Laowa 4mm F/2.8 Circular Fisheye

Specifications01

MountMICRO 4/3

Focal length4mm

Max aperturef/2.8

TypeCinema · Fisheye · Wide · Prime

Weight120 g

Physical length45 mm

Barrel diameter45 mm

Min focus distance0.08 m

Max magnification0.1111

Aperture blades7

Optical elements7

Groups6

AutofocusNo

StabilizationNo

Weather sealedNo

Lens hoodTube-style

Approx price$199

Additional Info02

TypeFisheye prime

Category["Micro-Four-Thirds"]

Keywords["Fish-Eye","Laowa","Micro-Four-Thirds","Prime"]

Angle Of View210°

Review AuthorKlaus

Review Rating6.5

Other FeaturesWhat more do you expect?

Review VerdictThe Laowa 4mm f/2.8 circular fisheye is both difficult as well as fun to use. Due to its immense image field, it will create lots of frustration because very often it's just too much really and staying out of the image is actually not as trivial as you might think. Conversely, if you find the right subject, the results are very rewarding indeed. It's also just awesome to explore this strange new extreme fisheye world. The image quality is almost secondary but technically it is still surprisingly high. The center quality is great and the image borders are pretty nice when stopped down a little. Chromatic aberrations are fairly high but that's rather typical for most lenses in this class. As mentioned there's also a zone with heavy fringing albeit you would/SHOULD apply a circular crop anyway. If this is no option for you, it's best to stay away. Flare and also glare can be an issue in difficut lighting. In terms of mechanical quality, Laowa did a good job. Thus the lens body is made of metal down to the mount. This also applies to the lens "cap" - a tube really. There is no electronic coupling, thus you'll have to live without EXIF data as well as a manually controlled aperture and focus. Focusing is rarely an issue though. Unless you try your luck with closeups, most of the world will be in focus anyway - just set it to 1m and you are good to go. So do you have to own a lens like the Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Circular Fisheye? No. But you should and at just 199USD, it is a steal really. Highly recommended!

Review Criteria{"Build Quality":8,"Optical Quality":6.5,"Price / Performance":10}

Review Published2019-08-06T14:01:00+00:00

Optical Construction7 elements in 6 groups

Field Notes02

Laowa 4mm F/2.8 circular fisheye lens for Micro Four Thirds, designed for full circular fisheye effects and wide-angle ultra-wide shooting; useful for low-light due to its f/2.8 maximum aperture.

AI-assisted summary — verify against linked sources

Catalog note · source: opticallimits