Interchangeable lenses provide important solutions to problems faced by architecture and real estate photographers, and until recently, the options were very limited. Let’s take a look at this new interchangeable lens option from Laowa.
This new Laowa 20mm f/4 interchangeable lens is the brand’s second interchangeable lens. Laowa is famous for its many unique lens ideas and in 2020 they came up with Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D . Interchangeable Lens has been widely recognized for its unique design and execution. You can read our review this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUjeGzQWcHOLD
The new 20mm f/4 interchangeable lens is born as an alternative or a good match to the 15mm lens. On the other hand, it is also a wider (and more affordable) alternative to the older 24mm tilt lenses from Canon and Nikon.
Construction, Design and Ergonomics
The Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D interchangeable lens features an all-metal construction from the mount to the hood, which is typical of Laowa lenses. It measures 3.74 x 3.58 inches and weighs 747 grams, which is especially bulky and heavier than the wider alternative.
Closest to the mount is the swing mechanism. By pressing the release button on one side, approximately 60% of the 360-degree rotatable lens is guided by degree markings that can be found right at the end of the fixed mount portion of the tube. Along this line is also a gearshift indicator with 1 to 11 mm markings on both sides. Along with that is a gearshift lock knob to prevent accidental shifting due to gravity. Next to it is the one-inch-thick gearshift control ring. Similar to the 15mm f/4.5 shift lens, shifting is accomplished with an action similar to zooming in and focusing through a ring.
The middle ring is a thin aperture ring with markings on f/4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 22. Similar to what’s seen on the 15mm, this ring is remarkably close to the variable ring and less than one-inch thick. inches. may cause random changes in aperture when adjusting the shift. Marks can only be found on one side, which can be quite an ergonomic challenge when the lens is rotated out of the photographer’s field of vision. This means that one would have to actually bend over to the side to see the aperture setting as the lens also doesn’t have electronic contacts to feed the lens information to the camera. This can be improved by having the same indicator on the perpendicular side to ensure that either indicator can always be kept on the side visible to the photographer. At the furthest part is a thick metal focus ring with a textured grip that resembles a closer shift control ring.
At the front is a removable metal sunshade with a literal twist. The mounted hood is similar to a traditional lens hood but is locked in place by another friction knob on one side. One cool feature of this hood is that when it’s locked in place, the hood’s petals can be rotated 360 degrees to avoid axis movement and cause no blur while still blocking out any light. caused by direct light. a fire. The lens also comes with a standard 82mm filter thread making it compatible with most circular and even square filter systems. However, because the lens is variable, the appearance of vignetting due to filters or filter holders will depend on the width as well as the internal aperture.
Image quality
One foreseeable challenge in variable lenses is the fact that for displacement to occur, a much larger effective surface area must be present on the lens. That’s why the relative shift lens has a larger barrel so that it can have a larger image circle. This new 20mm interchangeable lens features a 65mm image circle created to ensure good optics throughout the frame and reduce the probability of vignetting.
For our testing, we will focus on 3 important parts of the effective area of the lens; The center frame is in a neutral position and the distal sides of +11 and -11 are displaced at different aperture sizes. As for the center frame and overall performance, good sharpness is seen at f/4, consistent up to f/8 with a significant increase in sharpness at f/11. This sharpness is achieved. remained in the inner 2/3 of the frame being shifted (at positions +11 and -11) while the outer 2/3 seemed to have a slight reduction in sharpness. At f/16, we can see the sharpest output in the aforementioned outer third, delivering better average sharpness across the entire frame.
The aperture blades produce a 14-point beam of light at f/16, which is noticeably more subtle than what we’ve seen on the 15mm Laowa shift lens.
Application
This new interchangeable lens option offers a wide variety of practical applications in architectural and real estate photography, as well as other genres that will benefit from perspective correction. An important question that needs to be answered is whether a 20mm lens is a better choice than a 15mm interchangeable lens and the answer will always vary depending on the actual structure captured and how much. space available to the photographer to photograph larger structures such as architectural exteriors.
In the context of shooting tall buildings, a wider lens shift is more flexible when shooting positions where the buildings are too close together. The wider viewing angle will somehow create separation between structures that are close to each other. This also means less space is required for unobstructed views of the entire building.
Conversely, a 20mm shift lens will work well in shooting situations where there is enough space to back up to get the entire building in the frame. At the same time, it can also provide a wide enough viewing angle to show key structures and patterns while effectively filling the frame. This lens can provide more options in isolating specific parts of a design while maintaining perspective and scale. When options are limited for large outdoor shots, lens shift can minimize the required physical tilt, which can also reduce curvature caused when corrected in post.
In the same way, a 20mm varifocal lens would be a great choice when it comes to interior photography to highlight certain parts of a room rather than just capturing the entire space. Similarly, this interchangeable lens would also be a good choice for capturing wider tabletops and flat surfaces for large productions or arrangements.
Conclusion
The Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D . Interchangeable Lens is a great choice for architecture and real estate photographers. The lens offers excellent optics and a wide range of practical applications that will allow for greater flexibility when shooting challenging projects. Although some design issues could be improved, this lens still offers more convenient use and control than older tilt-shift lenses on the market, especially when needed. Motion control changes. Best of all, this is a much more affordable option at $1,099. Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift will be available on Canon EF and R mounts, Nikon F and Z mounts, Sony FE, PK, L and GFX mounts.
What I like:
- Great picture quality
- All metal construction
- Standard filter theme
- Rotating sun visor
What could be improved:
- Shift, aperture and distance and focus ring width
- Aperture marks visibility
