GH5 Thoughts on new Laowa 7.5mm f/2 ?

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filmguy123

Veteran
Haven't heard much of them as a brand, not sure how the overall quality is compared to bigger players (leica, zeiss, voigt, even Olympus). But the new 7.5mm ultrawide f/2 looks very interesting: very small and light, accepts filters, minimal barrel distortion, fastest ultra wide in the system, only $500.

Thoughts?

This is the video that got my attention:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCZyhW2_LjI

Leary to invest in what sounds like an off-brand lens, and would like to see more sample footage first, but seems impressive at first glance....?
 
I have one. Just received it last week. I've only got a few samples so far but It's a fantastic lens for ultra wide interiors and even better in etc mode at a 21mm ff equivalent on a stabilizer. In the end of the day I got it to do realestate video and haven't had a job to use it on yet.
 
The only drawback I could see from looking at dozens of test shots, is that this lens is a little bit flare-prone when the sun is in the frame. ( might be the same with theatrical stage lighting pointing towards the lens )
 
Here's a sample from a campfire 8 second exposure at ISO 400 with the 7.5mm f/2

You can see the flare in the upper left corner. It's definitely got some "interesting" character when it comes to flares :)

Cheers,
Pete
 

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The lens looks nice for the price, size, and weight.

The Leica 8-18 is a stop slower at 2.8, however, it also takes filters and is pretty small/light + a zoom + it's leica....

Any thoughts on the 8mm f/2.8 Leica VS this 7.5?

Also, funny no one ever got excited about the Kowa 8.5mm.... I'd love to see how it stacks up against the Kowa as well.
 
I got one, and after some quick initial indoor tests, I am very impressed. Super light/small - extremely similar to Olympus 12mm. Distortion looks good. Image is sharp. Bokeh has a nice clean look. Very close focus distance. Etc.

Have not used outdoors where more flaring may be present, but I was anticipating that. For $500 I really don't think you could go too wrong with this lens.

Lens hood and lens cap are a little cheap, but you can just as easily go aftermarket on that, and the aperture ring isn't ideally placed so close to the mount. Other than that, I really like it.

Will report back after actual field use.
 
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