Overview: Laowa CF 8-16mm f/3.5-5.0 Zoom (APS-C)

Introduction

Laowa CF 8-16mm f/3.5-5.0 Zoom is an ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras with a formidable zoom vary (equal to 12-24mm on fullframe sensors). It’s a very compact lens and appears to suit properly on smaller APS-C cameras. Its versatile focal size vary makes it a good selection for panorama, structure, and journey images or everytime you need a dramatic perspective in your pictures. In instances when it appears that evidently all the most important producers (besides Fujifilm) are neglecting the APS-C lens improvement and specializing in fullframe lenses, it’s refreshing to see thrilling lenses like this from third-party producers. Let’s see the way it behaves in actual life!

Pattern Pictures

Specs

Disclosure

This lens was kindly lent by Laowa for check and overview functions. It is going to be returned to Laowa after the overview.

Dealing with

The Laowa CF 8-16mm f/3.5-5 Zoom is a completely handbook lens, with none electrical contacts, so focusing and aperture setting have to be performed manually on the lens. Because of the lack {of electrical} contacts, it can’t switch any lens EXIF knowledge to the digicam both.  It’s fully made from metallic and feels heavy for its measurement, which is comparatively small. The metallic mounting plate doesn’t have any sealing gasket, so no climate sealing is integrated.

The aperture ring has mild clicks at f/3.5 (5), f/4, and after that for each full-stop. There’s a declicking change on the facet of the lens barrel that permits you to toggle between having mild clicks once you change the aperture ring or turning easily.

In entrance of the aperture ring you discover the zoom ring, which turns easily however the resistance is sort of excessive, and in entrance of that the focusing ring. The metallic focusing ring is broad and turns easily about 80°, it is rather straightforward to manually focus this lens although. The lens comes with a metallic lens cap, which clicks into place securely. You additionally get a entrance filter adapter that additionally clicks into place and lets you use filters in entrance of the lens. The lens has inner focusing mechanism, which suggests the lens doesn’t prolong or rotate once you focus. Zooming in or out doesn’t prolong the size of the barrel both.

The lens may be very small, particularly for having such a strong zoom vary.

Optical Options

Sharpness (Infinity)

For the infinity sharpness check, we have a look at three areas of the picture, middle, mid-frame, and nook, see highlighted areas within the picture beneath! Moved the digicam place to have roughly the identical picture for all three focal lengths (8, 12, and 16mm)

8mm

Vast-open the middle is great. The middle sharpness stays glorious to f/11, the place it will get rather less sharp, and f/16 reduces the sharpness somewhat extra.
The midframe’s sharpness is nice broad open, it will get excellent at f/5.6 and stays excellent to f/11, at f/16 it’s “simply” good.
The nook shouldn’t be good in any respect, not usable broad open however at f/5.6 it’s usable, f/8 to f/16 the sharpness within the nook is simply OK.

12mm

Roughly the identical story right here as at 8mm within the middle and midframe however with marginally elevated sharpness. The nook is a lot better although. It’s usable at f/3.5-f/4, good at f/5.6, and at f/8 the nook sharpness is excellent. F/11 and f/16 decrease the sharpness somewhat.

16mm

Right here we see extra modifications, the middle and midframe sharpness, whereas nonetheless glorious, is somewhat bit decrease than at wider focal lengths, however the nook sharpness is a lot better at wider apertures (f/3.5 to f/5.6).  The change of the sharpness within the middle and mid-frame is lower than what I feel the score ought to be modified. The nook sharpness is nice at f/3.5-f/4, excellent f/5.6-f/8,  and good at f/11-f/16

Sharpness (Shut-up)

In any respect focal lengths, the sharpness at max aperture is excellent, at f/5.5 it will get glorious and stays glorious by f/11. The diffraction degrades the sharpness at f/16. Peak efficiency is at f/5.6-f/8.

• 8mm: Glorious sharpness f/3.5 to f/11, excellent at f/16
• 12mm: Superb sharpness at f3.5 and f/16, glorious f/5.6 to f/11
• 16mm: Superb sharpness at f3.5 and f/16, glorious f/5.6 to f/11

Lens Distortion

The Loawa CF 8-16mm suffers from complicated wavy barrel distortion on the widest finish (8mm), you may enhance it loads by making use of +10 for distortion within the lens correction part in LR. On the the 12mm focal size, it has some negligible pincushion distortion, +2 will right it. The pincushion distortion will get somewhat worse on the longest finish (16mm), however nowhere as unhealthy as it’s at its widest finish, +4 in LR fixes it.

Vignetting

Laowa CF 8-16mm f/3.5-5 has an analogous vignetting quantity as different ultra-wide angle lenses at comparable f-stops. Stopping down doesn’t enhance the vignetting a lot because the max relative aperture is sort of small to start out with (f/5 on the 16mm finish). That is concerning the aperture, the place different quicker lenses begin normalizing. As on the wider finish, the max relative aperture is f/3.5, we see somewhat extra enchancment than on the longest finish when stopping down.

Focus Shift & Aberrations

Neither focus shift nor longitudinal chromatic aberration is an issue at apertures as small as this lens’s max relative apertures, particularly at these ultra-wide angles.

There’s a small quantity of lateral chromatic aberration current although. That may be simply mounted in submit. See the 200% crop of the nook of three pictures, taken at totally different focal lengths.

Flare Resistance

Usually, you can also make any lens look unhealthy in the event you attempt long and hard within the part. It’s a lot simpler in case you are coping with zoom lenses, like this one. That stated, it did require laborious or lengthy attempt to understand that this lens can’t simply address flares with the solar in or close to the sting of the body. You will get every kind of flare with an enormous lack of distinction and ghosts within the pictures. With an 8mm lens, it isn’t straightforward to shade the lens along with your hand both as it will likely be seen within the image. I examined the lens at totally different focal lengths (8, 12, and 16mm), each broad open and stopped down and I acquired roughly the identical end result, so I don’t present all the photographs I acquired, only a consultant choice at totally different focal lengths and totally different f/stops. Effectively, you must attempt to compose with care when the solar is within the body.

Coma

Usually ultra-wide angle lenses are good candidates for astrophotography if they’re quick sufficient. F/3.5 is hardly a quick aperture and f/5 at 16mm is unquestionably not a quick aperture. In any case, in the event you solely wish to check astrophotography and take a few photographs for enjoyable you should use this lens, after which the coma is issue to additionally think about.

The Laowa 8-16mm has respectable management over the coma, higher than adequate to your testing of taking a few starry night time photographs. Should you get severe and wish to do it extra usually you must search for a quicker lens.

Sunstars

Once I first noticed the specs of this lens with solely 5 aperture blades, I assumed, what a pity, as a result of I didn’t suppose it might produce any good sunstars in any respect. Nonetheless, I couln’t be extra improper. It appears that evidently Laowa has perfected its aperture blade aligning as sunstars are one among this Laowa’s strongest factors. It may possibly produce very well-defined and in my eyes very stunning 10-pointed stars in any respect focal lengths and in any respect f-stops, aside from the broad open aperture (f/3.5). By stopping down simply to f/4 (on the aperture ring) you will get these beautiful sunstars. The extra you cease down the longer the star rays will get.

Focus Respiration

Sadly, the Laowa 8-16mm suffers from focus respiratory at each ends of its zoom vary.

Bokeh

Bokeh is the very last thing one should purchase this lens for, particularly at its wider ends.

Conclusion

The Laowa 8-16mm is a really versatile wide-angle to ultra-wide-angle lens, that has each strengths and weaknesses. Its strengths are an excessive zoom vary, sharpness over the body stopped down and within the middle areas broad open, means to make use of entrance filter for such a large lens, low coma and LoCA, plus huge and good sunstars. It definitely doesn’t win any optical design competitions as a result of its weaknesses: nook softness, vignetting, and powerful flaring issues. Total its strengths outweigh its weaknesses in my view. In order for you an ultra-wide to wide-angle zoom lens that’s compact and helpful this is likely to be a lens for you.

If you’re thinking about shopping for this lens or any of the lenses within the Alternate options part, you may help our efforts through the use of the hyperlinks beneath or given underneath every lens. It received’t price you a penny and it received’t have an effect on the value, however it’ll assist us somewhat.

Alternate options

Fujifilm XF 8-16mm F2.8 R LM WR
Just for Fuji customers! The one various with the identical focal size vary because the Laowa. It’s an autofocus lens, about 1 to 1.7 of stops quicker with the fixed aperture of f/2.8 over the entire vary, however it’s large, a lot heavier, and greater than twice the value of the Laowa.
Purchase new: amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk $1299 / €1597 (Affiliate hyperlinks)
Purchase used: ebay.com, ebay.de, ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr  ~$1045(Affiliate hyperlinks)

Fujifilm XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR
Just for Fuji customers! Not as broad however longer than the Laowa. AF, about the identical measurement however lighter than the reviewed lens, with fixed f/4 aperture over the zoom vary. It has higher flare resistance however is about twice as costly.
Purchase new: amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk for $999 (Affiliate hyperlinks)
Purchase used: ebay.com, ebay.de, ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr ~$730  (Affiliate hyperlinks)

Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN Modern
Not as broad however just a bit longer than the Laowa. Accessible for Fuji X, Sony E, and L-mount
Purchase new: amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk for $599 (Affiliate hyperlinks)
Purchase used: ebay.com, ebay.de, ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr ~$550  (Affiliate hyperlinks)

Canon RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM
Just for Canon customers! Not as broad however just a bit longer than the Laowa.
Purchase new: amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk for $329 (Affiliate hyperlinks)
Purchase used: ebay.com, ebay.de, ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr ~$  (Affiliate hyperlinks)

Nikon Nikkor Z DX 12-28mm F3.5-5.6 PZ VR
Just for Nikon Z customers!
Purchase new: amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk for $356 (Affiliate hyperlinks)
Purchase used: ebay.com, ebay.de, ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr ~$313  (Affiliate hyperlinks)

Extra Pattern Pictures

Additional Studying

Overview: TTArtisan 10mm f/2.0 (APS-C)
Overview: Laowa 25mm 0.95 Argus (APS-C)
Overview: Viltrox 27mm 1.2 (APS-C)
Overview: Helios-40 85mm 1.5

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Martin M.H. lives exterior Stockholm, Sweden. He’s a M.Sc. in Pc Know-how however he has been a passionate photographer for over 45 years. He began his photographic adventures when he was 13 with an Agfamatic pocket digicam, which he quickly changed with a Canon rangefinder digicam that his mother gave him in his teenages. After that he has been utilizing Canon SLR, Nikon SLR handbook focus and Autofocus, Sony mirrorless crop sensor, Nikon DSLR and Nikon Mirrorless. He has photographed any style he might all through the years and you’ll see all sort of pictures in his portfolio. Through the later years although it has been principally panorama, nature, journey and a few road/documentary images.