Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift

Anyone tried this shift lens?

Is it good???

Probably only an handful of people have used the lens as of yesterday.

Venus Optics' Press Release stated that the lens will begin shipping late Nov 2020 for Canon EF and Nikon F mount.

Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony FE mount will be shipped mid Feb 2021.

WW

Regardless, I'm sticking with my PC-Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 and my Canon TS-E 17mm. I know they work, and work well.

The Canon also does tilts, and that's not a wasted feature. The Laowa is not quite so expensive as the TS-E, but it's not exactly a "bargain" either. The older PC-Nikkor is much less wide, but it works well on any camera it can be adapted to and is much cheaper.

Laowa 15mm F4.5 Zero-D Shift sample gallery and impressions

The images in that preview also make we wonder how rectilinear the Laowa actually is. If there is significant curvature of field, its use as an architectural lens is diminished.

The images in that preview also make we wonder how rectilinear the Laowa actually is.

Well, the Zero-D designation is supposed to indicate zero distortion. However no real figures are given, neither by Venus Optics themselves, nor in any yet-published reviews.

It'll be interesting to see how this lens pans out (sorry!) when it finally gets released into the wild.

I just tried a copy and it's going back to Adorama (I've had an overall positive relationship with them and I keep coming back to them along with B&H). I was disappointed, especially after trying the Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro lens -- my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens is sharp and the Laowa was so far from matching it without any shifting that the testing was over before it had really begun (I did do some test shots with the shift though, and there was a lot of CA and more disappointment).

I will probably try again, otherwise I'm reconsidering Laowa's f/4 Macro version.

Well, the Zero-D designation is supposed to indicate zero distortion. However no real figures are given, neither by Venus Optics themselves, nor in any yet-published reviews.

 

It'll be interesting to see how this lens pans out (sorry!) when it finally gets released into the wild.

I saw zero distortion, as advertised.

I haven't had much luck with shift lenses on digital, but I only tried the 35mm PC Nikkor so far. IIRC I had to stop it down quite a bit to get a useable image. I think they're essential for film, but for digital, if you have a high res sensor, I'm not sure if I would use one. I think I'd rather do it in software.

I do try to get things done in camera as much as possible, as that is what digital is good at. Olympus cameras have keystone correction, for example. But, unfortunately you can't have keystone correction as well as high res at the same time on the camera I use.

I just tried a copy and it's going back to Adorama (I've had an overall positive relationship with them and I keep coming back to them along with B&H). I was disappointed, especially after trying the Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro lens -- my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens is sharp and the Laowa was so far from matching it without any shifting that the testing was over before it had really begun (I did do some test shots with the shift though, and there was a lot of CA and more disappointment). I will probably try again, otherwise I'm reconsidering Laowa's f/4 Macro version.

I've mentioned this before in passing - I think it is fortunate to have easy access to stores which allow exchange or refund for purchaser's change of mind, that's not a world wide concept.

However, the main reason for my posting is for your information: I have both the Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro and the Samyang 14mm f/2.8. I find both lenses more than suitable in respect of Image Quality, Build and ease of Usage (for example damping of focus turret, balance, ergonomics etc.). I have used the Shift function only infrequently and it does serve purpose, albeit not as smooth as the Canon TSE lens's Movements; however the Shift Movement on the Laowa was not the main reason for my purchase - rather the Macro Function at a 14mm FL. This feature I have found interesting and educational to master, and a great deal of fun.

If you buy the Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro, I will be interested in your comments.

I use a Canon DSLR system.

WW

I've mentioned this before in passing - I think it is fortunate to have easy access to stores which allow exchange or refund for purchaser's change of mind, that's not a world wide concept.

I didn't change my mind, I asked for an exchange because the lens is likely defective. I've seen sample shots and read reviews of this lens and my copy wouldn't have generated any of that. Shooting both lenses focused to infinity at f/11 the Laowa (on the left) wasn't even close to the Samyang (on the right):

However, the main reason for my posting is for your information: I have both the Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro and the Samyang 14mm f/2.8. I find both lenses more than suitable in respect of Image Quality, Build and ease of Usage (for example damping of focus turret, balance, ergonomics etc.). I have used the Shift function only infrequently and it does serve purpose, albeit not as smooth as the Canon TSE lens's Movements; however the Shift Movement on the Laowa was not the main reason for my purchase - rather the Macro Function at a 14mm FL. This feature I have found interesting and educational to master, and a great deal of fun.

I can see the Macro version as a good match for my D500 and a good copy might be a better choice than my rather bulky 14mm Samyang on my D800, with the shift function being used more often than the macro feature, and now that I think about it some more I can see using it as an aid to keep the lens and camera from blocking the light when working really close up. It's nice not to have any practical limits to how close the lens focuses other than casting a shadow on the subject (I have a recollection that the hood was even removable) and its bokeh was reasonably good, and the price wasn't as hard to swallow as spending $1200 on a lens that's primary feature is no distortion and a very large image circle that can be accessed from every conceivable axis.

If you buy the Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro, I will be interested in your comments.

See: "Played with the Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/4 Macro Lens for Nikon F today"

Oh! my misinterpretation, sorry. In any case no offense was meant: it was simply a comment on how different vendors do business in different areas of the world.

That A/B image does look ugly. I do understand your disappointment.

***

Thanks for the link. Very interesting. I had missed reading that thread previously. The cactus photo is in exactly the image style which I am investigating with my lens.

WW

I didn't change my mind, I asked for an exchange because the lens is likely defective.

I've just gone through the same experience with a Samyang 75mm f/1.8. Although I did eventually get a good sample.

Decentring seems to be the main issue with bad lens copies - showing up as poor edge/corner quality that varies from one side to another. This can be especially bad when the design uses aspheric elements. Decentred aspherics can look terrible.

Hi Joe, I thought that might be it too, but I couldn't find anything sharp -- maybe I should have explored the shift more, not that it matters. Yes, I sent back my first copies of the Rokinon 24mm f/3.5 T/S (and still consider it basically an f/11 lens) and my first copy of the Samyang 14mm f/2,8; but I am happy with my Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 DX fisheye and a previous copy of the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, both the first copies I tried. I've seen a lot of poor lenses over the years from Nikon and some of the other more established lens makers, some that probably were never going to shine no matter how many copies I tried, so Rokinon/Samyang seem like pretty good lenses (especially for the price).

One thing I don't like about my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 is its rather extreme distortion. While it is largely corrected using PT Lens (mine is plugged into Photoshop with a Hotkey, so one click does the trick), what is corrected at the edges causes a little less visible distortion away from the edges. I still have high hopes for the Laowa 15mm f/4 Zero-D both for its shifting ability and because it's probably the only ultra wide angle lens with practically no distortion.

Well, the Zero-D designation is supposed to indicate zero distortion.

Yeah, and I would guess it's "new and improved" too. :D

I tried another copy of this lens, and it's also going back to Adorama. Things started out promising, which had me keep testing it and after awhile I thought about testing the tester because something just wasn't adding up. Finally, with no light left outside I did a quick and dirty comparison with my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 using some resolution charts taped to the bathroom door:

If everything was like the center crop I would be over-the-moon, and working with distant scenes the lens did reasonably well (at f/8 I could shift the full 11mm to the left without problem, which is great; but at f/11 I had to stop at 9mm shifting the right -- an easy fix, just do all the shifting to the left and rotate the lens 180° to cover the other side -- I put a piece of painter's tape on the shift indicator to remind me which side to use). Stitching was a breeze, completely seamless to do a full shift on either axis and then use Photoshop's Photomerge application and voila -- I couldn't have been happier with that. So except for micro-contrast being a bit weak (fixed with a couple of passes of Smart Sharpen to bring out the veiled but otherwise very decent resolution) everything was good in shots like this:

You can view the full-sized version here: https://photos.imageevent.com/tonybeach/mypicturesfolder/sharing//_AB51199_02.jpg

Also note this is fully shifted 11mm to the left along the long axis, which makes the top of the frame very impressive.

However, for shots like this:

The issues that came up with my bathroom door resolution charts became ugly. It looks fine at this size, but start scrutinizing it closer and it falls apart. DOF should be fine for this shot, a tricky but workable 3 inches, but I kept struggling to get any part of the cactus sharp (excuse the pun). I ran into what I believe is the same issue trying to use hyperfocal distance, and even focusing at "infinity" (it's about ten feet on this lens) when I shifted the lens down the foreground would get unacceptably blurry.

Maybe for some this is a workable lens, but for $1200 I would say my copy isn't worth the expense in spite of its' exceptional build quality and practically zero distortion. Now I've had two bad copies, displaying different but possibly related issues, and I know there's a review of this lens at B&H where the user reports good results at f/11 using hyperfocal distance, so I expect there are good copies out there. BTW, my serial number was around 540 on this copy, so it appears to be one of the first lenses out of the factory (at least for F-mount).

I have seen some very compelling testing at the site below and his further comments on another forum site. So compelling that if I did not already have the 17 TS-E, I would have to strongly consider the Laowa.

Review of the Laowa 15mm f4.5 Zero-D Shift lens for full frame cameras

I have seen some very compelling testing at the site below and his further comments on another forum site. So compelling that if I did not already have the 17 TS-E, I would have to strongly consider the Laowa.

 

Review of the Laowa 15mm f4.5 Zero-D Shift lens for full frame cameras

If I took those shots with my second copy I would have kept it. Not having anything fairly close in the frame doesn't work for me most of the time.