LensLaowa (Venus Optics)40% by Neofiliac Team77% by External Reviewers

Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL

Full-Frame Lens

Product Gallery

Photo 0of Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL Photo 1of Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL Photo 2of Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL Photo 3of Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL Photo 4of Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL

Product Overview

Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL is the widest lens for full-frame cameras on the market today. Like the 11mm f/4.5 and 14mm f/4 unveiled around the same time, this lens prioritizes weight and size, making it also one of the most portable rectilinear full-frame ultra-wide lenses.
The 9mm f/5.6 FF RL offers an expansive 135 degrees of angle of view that is dramatically different from natural human vision. It allows the photographer to capture perspectives that instantly impress.
Like the aforementioned stablemates, this 9mm lens uses a 5-bladed aperture that produces gorgeous sun stars. However, this lens is unable to accept screw-on filters, which is unsurprising at this focal length. Nevertheless, Laowa has worked with partners to design a filter holder for this lens that can accept 100mm filters.
The Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL is available for all major camera mounts, including the Leica M-mount (which has a $100 premium).

Ratings

What we found

Neofiliac score 40%
Pros
  • Widest full-frame rectilinear lens
  • Dramatic angle of view
Cons
  • Dark maximum aperture
  • Lacks front filter thread

What external reviewers found

External score 77%
Pros
  • Very good sharpness and colors
  • Good flare resistance
  • Excellent results in architecture, with unique points of views especially for portraits
  • Compact size
  • Very minimal distorsion
  • High sharpness at the long end
Cons
  • Bulky filter holder
  • No native Lightroom Lens profile
  • No electronic contacts or Exif data
  • Heavy vignetting

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Price Comparison

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Specifications

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External Reviews

phillipreeve[1]

Reviewer score 81% (normalized by Neofiliac)
Reviewers from phillipreeve have found:
Laowa 11mm 4.5 C-Dreamer: 9mm and 11mm are a huge difference in terms of field of view. The 11mm shows more coma, astigmatism and lateral CA in the corners. The optical design does also not look as complex and it doesn’t focus as close. The 9mm is also easier to use (less bulky, smaller 100mm square filters)
Pros
  • Sharpness, minimum focus distance, coma correction, CA correction
  • Compact size
  • Very good flare resistance
Cons
  • No electronic contacts or Exif data
  • Subpar sharpness at long end

sonyalpha[2]

Reviewer score 73% (normalized by Neofiliac)
Reviewers from sonyalpha have found:
The Laowa 9mm FF RF (979 euros) is the widest rectilinear full frame lens available for Sony E mount. It offers a little bit better sharpness and a better color rendering but less good vignetting and no EXIF transmission. There is no native Lightroom Lens profile but Laowa has one available for download here.
Pros
  • Excellent results in architecture, with unique points of views especially for portraits
  • Very good sharpness and colors
  • Very minimal distorsion
Cons
  • Heavy vignetting
  • No native Lightroom Lens profile

Also Check

Product ComparisonProducts in LensProducts by Laowa (Venus Optics)Keyword e-mountKeyword full-frameKeyword m-mountKeyword manual-focusKeyword prime-lensKeyword ultra-wide

References

  1. ^ Review: Laowa 9mm 5.6 FF-RL. [phillipreeve].
  2. ^ Laowa 9mm F5.6 FF RF W-Dreamer. [sonyalpha].

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