Venus Optics Laowa 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 FE Zoom E-mount lens reviews
reviews found: 2
 profhankd#45849 date: Apr-6-2022 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 5 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sigma 12-24mm, Sigma 10-20mm (APS-C), Sigma 8-16mm (APS-C), various other zooms and fixed ultrawides |
| price paid: | 850 |
| positive: | Widest FF zoom available Small, well made (heavy metal construction) Good enough IQ on 42MP FF, really good in APS-C crop Good close focus Distortion isn't annoying despite extreme view angle |
| negative: | Rear-mounted filter a bit odd Around 18mm, contrast drops off beyond APS-C crop OK sunstars, but tends to flare with them |
| comment: | I've had this lens for 3 years now, and it's still a very impressive lens that, simply put, can make images no other lens can. However, it takes a while to learn to use a lens this wide well. I think most folks can adapt to 15mm pretty quickly, and 12mm is easy once you're used to it, but 10mm always requires very careful composition. However, the result is that, if you do everything right, the images are truly stunning. Focus is actually a bit touchy. Everything always looks in focus at a glance, but you really do need to focus to get the peak resolution. It does focus nicely close, which is important with such a short focal length. Contrast falls off at full frame edges, especially around 18mm, but the APS-C crop area is actually better than my (really very good and much larger) Sigma 8-16mm APS-C lens. No problem using this on 24MP APS-C. The rear-mounted filter is a great idea, but it requires an extra-thin filter. Beyond that, mine doesn't seem to have infinity match the infinity focus marking, and I wonder if that's from allowing for the rear filter to be present/missing? Overall, I'm glad I got this lens, but I feel like a 12-24mm is a lot more versatile on FF... so it tends to complement my 12-24mm rather than replace it. 18mm just isn't narrow enough, and IQ isn't awesome at 18mm on this lens. However, this is very versatile if you're looking for a manual ultrawide with good ultrawide IQ on both FF and APS-C bodies. |
| Hezu#44217 date: Jan-26-2019 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 4.3 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | CZ 4/16-35 CZ 2.8/16-35 Sigma EX 14 mm f2.8 (+ various other lenses) |
| price paid: | USD 849 (new) |
| positive: | + very wide angle of view + compact + offers both clickable and smooth aperture control + accepts filters (although with caveats) |
| negative: | - slow (aperture wise) - all manual controls - does not communicate with the camera at all: no EXIF information and you have to set the SS focal length manually, which you might have to do often if you zoom often. - the integrated sun hood provides little protection from flares - custom lens cap, better not lose it! - the filter threads are on the rear of the lens, so if you would like to change that filter, you must remove the lens from the camera. Also works only with slim filters. |
| comment: | This is a peculiar little lens, one of the widest available and yet fairly compact, although the metal construction means you might be initially surprised by the weight. Obviously there is little distortion, but nothing alarming. And flares can be a problem when pointing towards a strong light source (eg. sun). Unlike many super-wide angles, the lens can take filters, although the 37 mm filter threads in the rear of the lens are not very practical. The accessory filter holder for 100 mm sheet filters is little better, although the magnetic attachment system requires adding a special frame to filters, which might make the interoperation between different filter holders little trickier. |
reviews found: 2
rating summary
- total reviews: 2
- sharpness: 4.25
- color: 5.00
- build: 5.00
- distortion: 4.00
- flare control: 4.00
- overall: 4.45
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