Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 + Sony VCL-ECU2 Vs Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D MFT

Hi there!

I'm here to ask about your opinion on this topic. I own a magnificent Panasonic Leica 8-18mm f/2.8-4 for real estate projects and serious architecture photography (together with my G9), but now I would like to have something wide and a little bit more compact for my Lumix Gx9 to do some street photography and urban exploration. I've been searching on internet and I came up with these 3 alternatives:

1. Laowa 7.5mm f2: too wide for what I want.

2. Laowa 10mm f2: looks like a very nice option. Compact (4,1cm), light (125grs), sharp, fast and reasonably priced (400$ or 330€). I'm not that used to the MF, but I think I could deal with it!

3. Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 + Sony VCL-ECU2: I came up with these idea on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxuBYnwl79A). It looks like an interesting option for something wide: not too big (2cm+6,6cm=8,6cm), not too heavy (125gr+55gr=180gr), cheaper (220€ in total), AF, 21mm and still quite fast (f2.5).

What's your opinion? Do you think the iq of both options is comparable? Would  you spend 100€ to go for the laowa?

Thanks folks!

I recently tried the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 with both the Sony VCL-ECU1 (as reviewed in that YouTube video) and the Panasonic DMW-GWC1 screw-on adapter. I found them to be equivalent in sharpness, maybe even a slight advantage to the Sony. However, the Sony, not being designed for the 25mm, uses a clip-on attachment system that I found to be fairly flimsy when rigged this way. I felt it would fall off with the slightest bump. Given its very bulbous front element and no filter threads, I was sure it would be damaged before too long. I kept the DMW-GWC1 for my purposes (shooting while walking around and also the Olympics this summer). Having said all that, I think the Sony adapter would work fine in a less dynamic application, say mounted on a static rig for vlogging.

Optically, neither of these wide-angle solutions produces what I'd call a wow-factor result. However, at ~US$95 for the Sony adapter and ~US$135 for the Panasonic adapter (used on Amazon Japan), they are almost certainly the cheapest way to get sharp ultrawide with autofocus, particularly if you already have the 25mm f/2.5.

It is a much better FL for general "street" photography.

JordiAg wrote:

........

What's your opinion? Do you think the iq of both options is comparable? Would you spend 100€ to go for the laowa?

Thanks folks!

The 14mm is THE smallest and lightest AF lens in the m43 world. It was introduced in 2010, meaning it is easy to find it second hand at a good price. If you want small/light/lowcost with Autofocus, and 14mm is wide enough, go for it. But if you really want wider, then I feel the 14mm plus a wide converter is inferior to a dedicated UWA lens. The converter adds too much bulk, and there is always a "fiddling factor" with a two piece lens.

You could look at the Olympus 12mm too, but even used it is a more expensive lens. It is small, and it has the very useful snap focus clutch usually found on Olympus-PRO lenses (works perfect on Panasonic cameras), and a premium metal build in it's favor too. It has slight field curvature if that is a rendering feature you appreciate. I have both the 14 and the 12, I regard the 14 as a low cost, expendable go anywhere/take-risks lens, not a big drama if damaged/stolen/soiled. The 12 I am more careful with.