Several folks have asked why I didn't bring up the 12mm Zeiss Touit 2.8. it was certainly a consideration, it's just much more pricey. But I will definitely be exploring that option if I can't get a sharp copy of the Laowa 9mm f2.8.

The Laowa 9mm is easily one of the coolest lenses you can own for your aps-c camera. If you also own the "must have" Sigma 16mm (as I do), that makes it a slam dunk to own the Laowa for ultra wide.

I’m glad you touched on how close you can get to the subject, that‘s a big part of my shooting style too! And for that good sir, subscribed

EXCELLENT matchup and review!!!

i’m a big fan of Hazard 4 and love their gear and love your hat choice. Thanks for the comparison. I just ordered the Rokinon 12 mm. Keep up the great videos!

That laowa is just so nice. Really provides that wow factor

Whenever I have a fuji related question, I come here first. Thank you for the great videos!

I'm a happy owner of a 12mm Samyang but now I want to put my hands on that Laowa as well :)

I have the rokinon 12mm and my camera fell in a concrete road , yes it dented it but it still worked well. I was surprised no lens issues . It did protect my xt3. It make look plasticky but its durable .

I have the 10-24 and the rokinon. The Fuji is one of the sharpest and highest contrast lenses I have. I love the images I have shot with that lens. I have only used the rokinon for astro and a couple of times for indoor low light. I have been very happy with its output. It’s a shame the lowa you have is soft, the images looked gorgeous. Hopefully the next copy will not disappoint.

Great review, I have to say your current vlogging setup looks fantastic and very much improved from your past videos. What is your current vlogging setup? It looks tac sharp!

Your points about both lenses mirror my experiences too. I keep hearing I must have had a bad copy of the Laowa, but... I shouldn't have to flip a coin, hoping to get a good copy. Many others with the same issue. Hoping Fuji announces the rumored 10mm prime this spring

I have the Laowa 9mm in Fuji mount & I don't find it soft at the edges, at least not when its stopped down to around F8. 👍

I used to have the Samyang (Rokinon) and enjoyed using it. But there always seemed to be something lacking colour wise. It was great for astro though - with that f2.

I make my living shooting architecture with the XF10-24 and love it, but I got a Laowa 9 last year as a backup for daily carry. Mine is one of the good copies evidently because at f/8 it's pretty sharp throughout. (a lot of drop off still, but that's easily correctable in Post anyhow.) Hopefully you'll get a nice copy as a replacement. Can't argue with the size. :)

Great comparison. I have the Laowa and I noticed the same problems with the edges, never thought it might be a bad copy. If it is, would definitely be interested to know about that.

Love my Samyang 12mm f2.0 esp for astro, but use it for many reasons. Make sure you get a good copy!

I have the Samyang 12.0mm f2 and I love it, although I probably don't use it as much as I should. I think the sharpness and colour rendition are both well up to par. Another thing it is useful for is street photography at close quarters as I found in the Souks of Morocco recently which are very cramped so having a small unobtrusive lens is a real bonus, particularly as it doesn't attract so much attention.

Awesome review! Love how you relate the lens qualities to your shooting style! The - how is this beast called - curvature, phenomenon that the sharpness zone is closer to a circle than to a wall / sheet of paper - I think it is overrated. And not necessary for my style. If I shoot walls, I would never stand in the middle and look in an angle of 90 degrees. I own the Rokinon 12mm for Sony, got it 2014. And I am overall quite happy. If I had to choose between the 2 I would probably go for the Laowa Preference for fun of use rather than corner image quality

I currently own the 9mm Laowa, and 14mm f2.8 and 16mm f1.4 Fujinons. The 16mm is my favourite, but had no issues with the 9mm when I need ultra wide. Incidentally, I’ve had the Zeiss 12mm and the Fujinon 10-24mm in the past and had been disappointed by both.

Bought used Rokinon 12mm f2 for 150 USD and using it with a6000 for real estate photography) Very good at it's price. F7 and focus on infinity

Thanks for the review! I am primarily a landscape photographer. I use the Fuji 10-24 for wide angle. At f8 my copy is very sharp. For telephoto I I use the Fuji 50-140, also very sharp. Thanks again for your review. How is full time photographer going? Also have enjoyed your video on small towns.

I've been using rokinon 12mm for my sony a6000 and now my Fuji xt3 for real estate photography for the last 5 years. Also with weddings. Love it. So nice I bought it twice

I previously used the Rokinon 12mm on my Sony a6000 and a6300 and loved that setup for backpacking / astro. Currently I have the Laowa 9mm that I used on the Fuji X-T2 and now X-Pro3 and I can really appreciate the much wider view. For astro the 9mm wide open definitely has vignetting but with the way I compose my shots they get swallowed up in the shadows anyway. During the day I try to shoot at least f4 to reduce vignetting. The only feature I want on the 9mm is some weather resistance to match the Fuji bodies.

Great vídeo as usual!!!! Did you test the Laowa for second time? I would like to know if is worth it the purchase of this lens.... Thanks 🙏

great video. I'm no pixel peeper but that one lens looked downright dropped at 8:30

For what it's worth, as a (primarily) Sony shooter who has run into lemon copies of Samyang/Rokinon FE autofocusing lenses, there might be some sample variation on that side of the fence too.

Hey for the Laowa, check our inner ring for the mount on the lens. I have the 15mm f2 on my sony and absolutely love the lens but ran into the same issue with it being super tight when mounting it. It felt like it was going to break something being that tight. Anyway I found later the inner ring backed its way out about a 1/4 turn, so when I fixed that it goes on buttery smooth. I use this lens every day in my real estate work. Cheers,

If you're able to get a different copy I would love to see how is it compared to the fuji 16 f1.4, curious about the minimum focus distance. Love the landscape photos, question for architecture photography which one do you prefer ? I think the rokinon is good enough just use the right settings and editing, it should work right?

I've had the Rokinon for a while, and love the images I get out of it, but found over the past two years it's hardly left the shelf due to that awkward bulk of the hood (which I find essential for this lens). I recently picked up the Laowa to see if it would fit my needs as a speciality lens (astro and doco) but have come to a similar conclusion as you. The xf16 2.8 is now my go-to wide and even astro, although the Laowa does have a place in the bag too. I was going to write a comparison, but it seems you've covered it well!

I have and use both of these lenses as I love wide-angle photography. They both have their strengths, with the Samyang having more barrel distortion, while the Laowa has virtually none, but instead has heavy vignetting. Which is ok at f8 and you want artistic vignetting, otherwise it has to be corrected with a profile, which might introduce noise. Now. I did drop,it once into concrete, it hurt, but it survived with a dent in the small metal hood. Later I’ve noticed the same type of blurring at the edge you show, but only on the right; the left is sharp,at the edge. I haven’t done any exhaustive testing in controlled conditions, it is just an observation. Both have a permanent spot in my bag, since they are both small and light, with the Laowa actually feeling heavier, a more solid build.

Honestly, the rokinon was good for me when it was functional. It lasted a few years before the screws became loose and I found out that the inner mount where the screws were mounted too just gave in. I never suffered any major drops, so it's clear the quality is what you pay for. I'll definitely be getting a laowa 9mm.

I actually have the Samyang 12mm T2.2 and use it way more than expected, I might even say it's my favourite lens to use. I've also used it for quite a few landscapes and it's always a pleasure to use it for me. Also when using the T2.2 vs f2 lens you don't even notice that the filter ring goes out a little because of the larger focus ring.

Love my 9mm laowa the vignetting is a problem but gives character too . .

I rented the 10-24mm for a week, have to send it back Friday. I'm not overly impressed with it for $1k! I did spend the cash for the 16/1.4 though (gosh, this lens is my favorite!) and like you I look for close focus as I do a lot of Macro. Guess nothing can beat the 16mm...I can even crop with that close focus and it serves my macro work nicely! I think I'm set with lenses (for me) I have the 16mm/1.4 & the 55-200mm & the 'kit' 18-55 I also have 4-4.5X macro...thx Andrew for all your honest reviews...I fully trust everything you say now!

All Rokinon lenses are well regarded in the AstroPhotography community due to its lack of Coma which make the stars look funny.

Thinking a 10-24 Fuji lens might be my choice for something wider than the kit lens... would u say that is a good choice for a wide lens to use for landscape and street use? Thanks again for the videos...

Thank you for sharing. Very interresting. What about the new Fujinon 8mm ? Already tested ? Thanks !

My 12 mm Samyang is sharp contrasty and perfect for evening / night street scenes in tight spaces. Think Japan. More than wide enough for any work I need. It and the 18-55 kit are a Perfect travel combo.

After few months I've sold my Rokinon 12mm f2 and I bought the Fuji 14mm f2.8.

Hi Andrew its always a nice video you got there and thanks for it. Finally i come a cross that interested me that I got this Venus 9mm from a friend and find it a hard time putting in my Xt3. Everything is great and it stick in my camera like a parasite except it is a bit tighter than other 3rd party lens i had tried. I saw in the box it is a Fuji mount but could not believe it wholly. Is it that what you mean here is that there is no problem? I am a little worried here too.

The outward end of the Rokinon is so you can use a couple of filters without vignetting

Minimum focus distance or “close focus” on a wide angle is the most important thing in my opinion… it’s freaking paramount 😁🍻

Have had the Samyang (Rokinon) 12 mm 2,0 for some years now, and very satisfied with it`s performance when it comes to sharpness (corners/edges too!), distortion and vignetting. What this video do not mention, is the very, V E R Y, bad perfomance in terms of ghosting/flares in direct sunlight, and quite heavy chromatic aberration (easy to remove though). Will recommend it anyway, allmost without contest at this price point!! 🙂

I would be super tempted to adapt the Nikon 10.5mm DX to Fuji as a high quality alternative.

I got both those lenses. I don't need any other lenses. My Laowa 9mm f2.8 is a better QA copy as it isn't so tight fitting when mounting to my Fujifilm camera, and tack sharp compared to your copy. I find wide angle very challenging, but with a little care in framing shots and the added advantage of closer focusing, and option to be able to shoot astrophotography, and compatibility for infra red photography they are both keepers for me😊

Hi thank you very I will want for the new test with the new 9mm laowa thank you.

Great review. I also love to have good minimum focusing distance with wide angles. Love the look of it.

I love my 12mm samyang on my sony I tend to like the samyang colour rendition as I find it on the warmer side of things but its not as nice as the colour i get from my loxia 21mm

I really love your videos and the way that you talk about photography. I have absolutely no interest in either of these lenses, I don’t shoot wide ever. I loved watching this video because you rule, even when you are talking about something that I’m not super interested in.

You got a lemon.. Laowa Is amazingly sharp lens...

Can you pop these on a Full frame like A7C? Also, i like your set up, what kind of lighting are you using and how many?

Hi Andrew, I really like your setup. Both the lighting is beautiful and the image is really crisp. Would you mind sharing some details about it? Are you shooting with fixed focus? And how much of it is post-work?

I'd love to see you review more adapted lenses, especially M-mount. Specifically, I'd love your opinions on the Voigtlander glass. Is that something you'd be interested in doing?

So, taking in consideration the fact that this was made 3 years ago, and all the new lenses that came out for APSC. Which wide angle would you suggest? I recently got a Canon M6. They are dosscontinued but I love shooting with it and I'm looking for good wide for landscapes as well as video.

Hello Andrew, What about the zeiss 12m f2.8 touit? (you mentioned that you not aware of other good primes)

You might also try a comparison when shooting into the sun (or a street light in the dark), the Samyang is known for behaving pretty badly with flaring and low contrast. Apparently the Zeiss does way better in that regard. The Laowa didn't look that bad in your cacti shot, a shame it was that soft though. Not sure you are interested in astro photography at all, but the Samyang is well known to be pretty good for that with low coma. So if you are interested in maybe shooting landscapes with stars above, that might be a factor to consider as well.

The Rokinon has the large filter thread for... filters. At that wide of a viewing angle, you'd get heavy vignetting if the filter ring wasn't far out of the way of the lens.

I'm a little concerned with Christopher Frost's results because Venus Optics sent him the lens whereas you bought yours. Does that mean Venus Optics sent a special copy?

Please Make a Comparison between Laowa 9mm 2.8 Vs Sony 10-18mm Lens I Want To Know Which Is Wide And which Give Best Quality Images

Hi Andrew, great video. Quick question, why not just bring the 10-24 f4 and 16 f1.4 for your hiking trips? That is my setup for my landscape photography. Other than the weight, i do feel that it covers a lot of focal length and my needs. I do recall you said that you would like to carry your 18-55 f2.8-4 for video/handheld landscape needs, I have yet to fully test this but my thinking is that the 10-24 f4 would able to hold its ground pretty well in this department (let me know if i am wrong about this). I have since then stopped carrying the 18-55 along and switched up to 35 f2 now. So most of my everyday carry would only be that 3 lenses.

Samyang 8mm and 12mm have similar optical design and size, but only difference is in filter. 8mm is a fisheye lens so there is no way to set filters at front end. This is reason why 8 mm has "slim" front end. The other hand in case of 12mm, people want to set filters there. However 12mm is not a fisheye but still a ultra wide angle lens, also shape of front lens is strong convex. As a result, Samyang had to expand the front end to hold large filters. Personally, I set "protector" filter to all of my lenses except fisheye lenses. So I can accept the front end expansion of 12mm. I have the Samyang 8mm and 12mm, some other fisheye lenses and ultra wide angle lenses.

Thanks, very useful video. Please tell me, as the both of these lenses are manual and we can't get rid of annoying vignetting by one click, is there any quick way to fix it in post production? Thanks in advance.

Which 9mm f/2.8 for Canon RF would you recommend, the Laowa or Nisi? This will be going on a Canon R50. Also, is there another lens that is better for shooting real estate photos and videos?

Which lens is best choice for indoor Real Estate videography with Sony ZV-E10 camera ?

Do you recommend using rokinon 12mm for real estate?

The way Rokinon/Samyang slaps a silver bayonet on for whatever system they support drives me crazy. Paint it black!

My copy does the same. Not that sharp as I like… sent it back but Laowa says it is good Other reviews keep saying it is very sharp which made me confused…

When you said, "i'm only going to keep one of them", you looked to the left. I'll keep watching to see if I caught you.

You say there is no other option, but there is the Zeiss touit 12mm. And while it is more expensive it offers -autofocus -closer min focus distance (0.18m vs 0.2m)(1:9 vs 1:11) -slightly better edge sharpness -much better contrast and flare resistance against bright lights So it might be worth it

hi, if you dont mind adapting lenses, I use canon 10-18mm with the fringer pro ii adapter on my fuji. super sharp, super cheap, and has IS. thanks for all the videos ..

We just got that 9mm on holiday sale and it is so nice- eve to shoot kids and it is so small and precise. That’s a handsome cap too!

I also consider between that Laowa 9mm f2.8 and Samyang but 10mm f2.8 version for my office camera lens as I need a god wide angle with bright aperture for architectural shooting, as my office demand really good images for project progress update or if need a site survey photo. Laowa kils almost the checkmark with small & good build quality, mean i have wider clearance and able to less push my body back further, also lighter on my camera bag that lead to smaller bag. unfortunately when testing on camera store, i test 3 copies and all of them have same problem like this video, very soft at edges, and at that time the camera store only had those 3 copies, but my friend copies is absolutely gs and very sharp as well. also the vignette is quite bad as well. So at the end, i pick Samyang 10mm f2.8, as I tried all 3 copies and all of them is really sharp when I step down to F4. the downside is quite heavy and bulky due extended converter (they not remade the lens to fit with fuji body, basically the APS-C version with mount converter). Lucky me, I love slightly flat contrast, and always set ETERNA as my color profile, and Samyang 10mm f2.8 is absolutely good lens for me. I even use it for livestream event for my office and people love how wide and sharp the lens is. The vignette also almost gone at F4, so make the images is easier to edit. if Laowa had samyang sharpness and less vignette, I already pick Laowa rather than Samyang. but unfortunately I cannot find good copies, so I decided to sacrifice t had best images possible.

How do these compare for video work? Is auto focus fast?

What about adapting a Voigtlander M mount 10 or 12mm Heliar? Slower aperture but good for landscape I imagine. Personally I use and love my 12mm Samyang.

Please review Laowa 4mm on fuji!

did you try the XF 8-16mm F2,8? Though it costs a liver :D

I need a wider lens than the 12mm. Maybe this is my next lens but unfortunately it’s soft...

One-thousandth like! Ahh, so satisfying watching 999 to 1K :)

Which cam did u use for this video?

You can currently find beautiful, used copies of the Rokinon 12mm f/2 for around $150, so it's a stellar bargain right now. Doesn't make any sense to spend money on a brand new copy IMO. For a used Laowa 9mm f/2.8 you'll end up spending $250-300, so almost double the price of the Rokinon.

Rokinon all the way! (I'm cheap.) 😁😆

can I use this Laowa 9mm lens in my EF camera? I have investigated and there are no converters and they have told me that there is no way, but how is it possible!? 😳

How about the 10-24 with the macro adapter the 11? Haven't tried it but you can get closer yeah?

I got the laowa yesterday, and the sharpness isn't cutting it for me. It's intended use was going to be real estate photos and videos but idk anymore. Thinking about returning it for the samayang. Do you know if there's a difference between the silver and black version of the samayang?

Conclusion as it is looks to be none of them... However, you said that the Fuji 10-24 lacks the close focus capability still being a very sharp lens, and the Laowa lacks sharpness in the corner but has the close focus capability... Maybe keeping the Fuji zoom for landscapes photography (I believe it would have given much better result for your nice photo of the 3 trees) and using the laowa when close focus is needed could be the solution?

Did you ever get a replacement that worked?

Larger filter thread of Rokinon does a better job in vignetting for long exposure. That is evident with Laowa wich have smaller filter thread. That's why if you have 77mm lens.. dont use 77mm circular ND filter. Instead... use step up rings from 77 to 82 and use 82mm ND filter. That will reduce vignetting.

Have you tried the AF version of the Samyang/Rokinon 12mm f2?

Throw a little dab of silicon on the rim of the lens and it will butter out that stiffness.

Nice video, but the Zieesb12mm 2.8?

nice review; I thought you would like that Laowa, but it does look terrible at the edges. Hopefully MKII is better. I use mine for architectural work and I have not seen anything like you were getting at the edges with your copy.

so what about the second copy?

hey i would like to know what lens are you using on your camera for the youtube video?

If the Laowa fails to deliver will you bite the bullet and deal with the extra bulk of the 8-16... that lens is optically amazing!

Is the Laowa potentially a good interior / real estate photography lens? I'd really appreciate it if I can get some input:) thank you!

How about the 7 Artisans 12mm ?

I'd only consider those for night photography as the XF 10-24mm is most probable way better in day/sunset/sunrise lights. These have less distortion than the XF 10-24mm making them better for astrophotography since they dont extent the stars in the corners and open at 2.8 and 2.0. Other than that, I am not sure why one would go with any of these lenses.... Better save some bucks and buy the latest weather sealed 10-24mm with autofocus and just sunning build and image quality.

What kind of black magic does laowa use to make their lenses so small?

I think something is wrong with the mount on the Laowa. I've had 2 of these lenses (dropped one, sadly), and neither was that tight. Not even close.