortion wide angle lens. If you know enough about Wide Angle Lenses (I have a small army of them) you know that sounds entirely too good to be true, especially from a lesser known company.
I was fortunate enough to snag a Venus Optics 12mm lens when their campaign first hit Kickstarter. I gave them my wallet about 45 seconds into their campaign... I was that excited! But boy am I glad I did.
While the Laowa 12mm lens has not exactly hit the streets yet, a simple Google search will turn up some pretty good review results. So to spare you all of the technical stuff that is already all over the web, I figured I would give you my practical review of the lens along with some sample images and answer the most pressing questions. You can watch the full review or read the answers below.
How is it with Vignetting?
As with all Wide Angle lenses, vignetting at lower Apertures is an issue. With the Laowa 12mm lens, there is vignetting at f/2.8 and f/4 but is practically unseen by f/5.6. The vignetting is very noticeable at f/2.8 but gets drastically better by f/4.
How does it handle the corners?
Any exposure from a wide angle lens is going to pose a threat to the sharpness of the edges of your photo. Typically corner softness is worst at low apertures. The corner sharpness of the Laowa 12mm is pretty soft at low apertures and doesn't really clear up until f/8 or f/11. That does not mean the image is not usable, though. I found it to be exponentially better than the Rokinon 14mm and just slightly over the par of the Sony 16-35mm at 16mm.
Is it sharp in the center?
Throughout most of my testing, I found the Laowa 12mm lens to be very sharp in the center from f/4 through f/16. At f/2.8 and f/22, the center sharpness was not horrible, but it is definitely better between f/4 and f/16 with f/8 and f/11 being the most impressive apertures.
Is it really Zero Distortion?
Yes, well damn near close to it! I was very skeptical until I took it out with the Rokinon 14mm and the Sony 16-35mm. While many images can be fixed with lens profile correction, the Laowa 12mm does not need it. I was shocked by how well it maintained the integrity of straight lines throughout the entire lens from the corners to the center and all over. The Rokinon 14mm can't hold a candle to it, and the Sony 16-35mm is alright, but still pales in comparison.
Does it Auto Focus?
No. It is not chipped for auto-focus. It is an all manual lens, but it focuses so smoothly.
How is the build quality?
Solid, like a rock solid! It is all metal with etched apertures and focal distances. Even the lens hood is metal. It feels heavy duty.
What are your bottom line thoughts, Blake?
I think it is incredible. 12mm is not for everyone, definitely more for the wide angle landscape or architecture junky, but the lens is solid. It is built like a tank, tack sharp at the apertures I commonly use and will hold a permanent place in my camera bag.
You can't expect a wide angle lens to be flawless at lower apertures, it will vignette and be soft in the corners, but the likelihood of shooting my landscape work at f/2.8 is next to nothing. If I need to use it for Astrophotography, I can always put it at f/4 and raise the ISO and rely on the sensor of the Sony a7RII.
I was very skeptical about the "Zero Distortion" claim, but wow! If you watch the video review, all of the images were straight out of the camera. It really is close to zero distortion if not right there at zero. It is pretty incredible for a super wide angle lens. I am impressed!

[@elciojr.6671]

premium content, congratulations for your work man. the beste review that i´ve ever saw.

[@f64Academy]

Thank you 😁

[@frankobenic7917]

First normal review of laowa 12mm, thank you :)

[@f64Academy]

My pleasure!

[@Mercthe54]

Probably the most helpful review. Very much appreciate all your information. thank you.

[@dypcheung32]

Finally, I found your video confirming there's a difference between what Laowa advertises as a Sony E mount to be actually an Canon EF mount! So confusing, as I wasn't sure what to buy that allows me to use their Magic Shift Converter on my Sony A7Riii. Important to know if one wants to use the Magic Shift Converter on a Sony A7/A9 camera. For Sony A7/A9 owners, who want the best of both worlds, buy the Canon EF version, and also buy a simple, cheap, Canon EF to Sony E mount adapter to allow the use of the Magic Shift Converter. If you buy the Sony E mount version, you can't use the Magic Shift Converter. If only I saw you video earlier, it would have saved a lot of time! Thank you and keep up the great work and videos!

[@f64Academy]

Awesome! thanks for adding to the research! It was very frustrating to open that box and see what should have been a very small lens elongated for no reason. Really it should be hit for false advertising because they don't mention it anywhere.

[@cpaixaol]

Nice review, simple and practical, focused on the normal use of the lens.Thanks! It would be very interesting a side-by-side comparison with the new Samyang 14mm Premium MF 14mm f/2.4.

[@SafIbnRahman]

Nice bro. I love it so much. Thanks for the review.

[@dallasthomas5489]

Great review many thanks this lens will get into my bag with Z mount.

[@notmyforte88]

The focal plane of the corner of the indoor shot is not the same as the focal plane of the centre. For a ultra wide 12mm with a fast f/2.8 aperture, it cannot be tested in this settings as the shallow depth of field will lead to the blur corner. That is why the corner improve when you stop down as the depth of field is become deeper for slower aperture. Same case for the outdoor shot. The corner will be poorer for wider lenses and thats why the 16mm behave better. Should test the lens corner sharpness in an far-infinity focus situation.

[@f64Academy]

+Yeung Steve you are correct. However, you can still see some corner distortion with far infinity in the field. It is not nearly as bad as the indoor tests because of the focus distance but the corner distortion is still noticeable at f11 focused to infinity.

[@notmyforte88]

Thanks for the reply. Would be great if you could do a comparison of the corner sharpness at far infinity focus objects to see how it performs. I think the corner blur in the video are somewhat related to the shallow DOV.

[@f64Academy]

In the later portion of the video, the field tests show the corners much better. I also uploaded some helpful pictures to the written review on f.64 Academy: www.f64academy.com/venus-optics-laowa-12mm-lens-review/

[@liandario7450]

a tip : you can watch movies at flixzone. I've been using them for watching a lot of movies during the lockdown.

[@rickymcc8624]

Thanks. Came to your review somewhat later, but found it helpful research. Now I decided to buy one. Looking forward to receiving. No exif data isn't ideal but I can live with that and MF on a Sony body in what looks like a great lens for city and architecture use. As a switcher from Nikon I'm looking for something to cover what my old Nikkor 14-24 f2.8 did at the wide end. Might also try a little astro too.

[@aukisun]

Fantastic review, Blake! Great job! thx )

[@f64Academy]

Thanks!

[@pixelshooter]

A good, practical review. Thank you!

[@Deatarus51]

Excellent info bro, thank you.

[@alanbrunelle1546]

Nice practical review Blake - as I noted on FB, the need for filters may be an issue for me. I've been thinking: can you even use a Circular Polarizer at 12mm on a full frame?! I wonder...

[@proshotsfiji]

SUPERB REVIEW!

[@hansverstraeten1358]

Great review , keep on going the good work ...

[@f64Academy]

Will do! Thanks!

[@dopamining7621]

Really great review - thank you from a new subscriber. It seems to me that your f2.8 and f4 corner results were noticeably worse than Christopher Frost`s results, though you do have more real-world testing. There`s no need to buy the Sony-mount of this lens - just get the EF mount and use an adapter, which opens up tilt/shift options. I just purchased the companion Laowa Venus Optics Magic Shift Converter, designed and marketed as a way to turn this 12mm into a 17mm shift lens. It works fabulously with my Samyang/Rokinon 14mm 2.8, and my Sigma 50mm 1.4. It has good build quality, and comes with a removable tripod foot. Heavy, though. I`d love to see you review it. I`m still on the fence about buying the Laowa 12mm; I had the Sigma 12-24 for a several years and loved it. But I`m really after shift, and the Laowa shift converter is working on the 14mm, which may be enough.

[@f64Academy]

Yeah, their false advertising on the Sony lens version pissed me off. Nowhere did it say it would be 3 inches longer than necessary because they didn't have a mount for it. It makes the lens incredibly longer than it needs to be. Hindsight is always 20/20

[@emilianojoanes5396]

Thanks for the review. The lens is appealing to me as I would like to use it for buildings. Can you tell me if the Laowa Shift Converter really necessary? Will you be doing some shots with this converter?

[@f64Academy]

I didn't get the converter upgrade. I am not sure I will use it either. I like the lens the way it is and wasn't too clear on what their converter actually did for the lens.

[@MrBobsohn]

love your proffesional vids. gj

[@f64Academy]

:) Thanks!

[@k47ben]

which would you recommend between the 15mm and 12mm laowa?

[@invi_carlos]

Great review. I know this is two years old, but it appears this lens is still dominating the real estate space. Just ordered mine!

[@f64Academy]

It is a great lens for real estate, just be cautious not to use it in big rooms or they will look HUGE with windows and far details distorted.

[@davidburton2294]

Great review

[@f64Academy]

Thanks!

[@olegasphoto]

Very good review

[@f64Academy]

thanks!

[@garyus2833]

Hey, Blake! Thanks for this awesome review. Like to know your opinion on the LAOWA 12mm f2.8 performance in dark conditions. Would like to know how it does at night photography, shooting Milkyway, night sky or City at nighttime, compare with 12mm or 14mm f2.8 Rokinon. Thanks, Mate... Cheers

[@f64Academy]

I would really like to take a look at the 12mm in dark conditions. It has been cloudy here the last few weeks and the nights I could go out I was just swamped! My little ones do that to me. I plan on using it in Moab in a few weeks to see how it handles.

[@rodrigogoguiroae5598]

Great review, Blake, what about a comparison with sony 10-18mm e-mount that is wildly more expensive? Thanks, anyway,

[@f64Academy]

Thanks for the suggestion, however, I do not have the 10-18 as it is not a full frame lens :(

[@patryklebioda1324]

Hi. Can U tell me how to set infiniti focus in laowa 12mm. Should it be on the central infiniti symbol on the red line? I just get my 12mm lens an I have problem with Good sharpening. I will be grateful for the answer:)

[@micahaka]

I have found for my 9 and 12, in between the infinity marker and 0.5 is the sweet spot

[@fphedman]

Could you do a astrophoto test with your copy of the lens? I have to stop down to somewhere between f4-f5,6 when i shoot the nightsky on my a7r or else i get a blurry mess, especially in the distance. Not quite ideal when you shoot astro...

[@dalefrolander3583]

To test for corner sharpness you need to have the corners at the same distance away as what you focused on. Otherwise depth of field has an affect on sharpness.

[@rajkaipeter]

Have you tried the Voigtländer 10mm 5.6 Hyper Wide Heliar E aspherical? I have it and I love it!

[@f64Academy]

Don't tell my wife, but I just bought it and overnighted it... I may have to do another comparison video. Can't wait to experiment with it. I am a wide angle junkie.

[@rajkaipeter]

Me too. :D This is an image I've made with it: voatpic.me/image/8BA3E3B869

[@f64Academy]

Oh man! FedEx cannot get here sooner!

[@brandonlee8582]

Hello, I have heard that this lens isn't all that sharp in the corners at 2.8... even worse than the rokinon 14mm at 2.8 (I already own the Rokinon) How would you compare image quality in these two lenses side by side? Center sharpness, edge to edge, etc at f2.8 Thanks

[@f64Academy]

+Brandon Lee anything at 2.8 is going to struggle in the corners, it is too fast of an aperture. I haven't tested the two of them side by side, but, your best bet is going to be between f8 and f10 anyway for landscape and architecture work. They both shine there.

[@mlentsch]

what sony lenses are you using?? I've never even heard of that 16-35 POS

[@potatolord6204]

Fantastic review, mate. I'm interested to buy this one. Is this better than the Samyang 12mm? Cheers

[@f64Academy]

I would say it is, but I can only compare that to the 14mm Samyang/Rokinon/Bowers (same lens produced by different companies). I just purchased the Voigtlander 10mm, of all my wide angle lenses, I am most impressed with it. I haven't had the chance to review it yet, though.

[@markrobinson8254]

just a great review

[@f64Academy]

Thanks!

[@jorgeguzman1634]

Does this lens have any DOF. I feel like the DOF is lost on this versus the 16-35mm.

[@f64Academy]

All lenses have DOF, this one has it, however, you won't notice it until you are very close to an object. That is the nature of a wide angle lens.

[@JMB2021]

the best comparation

[@mimoreque1805]

One question, how would you compare the Laowa 12mm to the 15mm by Laowa too? Is it just the field of view difference? Thanks, pretty useful video!

[@f64Academy]

Not entirely sure, I haven't used the 15mm, I already have that covered with my Sony 12-24 that I got after this video.

[@mimoreque1805]

@@f64Academy Thank you!

[@chanjoe3454]

The pronunciation is Lou (as in loud) wa (as in was). It means old frog. I hope this helps.

[@f64Academy]

+Chan Joe thanks! Loud frog, lol

[@DerPixelator]

How would you rate this lens vs the IRIX 11mm f/4.0?

[@f64Academy]

I'm not sure, I have never used the IRIX

[@ioanniszorgianos5299]

Can it be used with a fuji camera?

[@f64Academy]

I am not quite sure. I think when they initially released they were for sony, canon and nikon. They may have added fuji to the lineup.

[@markrobinson8254]

are you familiar with the Group f64??

[@f64Academy]

I am. I messaged f64 Academy in honor of Group f64

[@NoMoreForeignWars]

You're going to get waaay too much distraction shooting at f/64. What exactly are you trying to do anyway: Take a picture of the sun?

[@f64Academy]

Haha! You are correct, that would be a ton of diffraction! The f.64 comes from the Photographers that paved the way for us with Group f.64 from the 1940s. f.64 Academy is an homage to their desire for excellence in all they did.