Laowa Zero-D MFT 10mm F/2

Specifications01

MountMICRO 4/3

Focal length10mm

Max aperturef/2

TypeCinema · Macro · Wide · Prime

Weight125 g

Filter size46 mm

Physical length41 mm

Barrel diameter53 mm

Min focus distance0.12 m

Max magnification0.1493

Aperture blades5

Optical elements11

Groups7

Min aperturef/16

AutofocusNo

StabilizationNo

Weather sealedNo

Lens hoodpetal-shaped, bayonet mount, supplied

Approx price$349

Additional Info02

TypeWide-angle prime

ModelZero-D

FormatMFT

SeriesStill Prime

Category["Micro-Four-Thirds"]

Keywords["Laowa","Micro-Four-Thirds","Prime","Ultra-wide"]

Iris Blades5

Angle Of View96°

Review AuthorKlaus

Review Rating8

Review VerdictThe Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D MFT is a fun lens that also has the capability of delivering some serious results. In terms of optical performance it shines with a very high resolution straight from f/2 and it's darn sharp at f/4. As the name implies, it is a fully distortion-corrected lens - which is a rare quality in mirrorless land. And this raises the question of why Olympus/Panasonic can't do the same here. The high corner quality can also be contributed to the fact that distortion correction isn't necessary at all. That being said, auto-correction DOES help when it comes to vignetting. The raw vignetting is on the extreme side at f/2 so unless you are after a keyhole effect you should keep it activated. Even so - some obvious vignetting remains at f/2. Lateral CAs are pretty low and nothing to worry about. Flare can be an issue in extreme lighting situations. If you are after sun stars - yes, the lens can give you these in qualifying scenes when stopping down and the quality is good. We haven't executed a formal analysis of the bokeh but as you can see in the sample image section, the out-of-focus blur is pretty smooth. This is a rather rare quality in an ultra-wide lens. The Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D MFT is a tiny and super-lightweight lens. This doesn't mean that the build quality is suffering - on the contrary, it is actually very good. The lens body is made of metal and the focusing is smooth. There is no weather-sealing though. Unlike early Laowa offerings, the lens is fully coupled thus you can select the aperture on the camera rather than on the lens. EXIF data is also provided. However, you still have to live with manual focusing only. Given the ultra-wide nature of the lens, this shouldn't be a big deal for most users at least. We quite enjoyed our time with this little marvel also because it highlights what's cool about the Micro-Four-Thirds system - a nice size factor combined with low weight. It may not be perfect in every optical aspect but if you are after a fast ultra-wide lens that doesn't go bonkers in terms of field-of-view, you should have a deeper look.

Review Criteria{"Build Quality":8,"Optical Quality":8,"Price / Performance":8}

Review Published2021-01-06T22:38:00+00:00

Front Diameter Mm53

Optical Construction11 elements in 7 groups inc. 3x aspherical & 2x ELD elements