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iconian | Staff 13K Views
Apr 6, 2022 9:21 PM

Venus Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D Ultra Prime Lens For Sony, Nikon, Canon & More $349 each + free s/h

$349

$499

30% off
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$349 each + free s/h
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40 Comments

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Apr 6, 2022 9:58 PM
7.4K Comments
Joined Aug 2005
amaxApr 6, 2022 9:58 PM
7.4K Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank

NOT for full-frame cameras.
2
1
Apr 6, 2022 10:10 PM
341 Comments
Joined Dec 2013
humphrjmApr 6, 2022 10:10 PM
341 Comments
I do a lot of (beginner) astrophotography with my Sony A6000. Anyone know how this would compare to my Rokinon F2.0 12MM lens, would this be worth an upgrade?
Apr 6, 2022 10:12 PM
249 Comments
Joined Jun 2017
halocdrApr 6, 2022 10:12 PM
249 Comments
Quote from amax View quoted comment :
NOT for full-frame cameras.
Also manual focus only. Maybe not a huge deal for some, big a big deal breaker for me
Apr 6, 2022 10:20 PM
1K Comments
Joined Jun 2012
dealsquirrelApr 6, 2022 10:20 PM
1K Comments
Nowhere in the Adorama listing does it say crop or APS-C.

You have to read the reviews to find out!
2
Apr 6, 2022 10:28 PM
25 Comments
Joined Jan 2014
chukimApr 6, 2022 10:28 PM
25 Comments
Quote from dealsquirrel View quoted comment :
Nowhere in the Adorama listing does it say crop or APS-C.

You have to read the reviews to find out!
it's listed as APS-C under specification - general
Apr 6, 2022 10:35 PM
7.4K Comments
Joined Aug 2005

This comment has been rated as unhelpful by Slickdeals users.

Apr 6, 2022 10:40 PM
2.7K Comments
Joined Jul 2016
Meribela_SApr 6, 2022 10:40 PM
2.7K Comments
Quote from amax View quoted comment :
And unlike other companies like Voigtlander who also sell manual focus lenses, Laowa keeps refusing to send lens metadata to Sony bodies, so that you don't get information to enable IBIS, etc. They think we're too stupid to notice.
This is common for laowa lenses not just on this. The reviews are good for then lens and video is ONLY acceptable if there are minimal movements. This and other ultr wide lenese suffer severe distortions when there's quick movements.

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Apr 6, 2022 11:02 PM
9.8K Comments
Joined Oct 2009
RazorConceptsApr 6, 2022 11:02 PM
9.8K Comments
Quote from amax View quoted comment :
And unlike other companies like Voigtlander who also sell manual focus lenses, Laowa keeps refusing to send lens metadata to Sony bodies, so that you don't get information to enable IBIS, etc. They think we're too stupid to notice.

Aren't Laowa lenses completely mechanical so no way to send the metadata?

I use IBIS on my dumb lenses by setting the focal length manually in my Sony cameras IBIS settings
Apr 6, 2022 11:36 PM
41 Comments
Joined Dec 2019
uncivil_engineerApr 6, 2022 11:36 PM
41 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank

Quote from humphrjm View quoted comment :
I do a lot of (beginner) astrophotography with my Sony A6000. Anyone know how this would compare to my Rokinon F2.0 12MM lens, would this be worth an upgrade?
Depends entirely on what you're trying to frame and what you're trying to capture. If you go by a very rough rule of thumb of using 500/f as your exposure length to avoid star trails, you gain about 10s of additional exposure time (27s -> 37s), but you're losing 2x as much light due to the aperture difference (f2 -> f2.8). Heavy vignetting on the Laowa over the Samyang/Rokinon will also require you to bump up your exposure. Doesn't appear either give pronounced sun stars or coma (comma) smearing, so it's probably an overall side-grade... unless what you're trying to frame looks better at 9mm than 12mm.
4
Apr 7, 2022 12:17 AM
7.4K Comments
Joined Aug 2005
amaxApr 7, 2022 12:17 AM
7.4K Comments
Quote from RazorConcepts View quoted comment :
Aren't Laowa lenses completely mechanical so no way to send the metadata?

I use IBIS on my dumb lenses by setting the focal length manually in my Sony cameras IBIS settings
Like I mentioned, many manufacturers such as Voigtlander make fully manual lenses than spend the extra pennies it takes to add electrical contacts which merely communicate focal length and aperture data to camera bodies. Saves many steps such as the one you mentioned -- which is particularly dangerous when you forget to switch back to auto when you go back to a regular lens with proper metadata.
1
Apr 7, 2022 12:28 AM
18 Comments
Joined Jul 2017
bchinhereinApr 7, 2022 12:28 AM
18 Comments
Quote from halocdr View quoted comment :
Also manual focus only. Maybe not a huge deal for some, big a big deal breaker for me
Note that because it's so wide it's super easy to get photos in focus. It's depth of field is quite deep.
Apr 7, 2022 12:31 AM
249 Comments
Joined Jun 2017
halocdrApr 7, 2022 12:31 AM
249 Comments
Quote from bchinherein View quoted comment :
Note that because it's so wide it's super easy to get photos in focus. It's depth of field is quite deep.
As long as you have the time to dial it in, sure. My line of work involving cameras is a lot more reactionary and I don't have that luxury, and as detailed in other comments the lens doesn't even feature the ability to communicate focus distance with the camera, meaning that at really any aperture you more or less have to spray and pray. I definitely wouldn't trust that what I want is properly in focus at f/2.8, I barely do at f/8 with these kinda of ultra wides
2
Apr 7, 2022 12:33 AM
18 Comments
Joined Jul 2017
bchinhereinApr 7, 2022 12:33 AM
18 Comments
I have this lens and use it with my X-S10. Great image quality. About as wide as you can go without distortion/fisheye effect. If you're concerned about it being manual focus, don't be. Ultra wide lenses like this are basically always in focus when you set it to just under infinity focus distance. Plus it's f2.8 so you can't get super shallow depth of field.
Apr 7, 2022 12:36 AM
1.2K Comments
Joined Feb 2007
scottzeeApr 7, 2022 12:36 AM
1.2K Comments
This is my go-to ultrawide for my Sony A6400. I also have a Rokinon 12mm f/2 and Sony 10-18 f/4, but this Laowa 9mm f/2.8 is my favorite. Because the depth of field is so great at 9mm, it's basically a point and shoot. You don't have to worry about the focus unless you're trying to focus on something closer than 6-8 feet or so.

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Apr 7, 2022 12:36 AM
18 Comments
Joined Jul 2017
bchinhereinApr 7, 2022 12:36 AM
18 Comments
Quote from halocdr View quoted comment :
As long as you have the time to dial it in, sure. My line of work involving cameras is a lot more reactionary and I don't have that luxury, and as detailed in other comments the lens doesn't even feature the ability to communicate focus distance with the camera, meaning that at really any aperture you more or less have to spray and pray. I definitely wouldn't trust that what I want is properly in focus at f/2.8, I barely do at f/8 with these kinda of ultra wides
Even at f2.8, I set the lens to just under infinity focus and anything 4 feet away or more is in focus. *edited

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