Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Zoom Full-Frame Lens (2018)
Keywords: e-mountfull-framel-mountlaowalensmanual-focusmirrorlessprime-lensultra-widewide-anglez-mount
Product Gallery
Product Overview
Laowa 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 Zoom is a unique manual-focus ultra wide-angle prime lens for Leica L-mount, Nikon Z-mount, and Sony E-mount. It is the widest rectilinear zoom lens that covers the full-frame image circle. Introduced by Laowa in 2018, it has 14 elements in 10 groups.
Manual focus may be limiting to some, but purists will find it much more engaging. There are also fewer things to go wrong on the long run. Unfortunately, Laowa has opted to omit weather sealing for this lens, so owners should pay extra attention when shooting in incremental weathers.
As an ultra wide-angle prime lens that happens to have relatively small maximum aperture, it is best suited for landscape photography. Even though the lens is not stabilized, at this focal range it does not usually matter. In fact, some may be able to get cleaner corners without image stabilization.
Ratings
What we found**
Neofiliac score 40% (not directly comparable across industries)
Pros
- Widest rectilinear zoom lens for FF
- Good build quality
Cons
- Dark maximum aperture
- Lacks weather sealing
- No front filter
- Optically weak
What external reviewers found***
External score 66% (not directly comparable across industries)
Pros
- Very good performance in the centre
- Compact and light
- Wide angle of view for full-frame systems
- Sunstars with 10 spikes are really nice and you get them even wide open (except at 18mm)
Cons
- Focusing scale not respected at all
- No autofocus
- Occasional chromatic aberration
Price Comparison
Specifications
Construction
Aperture Blades
7 blades
Form Factor
Ultra Wide-Angle Prime Lens
Image Size
Full-Frame
Lens Barrel
Physical aperture ring, Distance scale, DoF scale
Lens Mount
Leica L-mount, Nikon Z-mount, Sony E-mount
Optical Formula | Elements
14 elements
Optical Formula | Groups
10 groups
Optical Formula | Special Glass
1 ED and 2 aspherical elements groups
Dimensions
Filter Diameter
37 mm / 1.46 in
Size | Diameter
70 mm / 2.76 in
Size | Length
91 mm / 3.58 in
Weight
496 g / 17.53 oz
Function
Angle Of View
130.4° Diagonal | 121.9° Horizontal | 100.4° Vertical (wide) ~ 100.5° Diagonal | 90.0° Horizontal | 67.4° Vertical (tele)
Aperture
f/4.5–5.6 ~ f/22
Autofocus
No
Focal Length
10 mm ~ 18 mm
Focus Type
Internal
Image Stabilization
No
Weather Resistance
No
Performance
Max Magnification
0.25x
Min Focus Distance
150 mm / 5.91 in
Production
Debut
2018-04-20
Made In
China
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Launch Comparison
Clear List
3rd-Party Review Videos
External Reviews
sonyalpha[1]
Reviewer score 63%The Laowa 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 is the second ultra wide zoom for Sony E mount. It is a fully manual lenses with aperture control on the lens and manual focusing ring. Sharpness tests made on Sony A7RIII (42Mpix) show consistent good results in the centre but corners are lagging behind & being good around F8-F11.
Find the original article here.
Pros
- Very good performance in the centre
- Sunstars with 10 spikes are really nice and you get them even wide open (except at 18mm)
- Compactness is surprising and it offers nice possibility to mount a rear ND filter on the back or front filter holder
Cons
- Focusing scale not respected at all
pcmag[2]
Reviewer score 69%The Venus Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 is the widest rectilinear zoom for any full-frame system. At $849 it's a relative bargain when compared with the lenses it most directly competes with. It doesn't autofocus, nor does it include weather sealing, and its optical quality isn't on the same level.
Find the original article here.
Pros
- Wide angle of view for full-frame systems
- Compact and light
Cons
- Occasional chromatic aberration
- No autofocus
User Reviews
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References
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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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