Matt Granger received a pre-production Laowa 200mm f/2 a bit ago, and he just posted a Q&A about the lens that you can watch above or check out below.
- Focus-by-Wire Systems: The Nikon VR2 lens uses a traditional mechanical focusing system, while the Sigma and Laowa lenses utilize focus-by-wire technology, where the focus ring electronically controls the lens elements.
- Build Quality:
- Nikon: Praised for its robust, old-school build, but noted as being heavy.
- Sigma: Described as having excellent modern build quality, though a minor issue with the lens hood padding was mentioned.
- Laowa: The most affordable, and the manufacturer is already addressing some initial feedback on the pre-production model’s focus and aperture rings.
- Filter Compatibility:
- Sigma: Accepts 105mm front filters.
- Laowa: Also uses 105mm front filters but has the unique feature of a rear drop-in filter slot.
- Light Transmission (T-Value): In a controlled test, the Sigma was found to be the brightest, about a third of a stop brighter than the Laowa and a sixth of a stop brighter than the Nikon.
- Future Nikon 200mm f/2: The host has no information on whether Nikon is developing a native mirrorless 200mm f/2 lens but hopes they will.
- Image Quality:
- Nikon 200mm f/2 VR2: The host’s personal favorite, with “unbelievable” image quality and the best autofocus of the three.
- Sigma: Found to be “slightly sharper” in some cases but with less “beautiful contrast” compared to the Nikon.
- Laowa: Offers “acceptable” image quality at a much lower price point. It’s not as sharp as the others at f/2 but performs well at f/2.8 and f/4.
- Bokeh: The Sigma’s bokeh was noted to have a “square shape,” while the Nikon and Laowa produced more circular bokeh.
- Focus Breathing: All three lenses exhibited some degree of focus breathing.
Laowa will be releasing some new lenses soon, which you can see below.
- Laowa AF FF 200mm F2.0 C-Dreamer
- Laowa FF II TS 35mm F2.8 C-Dreamer Macro 0.5X
- Laowa FF II TS 17mm F4 C-Dreamer
- Laowa AF FF 180mm F4.5 CA-Dreamer Macro 1.5X
- Laowa FF Sunlight 40-80mm T4.5 2X Anamorphic Zoom
- Laowa FF Sunlight 70-135mm T4.5 2X Anamorphic Zoom
Laowa lenses can be found directly from Venus Optics and B&H Photo.
