Laowa 15mm, first impressions

I just got my new toy, the Laowa 15mm f2 zero distortion lens.
I was looking to add a super wide angle lens (but not the fisheye variety) to my collection as my widest lens, the zoom goes to 24mm only.

I must admit I am truly impressed with the sharpness of it.
Distortion correction is quite incredible for such a wide lens as well

Have not tested it for astro yet, but initial shots interior are very promising.

The only drawback is no electrical connection between the lens and a camera, so no EXIF info is available and I needed to assign a separate button for zoom magnification as the camera cannot react when I start turning the focus ring.

Picture below has not been modified in terms of geometry at all, I just lifted the shadows as my exposure was set for the outside view to avoid blown highlights.

Highly recommended.

Dom

I am impressed that I don't much notice this was shot with a super wide angle lens, thanks to too distortion level! I am myself looking to acquire Laowa 12mm as I already have the Sony 16-35mm GM. I am also looking to acquire the Laowa 15mm f4 macro lens. I also really like their probe macro lens but it's beyond my budget.

I've been thinking of getting a wide angle prime for astro landscape work and have been considering the pro's and con's of the Laowa 15 vs. the Sony 20 lenses. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks!

Hallo Roger,

In fact I sold my Laowa 15 to partially finance purchase of my new GM zoom, the 16-35GM.
Is is super sharp, provides vivid colours, but most of all offers versatility of the focal range which is very important for me.

I was quite happy with my Laowa 15 in regards to the image quality but the ergonomics of this lens were just not there. It is a fully manual lens, the lens barrel, whilst accurate has a lot of resistance and requires a lot of time to pinpoint the focus accurately. I decided this kind of effort is just not worth it, hence my decision to move to the zoom.

To answer your question though, I did a lot of research on this and found the Samyang 14mm and Batis 18mm to offer excellent astro capability in Sony FE native lens range.
Never tested it myself though, so I can only provide the loose reference.

I am going out astro shooting tonight with the 1635GM and see what the results I can obtain.

This is the last astro picture I managed to take with the Laowa 15:

Dom

Dom, thanks for the comments! How did your images turn out the other night?

Right now I am using a Canon 16-35 II with a Sigma MC-11 mount converter. I'm looking for the best solution for astrophotography. I appreciate your comments re: Laowa 15mm. I'll let you know what I settle on; either the Sony 16-35 GM or the Sony 20mm f/1.8.

Roger

Hi Roger,
Took another shot (pun intended) at the nightsky photography with the Laowa and really liked the result.
I need to experiment with the 16-35GM a bit more to get ocnvinced I can sell the Laowa 15 after all.
Despite the awkwardness of using it, the picture quality is excellent.

Like this:

I agree. That is really nice. And even though it is a 30 sec. exposure, it seems only the stars on the edges are elongated. I know this is not possible but it would be great to see a side-by-side with the Sony 20mm F/1.8 to see how much field of view you lose, and your comments about the ease of use of it since it is native glass.

This, unfortunately I cannot help you with, as I have never planned to purchase one.
I was tempted a long time for the Batis 18, but settled at the 16-35GM zoom after all.

Dom

ringram wrote in post #19084055
I agree. That is really nice. And even though it is a 30 sec. exposure, it seems only the stars on the edges are elongated. I know this is not possible but it would be great to see a side-by-side with the Sony 20mm F/1.8 to see how much field of view you lose, and your comments about the ease of use of it since it is native glass.

I got that laowa 15. I like to shoot landscape and astro so it works well for me on a7iii at a price that's not crazy.

Nice shot! how long was that exposure?

how do you find the corners