Got the Laowa 10mm f/2 -- Few Notes

KarmaAndLies wrote:

I got the Laowa 10mm f/2 and just wanted to note a few things for other's benefit:

• Ordered from B&H, came with the 0.5 firmware which, I believe, contains the fixes for the newer Panasonic camera incompatibility (previously attached lens corrections not clearing, causing them to distortion the Laowa's output, you had to ship it to Laowa for a firmware update).
• If barrel distortion exists I cannot see it. CA is very well controlled.
• The vignetting is apparent even without peeping at f/2. It is controlled at f/2.8 and gone at f/4.0.
• Filters without step up ring makes vignetting mildly worse, but only at f/2 to my eye (using a B+W 46mm UV Haze MRC 010M). It may be detectable at f/2.8 under test conditions.
• The aperture motor, and lens/focal length identification are a nice quality of life improvement.
• The build quality is fantastic. Focus ring is smooth and hood attaches firmly. Cannot really use focus ring with the hood inverted, but that's a limitation of the lens size.
• I replaced the included Laowa Lens Cap, pinching it is too shallow and obnoxious. Got the Sensei 46mm Center Pinch for $4 from B&H, which is a big improvement.
• With Focus Peaking and Focus Assist on the GX7 focus is a breeze.
• The focus scale printed on the lens is wrong/pointless. Even infinity isn't marked correctly. It looks nice though, so there's that...

SooC JPG. Keep in mind I'm still on the 16 MP sensor. Focused to infinity, mostly going for a CA and distortion test here.

Looks like a wonderfully compact lens. I have the 8-18, but have been eyeing this and the 7.5 mm lens for quite some time.