Laowa 6mm F2 lens for the microFourThirds system is the widest lens available, and although not cheap, it is certainly affordable. The big question was – is it any good? Finally, the test from LensTip.com is out, now we know!
Long story short: yes, it is a good lens!
Ultra-wide-angle lenses tend to have a few problems inherent to their wide-angle nature – vignetting is always a problem, barrel distortions are a common issue, coma can be quite problematic, and field curvature is often quite an issue, leading to decreased sharpness in the corners. Compact lenses usually have more issues, as well as lenses with short focal lengths. Fast apertures also introduce a slew of issues, especially when wide open.
Laowa 6mm F2 is all of that, combined – a compact lens, with a very short focal length, and a fast aperture. And a reasonable price, to boot! But, by some arcane magic, this lens manages to deal perfectly fine with the most of issues admirably.
Vignetting is significant, spherical aberrations are visible, and performance against bright lights, and flare, isn’t something to write home about. Sure, the lens reaches its good performance stopped down at least a stop, at ƒ/2.8, and peaks at ƒ/4 (corners at ƒ/5.6), but that’s expected more-or-less from any lens with an aperture wider than ƒ/4.
According to the test, Laowa 6mm F2 is a sharp lens, the resolution in the image centre is really good, and it does not disappoint even in the corners. Distorsions and chromatic aberrations are well controlled, with low astigmatism and good coma performance. It is well built, compact lens that takes not-too-big filters (58mm). With full digital communication between the lens and the camera, the only feature missing would be autofocus. Let’s hope some future version of this lens will have even that feature.
Conclusion
With a uniquely short focal length, the only competition is the older sibling from the same manufacturer – Laowa 7.5mm F2. Equally fast, similarly sized, with the same features, it is slightly less wide and costs slightly less. 6mm on microFourThirds might be a bit too wide for some photographers, 7.5mm lens could be a better option, but if you need as wide a lens as it goes, Laowa 6mm F2 is the best choice. And the only choice.
If you like and want ultra-wide viewing angles on your microFourThirds cameras, this is, probably, the best option in the current market. The team from Venus Optics/Laowa did a great job introducing this lens with such a good optical performance. Well done!
