Me and Laowa go way back! I still remember when they started producing lenses for the Sony E-mount when Sony didn't have a lot of lenses available. Since then, they became a reputable company with nice quality niche lenses with not that hefty of a price tag. Their new Laowa 10mm f2.8 is one of those, and is their 10 year anniversary lens! It's also their first Autofocus lens for the Sony E-mount, with hopefully more to come.
I asked Laowa to try out the lens and I recently brought it to Iceland. You can see all of my findings in the following video:
In short:
Minimalistic Design with just one AF/MF button and an infinite ring for the focus
Good sharpness on my A7RV across most apertures. Less on the edges at f/2.8
Auto focus works great on my A7RV, is very silent and fast. Works also well with focus bracketing
Very low distortion
Very fun and creative to use
Has quite strong vignetting but LAOWA will release lens profile for it.
For astrophotography it's decent. Definitely has aberrations in the corners and some coma. But it's still nice to use for it.
Specifications:
Please check the video if you want to see the lens in action with much more information.
Links:
Sample Shots:
Product shots:
