Ultra-wide lenses pose special challenges when shooting video, but can create dramatic effects. We review the Laowa 12mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine lens, which shares the same optical formula as the company's 12mm F2.8 lens for full frame cameras.
hey jordan [ me screaming ] I LOVE THAT YOURE TELLING ME WHEN ITS GOOD TO USE A LENS OF THIS FOCAL LENGTH[ the breaking bad reference made me remember and think]
i love reviews that speak to everyone at all skill levels , and professionalism this was enjoyable, intelligent , and worth watching till the end ... [ this amateur appreciates it ] if i had any suggestion , it would be either an extra 5 minutes of cinema lens school , or a part 2 , using the 12mm creatively for stills or video that goes beyond the quick and dirty use and limitations of this lens
Chris , used as a animated prop for the clickless aperture and light variation between open and closed was genius ... [thanks buddy ... ....canadian praise ,lol]
@Mortal Lion lol nah just some people can find many many uses for wide lenses that you can't seem to get your mind around... luckily the world isn't limited by your imagination
Why is it that in many video's the only thing you see for most of the time is a guy or girl talking? That's not interesting (unless she's interesting :-) ). Don't those videomakers know that you actually can make a video where you see something interesting and you hear the guy or girl taling about it?
Motion pictures were called motion picture because the showed motion—a simple concept. YouTube videos are mostly made by peoples who are only interested in self-aggrandizement. Their vireos are all-about-them, not the supposed subject of the video.
So the only time you're interested in people aside from yourself is when you want to have sex with them. You sound like a great guy and your views are definitely shared by most people in the world.
It is a good lens. I loaned it from a friend last month for my A7RIII and it worked quite well. It is just the extreme wide angle I couldn't get used to........
Great review, nice blend of "how good is this lens?" and "what would I use this lens for?" I appreciated the straightforward presentation; Jordan comes off as very credible. I'm not really a videographer (which is probably true for most people on DPR) and I think this hits the right note for someone who is curious about video but mostly knows the world of stills photography.
At first glance one might think that that lens hood is not doing much but then on an ultra wide lens it might be all the more important. Don't know, never used one. Anyway, it keeps the fingers off which is something.
One thing worth mentioning is this lens can be used with a shift adapter to get an 18mm shift view on a APS-C camera, something I think would be useful for architectural video. Unfortunately the only shift adapter I can find is Canon-Sony E.
The Laowa FULL FRAME shift adapter comes in two versions: Canon EF to Sony E and Nikon F to Sony E mount. Sony - like Nikon uses the E-mount for both aps-c and FF. I bought the Nikon F version for my Nikon F Laowa 12mm plus a "dumb" Kipon Sony-E to Z adapter. The adapter is basically a 1,4x tele adapter with shift and will work with any Nikon F mount lens. It creates an image circle about 10mm larger in any direction than the lens you mount. Since you only use the FULL FRAME part of the image circle light is reduced 1 stop and focal length is multiplied by about 1.4. And you get plus-minus 10mm shift (no tilt). You could use the laowa 12mm on a Z50 to get a 27mm F4 lens. It would make more sense to take a Nikon 10-20mm zoom and stick it on the converter on a Z50 to get you a 14-30mm F6.7-f8 lens, or a samyang 8mm F3.5 to get you an 18mm F4.5 lens. I do not know if the optical formula in the adapter favors 12mm, or if it works as well with other focal lengths.
I really enjoyed this. As someone who is not a filmmaker, my favorite part of this video were the examples of how such a focal length could be used. The example of Breaking Bad was especially helpful as I thought about all the times it was used to emphasize urgency and speed. Thanks Jordan! I enjoyed every bit of this.
Just another tool. Some will be clueless when it comes to its use. Others like Don Siegel, Sergio Leone and the Coen Brothers will use them seamlessly.
You're assuming the "ultra wide angle lens" is rectilinear. If it's a fisheye, much of what you said doesn't apply. In other words, it's the projection not the angle of view that causes a lot of what you were saying.
"The Osmo Pocket uses a tiny 1/2.3-inch sensor and a fixed f 2.0 lens. The focal length is around 26-28mm (35 mm format equivalent). "
So, yeah 26-28.
And if this lens is about 4 or 5 times larger than an action cam, why are you comparing them? Action cams make sense, this lens seems like the tiniest niche'
I have the 16-35 for the S1 and the 10-25 for the GH5 (both from the TCS with Gary's help), and I don't want to go wider for video. I have transitioned entirely to video since March and would like to see MUCH MORE home studio video content from Jordan, so this video is welcome information.
yes I would appreciate more video oriented articles, because I still haven't gotten an intuitive hang of the basic technical fundamentals for video: what specs and design features make a difference under different circumstances. Perhaps all that info is already out there, in which case it might be great to post a list of other recommended instructional sites to go to. thanks.
ultra wide angle lenses are incredibly disorienting when shooting video. I lose my balance when I start to move.
Just looked at the widest lenses and knew mirrorless E-mount had some ultra-wide lenses by various companies including voigtländer, going all the way to 10mm
But apparently Samyang also has a new 10mm F3.5 in their premium manual focus line for all cameras including DSLRs. Did DPreview cover this lens in their news cycle? Seems like it was overlooked.
I own the Samang, I'm a fan of Voigtlander, and I own the Laowa m43 fisheye.
Samyang - it's OK but there's so much distortion it's not good for video unless you want to correct that distortion in post. It's also very plasticky and bulky.
Chinese optics company Venus caused a stir when it announced a 12mm F2.8 lens with claims of almost zero rectilinear distortion. The lens is comparably small in its super wide class, and its claims of little barrel distortion are pretty tantalizing. See gallery
Chinese lens manufacturer Venus Optics is preparing to introduce a 12mm lens that it claims will be the world’s widest F2.8 lens with fully corrected distortion. Going under the Laowa brand name, the lens will be called Laowa 12mm F2.8 Zero-D. Read more
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