Wider Than Normal: Review of the Laowa 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D Lens for Full Frame Cameras

news7g07/20/2024

0 5 minutes read

Wider Than the Norm: A Review of the Laowa 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D for Full Frame Cameras

Wider isn’t always better, but sometimes having that option can make a big difference. This might be the most unexpected lens of 2024.

Lenses, specifically the focal length they provide, have the biggest impact on the quality of our photographs. No matter how sharp or clear the image is, the right lens will create beautiful, effective images by allowing us to achieve compositions and visual designs that best illustrate the things we are shooting. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different lenses in the world that offer unique perspectives, but perhaps the most challenging is the ability to capture a wide perspective while still maintaining realistic results. This is precisely one of the biggest challenges most real estate photographers face, especially when shooting interiors of really tight spaces. Generally, larger spaces give us more room to move around to find the most advantageous angle while smaller spaces have more limitations. Laowa’s latest ultra-wide angle lens may be the best solution available.

Laowa 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D Lens for Full Frame Cameras

When this lens was announced, there were a number of aspects that made it interesting, to say the least. First of all, the 10mm full-frame ultra-wide angle lens is certainly not a common focal length on the market. Yes, the maximum aperture of f/2.8 makes it even more interesting, but perhaps the two most interesting aspects that you’ll easily see on the box are that it’s supposed to be distortion-free and that it has autofocus. Just seeing those specs alone is enough to create a lot of anticipation.

Based on what’s currently on the market, you’d expect a 10mm f/2.8 with no distortion to be large, heavy, and most likely have an awkwardly bulging front element. If you’ve seen all the full-frame 15-30mm, 12-24mm, and 11-24mm lenses from various manufacturers, you’d expect all of those things. However, Laowa 10mm Weighing just 420 grams (0.92 lbs) and measuring just 82mm x 70mm (3.23 x 2.79 inches), this lens may be worth noting that it has a relatively wider base, making it incompatible with the washers on said mounts.

To put this into perspective, the lens is lighter than most full-frame cameras it’s compatible with, and is wider than it is long, which means it’s probably not much heavier than your standard zoom or walk-around lens. On top of that, despite having a curved front element, the lens is built so that the image resolves through a remarkably small barrel so that the curved front element is barely noticeable and doesn’t interfere with the plane where filters will be mounted when mounted. While using filters on lenses this wide may not always be necessary in some use cases, it’s generally good to know that it can work with (some) filters, depending on the intended use.

Distortion and optical performance

The idea of a full-frame 10mm ultra-wide-angle lens isn’t really that far-fetched these days, but what makes it so? Laowa 10mm f/2.8 lens What’s interesting is the “Zero-D” on its label. For the past 10 years, Laowa has been producing lenses with unusual focal lengths combined with specialized features such as very close focusing, extreme magnification, barrel shift, and zero distortion. This lens was released to celebrate the brand’s 10th anniversary, and the combination of these features has really caught the eye.

Zero-D is a key feature of most of Laowa’s ultra-wide angle lenses, with the exception of some of the fisheye options. However, this is certainly the first time that a wide aperture orthogonal lens has a focal length of 10mm. Distortion comes in many forms and manifestations in lenses, especially in ultra-wide angle lenses, and to clarify (and I mean it), the type of distortion I’m referring to will be the warping or bending of straight lines at the edges and corners of the frame due to the lens’s glass elements achieving such a wide angle of view. This should not be confused with distortion caused by tilting the camera up or down (perspective distortion) which causes parallel lines to converge, or distortion that causes objects to appear larger when closer to the lens (scale distortion), especially when using wide angle lenses.

The Laowa 10mm f/2.8 has almost zero distortion in most cases except when focusing very close, where focus breathing can cause a small amount of distortion, especially considering the minimum focusing distance of 12cm and the 1:4 magnification. However, for most cases, such as when shooting space rather than specific objects where one would focus at much greater distances in between, this lens results in no noticeable distortion.

When tested across the entire range, it seems that this lens offers the best sharpness in the center at f/8; however, using it from f/8 to f/16 gives better results. When it comes to the corners, the best corner-to-corner sharpness is achieved at f/14.

However, it is important to note that using such a wide angle of view has its pros and cons when it comes to what it can contribute to your image composition. Using it to photograph narrow spaces requires paying more attention to the camera height and how it affects foreground objects and therefore how they affect the overall image design. The same goes for photographing large spaces as the scale distortion can affect how distant details (such as high ceilings and objects on the opposite end) are perceived. Using it for exterior photography will require one to use a taller tripod or other possible support solutions to be able to photograph small to medium sized structures from a very close vantage point and also requires you to find a high vantage point (perhaps a nearby building) when photographing tall structures. Like any other tool, knowing when and where to use its features will be key.

Application

General Laowa 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D It shines best when used for general small space photography. I personally call this lens my “cheat sheet” for small space photography because it allows me to capture more space without having to do a full-on shot. The autofocus is definitely a welcome bonus since the conversion lens I use for these situations is manual.

As mentioned above, other shots like wider spaces and exteriors will require more attention to perspective and camera height but overall the lens has a lot of potential uses.

For other genres of photography and even video, using the lens can be beneficial if the wide angle complements your artistic intent. Wide-angle lenses are not usually the first choice for portraiture, but the excellent performance can yield unique and impactful results. The autofocus is accurate but notably not as fast as the native Sony G Master lens, but can still be beneficial in certain situations, both for stills and even video. Overall, in the hands of someone who knows how and when to use such a unique lens, the Laowa 10mm f/2.8 has a lot to offer.