Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift Full-Frame Lens (2020)
Product Gallery
Product Overview
Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is a unique ultra-wide "shift" prime lens for full-frame cameras. Its image circle is also large enough to cover Fuji G-mount medium format cameras (via adapter), though the range of lens shift is reduced in this application.
The lens is unique because most lenses that have the shift mechanism are tilt-shift lenses, meaning that tilt is part of the package. The 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift, however, trades the tilt function for a more compact size.
Another advantage is that, at 15mm, this is the widest shift lens for full-frame in the world. It affords the photographer more options to shoot with this dramatic angle of view. For many urban applications, it eliminates the need of stitching panoramas in post, which can be a frustrating experience.
As its name suggests, this lens is part of Laowa's Zero-D lineup, which boasts low distortions across the frame. It sits alongside the non-shift 15mm f/2 Zero-D, which is loved by many reviewers, and which put Laowa solidly on the map.
Like many recent stablemates, this lens uses a 5-bladed aperture that produces gorgeous sun stars. While it is unable to accept screw-on filters, Laowa has worked with partners to design a filter holder for this lens that can accept 100mm filters. The same mechanism can also be used with the 9mm f/5.6 FF RL lens.
Ratings
What we found**
Neofiliac score 31% (not directly comparable across industries)
Pros
- One of the widest lens with shift function
- Low vignetting
Cons
- Dark maximum aperture
- Lacks front filter thread
- Lens hood not included
- Quite expensive
What external reviewers found***
External score 78% (not directly comparable across industries)
Pros
- Good color rendition
- Excellent build quality and ergonomic
- Very good optics
- Very good sharpness and color, having a tilt for video architectural topics
- Lightweight and compact
- Autofocus, automatically operated apertures and transmit EXIF data
Cons
- No manual aperture
- Bokeh balls are ok wide open but awful when close down
- Lateral CA is not symmetrical
- No tilt or 1mm less shift movements
- No focus shift visible
- Vignetting is low when not shifted but quite strong on one side when sifted to the max
Price Comparison
Specifications
Construction
Aperture Blades
5 blades
Form Factor
Ultra Wide-Angle Prime Lens
Image Size
Full-Frame
Lens Barrel
Physical aperture ring, Distance scale, DoF scale
Lens Mount
Canon EF-mount, Canon RF-mount, Nikon F-mount, Nikon Z-mount, Sony E-mount
Optical Formula | Elements
17 elements
Optical Formula | Groups
11 groups
Dimensions
Size | Diameter
79 mm / 3.11 in
Size | Length
103 mm / 4.06 in
Weight
597 g / 21.10 oz
Function
Angle Of View
110.6° Diagonal | 100.4° Horizontal | 77.3° Vertical
Aperture
f/4.5 ~ f/22
Autofocus
No
Focal Length
15 mm
Focus Type
Internal
Image Stabilization
No
Performance
Min Focus Distance
200 mm / 7.87 in
Production
Accessory
Lens hood sold separately
Debut
2020-10-30
Made In
China
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Launch Comparison
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3rd-Party Review Videos
External Reviews
phillipreeve[1]
Reviewer score 73%mm 4.5 Shift is part of Laowa's Zero-D line which is good news as with shift lenses distortion is comparably hard to correct. Unshifted the distortion is close to zero, but shifted you can see some barrel distortion so in critical cases you might have to use the warp function in Photoshop. No sunstars at f/4.5 and well defined 10-stroke sunstars between f/5.6 and f/22 as we have also seen on the other recent Laowa ultra wide angle lenses.
Find the original article here.
Pros
- Lightweight and compact
- Very good optics
- No distortion
Cons
- No tilt or 1mm less shift movements
- Lateral CA is not symmetrical
- No focus shift visible
sonyalpha[2]
Reviewer score 82%The Laowa 15mm F4.5 Shift lens is one of the very rare shift lens for Sony E mount. The only other native e mount shift lens is the Samyang 24mm F3.5 Tilt-Shift ED AS UMC. Shift lens allow to move laterally the optical bloc vs the camera sensor allowing to straighten verticals for architectural shoots.
Find the original article here.
Pros
- Very good sharpness and color, having a tilt for video architectural topics
- Excellent build quality and ergonomic
- Good color rendition
Cons
- Vignetting is low when not shifted but quite strong on one side when sifted to the max
- Bokeh balls are ok wide open but awful when close down
cameralabs[3]
Reviewer score 79%There are a lot of ultra-wide lenses on the market but only few of them offer shift functionality. The widest of them corrected for full-frame cameras with rectilinear projection is Laowa’s 9mm f5.6 FF RL with a whopping 135 degrees angle of view. The following panorama is from two shots with the Laowa mounted in the lens support and maximally shifted left and right.
Find the original article here.
Pros
- Very wide angle of view
- Autofocus, automatically operated apertures and transmit EXIF data
Cons
- No manual aperture
User Reviews
Comments
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References
- ^ Review: Laowa 15mm 4.5 Zero-D Shift. [phillipreeve]. https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-laowa-15mm-4-5-zero-d-shift/. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ Laowa 15mm F4.5 Shift W-Dreamer. [sonyalpha]. https://sonyalpha.blog/2021/04/02/laowa-15mm-f4-5-shift-w-dreamer/. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ Laowa 15mm f4.5 Zero-D Shift review. [cameralabs]. https://www.cameralabs.com/laowa-15mm-f4-5-zero-d-shift-review/. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
The MSRP provided on this page may not apply to all regions equally. For the current price, please refer to the Price Comparison section.
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Scores are not directly comparable across industries.
These key takeaways ("pros" and "cons") and summaries are identified from third-party reviews. They may differ from the original texts.
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