Venus Optics LAOWA 6 mm f/2 Zero-D MFT review - Introduction

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Venus Optics LAOWA 6 mm f/2 Zero-D MFT

14 March 2023

Maciej Latałło

1. Introduction

When it comes to relatively fast ultra wide-angle lenses designed for smaller sensors you can say Venus Optics Laowa is a class of its own. Already in 2017 they launched the 7.5 mm f/2 MTF model with an angle of view of 110 degrees on the Micro 4/3 sensor. Less than one year ago the same company showed the 9 mm f/2.8 ZERO-D designed for APS-C sensors, with a bit slower aperture but an angle of view of whopping 113 degrees.

It's interesting that such companies as Olympus and Panasonic have mostly ignored this segment of the market. When it comes to the first producer, apart from fisheye lenses, their largest prime was the M.Zuiko Digital 12 mm f/2 ED model. Panasonic did present their Leica DG Summilux 9 mm f/1.7 ASPH, a lens that, with a good aperture fastness, also offered an angle of view of 100 degrees, but only in May 2022.

Venus Optics LAOWA 6 mm f/2 Zero-D MFT - Introduction

We didn't have to wait long for the answer of Laowa. They launched the 6 mm f/2 Zero-D MFT already in 2022 a lens that offered not only a very sensible f/2.0 aperture but also a declared angle of view of as much as 121.9 degrees, all the time preserving really small physical dimensions and weight. If it wasn't enough, ZERO-D in its name means the producers tried hard to fight off distortion with optics, not just software of a camera.

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We were very curious how this combination of dimensions, weight, and parameters would perform in practice so we didn't hesitate to order this lens for testing. We got one specimen courtesy of the Fdirect company (former FoxFoto), the official distributor of Laowa products for Poland – thank you very much!

You are also invited to get acquainted with our test procedure, described in the article "How do we test lenses?" If you feel it’s still not enough, please go to our FAQ section where you can find some further explanation.