Laowa currently has a total of six lenses with an aperture of f/0.95, so how useful is this aperture and what is the result? Primarily a landscape photographer, this maximum aperture is something I’ve never really considered, although I understand the usefulness of such an aperture for different genres of photography, especially especially in low light and video. So how does the lens perform throughout the apertures, and is it capable of providing results equal to or better than similar lenses in this price range? I tried it to find out.
Construction and handling
The Laowa CF 25mm f/0.95 APO It has an all-metal construction and the lens looks and feels very well made. The rectangular lens hood is also metal, with a sliding plastic lens cap that slides and locks into place with a click when attached to the lens. It has a 62mm filter thread. There’s no image stabilization on the lens, so you’re relying on the camera’s IBIS if using it in handheld mode.
Weighing in at 575 g, this lens is quite heavy, but when it comes to maximum aperture, it’s still very compact, with a length and diameter of 81 mm and 71 mm respectively. With an aperture range of f/0.95 to f/11, this lens presents itself with a wide range of subject shooting opportunities, from dreamlike shallow depth-of-field images to wider vistas. , the surprising thing is that it works very well.
This APS-C lens is available for Fuji X, Canon RF, Nikon Z, and Sony E. For the purposes of this review, I tested this lens on Fujifilm X-T5, which provides an equivalent focal range of about 35mm on the full-frame sensor. The f-stops are clearly etched into the lens, and there’s a switch that allows you to smoothly rotate the aperture ring or allow clicks at the aperture stops. This is not an audible click, merely tactile. Both the aperture ring and the focus ring rotate smoothly, of which the focus ring has strong damping but smooth friction when rotated. I find this really helpful because you have more control when making tweaks.
This chromatic aberration (APO) lens helps correct chromatic and spherical aberrations, which are common fringing phenomena. This fringing is caused by the lens focusing only on certain colors at the same point, which will be corrected here.
Performance
This lens is incredibly sharp, but for extreme sharpness I would stop it between f/4 and f/11, where it really shines. At f/0.95, it’s sharp but has a bit of dreamy softness, which I think would be great for portraits and close-ups of nature. Videos at this aperture will also be interesting and provide some unique results. When you start to stop, the quality of the glass and the sharpness it produces really begins to show. I found myself quite surprised at the overall sharpness of the image, even at the edges.
The images are above and below and were taken at a distance of 35 cm from the subject, which is the minimum focusing distance. With the combination of the damped focus ring and the active focus focus ring, it’s a pleasure to use this lens. At each turn, you can see the focus point slowly move over the subject as the focus ring slides sharply. Yes, you could say that’s what it’s supposed to do, but with this lens you really get the control that comes from friction, which is a great thing for precision.
The sharpness and detail this lens achieves at f/11 is extremely good, as you can see in the photo below.
The lens suffers from quite a bit of darkening until you get to f/4, when it’s barely noticeable. However, this doesn’t bother me for the shots I take at f/0.95, as it helps draw you in. In some of the photos below taken at f/0.95, you’ll be able to see how dark the corners are.
I’ve been carrying the lens attached to the camera for a few weeks, and it’s heavy, but I got used to it pretty quickly. When going out with my lenses, I purposely decided not to bring a tripod so I could see how quickly I could react to manual focus if needed. I missed a few photos because of this. Of course, that is merely for practice. When taking my time, focus is noticed and the resulting image is sharp.
All of the images below were taken at various apertures from f/0.95 to f/11, with a minimum shutter speed for some images of 1/30 of a second, and thanks to the IBIS of camera, they still retain sharpness.
What I like
- extremely sharp
- Nice size considering the maximum aperture
- Ability to enable or disable the click of the aperture ring
- Build quality
- Shock-absorbing focus ring
What I don’t like
- No EXIF data
- Weight: a lens isn’t too heavy, but you know it’s on top of the camera
- No autofocus: admittedly I’m not a fan of using manual lenses for day-to-day shooting as I like the ability to focus quickly if needed
- Not weather sealed
Inference
I really enjoy using Laowa CF 25mm f/0.95 APO. The image sharpness and build quality of the lens are excellent, but after using it for a while, I was left with a few thoughts. If it could autofocus, I think it would excel in everyday usability. Without autofocus, is that something I would personally use for photography? I’m not sure. In contrast, when shooting landscapes, I usually don’t shoot completely manually, so with the sharp images achieved with the lens, it might be worth it.
There are other lenses with similar focal lengths, probably not this maximum aperture and around a similar price point that have autofocus and I tend to lean towards them. That is simply due to my own preference for in-lens autofocus. If this isn’t a factor for you when it comes to lenses, it’s definitely worth considering, not only because of the f/0.95 maximum aperture, but also because of the sharpness at a reduced aperture.
