Laowa has launched an up to date model of its standard 12mm Zero-D lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras. The Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D FF lens is out there with E, Z, RF and L-Mount choices. Nikon and Sony customers may select an autofocus model of the lens.
Zero D
The Zero D within the title of Laowa’s new 12 mm lens stands for zero distortion. Vast-angle lenses normally trigger distortion in your photos. Mostly, straight traces will change into curved, particularly close to the perimeters of the body. Nonetheless, the Laowa 12mm Zero-D lens is a rectilinear lens, which signifies that you don’t get that distortion. With an ultra-wide 122-degree angle of view on a full-frame digital camera, Laowa additionally says that the brand new lens is among the widest non-fisheye lenses obtainable.
©Bastian Kratzke
Lite
The Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D lens has been branded Lite as a result of it’s lighter and extra compact than the earlier design. At solely 0.83 kilos (377 g), the brand new lens is nearly half the load of the unique, which weighed 1.54 kilos (699 g).
It’s additionally smaller, measuring 3 inches (77 mm) by 3 inches (75.5 mm), in comparison with 4.4 inches (113 mm) by 3.2 inches (82.2 mm) for the older mannequin. These figures are for the Sony E-mount model, and there’s a slight variance throughout digital camera methods. The filter thread is 72 mm.
Optical design
The Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D lens is constructed with 16 lens components in 9 teams. The corporate additionally states that the brand new lens delivers improved sharpness and diminished chromatic aberration. As well as, the 12mm Zero-D lens gives an in depth focus distance of simply 5.5 inches (14 cm). There’s a guide focus model of the lens that’s obtainable for all 4 mount methods. Nonetheless, Nikon and Sony shooters may go for a lens with autofocus.
Two aperture selections
The Laowa 12mm Zero-D lens has a large most aperture of f/2.8. This implies will probably be good for low-light use. Curiously, Laowa offers you two choices with the aperture of the lens. You’ll be able to select between a five-bladed and a 14-bladed iris. With the fie-bladed aperture, you’ll be able to cease it all the way down to create 10-point solar stars.
Alternatively, the 14-bladed iris gives you a smoother, rounded bokeh within the out-of-focus elements of your picture. Each aperture choices can be found for all 4 lens mounts. Nonetheless, Sony and Nikon customers who additionally wish to use autofocus are restricted to the 5-bladed iris mannequin.
What we predict
Laowa’s new 12mm Lite Zero-D lens builds on the strengths of the unique and makes it even higher. The smaller and lighter design makes the brand new lens excellent to be used on a gimbal or perhaps a drone. It’s additionally nice to have such a large focal size, however with none distortion to the picture. Because of this, the 12 mm Zero-D lens is ideal for structure and actual property work. Plus, it may be tough to attain a shallow depth of subject with such a wide-angle lens. Nonetheless, the very brief shut focus distance of the 12mm Zero-D lens will mean you can blur your background behind a close-up topic. If you’d like a wide-angle lens, the Laowa 12mm Lite Zero-D is a good alternative.
Pricing and availability
The Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D FF lens is out there now and prices $699 throughout all lens mount and focus choices.
